Today we're going to some very dark places: massacre sites, prisons and the town next to an exploded nuclear reactor.

Chernobyl is having a tourism boom, bookings are up 40% this year alone, fuelled by the release of an HBO mini-series.

It's known as dark tourism, but you don’t have to go overseas to find places where things have gone horribly wrong; Australia has plenty of places that fit the bill.

So what's the pull to dark tourism? Where should you never go, and is there a way to do it right?

Featured:

Dave May, filmmaker, Chernobyl visitor & friend of the pod

Liz Killen, nuclear chemist and Chernobyl visitor

Robert Clarke, University of Tasmania