Remember When They Fed Radioactive Oatmeal to Children — And Called It Science? -WEEK IN REVIEW

Between 1946 and 1953, at a Massachusetts institution called the
Walter E. Fernald State School, dozens of boys were recruited
into something called a “Science Club.” They were promised
special perks — better food, baseball games, trips to the beach.
What they weren’t told was that their breakfast oatmeal and milk
were secretly laced with radioactive iron and
calcium.

The so-called nutritional study was designed by scientists from
MIT, funded in part by the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission, and co-sponsored by Quaker
Oats, which supplied the cereal. The goal was to measure
how well the body absorbed minerals from food — but the method
violated every basic rule of ethics and consent.

The children, many labeled “feebleminded” or “morons” by the
state, were wards of Massachusetts — boys without parents,
without rights, and without the ability to refuse. Some were even
injected with radioactive materials in follow-up experiments.
None were told what was happening to them.

When the truth came out decades later, public outrage was
immediate. Survivors like Fred Boyce came
forward, saying the greatest harm wasn’t the radiation — it was
being treated like an object, not a person. In 1998, MIT
and Quaker Oats settled a class-action lawsuit for
$1.85 million, and President Bill
Clinton issued an apology on behalf of the federal
government for Cold War-era human radiation testing.

But behind the headlines is a bigger story — about power,
secrecy, and the belief that science justifies anything.

In this episode, we dig deep into the Fernald radioactive
oatmeal experiments — what really happened, who was
responsible, what became of the victims, and how it changed
human-subject research forever.

Hosted by Tony Brueski.
Subscribe for more longform true-crime investigations that expose
the hidden side of power, psychology, and justice.

#HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #FernaldExperiment
#RadioactiveOatmeal #ColdWarHistory #HumanExperimentation #MIT
#QuakerOats #InstitutionalAbuse #ScienceEthics

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