The Story of the Nuclear Boy Scout

Josh and Chuck dive into the incredible true story of David Hahn, a Michigan teenager who in the 1990s managed to build a working nuclear reactor in his mother's backyard potting shed while working toward his Boy Scout atomic energy merit badge. The hosts explore how this brilliant but troubled young man used fake credentials to obtain radioactive materials from government agencies and nuclear industry experts, all in pursuit of creating his own neutron gun and achieving nuclear fission in suburbia. It's a fascinating tale that's equal parts amazing scientific achievement and cautionary story about what happens when teenage ambition meets dangerous materials.