© 2026 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
2026 State Primary Results

Growing Up in a Coal Town: Stay Home or Leave?

Commentator Natasha Watts is from the third generation of a coal mining family in Kentucky. The recent deaths of miners at the Sago Mine in West Virginia mirrored a similar mining accident in her home town decades ago, and reminds her of her own dilemma: whether to stay in the mountains with her family, or leave the coal industry behind. This story is a collaboration between Youth Radio and Appalachian Media Institute (Appalshop).

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Natasha Watts

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.