FtV – Radioactive Breakfast at the Fernald School
New England Legends Podcast
Jeff Belanger
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 152 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger drive to the grounds of the old Fernald School in Waltham, Massachusetts, just in time for a radioactive bowl of Quaker Oatmeal. This is a facility with secrets. Back in the late 1940s a series of experiments was conducted on 74 boys between the ages of 10 and 17 to determine the nutritional effectiveness of oatmeal. The boys had no idea they were human guinea pigs until a declassified document shed light into the dark corners of the Fernald School. This episode first aired July 30, 2020
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome, legendary listeners. |
| 0:01.6 | Thanks for tuning in to From the Vault, a second look at some of our classic episodes. |
| 0:06.1 | Look for a new episode every week. |
| 0:07.8 | Now, can you go back and listen on your own at our New England Legends.com? |
| 0:11.6 | You bet. |
| 0:12.2 | But you won't get the added bonus of an after-the-legion segment featuring new commentary about that episode from your old pals Jeff and Ray. |
| 0:20.7 | So let's open up the New England Legends Vault and revisit another legendary episode. |
| 0:27.3 | Hey kids, welcome to the vault. |
| 0:29.1 | Good morning. Hope you're having a great breakfast, but I hope you're not having breakfast at the Fernald School because it could kill you. |
| 0:36.9 | This episode first aired July 30th, 2020. Enjoy. |
| 0:41.7 | Man, we're getting off to an early start on this one, Jeff. |
| 0:44.3 | We are. Well, the hope is to get to the old Fernald School in Waltham, Massachusetts, |
| 0:48.7 | just in time for breakfast. |
| 0:50.2 | Oh, it sounds good, because I haven't eaten anything yet. |
| 0:54.5 | Oh, wow, look at that place. |
| 0:56.5 | What a huge, creepy, complex of buildings. |
| 0:58.9 | Yeah, it is. |
| 0:59.5 | These old asylums are always freaky. |
| 1:01.8 | They are, because I think it's so easy to imagine what life must have been like here. |
| 1:06.3 | But this is a facility with secrets, and some pretty dark secrets, too. Ooh, And you said we're here for breakfast? What's on the menu? No menu here, Ray. The only item offered is Quaker oatmeal. Not my favorite. Unless they want to sponsor us, of course. Right, okay. But I guess it'll do. Well, here's the thing. I wouldn't eat the oatmeal at the Fernald School. |
| 1:27.7 | Why? |
| 1:28.7 | Because this oatmeal is radioactive. |
... |
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