Chernobyl: a laboratory like no other

一座与众不同的实验室

Babbage from The Economist

2026-04-22

44 分钟
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In the popular imagination, the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant sits in an abandoned, post-apocalyptic wasteland. In reality, the site of the world’s worst nuclear-energy disaster is a thriving experimentation ground for scientists studying the long-term impacts of radiation. This week, 40 years after the meltdown, we investigate what that laboratory has found so far. Guests and hosts: - Jason Palmer, host of “The Intelligence” podcast - Olena Pareniuk of the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants - Jim Smith of the University of Portsmouth - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Chernobyl nuclear disaster - Nuclear safety - Radiation physics Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
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  • The Economist.

  • This device is calling like a Geiger counter.

  • The main mission of this device to measure the radiation.

  • It's you see it's lower than the normal dose,

  • so everything is okay but for now everything is okay.

  • That's Jason Palmer. Regular listeners of the Intelligence,

  • the Economist's daily current affairs podcast,

  • will recognize those mellifluous tones.

  • Earlier this year, Jason went on a trip to Ukraine to Chernobyl.

  • 2,400 so as you can see it's still radioactive,

  • and of course we'll stay here only for a short period of time.

  • It was nice knowing you. Highly recommend you to drink a lot of alcohol today.

  • Clean myself out. Alcohol definitely helps.

  • This isn't the first time he's visited the site

  • of the world's worst nuclear energy disaster.

  • A couple of years ago, he was reporting on the impact

  • of the conflict on the former power plant.

  • While he was there, he got a little sidetracked when he met Olena Pareniuk.

  • I'm a biologist, a radiation biologist and I'm studying the bacterial communities,

  • in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.