25 years since Chernobyl

Twenty five years have now gone by since the major accident at the Cheronbyl nuclear power station.

The thing that I have found most striking is the scenes in the evacuated zones around the power plant where nature has been able to start reclaiming the built up areas. Pictures from the BBC and the Kid of speed website really show how striking an empty city can look. The area has now been opened up to controlled tourism as many of the radioactive materials released are reaching their half-life meaning that the radiation levels are declining. Although the plutonium released means that there will be a very prolonged legacy of radiation in the area.

These scenes really remind me of Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, even though that film was made seven years before the accident at Chernobyl.

One of the most important things is to learn from the mistakes made in clearing up after the accident as well as the flaws in the design of the power station. Particularly as nuclear energy seems set to have a major role in future electricity generation as fossil fuels become more expensive and renewable sources still need more effective ways of collecting and converting energy.

Podcast Review: In Our Time

In Our Time is a podcast from the BBC about the history of ideas presented by Melvin Bragg or to be formal Lord Bragg of Wigton. The other presenters are usually academics from various British institutions with a speciality in the area being discussed.


Content
The topic and guest presenters will be introduced by Melvin Bragg who will then act as a moderator and interested layperson with the discussion between the academics. This usually produces a clear and interesting discussion of the idea being featured. I have heard shows about probability, the Arab Conquests, the Riddle of the Sands and Lysenko. The themes from the BBC's website are Science, Religion, Philosophy, History and Culture.

There is an archive, but it only allows streamed content to be accessed rather than downloaded and only the latest weeks podcast can be downloaded from iTunes or other aggregation sites.

Technical
The audio quality is excellent which is not really surprising with a podcast from a major broadcast organisation. Streaming from the BBC website or downloads via iTunes are reliable and quick


Overall
I do like this podcast a lot as it is interesting and very good at explaining complex issues. Highly recommended, though it hardly needs my endorsement to be successful.