Slow Burn | Decoder Ring: "Making Coal Cute Again"

Release Date: February 11, 2026
Host: Willa Paskin
Theme: The curious creation and viral journey of “Coley” the coal mascot—how a federal agency’s attempt to explain its mission collided with meme culture, the politics of coal, and public misunderstanding in the Trump era.

Episode Overview

This episode of Decoder Ring, hosted by Willa Paskin, investigates the unexpected rise of “Coley,” an anthropomorphic lump of coal mascot, which was unleashed upon the Internet as the face of a little-known federal agency. Intended as a friendly educational character explaining environmental reclamation, Coley was instantly swept up into viral controversy and accused of pro-coal propaganda during the Trump administration’s aggressive push to revive coal. Through interviews with agency staff, the mascot’s original creator, environmental policy experts, and analysis of Internet reaction, Paskin traces how a simple internal office joke became a political Rorschach test.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Viral Arrival of “Coley”

• The Social Post ([03:10]–[05:11])
  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a Trump appointee, tweets a cartoon image of himself with “Coley,” the googly-eyed piece of coal, captioned to promote “beautiful, clean coal” and American energy dominance.
  • The cartoon features Burgum in a hardhat (“mine, baby, mine”) with his arm around an anthropomorphic lump of coal, decked in bright safety gear.
• Immediate Reception
  • The image goes viral, widely interpreted as coal propaganda, and is both ridiculed and discussed as a government attempt to “make coal cute.”
  • Late-night TV hosts and social media users react with disbelief and mockery.

“They’re trying to make coal cute. With all the toxins and the soot and the emissions. Who is this for?”
—Nitish Pahwa, energy reporter ([05:30])

2. Trump Era Politics and Internet Meme Tactics

• Coal Policy Context ([06:08]–[06:39])
  • Trump administration aggressively supports fossil fuels, keeps coal mines open, relaxes safety and environmental regulations.
  • The phrase “beautiful clean coal” is a deliberate messaging tactic.
• Meme-Style Communication ([07:01]–[08:38])
  • The administration leans into highly online, provocative, meme-based content (“posting these horrendous images... to trigger the libs”).
  • The viral launch of Coley fits this playbook.

3. Who is OSMRE and What’s Their Actual Mission?

• Introduction to OSMRE ([13:14]–[16:24])
  • OSMRE = Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, a small bureau within the Department of the Interior.
  • Tasked not with promoting coal, but with regulating mining operations and, crucially, restoring/reclaiming abandoned mine sites.
  • Since 1977, OSMRE’s role has been to mitigate environmental damage and fund reclamation projects, not to encourage coal extraction.

“Under SMCRA, the legislation that created OSMRE... we are not permitted to promote or advocate for coal mining.”
—Simone Randolph, Director of Communications, OSMRE ([18:32], [19:00])

4. Origins of “Coley” – An In-Joke Gone Public

• Creation Story ([19:13]–[22:36])
  • Invented in 2018 by Sarah Eckert, then an OSMRE communications staffer, as an internal office mascot inspired by “Clippy” from Microsoft Word.
  • Initially just a joke (coal+eyes=tape to the wall) amongst a handful of employees; expanded to motivational office messages and in-jokes.
  • Over time, the character was refined (hard hat, gloves, slogans), but intended as a friendly face for cleaning up mine lands.

“Probably took about 45 seconds of me copying into a Word document and printing him out, and there he was.”
—Sarah Eckert, originator of Coley ([21:04])

5. When and Why Take Coley Public?

• A Mascot with a Mission ([24:22]–[26:53])
  • The infrastructure law’s boost in OSMRE funding (2021) provided an opportunity to explain to the public what the agency does.
  • Strategy: Use Coley to build awareness, trust, and accountability—make dull regulatory work approachable.
  • Inspiration drawn from cultural touchstones like “Schoolhouse Rock” and Japanese utility mascots.

“Coley can talk in an informal way... If you’re just speaking from OSMRE, like, ‘publish this final rule’—that’s kind of boring.”
—Simone Randolph ([25:31])

6. From Cute Educator to Controversial Meme

• The Rollout and Viral Uproar ([30:24]–[34:24])
  • Coley debuts on OSMRE’s website with educational graphics about mine reclamation and community investment.
  • However, the viral Burgum tweet, with added “mine, baby, mine” slogan and pro-coal overtones, becomes the public face, divorced from Coley’s origins.
  • The intent and interpretation diverge; the agency is alarmed by the public reading of Coley as coal industry cheerleader.

“I was honestly quite shocked. I felt a little bit uncomfortable, to be honest... That had never been my perspective of what OSM does.”
—Sarah Eckert ([32:30])

7. Expert and Media Backlash

• Satire and Skepticism
  • Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert feature Coley, mocking both the idea of “clean coal” and the attempt to kid-ify a deadly industry ([33:26]–[35:02]).
• Policy Critique ([35:24]–[37:50])
  • Leah Stokes (UC Santa Barbara):
    “I think propaganda. That’s what I’d say... Coal kills people. It’s pretty strange to pretend like something that is deadly is actually kind of cute and fun and maybe really nice and sweet and good.”
  • Mascot compared unfavorably to harmful advertising icons of the past (Joe Camel, for cigarettes).

8. How Did the Rollout Go Wrong? Internal vs. External Messaging

• What Was Intended vs. What Happened ([37:50]–[41:52])
  • Simone Randolph reveals that the viral image and messaging (“mine, baby, mine”) came not from OSMRE, but were tweaked by Interior’s comms team in pursuit of greater reach and administration approval.
  • Coley’s story becomes a tale of misappropriation: an agency seeking positive attention gets swept up in a wider, unintentionally politicized narrative.

“Our original design... they weren’t cleaning up or creating a mine site. They were just standing at a site.”
—Simone Randolph ([40:27])

9. Questions of Agency, Context, and Audience

• External Political Pressures
  • OSMRE has faced staff and regulatory cuts under Trump; viral success under the wrong message complicates the agency’s mission clarity.
• Does the Attention Help or Hurt?
  • Simone hopes attention opens doors for real public education, but worries about hijacked narrative; welcomes tough questions ([44:43]).
• Meta-Success of Coley
  • Coley arguably fulfilled his mission in raising awareness—even if through controversy—about OSMRE’s work and the complexities of energy politics.

“From my perspective, from a communications standpoint, I would call that a win.”
—Simone Randolph ([44:00])

Notable Quotes & Moments

(Speaker Attribution & Timestamp in MM:SS)

• “They’re trying to make coal cute... Who is this for?”
  —Nitish Pahwa, energy reporter, ([05:30])

• “Under SMCRA...we are not permitted to promote or advocate for coal mining.”
  —Simone Randolph, OSMRE, ([18:32])

• “Probably took about 45 seconds... copied into a Word document and printed him out, and there he was.”
  —Sarah Eckert, original Coley creator, ([21:04])

• “Coley can talk in an informal way. He can be conversational... if you’re just speaking from OSMRE, ‘publish this final rule’—that’s kind of boring.”
  —Simone Randolph, ([25:31])

• “I think propaganda. That’s what I’d say... Coal kills people.”
  —Leah Stokes, professor and policy expert, ([35:24])

• “That had never been my perspective of what OSM does... our mission [is] to ensure responsible mining practices and cleanup, not to be driving coal.”
  —Sarah Eckert, ([32:30])

• “From my perspective, from a communications standpoint, I’d call that a win.”
  —Simone Randolph, ([44:00])

Key Timestamps

• 02:57–05:11: Viral tweet with Coley and Burgum, initial confusion and reaction
• 13:14–16:24: Intro to OSMRE, its real mission and scope
• 19:13–22:36: Office birth of Coley, as internal mascot and motivational in-joke
• 24:22–26:53: Strategy behind making Coley public—education, trust, “Schoolhouse Rock” analogy
• 30:24–34:24: Coley’s surprise public debut, misinterpretations, and emotional reactions
• 35:24–37:50: Critique by policy expert Leah Stokes; moral tension in making “coal cute”
• 37:50–41:52: How communication and design decisions diverged, agency vs. administration
• 44:00–45:14: OSMRE’s view on attention vs. mission clarity, future plans for Coley

Conclusion

“Making Coal Cute Again” deftly untangles how a quirky internal mascot became a viral flashpoint in the national debate over energy, propaganda, and communication. Through the story of Coley, the podcast exposes the unintended consequences and cultural volatility that result when good-natured public servants, meme-happy political operatives, and an Internet primed for outrage collide.

Bottom line: Coley unintentionally succeeded—“raising awareness” of OSMRE, perhaps—but also illustrates the dangers of messaging being hijacked and the fine line between education and propaganda. The fate of Coley, and of national attitudes toward coal and government communication, remains very much up in the air.

For further listening/reading:

• Full episode and transcript available on Slate’s Decoder Ring page
• Leah Stokes’ podcast: A Matter of Degrees
• OSMRE’s website for the direct educational materials featuring Coley