Tyler Cowen speaks with author Mary Roach for his next 'Conversations with Tyler'

Best-selling pop-science author Mary Roach is the next guest in the “Conversations with Tyler” series of interviews conducted by George Mason University economics professor Tyler Cowen at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Founders Hall Auditorium on the Arlington Campus.

Roach is the author of eight fact-packed, humor-laden science books that dig deeply into scientific investigations that open readers’ eyes to little-known aspects of nature, particularly human nature.

In “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal,” Roach boldly explores the human digestive system; in “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex,” she turns her eye on the hows and whys of procreation; and in “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” she tells a respectful history of the treatment of human corpses.

Her newest book is “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War,” in which Roach examines all aspects of warfare, particularly the marginalia—among them, why zippers are a problem for snipers, how shrimp are more dangerous than sharks to sailors and why a wedding gown is like a bomb suit.

Cowen is an economist, professor and general director of the Mercatus Center think tank at George Mason who conducts wide-ranging, on-stage conversations with thought leaders in a wide range of fields. Previous guests in the “Conversations” series include Peter Thiel, Nate Silver, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Camille Paglia, Malcolm Gladwell and, most recently, Larry Summers. (Previous talks are available on the Mercatus events page.)

The event is free, but registration is required at this site. A book signing follows the conversation.