Chernobyl was entirely preventable, that much is true. But the subject of what the operators and those in charge could have actually done to save the reactor, going back years before the explosion actually occurred that night has not been touched on by many. So, let’s turn back the clock and look at some of the simpler decisions that could have been made in the years, months, and days, hours and seconds, before 01:23:48, that would have shifted us into a world where Chernobyl did not explode...

00:00 Introduction
00:35 Don't shorten the graphite displacers
02:30 Complete the safety upgrades
04:02 Don't do the rundown
05:28 Don't delay the rundown
06:54 Don't send the nuclear physics laboratory home
08:27 Don't leave Toptunov alone at the controls
09:47 Don't spike the feedwater flow rate
10:51 Don't mix up the test timing
12:11 Don't press the AZ-5 button
13:26 Conclusion