Serhii Plokhy: Chernobyl

Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy argues, was a disaster waiting to happen. The tense hours in the lead up to the 1986 catastrophe and the political fallout that occurred after it are recounted in Serhii’s acclaimed history of the tragedy.

The largest peacetime nuclear disaster, Chernobyl still inspires tourists and Netflix dramatisations. Toby Manhire talks with the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction prize winner about what the history of Chernobyl reveals to us about the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Partnered by: New Zealand Listener