Canary in the Coal Mine

Deep in Appalachia, hours away from basically anywhere, Kent has always lived the life of a coal miner. Now, Kent has black lung, the same illness that killed his father, also a coal miner. The job that’s been in his family for generations is literally killing him… but Kent still doesn’t think the mines should close. Producer Annalise Nielsen tells the story of how coal got a stranglehold on Appalachia—and why, despite the health problems, danger, and the effects of climate change, the people in the area are so reluctant to let it go. This is Annalise’s paradigm.