In 1986, one of the greatest man-made catastrophes ever happened when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded.

Now-Texas A&M University history professor Jonathan Coopersmith was in Moscow at the time, studying Russian electrification.

"We were getting information from three sources: the Soviet-run media outlets who were saying basically nothing, rumors about what had happened, and then Western outlets like BBC," said Coopersmith on First News at Four.

Coopersmith explains how the disaster itself and the administration's handling of it changed the face of global politics and nuclear power forever.

Currently, HBO is airing a five-part miniseries called "Chernobyl," a dramatization of the catastrophe and its aftermath.

Coopersmith hasn't watch the series yet, but he says it's an thought-provoking project.

"It gets people thinking about it," said Coopersmith. "It gets people thinking about what happens when technologies go wrong, just like Facebook and AI today."

"We must be prepared for the worst," Coopersmith said. "Let's not assume everything is going to go right."