a DREAM. Thank you so much to Jared for appearing on the podcast to discuss his book. I CANNOT recommend it enough, even if you just like a legal thriller, he's such a great writer, but this is genuinely one of the most important and underknown stories of the 21st century…because coal ash is everywhere. Also, we loosely discuss A Civil Action (1998), by Steven Zaillian.

Go buy Jared's book, ”Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight For Justice In The Wake Of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe” and follow him at:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690554/valley-so-low-by-jared-sullivan/

https://www.jr-sullivan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/jared_sullivxn/

I will also include the disclaimer here:

”This is a true story. All the people and events described in the pages that follow are real. Most of the material comes from court documents; from records I obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests; or from interviews I conducted with sources over a period of five years. (Some of these sources requested anonymity.) All quoted dialogue in the deposition, hearing, or trial scenes comes from official court transcripts or from audio recordings of the proceedings. Quoted dialogue in other scenes was, in most cases, recalled to me by primary sources, and I reproduced it word for word. Jacobs Engineering and TVA dispute much of my reporting.”

Further information can be found in the Notes section of Jared’s book recounting the response from Jacobs and TVA.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction to the Kingston Coal Ash Disaster

00:04:13 The Impact of the Kingston Disaster on Workers

00:06:47 The Legal Battle for Justice

00:09:50 The Role of TVA and Government Accountability

00:12:44 Personal Stories of the Affected Workers

00:15:48 Environmental and Health Implications

00:18:39 The Racial Disparities in Environmental Justice

00:21:48 Comparisons to Other Environmental Disasters

00:24:28 The Need for Legislative Action

00:27:26 Concluding Thoughts on Accountability and Justice

00:37:12 Nuclear Sites and Depleted Uranium in Tennessee

00:39:28 The Dark History of Irwin, Tennessee

00:41:51 Environmental Issues and Community Activism

00:43:51 The Role of TVA and Political Accountability

00:46:04 Corporate Responsibility and Legal Challenges

00:54:38 The Impact of Environmental Disasters on Communities