Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
September 2, 1922. Twenty-four-year-old Mollie Maggia has a toothache. In less than a year, this otherwise healthy young woman will be dead. Others like her will soon follow. They’d all shared what seemed to be a dream job: applying glow-in-the-dark paint to clock faces. The paint glowed because it was saturated with radium, the wonder element of its day. And now that radium has burrowed inside the bones and lungs of the women. How did a supposed wonder element and cure-all come to be seen for what it was – a deadly poison? And how did a group of courageous young women, racing the clock of their own mortality, expose this truth?
Special thanks to Kate Moore, author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. Also, a huge thank you to Art Fryer, nephew of Grace Fryer, one of the “Radium Girls.”
**This episode originally aired September 12, 2022.
To stay updated on all things HISTORY This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com. Have thoughts or questions? Email us at historythisweek@history.com.
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Credits:
Sally Helm | Host/Producer
Rebecca Nolan | Producer
Brian Flood | Sound Designer
Emma Fredericks | Associate Producer
Ben Dickstein | Senior Producer
McCamey Lynn | Supervising Producer
Jessie Katz | Executive Producer
Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast
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To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-this-week/id1493453604
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2YFm0ezrXmMqLXbxgZpkmd?si=9a84fadee11447d4
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HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.
September 2, 1922. Twenty-four-year-old Mollie Maggia has a toothache. In less than a year, this otherwise healthy young woman will be dead. Others like her will soon follow. They’d all shared what seemed to be a dream job: applying glow-in-the-dark paint to clock faces. The paint glowed because it was saturated with radium, the wonder element of its day. And now that radium has burrowed inside the bones and lungs of the women. How did a supposed wonder element and cure-all come to be seen for what it was – a deadly poison? And how did a group of courageous young women, racing the clock of their own mortality, expose this truth?
Special thanks to Kate Moore, author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. Also, a huge thank you to Art Fryer, nephew of Grace Fryer, one of the “Radium Girls.”
**This episode originally aired September 12, 2022.
To stay updated on all things HISTORY This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com. Have thoughts or questions? Email us at historythisweek@history.com.
Sign up for ad-free listening and bonus episodes at htwpod.com.
Credits:
Sally Helm | Host/Producer
Rebecca Nolan | Producer
Brian Flood | Sound Designer
Emma Fredericks | Associate Producer
Ben Dickstein | Senior Producer
McCamey Lynn | Supervising Producer
Jessie Katz | Executive Producer
Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast
Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast
To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-this-week/id1493453604
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2YFm0ezrXmMqLXbxgZpkmd?si=9a84fadee11447d4
Audacy: audacy.com/podcast/history-this-week-71b4d
Subscribe for more HISTORY:
histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT
Check out exclusive HISTORY content:
History Newsletter - histv.co/newsletter
Website - histv.co/History
Facebook - histv.co/Facebook
TikTok - bit.ly/4kZKjXi
HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.
