Her personal papers remain so radioactive they are stored in lead-lined boxes and read only in protective gear, and will stay dangerous for centuries. This deep dive explores the life of Marie Curie, who shattered our understanding of the atom and pulverized the societal barriers in her way.

Born Maria Sklodowska under Russian rule in Warsaw, she endured poverty, the loss of her mother and sister, and educational suppression before a sibling pact and the underground Flying University set her on her path. In Paris, partnered with Pierre Curie, she quantified radiation and made a revolutionary leap of logic.

• Her electrometer work proving radiation was a property of the atom itself
• The discovery of polonium, named for her occupied homeland, and radium
• Four years boiling tons of pitchblende in a leaky shed to isolate  ...