Half-Life: 1. Daughter of Radium

Drawn to a family legend about his German-Jewish family’s dramatic escape from Nazi Germany 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toothpaste her father Siegfried manufactured, leads Joe to finally read his great-grandfather's nearly 2000-page long unpublished memoir.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 McDowallMusic by Jeremy WarmsleyMixing engineer, Mike WoolleyStory consultant, Sarah GeisExecutive producer, Alan HallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

The History Podcast

NEW on The History Podcast: Half-Life. Drawn to a family legend about his German-Jewish family's dramatic escape from Nazi Germany in 1936, the writer Joe Dunthorne accidentally discovers a far more disturbing history.

• No. of episodes: 60
• Latest episode: 2025-05-07
• History

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