1A

AI: The Data Center Debate, Part Two

Dienstag, 4. August 2026 · 45 min

MP3

Shownotes

Data centers.

They’ve been all over the news. (theatlantic.com/technology/2026/08/jay-maine-w…) Last month, protesters showed up in 125 cities across the country (reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/us-data-c…) on a single Saturday to demonstrate against these structures, either proposed or completed.

But are the politicians listening? We sit down for the second part of our data center deep dive. (the1a.org/segments/the-data-center-debate-part…) This time, we talk politics. Why have data centers become a political flashpoint so quickly? And who is calling the shots at the local, state, and federal level?

Find more of our programs online (the1a.org/shows). Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy (npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy)

0:00 / 0:00