Matt Sparkes

Matt Sparkes, New Scientist reporter who visited the exclusion zone and met returning families. Jim Smith, environmental scientist who has studied Chernobyl for decades. They discuss wartime occupation and current military presence. They explain how the reactor exploded and contamination spread. They cover decommissioning, rewilding and unusual projects like distilled spirits from local apples.

Matthew Sparkes, science and technology reporter for outlets including New Scientist, recounts his visit into Chernobyl's exclusion zone. He explores the vast contaminated landscape, radioactive half-lives and long-term risks. He discusses wartime damage to containment, impacts on decommissioning and halted scientific research. He describes wildlife returning, people still living there, and the eerie atmosphere around the sealed reactor.