40 Years After Chernobyl: What Caused the Disaster — and How It Changed Nuclear Energy

40 Years After Chernobyl: What Caused the Disaster — and How It Changed Nuclear Energy

From The Pulse by WHYY

April 23, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

The episode explores the causes and legacy of the Chernobyl disaster, featuring insights from author Adam Higginbotham.

Forty years ago, news was only beginning to emerge that an accident had occurred — one that could put millions of people at risk. A reactor at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, then part of the Soviet Union, had exploded, releasing a plume of radioactive gases and particles into the atmosphere and spreading some of the most hazardous radionuclides known to humanity. We look back at what caused this devastating nuclear accident, and explore its legacy with Adam Higginbotham , author of “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster.” He describes the perfect storm of Soviet secrecy, design flaws, and a series of bad decisions and mistakes that led to the accident, and how it shaped the future of nuclear energy. We’ll find out how a special fungus discovered in the reactor could help protect astronauts from cosmic radiation. And we’ll also hear why and how nuclear energy is making a comeback in the U.S. — including at Three Mile Island, the site of another nuclear accident.

People in this episode

Guest: Adam Higginbotham

Topics covered

  • Chernobyl disaster
  • nuclear energy
  • Soviet secrecy
  • radiation protection
  • nuclear accidents

Keywords

  • Chernobyl
  • nuclear energy
  • radiation
  • Soviet Union
  • accident
  • fungus
  • Three Mile Island

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Books & works: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

Places: Soviet Union, Three Mile Island

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