Are Carlsbad Caverns Radioactive?

Radon, the physics of radioactive decay, the origins of Helium gas, and why people used to think radioactivity was actually good for you.

Episode 11 of the Giant Leap with Taylor Wilson podcast, hosted by Giant Leap, titled "Are Carlsbad Caverns Radioactive?" was published on October 31, 2025 and runs 15 minutes.

October 31, 2025 ·15m · Giant Leap with Taylor Wilson

0:00 / 0:00

Summary

In this episode of Giant Leap, Joey and Taylor discuss Taylor’s recent trip to Carlsbad Caverns and why he was radioactive when he left. They discuss the element Radon, the physics of radioactive decay, the origins of Helium gas, and why people used to think radioactivity was actually good for you. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GiantLeapPodcast Podcast: https://www.giantleappodcast.org/subscribe Website: https://www.giantleappodcast.org/ Patreon: https://patreon.com/giantleappodcast Giant Leap is a new podcast hosted by nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson and journalist Joey Lovato. Shot in Taylor's lab, the show digs into hard science, big ideas and possible futures by speaking with the people making those futures reality. In between guest episodes, Taylor and Joey will talk about advances in science and technology. This podcast is made with listener support. Thank you this week to Adrian Davis and John Lawson. If you’d like to join the Giant Leap community, and get access to bonus content, Q+As and more, head to https://patreon.com/giantleappodcast to set up a monthly donation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Description

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GiantLeapPodcast

Podcast: https://www.giantleappodcast.org/subscribe

Website: https://www.giantleappodcast.org/

Patreon: https://patreon.com/giantleappodcast

Giant Leap is a new podcast hosted by nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson and journalist Joey Lovato. Shot in Taylor's lab, the show digs into hard science, big ideas and possible futures by speaking with the people making those futures reality. In between guest episodes, Taylor and Joey will talk about advances in science and technology.

This podcast is made with listener support. Thank you this week to Adrian Davis and John Lawson. If you’d like to join the Giant Leap community, and get access to bonus content, Q+As and more, head to https://patreon.com/giantleappodcast to set up a monthly donation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

No similar episodes found.

Similar Podcasts

A Giant Leap Monocle Monocle 24 reports daily from the Starmus science festival in Zürich, featuring exclusive interviews with astronauts, scientists and musicians inspired by space exploration. Tune in to hear conversations with people who see our world as few others do. Science Friction ABC Australia In humanity's next giant leap, astronauts are heading back to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.We'll bring you daily Artemis II mission updates, from lift-off to splashdown, and answer your questions about life as an astronaut, the science of spaceflight, and plans to venture beyond the Moon.The Challenger Legacy (Season 5) In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space. Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explor Man-Child Newshub It's one small step for child but a giant leap for dad-kind. Man-Child follows journalist and new dad Mike Wesley-Smith through the first 90 days of being a parent. He's deep in the trenches with his infant daughter - no schmaltz, no filters - just the ups, downs and gritty reality of life with a newborn. This is a tale of man and child, nappy lows and milestone highs, and all the daddy dos and don'ts that no one mentioned beforehand…. www.newshub.co.nz/podcasts First Men in the Moon, The by H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946) LibriVox Britain won the Moon Race! Decades before Neal Armstrong took his "giant leap for mankind" two intrepid adventurers from Lympne, England, journeyed there using not a rocket, but an antigravity coating.Mr. Bedford, who narrates the tale, tells of how he fell in with eccentric inventor Mr. Cavor, grew to believe in his researches, helped him build a sphere for traveling in space, and then partnered with him in an expedition to the Moon.What they found was fantastic! There was not only air and water, but the Moon was honeycombed with caverns and tunnels in which lived an advanced civilization of insect-like beings. While Bedford is frightened by them and bolts home, Cavor stays and is treated with great respect.So why didn't Armstrong and later astronauts find the evidence of all this? Well, according to broadcasts by Cavor over the newly-discovered radio technology, he told the Selenites too much about mankind, and apparently, they removed the welcome