Cold Open

It’s June 1948, on Dottie Colson’s family farm in Claxton, Georgia.

Dottie steps outside to begin her daily chores. Looking out past the edge of her property, she inspects the rows of crops growing as far as the eye can see on the neighboring farm. Her wealthy neighbor’s property dwarfs hers, but Dottie has always been proud of what she and her family grow on their land.

So, with a soft smile, she grabs a metal bucket propped against a nearby bag of chicken feed. As she fills the container with pellets, a telltale sound resounds across the fields.

Dottie shields her eyes from the hot Georgia sun and looks up. 

As expected, a plane is on the horizon. As the aircraft descends closer to her neighbor’s property, it begins releasing a billowing cloud behind it. In a matter of minutes, a blanket of pesticides have covered the crops next door. But the chemical fog doesn’t obey property lines. Soon, a slight breeze carries some of the pesticides over to Dottie’s farm.

As the chemicals float over, they catch in Dottie’s throat. She coughs uncontrollably for a moment before regaining her breath.

Dottie clears her throat and then returns to her work, topping off the bucket with chicken feed. But Dottie’s earlier smile is now replaced by a frown.

She knows the pesticides may be helpful in protecting her neighbor’s crops, but she can’t help but long for the days when farmers applied pesticides by hand. Back then a neighbor’s pesticides stayed put on their land. But times are changing, and there’s nothing Dottie can do about it. All she can worry about is her own work.

As Dottie walks up to the chicken yard, the hens rush to the gate, ready for their breakfast. Dottie greets the birds cheerfully as she enters the yard. But then she notices something amiss. When she goes to count the baby chicks, she realizes they’re not all there.

Dottie rushes to the coop and peers inside. But no chicks there either. She searches the rest of the yard, scouring every inch until she finally finds the missing chicks lying dead on the ground. The chickens are physically unscathed, making it hard to tell who or what killed them.

But Dottie has her suspicions.

Beginning in World War II, the chemical pesticide DDT began to earn an almost miraculous reputation. In the era of scientific discovery and the atomic bomb, it was heralded as another major scientific achievement, praised for its amazing ability to keep crops and homes clear of insects.

But as commercial and agricultural use of DDT becomes widespread, questions about its health risks emerged. Every day Americans like Dottie as well as scientists become concerned about the toxicity of DDT. More and more people are noticing its harmful effect on other living things and are starting to wonder if DDT could be dangerous to humans as well.

But efforts to sound the alarm about the pesticide will be stymied for years. It will take more than a decade before a breakthrough will come in the form of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, which will put forth a scathing criticism of the chemical industry and catalyze a movement for change upon its release on September 27th, 1962.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is September 27th, 1962: ‘Silent Spring’ Sparks the Modern Environmental Movement.

Act One: Becoming a Biologist

It’s November 1927, at the Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburgh, almost 34 years before the publication of Silent Spring.

Sitting at a desk, 20-year-old Rachel Carson holds her head in her hands and lets out a frustrated sigh.

As long as she can remember, Rachel has wanted to write. When she was only eleven, she won a prize for a short story that was published in her favorite magazine. She continued to write all through school. She often drew inspiration from the natural world surrounding her family’s home in Springdale, Pennsylvania. And throughout her young career as an aspiring writer, Rachel has loved the work and earned praise for it. But tonight as she toils away on an assignment for her composition class, Rachel feels stuck.

She turns her attention back to the blank page before her. Rachel’s homework tonight is to write a poem. It shouldn’t be a challenge, but lately, writing has felt more and more difficult. The words just don’t come as easily as they used to, and Rachel wonders if she has the imagination needed to really succeed as a writer.

As she continues to ponder her assignment, she tries to think of something light and airy that deserves poetic praise. In her mind, she is transported from her dreary campus, back to the wooded areas she grew up in. She pictures a butterfly poised gently on a fluffy thistle. A smile spreads across her face as she remembers the countless small moments of beauty she experienced as a child observing nature around her home. Inspired by this mental image, she puts her pencil to paper and begins writing.

A few days later, Rachel’s English professor decides to read Rachel’s poem aloud to the class. Despite the struggle to write it, it’s clear that Rachel’s work impresses her teacher and her classmates.

But Rachel still has doubts. Although she loves writing and is happy to be in composition class, lately she’s felt more excited about a different subject: Biology.

Her professor in that subject is Miss Skinker, a brilliant, elegant woman. She’s tough to please but she seems to have taken a liking to Rachel. And the feeling is mutual. Rachel originally signed up to take one biology class to meet requirements for graduation. But after one semester with Miss Skinker, she added biology as a minor. And when she listens to Miss Skinker lecturing about the interconnectedness of nature, or when she uses the microscope to scrutinize slides in the lab, Rachel feels a thrill. It’s the same excitement she felt throughout her earlier years, exploring the forests and fields on her family’s land.

Still, Rachel is torn. She feels drawn to biology. But her whole life she’s been preparing to write. If it was up to her, the decision might be simple. But her family is also counting on her to be responsible. They’ve already stretched themselves to pay for Rachel’s college education. And as it stands, a writing career seems like the most logical way for Rachel to turn her degree into income. And Rachel knows from watching Miss Skinker’s own struggles as a female scientist that biology would not be an easy path.

But after months of indecision, Rachel goes to Miss Skinker in January of 1928 with an announcement. She’s changing her major from English to Biology. Miss Skinker is shocked but also thrilled. She’s always admired Rachel’s studiousness. And she knows Rachel brings a unique sense of wonder and intelligence to her studies.

So with her new path chosen, Rachel feels a weight lifted. She wonders why she ever doubted whether to pursue biology. And in her senior year, she establishes a science club called Mu Sigma Sigma, Miss Skinker’s initials spelled out in Greek letters. Then in 1929, Rachel graduates magna cum laude. She spends part of the following summer at a marine biology lab in Massachusetts. It’s Rachel’s first time experiencing the sea in person, and it sparks something inside her.

Rachel will go on to obtain a master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University, the alma mater of her beloved teacher, Miss Skinker. She’ll plan to keep following in Miss Skinker’s footsteps and pursue her doctorate next. But Rachel will face stumbling blocks on her journey, and when personal tragedy and economic disaster divert her from her chosen path, Rachel will find herself writing once again.

Act Two: Becoming an Author

It’s October 1935 in Washington, D.C.

Inside the office of the Bureau of Fisheries, Rachel sits patiently while division head Elmer Higgins reviews her qualifications.

After Rachel earned her master's degree in zoology, she was excited to continue her studies. But Rachel’s plans to pursue a doctorate were derailed when the country entered into a severe economic depression. She left school in 1934 and a year later her father died suddenly, putting her family into financially precarious situation. Since then, Rachel’s been using part-time teaching and writing jobs to earn whatever she can. But Rachel and her family are still struggling. So upon Miss Skinker’s advice, Rachel took several civil service exams to become a government scientist.

But even though she aced her tests, jobs have been scarce — even more so for a female scientist. But today Rachel’s hoping she can convince someone to take a chance on her.

She tries to project calm, but inside she is a hurricane of nervousness. When Mr. Higgins turns his attention to her, she smiles politely and offers to answer any questions about her experience.

Mr. Higgins assures her that her experience is impressive. Her test scores put her in the top of all female candidates. She comes highly recommended by her former professor as well. But Mr. Higgins shakes his head apologetically. Right now, there just aren’t any openings for scientific roles at the Bureau of Fisheries. But he might have another opportunity for her if Rachel is up for a challenge.

Mr. Higgins explains that the Bureau of Fisheries is working on a 52-part educational radio program about marine life. His team of scientists have already tried to write a few scripts, but they’re terrible. Scientists don’t know how to translate their expertise of marine biology into something interesting for listeners. And even though he’s never read a word of Rachel’s work, he’s willing to give her a chance.

It’s not the full-time scientist job Rachel was hoping for, but she accepts anyway, and she performs well. Her scripts are a success, and when she’s asked to make a government brochure on marine life, her boss finds it so compelling that he urges her to submit it to a literary magazine instead.

Eventually, she’s able to sell it as an article to Atlantic Monthly. Her poetic description of the world underneath the ocean’s surface captivates readers and earns her a deal with publishing house Simon & Schuster. Then in 1941, Rachel’s first book, “Under the Sea-Wind,” hit shelves. But that same year Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and the United States enters World War II. The public’s interest in life outside the war is limited and Rachel's book goes largely unnoticed.

But she brushes off the failure and continues her career as an author. After agonizing between a life of writing or science, Rachel has found a way to do both, and she refuses to give that up. She pushes out two more books about the sea, before turning to a new topic: Pesticides. And more specifically, DDT.

When DDT first became available for civilian use in 1945, it was hailed as a miracle product, effective and affordable. It had few critics. But Rachel was one of them. In the years after the pesticide’s introduction, Rachel appealed to magazines, proposing articles about the chemical’s potentially harmful effects. But these publications rejected her, deeming the topic too unpleasant. So Rachel stuck to what she knew and continued writing about the sea.

But then in 1958, Rachel’s interest in the pesticide is reignited when she receives a letter from a friend in Massachusetts complaining about large birds dying in Cape Cod, a suspected result of DDT sprayings. By now, Rachel has built a solid foundation for her career and thinks she can afford to take a risk. So, if no magazine will cover it, she decides she’ll do it herself.

So, for four years, Rachel digs into the adverse effects of DDT, which has only soared in popularity since the 40s. She conducts countless interviews with scientists, naturalists, farmers, and doctors about the dangers of the chemical and other synthetic pesticides. She gathers story after story about the perils of these substances and becomes convinced that pesticides like DDT don’t just pose a risk to the environment, but to humans as well.

Among her findings is the discovery that DDT does not break down easily. Once it enters the food chain, it can accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals, including humans, potentially causing adverse health outcomes as serious as cancer and genetic damage. Rachel concludes that the indiscriminate use of DDT and other pesticides has irrevocably harmed animals and contaminated the world's food supply.

But Rachel also comes to a much broader judgment. While most of America embraces modernity and the age of scientific wonders, Rachel argues that humans should not seek to dominate nature in the name of progress. Technological innovation could easily and forever disrupt the natural system, leading to what Rachel imagines will be catastrophic results.

As she researches, Rachel will become increasingly convinced that alerting the world to the perils of synthetic pesticides is a life-or-death matter. But as she works on her book, Rachel will wonder if she’ll ever be able to share her work, let alone finish it. Because just as Rachel gets deep into one of her most ambitious projects, she’ll find herself battling for her own survival.

Act Three: Silent Spring

It’s late January 1962, four years into Rachel Carson’s investigation into America’s chemical pesticides.

At her home in Silver Spring, Maryland, Rachel pushes herself to write. But it’s not easy and she is facing something much bigger than writer's block.

Two years ago Rachel was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, she has often found herself too sick to work on the book. But tonight, she’s feeling a bit stronger and wants to take advantage of it.

Rachel sits down in front of her typewriter to get to work. Her body is still weak and hurts all over. But she refuses to give up. She considers this project to be the most important work of her life. After almost four years of intense research, she has just one chapter left to write.

But before Rachel can get to work, her phone rings. She pulls her aching body up and answers the call. On the other end of the line is William Shawn, Editor of The New Yorker magazine. He’s calling about the manuscript which she shared with him.

Rachel listens as William gives his thoughts. Though she’s confident in her extensive research, she’s not so sure if she’s been able to translate it into writing that people will want to read.

But William reassures her that she’s turned a complicated and disturbing topic into a beautiful work of art. Rachel is overjoyed. She thanks William for his call and hangs up. And soon after, Rachel returns to her study, puts on some music, and bursts into tears. If this is her final project, at least it is a worthy one.

On September 27th, 1962 Rachel’s book hit shelves, under the title Silent Spring. The phrase is meant to conjure an image of a spring in a world without the music of birds or other animals. This is the danger of pesticides, Rachel warns. And if humans don’t want a silent spring, they must be more mindful of their relationship with nature.

Rachel’s book prompts an intense and immediate backlash from the chemical industry and others who see pesticides as a force for good or a source of profit. But despite the criticism, Rachel’s book becomes a best-seller. It leads President John F. Kennedy to ask his administration to investigate Rachel’s claims. And the following year, his scientific advisory committee releases its findings, substantiating Rachel Carson’s conclusions and recommending an orderly reduction in the use of chemical pesticides. Subsequently, DDT will come under much closer government supervision, prompting congressional hearings, investigations, and new legislation.

Sadly, Rachel will not live to see the full impact of her book Silent Spring. Less than two years after its release, she’ll pass away. But her book and its message will live on long after Rachel does, sparking new dialogue about people’s relationship to the earth and nature’s vulnerability to human intervention.

The idea that societies must regulate industry for the sake of the environment will become widely accepted, and in 1970, President Richard Nixon will create the Environmental Protection Agency. Two years later, the EPA will ban the use of DDT in the United States – an outcome set in motion by Rachel Carson’s publication of Silent Spring on September 27th, 1962.

Outro

Next on History Daily. September 28th, 1920. Members of the Chicago White Sox admit to throwing the 1919 World Series, exposing one of baseball’s biggest scandals.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mischa Stanton.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Ruben Abrahams Brosbe.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.