The Radium Girls

The 1920s were just absolutely nuts. People got into weird fads really intensely and one of the strangest of all was flagpole sitting. It’s just what it sounds like – sitting on top of a flagpole for as long as you can. One man sat above them all. Learn all about him and many of ... Show More

The break-up of the USSR was a tough one for Russia, being the jilted republic. For the entire decade after, the country plunged into a type of controlled chaos, with a rampantly corrupt kleptocracy taking the place of the toppled socialist society.See omnystudio.com/listener for ... Show More

Today we dive in to celebrate the international treasure that is Dolly Parton. Why is she nearly universally loved? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

When Radium popped on to the scene in the early 1900s, it was called “liquid sunshine” and a “mythological superbeing.” Why? Because it was incredibly powerful and literally glowed. But then a few companies had the bright idea to start making watches with it. Today, Bailey tells ... Show More

we all know today that radium in a very dangerous substance , but way back in the early1900s , it was seen as a miricle element , a health suppliment , and even could increase sexual vitality , it was also used to paint watch dials and many other instruments for the army , and th ... Show More

Cautionary Book Club: Mollie Maggia's dentist planned to remove a painful abscess from her mouth. But to his horror, her jawbone disintegrated at his touch, crumbling and splintering until it resembled ash. Like hundreds of her colleagues, Mollie had been slowly poisoned by her w ... Show More

At the intersection of scientific advancement and tragedy is the story of US Radium and the young women who stood up to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

In the 1920s, dial-painters at US Radium's New Jersey factory began getting sick. They were diagnosed with syphilis and phossy jaw, but their symptoms didn't add up. The women suspected something about their job was making them fatally ill—but they were running out of time to sol ... Show More

In the early 1920s, painters at a watch dial factory in New Jersey started to get sick. No one could tell them why. Kate Moore's book is called The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional ne ... Show More

In the early 1900s, lots of young women flocked to factories to do their patriotic duty by contributing to the war effort. For the Radium Girls, their patriotism came at a deadly cost."Strange and Unexplained" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab & Three Goose Entertainment and is a ... Show More

Fellow Ridiculous Historians, we all know the inspiring and tragic story of Marie Curie -- however, not everyone is familiar with the absolute boom in radium-associated merchandise, which took the world by storm before the public understood the dangers of radiation. In today's ep ... Show More

On this episode of Our American Stories, Chris Graham of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia tells the story of one of their objects on display with an extraordinary story we're just now finding out. Kate Moore, author of “Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s ... Show More