The purple tsunami against data centers

AI was all over the 2026 midterms: in the ads, in the political spending and in voters’ opposition to data centers. We break down the races that most surprised us, from Texas to a small Ohio town that recalled its mayor over a proposed Meta facility. Will the backlash slow AI progress, or just force the industry to strike a better deal with communities? Then Rob Flaherty, co-founder of the Democratic AI super PAC Tomorrow Together, joins to share which AI messages moved voters, what a Democratic Congress could get done on AI safety, and how the fight over AI could shape 2028.

For a transcript of this episode, select the episode on npr.org/machinegods.

You can watch this full episode on YouTube (youtube.com/@machinegodspod), Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/5kxu4uluMq6jUuoNPGyZMu) or Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/machine-gods/id6…). And if you’ve got a question you want us to answer, you can drop us a comment on any of those platforms or email us at hey@machinegods.fm.

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)