Events

Hybrid Humans with Harry Parker

, –
See all dates
  • Free
  • Discussion
  • Speech-to-text
  • Audio described
Portrait photograph of Harry Parker. He is wearing a grey shirt and jeans. He has short brown hair and a beard. Harry is sitting on a chair, his prosthetic limbs are resting on the ground. Next to his chair is a white table which has a prosthetic limb upon it. On the floor next to the table is another prosthetic limb standing upright and behind this, a wooden panel.
Harry Parker, Photo: Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Join author Harry Parker in conversation with journalist David Robson, exploring how technology, robotics and artificial intelligence are changing what it means to be human.    

Harry’s life changed after losing his legs in Afghanistan. Grappling with his new identity and disability, he has discovered new possibilities for what a body can be.    

From contact lenses to prosthetic legs – and touching on issues of access, ethics and activism – Harry and David will discuss how we’re hacking the human body, and reflect on the messy reality behind some common sci-fi myths.    

This event is inspired by Harry Parker’s new book, ‘Hybrid Humans, Dispatches from the Frontiers of Man and Machine’, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.  

It will take place in our building and simultaneously live-streamed on Wellcome Collection’s YouTube channel. You can join the event in-venue or online.  

You'll be able to ask questions online during the event via YouTube chat. A recording of the event will be available to watch afterwards.  

Book a ticket below for either the in-venue event or the online event. 

Dates

, –

Reading Room

In-venue tickets

Livestream event

Online tickets

Tickets via Eventbrite

Need to know

Location

We’ll be in the Reading Room on level 2. You can walk up the spiral staircase to the Reading Room door, or take the lift up and then head left from the Library Desk.

First come, first served

Booking a ticket for a free event does not guarantee a place on the day. Doors usually open 15 minutes before an event starts and we advise arriving before the scheduled start time to claim a place. We hold some spaces for people with access requirements. If you have any access requests or requirements, email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call 020 7611 2222.

Waiting list

Our waiting list opens an hour before a fully booked event starts. Arrive early, and we’ll give you a numbered ticket. If there are any unfilled places just before the start time, we will invite you to enter in order of ticket number.

Guaranteed (online)

Booking a ticket guarantees you entry to the online event. You will be given joining instructions in your confirmation email. If you have any access requests or requirements, for example a transcript of the event, email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call 020 7611 2222.

Speech-to-text

This event will have live speech-to-text transcription, which may be useful for people who are D/deaf, hard of hearing, deafened or neurodiverse. The captions will be displayed on a large screen in-venue and embedded in the event video window online. Ticketholders for the livestream will also receive a link to view the captions in a separate window.

Audio described

The host and speakers will describe themselves and key visual elements they refer to, which may be useful for blind, partially sighted and neurodiverse attendees. There will not be a separate audio description track.

Our event terms and conditions

About your contributors

Black and white photograph of Harry Parker

Harry Parker

Speaker

Harry Parker is the author of ‘Anatomy of a Soldier’ (2016), translated into eight languages. He grew up in Wiltshire and was educated at Falmouth College of Art and University College London. He joined the British Army when he was 23 and served in Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2009 as a captain. He is now a writer and artist, and lives in London.

Black and white photograph of David Robson

David Robson

Facilitator

David Robson is an award-winning science writer and journalist, specialising in the human brain, body and behaviour.