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Episode 362

It’s been 40 years since the world’s worst nuclear disaster unfolded. Since the explosion at Chernobyl in 1986, the world has feared nuclear power - and the widespread damage it can do. But are we right to fear it?

Though it’s left a lasting scar on the region, nuclear power is still safer than fossil fuels - which kill millions of people each year. So what will it take to change public opinion? We examine the lasting impact of nuclear fallout on Chernobyl - and how things have changed in the exclusion zone over four decades.

Rowan Hooper is joined by New Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ reporter Matt Sparkes, who shares news of his recent visit where he met the families who still live there.

And Professor Jim Smith, author of Chernobyl: Catastrophe and Consequences, explains how the ecosystem and wildlife are thriving - and how he’s been making Atomik Brandy out of radioactive apples from the region.

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