In December 2008, three days before Christmas, a 60-foot wall collapsed at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. Over a billion gallons of coal ash slurry — a hundred times the volume of the Exxon Valdez spill — surged into the Emory River and buried 300 acres of East Tennessee. It was, and remains, the largest industrial disaster in US history.

And most Americans have never heard of it.

For the first episode of TALKING TRASH, host and journalist Matt King digs into the Kingston disaster. He speaks with Jared Sullivan, author of Valley So Low — the definitive account of the disaster cleanup and legal fight that followed; Dr. Lisa East, an environmental sociologist at UT-Knoxville who taught about the disaster to students for over a decade; and Wes Bunch, a former Kingsport Times-News journalist who grew up in the Kingston area.

Together they trace how coal ash — a substance the industry has both buried and rebranded — poisoned hundreds of workers, killed more than 60, and still isn't classified by the EPA as hazardous waste.

TALKING TRASH is a new podcast about the hidden waste systems upstream from your bin.

🎧 New episodes every other week.

🌐 Full episode page, transcript, and resources: talkingtrashpod.com

📱 Follow us:

Instagram: @_talkingtrashpod

TikTok: @talkingtrashpod

YouTube: @talkingtrashpod

CREDITS:

Host & Show Creator: Matt King

Art Director: Frances Miller

Exploring the hidden systems behind everything we throw away. Because the real waste crisis isn’t coming from your trash bin, but far upstream.

Talking Trash is a new independent podcast from journalist Matt King that uses waste as a window into systems of power, money, race, and design. Each episode features a different author, filmmaker, scientist, or artist unearthing the biggest messes industry has left behind — and the people fighting back.

New episodes every other week. No consumer guilt trips.

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @_talkingtrashpod

TikTok: @talkingtrashpod

YouTube: @talkingtrashpod

CREDITS:

Host & Show Creator: Matt King

Art Director: Frances Miller