cover of episode Trailer: 'Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery'

Trailer: 'Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery'

2024/11/12
logo of podcast 20/20

20/20

Shownotes Transcript

When launching a new product, finding the right revenue model can be just as important as the product itself. That's why Stripe built Stripe Billing. Stripe Billing is the advanced billing software to grow any business. From seat-based subscriptions to usage-based billing, and every pricing model in between, Stripe Billing helps you grow your business, your way, fast. Learn how Stripe Billing can help your business at stripe.com slash billing.

Fifty years ago, Karen Silkwood got in her car alone. She'd agreed to deliver sensitive documents to a New York Times reporter. She never made it, and those documents she was reportedly carrying

were never found. Do you think somebody killed her? There's no question in my mind that someone killed her that night. I think they were trying to stop her in order to get the documents. I'm Mike Boettcher. I've covered the world for Network TV and returned home to Oklahoma to investigate the one story I can't get out of my mind. And I'm Bob Sands.

I've been covering the Silkwood story since I read the wire copy on the air in Oklahoma City the night that Karen died in that car crash. Bluntly stated, she was spying on her employer, gathering evidence her union wanted to document charges of safety violations at the Kerr-McGee Corporation's nuclear plant. For years, we've run down leads. And in 1994, 20 years after Karen Silkwood's death, a

A friend gave me a secret tape for safekeeping. An Oklahoma Highway Patrolman had launched his own risky investigation behind the thin blue line. I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the security at the FBI office and that, as I was told in the beginning, I might be in danger. I got the tape on one condition. No one else could hear it until the people named in it were dead. That time has come.

We also found a trove of private investigator's tapes in a storage locker and tracked down physical evidence from the night of Karen's crash. My God. Holy mackerel, there's black stuff in it still. Yeah. Oh my gosh. The accident investigator believed he had a smoking gun. He told his daughter on his deathbed to hang on to it. We have the bumper. Something's not right with this story.

I think it needs to be looked into further. 50 years later, what we've learned about the life and death of America's first nuclear whistleblower. Radioactive, The Karen Silkwood Mystery, a new narrative series from ABC Audio. Coming November 12th, wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. It's Brad Milkey, host of ABC's daily news podcast, Start Here. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with AutoQuote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.