The Afterlife of Coal

The mines that once powered the Ruhr Valley in Western Germany have fallen silent. Tourists now wander through places where miners once descended deep underground. The skies are cleaner, the rivers healthier, and the region has reinvented itself for a new era. Yet beneath the surface, the past has not entirely let go. In The Afterlife of Coal episode, Steve Mokaya travels through the Ruhr Valley to explore what happens when an industry that shaped generations disappears, and why its legacy continues to echo long after the last shift ends.