Days That Shook the World

Season 1, Episode 9: First Nuclear Reaction / Chernobyl

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2 December 1942 and 26 April 1986. The first controlled nuclear chain reaction heralded the atomic age, but Chernobyl's runaway chain reaction was the first warning. How did the most exciting scientific breakthroughs ever lead to the disaster that the world had dreaded?

All Episodes - Season 1

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II & The Death of Diana
Episode 1
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II & The Death of Diana
 The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand / The Death of Hitler
Episode 2
The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand / The Death of Hitler
 The Assassination of Martin Luther King / The Release of Nelson Mandela
Episode 3
The Assassination of Martin Luther King / The Release of Nelson Mandela
 Hiroshima
Episode 4
Hiroshima
 The Murder of the Romanovs / The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Episode 5
The Murder of the Romanovs / The Fall of the Berlin Wall
 Kristallnacht / The Birth of Israel
Episode 6
Kristallnacht / The Birth of Israel
 Tutankhamun's Tomb / Deciphering the Rosetta Stone
Episode 7
Tutankhamun's Tomb / Deciphering the Rosetta Stone
 Black September Hijackings / Lockerbie
Episode 8
Black September Hijackings / Lockerbie
 First Nuclear Reaction / Chernobyl
Episode 9
First Nuclear Reaction / Chernobyl
 The Assassination of JFK / The Resignation of Nixon
Episode 10
The Assassination of JFK / The Resignation of Nixon
 Marconi's First Transatlantic Radio Transmission / Concorde's First Transatlantic Flight
Episode 11
Marconi's First Transatlantic Radio Transmission / Concorde's First Transatlantic Flight
 Faster than Sound: Chuck Yeager / Donald Campbell
Episode 12
Faster than Sound: Chuck Yeager / Donald Campbell
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