Radioactive Ghosts – The lessons of Chernobyl 40 years on

A culture of fear, blame, obedience and corner-cutting sets in chain a devastating course of events. Millions are displaced, many die and the effects last for decades. Sounds familiar? On 26 April 1986, reactor no.‍4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat in modern Ukraine exploded, spreading radioactive contaminants across the Soviet Union and Europe. The disaster would eventually cost $700bn and hasten the fall of the USSR. Adam Higginbotham is the author of the definitive work on the accident, Midnight in Chernobyl. He tells Andrew Harrison how the culture that led to Chernobyl wasn’t confined to Soviet Russia – and how Putin’s war on Ukraine risks stirring up Chernobyl’s radioactive poisons all over again  • Buy Midnight in Chernobyl and/or Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Tom Taylor & Dom Delargy. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices