18 Americans were secretly injected with plutonium | The Truth of the Matter

10 hours ago
33

Oct 25, 2025 The Truth of the Matter with Natasha Zouves
Eighteen Americans were secretly injected with plutonium without their knowledge or consent.

The first was Ebb Cade, a healthy 55-year-old African American man in Tennessee. After a car accident in March 1945, he expected to have his broken bones set. Instead, he became a test subject. Scientists injected plutonium into his veins, then pulled his teeth and cut pieces of bone from his body to track how the radioactive element spread.

Cade eventually escaped the hospital, leaving before he was discharged — and abruptly moved to another state, dying just eight years later. He was only the beginning.

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Eileen Welsome, author of "The Plutonium Files," joins Natasha Zouves, host of "The Truth of the Matter," to uncover the story of Cade and the 17 others used in secret government experiments.

Why were these patients chosen? What role did Oppenheimer’s Los Alamos play? And how close did America come to burying this history forever?

This is the hidden story of the plutonium files — and the Americans turned into test subjects in the name of national security and scientific advancement.

#PlutoniumFiles #EbbCade #HumanExperiments #ColdWar #NuclearHistory #Oppenheimer #DarkHistory #HiddenTruths #GovernmentCoverup #SecretsExposed #InvestigativeJournalism #TruthOfTheMatter #NatashaZouves #NewsNation #HistoryUncovered

The Truth of the Matter with Natasha Zouves isn’t just another podcast — it’s a fight to uncover what powerful institutions want hidden. From secret human experiments the government carried out on unsuspecting citizens to toxic cover-ups poisoning communities, Emmy and Murrow Award-winning journalist Natasha Zouves brings you the stories people in power don’t want told.

Each week, we expose evidence buried in archives, amplify the voices of those who’ve been silenced, and hold the powerful accountable. From radioactive “oatmeal experiments” on children, to cancer-causing chemicals destroying farms, to veterans erased from history — these are the stories that matter.

This is journalism that refuses to look away. The Truth of the Matter is about transparency and justice for the people left behind.

Follow us on Instagram: / truthofthematterpod

Find host Natasha Zouves:

/ natashazouves

/ natashazouves

/ natashanzouves

WATCH Part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Lisa Martino Taylor, where she delves into the oatmeal experiments carried out on children, and pregnant women given radioactive cocktails at top universities: • US experimented on pregnant women, fed rad...

READ the full St. Louis investigation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news...

WATCH the St. Louis investigation Part 1: • Did the government poison a city? Inside t...

WATCH the St. Louis investigation Part 2: • US experimented on humans with radioactive...

You can find “The Truth of the Matter” wherever you listen to your podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

https://open.spotify.com/show/2iQ85VH...

This podcast is put together by:
Ryan Kerr
Natasha Zouves
Allie Purser
Cheryl Hwang

Edited by:
Maria Morales Salazar

NewsNation is your source for fact-based, unbiased news for all America.

More from NewsNation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/

Get our app: https://trib.al/TBXgYpp

Find us on cable: https://trib.al/YDOpGyG

How to watch on TV or streaming: https://trib.al/Vu0Ikij

Chapter Summary:
00:00-4:09 – What Happened to Ebb Cade?
4:10-23:11 – Uncovering Radiation Tests on Humans
23:12-30:49 – 18 Americans Injected with Plutonium Against their Will
30:50-38:31 – Experiments Connected to Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer
38:32-43:36 – Other Government Experiments on Americans Exposed
43:37-45:49 – Are Human Experiments Continuing Today?
45:50-50:40 – Who Has Been Held Responsible for Making Humans Test Subjects?
50:41-1:02:09 – What Went Into Exposing the Truth
1:02:10-END – Next Week on The Truth of the Matter

Loading comments...