With the release of Amazon Prime’s new movie, Radioactive, we thought a revisit to Marie Curie’s real life was in order. Since Prime put her story into one movie, we thought it was fitting to combine both parts of our 2016 coverage into one episode. Think of it as an audiobook with several chapter breaks. For shownotes, recommendations, and links to the things we talked about in this double-episode, visit the original MARIE CURIE PART TWO (or PART ONE if you want to read her story from the beginning.)
Intermission song: Made of Stars, Xavier and Ophelia; End song: Marie Curie, The Crypts used with permission from MusicAlley
Break music: Awakening, Keri Newdingate, used with permission from iLicenseMusic
Marie faced life after Pierre Curie died with two children, more than just a touch of radiation exposure and a desire to use science to help all humanity but she also had a lot of non-science drama on the horizon.
Nobel portrait, circa 1911
Brief recap: Polish born genius navigates an early life filled with heartache and challenges to pursue one of academics and science in Pre-WWI Paris. She finds love, builds a family and when her partner in love and work, Pierre, dies in a horrible accident everything seems to be crashing down on her. Details on Part One, you should go listen.
Back in her Poland Manya days. L-R: Manya, Papa, Bronya and poor, 2nd place Hela.