Boom Town: A Uranium Story Podcast
1) Ep. 6: Underground
With the promise of nuclear energy on the horizon, the price — and demand — for uranium is reviving a once-dormant industry. After a trip to a nearby uranium mine, it’s clear the region sees this deve...Show More
2) Ep. 5: Remediation
After Uravan was closed and set for demolition, its residents were forced to scatter elsewhere. Today, Uravan’s nearby baseball park hosts an annual picnic for former townies who meet just down the ro...Show More
3) EP. 4: Atomic Frontier
Far away from the mines of the Colorado Plateau, the first nuclear reactor in the world was built in Washington State. Here, uranium was used to create plutonium, showing the ore didn’t just impact th...Show More
4) Ep 3: In the Air
By the 1980s, uranium towns like Uravan had weathered a few booms and busts. The promises of the atomic future – like flying cars and limitless electricity – weren’t coming to fruition. Along the way,...Show More
5) Ep 2: Company Town
After World War II, uranium became one of the most sought-after elements in the world — and in the sparse canyons of the four-corners region, uranium company towns began to spring up and sell the ore ...Show More
6) Ep. 1: Virtues Unknown
In the early years of atomic science, the discovery of cancer-curing radium drove prospective miners to the far reaches of the isolated Four Corners region of the United States. As they hunted for the...Show More
7) Introducing Boom Town: A Uranium Story
For 50 years Uravan, Colorado, was a uranium hub of America. Mining “yellowcake” was at the center of everyday life here, where generations of kids grew up playing on the tailings of radioactive ore a...Show More