It’s October 29th. This day in 1948, a heavy, pollutant-laden fog is sitting over the Pennsylvania town of Donora. Over the course of five days, dozens of people would die and half the town’s population would get sick.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the town of Donora was so vulnerable to the US Steel plant’s pollution, and how the company fought back against regulation over the course of decades.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

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The Donora Killer Smog (1948)