When the mothers of Love Canal learned that their neighborhood was built on a chemical dump, they launched into the fight of their lives – first to find the truth, then to escape their own homes. But without biologist Beverly Paigen willingly putting her career on the line, it never would have happened.
Discover this inspiring – and infuriating – story with returning guest Keith O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author of author of Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe and Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History.
A complete transcript of this episode is available here.
O’Brien also profiled Beverly Paigen in this feature in the Boston Globe in 2022. Explore the photos, documents and more in the Love Canal archive at the University of Bufalo. Read the Superfund ‘site profile’ for Love Canal here.
All images below from the Penelope D. Ploughman Collection at the State University of New York at Buffalo Libraries unless otherwise noted.
courtesy of Arcadia Publishing
public domain
photo courtesy of NYSDOH
private collection
New York Times Bestselling author Keith O’Brien is a former reporter for the Boston Globe and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio. His work has appeared on shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine, Politico, and Slate, and is the author of Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History, and Outside Shot: Big Dreams, Hard Times, and One County’s Quest for Basketball Greatness. He lives in New Hampshire.
Music featured in this episode included:
“Break Your Lock and Key,” “Crater Lake” and “Would it Kill You” by the Mini Vandals
“Breaktime,” “Memory Lane” and “Measured Paces” by Kevin MacLeod
“Breathing Planet” and “Scraping the Sewer” by Doug Maxwell
“Dark Alley Deals” by Aaron Kenny
“Here it Comes” by TrackTribe
“Faultlines” by Asher Fulero
“Underworld” by Myuu
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