The STEM Read Podcast: What You Don’t Know Could Kill You!

Episode 8: What You Don't know Could Kill You! with Marilyn Black and Kate Moore

We’re celebrating Women’s History Month by bringing you stories of safety science from women whose work and sacrifices have made the world a cleaner, less radioactive place. Gillian (@gkingcargile) and Kristin (@kbrynteson) interview Dr. Marilyn Black, a chemist and pioneering researcher of indoor air quality who has revolutionized our understanding of industrial chemicals and helped manufactures make safer, greener products.

Next they talk with Kate Moore, author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. With a mantra of lip...dip...paint, dial painters were reassured that their company’s radium-based paint was safe for ingestion. But, when the girls began to fall ill, they had to fight for not only their legal rights, but their lives. Kate Moore’s meticulously researched non-fiction book paints a powerful portrait of the women whose struggles changed the landscape of workers’ and women’s rights.

Northern Illinois University’s STEM Read is part of the NIU STEAM family of programs that explore science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Find more great books, lesson plans, and resources at stemread.com. 

The STEM Read Podcast is produced in collaboration with WNIJ.

Notes & External Links

·       Learn more about NIU’s chemistry program

·       Learn more about University of Mary Washington

·       How to identify lead poisoning

·       Agent Orange

·       Study along with Dr. Marilyn Black at Georgia Tech

·       Educate yourself on air pollution

·       What is GreenGuard?

·       What is an Environmental Chamber?

·       How can we make our classrooms greener?

·       Learn more about UL

·       You child can explore at NIU’s STEM Summer Camps

·       Xplore labs

·       How to talk to young leaners about high concepts

·       Worried about air quality at your school? Find EPA resources.

·       Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore 

·       These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich

·       Check out this vintage ad for Radium based cosmetics

·       Who was Harrison Martland?

·       What does OSHA stand for?

·       Caged Bird by Katy Morgan-Davies

·       Learn more about the Radium Girl’s Story here

·       Humanize STEM Wallpaper

·       You can visit the Radium Girl’s Monument in Ottawa, Illinois