Sign up to get updates from us
As the Nazis rose to power in Germany, life became increasingly hostile for women scientists, especially women of Jewish descent, but also those who expressed anti-Nazi sentiments. The sexism in academic that had held them back in their careers also made escape from Germany difficult, as they didn’t look as strong on paper as their male counterparts. But four women physicists – Hertha Sponer, Hildegard Stücklen, Hedwig Kohn, and Lise Meitner – managed to flee, taking their scientific knowledge and rugged determination with them to the United States and Sweden. Joining me in this episode is writer Olivia Campbell, author of the forthcoming book, Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History.
Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Classical Piano (Sad & Emotional)” by Clavier Clavier from Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is “Hedwig Kohn in her laboratory, 1912;” the image is in the public domain and is available via Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources:
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Olivia Campbell started writing as a young girl - mysteries fashioned after her beloved Nancy Drew. As a teen, her passion for ballet saw her train to become a professional dancer. A broken foot prompted Campbell's pivot to arts journalism. In college, an unplanned pregnancy, complicated birth, and postpartum depression turned her writing interest from the arts to medicine.
Now, she is a journalist, essayist, and author focusing on the intersections of medicine, women, history, and nature. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, New York Magazine/The Cut, HISTORY, The Washington Post, The Guardian, SELF, Aeon, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, Literary Hub, Atlas Obscura, Good Housekeeping, Catapult, Parents, and Undark, among others.
Campbell is the author of the New York Times Bestseller WOMEN IN WHITE COATS: HOW THE FIRST WOMEN DOCTORS CHANGED THE WORLD OF MEDICINE. It was published in March 2021 by HarperCollins/Park Row Books.
She holds a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers. Campbell was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and now lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, three sons, and two cats.
