After Karen Silkwood’s tragic and fatal car wreck, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol began an investigation fast. In a matter of a couple days, Trooper Rick Fagan determined Karen’s car to have left the road as the result of falling asleep at the wheel, possibly aided by the use of drugs. But the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union, based on inconsistencies and perhaps errors within the official report, believed Karen might have been ran off the road by someone with nefarious intentions – to silence her before she could meet with New York Times reporter David Burnham. An expert they hired to give the scene and circumstances another look agreed that it wasn’t an accident. This episode was written, produced, researched, and narrated by Erica Lee. Additional research by Aimee Worley. Edited and produced by Vincent Strange. Artwork is by Erica Lee and theme music is by Brightside Studio. For more information about the podcast, including sources, please visit GoneCold.com/Silkwood #KarenSilkwood #Silkwood #OKC #Whistleblower #Conspiracy #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #ColdCase #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeLovers #CrimeScene #PodcastLife
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52:11
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52:11
Contaminated
Karen Silkwood was exposed to dangerous levels of plutonium in November 1974. After discovering contamination on her body, she found that it had spread throughout her skin and lungs, with dangerously high levels in both. But the situation worsened. The contamination had spread to her personal life as well. Levels of plutonium were found in her apartment that were so high, all of her belongings had to be destroyed. Her activism against unsafe working conditions made her a target. In the final days it became clear that Silkwood's contamination had not been accidental. The extent of Silkwood’s contamination and the calculated risks taken by those in power would ultimately become a key part of her tragic story.This episode was written by Cathy O’Neal.Silkwood is produced, researched, and narrated by Erica Lee.Additional research by Aimee Worley. Edited and produced by Vincent Strange.Artwork is by Erica Lee and theme music is by Brightside Studio.For more information about the podcast, including sources, please visit GoneCold.com/Silkwood #KarenSilkwood #Silkwood #OKC #Whistleblower #Conspiracy #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #ColdCase #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeLovers #CrimeScene #PodcastLife
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1:06:51
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1:06:51
Making a Difference
As Karen Silkwood continued to risk her own safety and livelihood by covertly taking documents from Kerr-McGee that, it is believed, suggested both neglegence and cover-up, she began noticing that not only was she seeking to make a change, she was also going through changes. She attributed her health issues to circumstances and events outside of the Cimarron plutonium plant, but when she registered hot for contamination at work, Karen began second guessing. Was her contamination an accident or intentional?This episode was written by Cathy O’Neal.Silkwood is produced, researched, and narrated by Erica Lee.Additional research by Aimee Worley. Edited and produced by Vincent Strange.Artwork is by Erica Lee and theme music is by Brightside Studio.For more information about the podcast, including sources, please visit GoneCold.com/Silkwood #KarenSilkwood #Silkwood #OKC #Whistleblower #Conspiracy #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #ColdCase #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeLovers #CrimeScene #PodcastLife
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54:49
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54:49
Fired Up
As accidents and safety issues continued to occur at Kerr-McGee’s Cimarron facility in Crescent, Oklahoma, Karen Silkwood grew increasingly intolerant. When a position opened in the local Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union in the summer of ‘74, Karen, at the urging of others, threw her hat in the ring. She won the position, and in now time found herself in Washington D.C. discussing the plant’s violations at union headquarters and agreeing to secretly collecting information that would prove the allegations against Kerr-McGee. They also went to the Atomic Energy Commission in Bethesda to discuss the issues at hand, something that might have been a grave mistake.This episode was written by Cathy O’Neal.Silkwood is produced, researched, and narrated by Erica Lee.Additional research by Aimee Worley. Edited and produced by Vincent Strange.Artwork is by Erica Lee and theme music is by Brightside Studio.For more information about the podcast, including sources, please visit GoneCold.com/Silkwood #KarenSilkwood #Silkwood #OKC #Whistleblower #Conspiracy #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #ColdCase #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeLovers #CrimeScene #PodcastLife
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48:14
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48:14
Grievances
Though she and her boyfriend Drew were originally excited to help usher in the age of atomic energy, the seeds of Karen Silkwood's disillusionment grew after she participated in her first strike and began witnessing an increasing number of safety issues and accidents. Before Karen worked at Kerr-McGee's Cimarron plant, an environmentalist named Irene Younghein got found out about its existence and, through anonymous attempted whistleblowers, found out about many points of concern - accidents, unsafe practices, and the Atomic Energy Commission turning a blind eye to infractions. Had Younhein and Karen met, the trajectory of the story might have turned out. In Karen's time, and outside of work, her intimate relationship with Drew, like her attitude about her job, was in a seemingly constant state of change.This episode was written by Cathy O’Neal.Silkwood is produced, researched, and narrated by Erica Lee. Additional research by Aimee Worley. Edited and produced by Vincent Strange. Artwork is by Erica Lee and theme music is by Brightside Studio.For more information about the podcast, including sources, please visit GoneCold.com/Silkwood #KarenSilkwood #Silkwood #OKC #Whistleblower #Conspiracy #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #ColdCase #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeLovers #CrimeScene #PodcastLife
Coming November 13th 2024Silkwood is the gripping and tragic true story of 28-year-old Karen Silkwood, a union member who went up against a nuclear industry titan, Kerr-McGee. On her way to blow the whistle on major safety issues within the company, Karen was killed in a car crash on a dark, rural Oklahoma highway. Was her death an accident or did she pay the ultimate price for her quest to expose the truth?
New Zealand