Toxic Work Throwback: The Radium Girls Artwork

Toxic Waste of Time

Your two smartass aunts, Ivy Hensley and Katie Boothe, unscientifically analyze toxicity in every relationship. What do you need to detox from?

Have you ever reflected on your relationships and wondered - Is this toxic? Sure, many of us have experienced toxic friendships, romantic relationships, or family members. But what about your relationship between you and your phone? You and your favorite Pop Star? The relationship between your cat and that one blue jay who won't stop dive-bombing him in the back yard? (That one's probably toxic.)

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Toxic Waste of Time

Toxic Work Throwback: The Radium Girls

April 08, 2025 • Ivy Hensley & Katie Boothe • Season 1 • Episode 5

0:00 | 57:49

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This episode of Bad Boss Detox honors the legacy of the Radium Girls—young women hired in the 1910s to paint luminous watch dials with radioactive paint, told it was safe, even healthy, to ingest. What followed was a devastating trail of illness, corporate denial, and one of the most heartbreaking workplace cover-ups in history.

We’ll explore how these women, many still in their teens, were gaslit by employers who prioritized profit over human life.

This isn’t just a history lesson. It’s a warning. Because the same patterns of denial, dismissal, and dehumanization still echo in toxic workplaces today.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Misogyny, sexual shaming, workplace abuse, radioactive poisoning, dental trauma, cancer, death

Sound effects provided by Uppbeat. Music provided by the Library of Congress.