Army Hour Radioactivity Test

Aired: Late 1950s–Early 1960s

This segment of The Army Hour takes listeners inside the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where scientists and technicians demonstrate one of only three “whole-body counters” in existence — a machine designed to measure the natural radioactivity within the human body.

In this rare field recording, Army reporter Lieutenant Paul Weinman undergoes the test himself while Sergeant Arnold Mansky explains how the instrument detects gamma radiation from both natural and man-made sources.

Their conversation captures a moment when America was still learning to live with the atomic age — balancing optimism in scientific discovery with unease about what radiation meant for human health. The result is a fascinating slice of mid-century radio journalism: part science education, part quiet reflection on humanity’s first steps into the nuclear era.

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