The radioactive boy scout

Yeah, that's not sus at all.

What was he doing? The author of The Radioactive Boy Scout would later state, It never became clear what exactly David was doing in his car at that late hour, but unfortunately for David, someone had reported a young man in the area stealing tires.

When police went to investigate, they found David alone in his Pontiac, claiming he was waiting for a friend.

It was unclear if David was that young man in the report but they decided to search his car regardless.

As for the neighbors, luckily nobody reported having any health issues associated with radioactive dust, or they may have suffered from health problems and just not understood the source.

But many of them did hear about David's exploits.

While he was saddened by the loss of his lab, the Radioactive Boy Scout, as he was nicknamed, was glowing from the fame.

It seemed half the city knew of him as a mad scientist by now.

In fact, his fascination with nuclear science led him to build a model nuclear reactor in his backyard.

David and his obsession are the subject of Ken Silverstein's book, The Radioactive Boy Scout.

And while it's not new, it came out in 2004, it's a book that I couldn't put down, so I wanted to share it with you.

And Ken started our conversation by telling me how he first learned about this story.

It's just, I'd like to believe that there's more skepticism and caution.

That was Ken Silverstein.

He's an investigative journalist and the author of several books, including The Radioactive Boy Scout: The Frightening True Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor.

This marks the final bonus episode of season three, so thank you for being a subscriber and for listening to the show.

Yeah

... uh, if it hadn't have been found, uh, by a gentleman named Ken Silverstein, who ended up writing a very large piece in Harper's Magazine, and then a book called The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor.

[laughs]

So, uh, big thanks to Ken.

He was just obsessed with creating a nuclear reaction, and he did it.

Yeah.

Well, uh, thankfully, we don't have to end it on that sad note because Livia found this other great story, uh, of a, a kid named Taylor Wilson who got The Radioactive Boy Scout, uh, book from his grandmother as an 11-year-old science kid.

Mm-hmm.