Overburden

Two women and the mountain between them

When an errant spark ignited the methane leaking in the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010, a fireball ripped through miles of underground tunnels in Appalachia’s coal country, killing everything it touched – including 29 men. In the aftermath of the devastating explosion, two former political enemies are united by the toll the disaster takes on their families and community: a right-wing pro-coal activist joins forces with a tree-hugging grandmother to take down the most dangerous coal company in the United States.