The Origin of the Elements with Artemis Spyrou

“As all these stories do, it started with a radioactive animal dump in Albuquerque,” is the best first line of a story I have ever heard. Listen as Eileen Welsome and Shelly Lesher discuss some of the medical experiments the US government funded on its own citizens involving radiation without their consent over the decades.

Ann Kordas joins Shelly to discuss the gendered roles of boys and girls during the Cold War and how children were taught to protect themselves from nuclear annihilation through toys, sitcoms, and government messaging.

Ever wonder what to buy with your Christmas money? Need a nuclear themed gift for that nerd in your family? Look no further, Shelly and her friend and fellow nuke, Kelly Chipps found lots of items for you to purchase from eBay to Amazon.

On December 29, 2024 humanitarian, nuclear engineer, and the 39th president of the US passed away at 100 years old. Please enjoy this rerelease of Episode 35.

If you were alive at the time, you remember an o-ring caused the January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion 73 seconds after take off. But was it that simple? Adam Higginbotham discusses his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space and see how much you really know about that day.

This episode was recorded in Toronto with Nathan Radke and Lee Kuhnle from the UnCover Up Podcast and special guest Nina Weston (a young person). We brainstorm some additional ideas on how to "hide" our nuclear waste far into the future.

Find Matt Caplan's podcast where every you find us.

Learn about the nuclear horror movie Threads with author Bob Mielke and his new book from Die Die books https://diediebooks.com/products/threads1984

Enter our contest to out crazy the crazy email: [email protected] and join My Nuclear Life and The UnCoverUp at our Documentary Premiere. For free tickets email: [email protected]

What role has Uranium played in our society? Who was "hotter than radioactive yams"? What do fashionable Uranium prospectors wear? Lucy Santos answers these questions and more when she joins Shelly on this episode.