Smelters and Serial Killers  How do serial killers, smelters, and geologic fault lines combine to tell a tale of environmental catastrophe?   Turn on your flashlight and grab the covers, because I’m going to tell you a horror story about one of the deadliest killers in American history – and it’s not who you think it is.    It’s 1961, and our killer is on the loose. It haunts cities like Tacoma, Washington and El Paso, Texas. But really it’s everywhere. It infiltrates your every breath, bubbles in your bathwater, and seeps into your brain. And it goes largely unnoticed. Until strange things start happening.   You start to get headaches and nausea. The children in your neighborhood fall behind in school, experience developmental delays and behavioral problems. There’s a sharp rise in violence and crime. The news fills with stories of kidnappings and murders. You’re told to lock your doors, to stay inside after dark. But it doesn’t matter. Our killer can’t be stopped by a curfew.   It’s in the air – pumped out by huge, towering smelters and every car that drives by. The smell is awful, but they tell you it’s normal. The smokestacks symbolize industry, growth, and pride. The smelter becomes one of the landmarks of your beloved city. Our killer is celebrated throughout the country.   Have you guessed it yet?   Lead.   A powerful neurotoxin, known today to cause kidney damage, infertility, and increased aggression and impulsivity in those exposed. At higher levels, lead poisoning can be fatal. For decades, lead poured into the environment from smelters, paint, pipes, and every gallon of leaded gasoline burned. The fallout poisoned our water and air, and warped young minds, potentially even helping to shape the violent impulses of future serial killers.   This is a story that Caroline Fraser, one of our guests this week, knows all too well. Her newest book, Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, links high lead exposure in children in the 1950s and 60s to the sharp rise in serial killers in the 70s and 80s, including infamous murderers like Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, and Richard Ramirez. Fraser documents how companies, such as the American Smelting and Refining Company, also known as Asarco, poisoned our world while selling us a dream of progress wrapped in smoke and profit. She reminds us that the deadliest killers are often unseen, unheard, and unchallenged.    The end of this American horror story is only half-written. Asarco’s Tacoma smelter closed its doors in 1985; leaded gasoline was banned in 1996. But our killer lingers.   Today, lead hides in old paint, in aging pipes, in soil near old smelter sites, and in the blood of millions of Americans. While lead doesn’t pose nearly as much of a threat now as it did 50 years ago, its legacy reminds us of the damage previous generations and our environment have endured, and warns of future ignorance.

So, as you listen to our conversation with Caroline Fraser, remember: this horror story only ends when we decide it will. Bella Smith Assistant Producer