Into the Tunnel: a podcast about the Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster

Apr 14 2024 1 ep. 12 mins 2
Into the Tunnel: a podcast about the Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster artwork

The Great Depression was making its way across the nation, leaving some families needing to find any work they could find just so they had food. So, when word spread that Union Carbide was starting a new tunnel project in West Virginia, many came from near and far in hopes of finding work.

At first, it seemed like an answered prayer in uncertain times. But when men began dying on the job, they soon realized that it was anything but a miracle. In fact, it was a nightmare.

They called it the Hawk's Nest Tunnel project. Today, we call it the Hawk's Nest Tunnel disaster. It goes down in history as one of the nation's worst industrial disasters.

As the men were digging the tunnel, they didn't realize that they were digging their own graves.

In Into the Tunnel, journalist Hannah Morgan follows the dark history of the Hawk's Nest Tunnel disaster. In this limited series podcast, she reveals the corruption, lies and greed that surround this project.

Hannah reports this story with as much accuracy as is available, yet some documents from the disaster have vanished...like they were never even there. To this day, they haven't been recovered.

This story is important to tell, for the victims and their families. May we not forget the dark history of the Hawk's Nest Tunnel disaster.

This podcast is the product of research conducted for a master’s project at West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media.