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The History Podcast, Half-Life, 1. Daughter of Radium

The History Podcast

Half-Life

1. Daughter of Radium

Up next

May 7, 2025

29 minutes

Available for over a year

Drawn to a family legend about his German-Jewish family’s dramatic escape from Nazi in 1936, the writer Joe Dunthorne accidentally discovers a far more disturbing history.

A conversation with his granny, who spent her childhood brushing her teeth with the radioactive toothpaste her father Siegfried manufactured, leads Joe to finally read his great-grandfather's nearly 2000-page long unpublished memoir. Hidden on page 1692 he finds an unsettling confession.

Written and presented by Joe Dunthorne, (based on his book Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance)

Produced by Eleanor McDowall

Music by Jeremy Warmsley

Mixing engineer, Mike Woolley

Story consultant, Sarah Geis

Executive producer, Alan Hall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4