Building Local Power

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.

  1. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 6 - Closing Arguments

    14h ago

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 6 - Closing Arguments

    This is it, the final episode! Danny gives us his closing arguments, reflecting on all he’s learned about the data center fight in communities across the United States. We listen in on Danny’s conversation with prolific author and tech critic Cory Doctorow about the centaur/reverse centaur theory of how we use technology and how technology uses us. And, we take another quick trip to some of the communities we’ve visited along the way: Data Center Alley in Northern Virginia, Davis, West Virginia, and Memphis, Tennessee, to get the latest on their fights. When it’s all said and done, the greatest lesson from the data center clashes may be in the value of agency, and that the way to protect communities from harmful data centers is to ensure that technology serves communities, not the other way around. In this episode, we hear from: Cory Doctorow: Science fiction author, activist and journalist whose recent books include “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse And What To Do About It” and “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide To Life After AI.” Nikki Forrester: Helped launch Tucker United, now serves as the director of communications and spokesperson, lives in Tucker County, WV, and is a journalist.  Elena Schlossenberg: Our local tour guide, and deeply involved in grassroots organizing in Prince William County and Loudoun County. She has a deep knowledge of land-use management and serves as the executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County. Amber Sherman: Local policy organizer in Memphis. Delegate John McAuliff: Recently elected Delegate for Fauquier and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia, flipping the seat by running largely on data center regulation.  Samuel Black: Award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist working with More Perfect Union. He covers tech, labor, energy, finance, housing, and U.S. politics.  Resources: Corruption is Driving Up Your Electricity Bill   Cory Doctorow’s blog, Craphound Samuel Black’s More Perfect Union coverage from Boxtown Local coverage from Tucker County about Fundamental Data’s visit, and how local leaders reacted The latest updates from Prince William County about the Data Center Gateway case A tool tracking every data center moratorium

    49 min
  2. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 5 - A Better Way

    Jun 11

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 5 - A Better Way

    Throughout this season, we've learned about the threats and harms data centers pose to local communities. But is there a better way to build this tech infrastructure? On this episode, Danny invites energy, broadband, and local business experts to discuss how we can build and regulate data centers in ways that keep agency within local communities. From BYONCE (Bring Your Own New Clean Energy) to transparency, and from antitrust action to community-scaled, locally owned data centers, this episode breaks down all the ways we can create a better future — one where local communities have control over what happens next.  In this episode, we hear from: Stacy Mitchell: Writer, strategist, policy advocate, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, with a focus on the importance of small, independent businesses. Chris Mitchell: Program director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, who is a leading national expert on community networks, Internet access, and local broadband policies, and host of the Unbuffered podcast. John Farrell: Co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and leads the organization’s work on energy systems, including duties as host of the Local Energy Rules podcast. Resources: Institute for Local Self-Reliance - The Policies Communities Need to Confront the AI Data Center Race Good Jobs First - Shutting Down Data Center Subsidies Steph Speirs on TikTok - Solving the AI Power Problem  AI Now Policy Institute - North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit

    47 min
  3. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 4 - Transmission (Im)possible

    May 28

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 4 - Transmission (Im)possible

    If you’re anything like Building Local Power’s host, Danny Caine, you’ve seen your electric bill creep up and are wondering: are data centers to blame for this? Danny sets out to answer this and other burning questions about the murky way in which Big Tech’s data center arms race, public utilities, and electric bills intersect. Bringing his unanswered questions to energy experts, his neighbors, and his trusty dad, Danny aims to discover exactly how utilities make money from data center development, and if there’s any hope for our electric bills.  Guest voices + context:   Kevin Caine: Dad of Building Local Power host, Danny Caine, and resident of Cleveland, Ohio John Farrell: Co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and director of the Energy Democracy Initiative Cathy Kunkel: Energy consultant at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)   Elena Schlossberg: Executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County Andrew Chow: TIME technology correspondent who has extensively covered AI and data centers at the intersection of race over the past few years.  Resources:  Data Center Watch Briefing Ohio's electric bills are high — and so are utility CEO salaries  The Policies Communities Need to Confront the AI Data Center Race  North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit: State and Local Policy Interventions to Stop Rampant AI Data Center Expansion - AI Now Institute The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South - MediaJustice Proposed Prince William data center prompts protest letter to Jeff Bezos - The Washington Post Outcry grows over proposed Prince William data center - The Washington Post

    42 min
  4. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 3 - Contamination Without Representation

    May 14

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 3 - Contamination Without Representation

    Some residents of the Boxtown neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee, didn’t know Elon Musk was building a huge data center nearby until they saw city and Chamber of Commerce officials hyping the deal. A historic Black neighborhood founded by freedmen after the Civil War, Boxtown is one recent example of an old pattern: corporations siting polluting, noisy facilities in Black or poor neighborhoods, which the corporations see as less likely to mount a resistance to their plans. We chronicle this history, finding useful context in the decades-long fight against trash incinerators. We also learn what Memphis is doing to fight back, from citizen journalism to liberation science.  Guest voices + context:   Dr. Sacoby Wilson: Director of The Health, Environmental, and Economic Justice Lab, and Professor in Global, Environmental and Occupational Health. Focuses on environmental health science, including water quality analysis and air pollution studies, and works closely with community-based organizations, such as those in Memphis. Collaborated with Representative Justin Pearson on work to advocate for Black Communities in the fight against data centers and environmental racism.  Andrew Chow: TIME technology correspondent who has extensively covered AI and data centers at the intersection of race over the past few years.  Jennifer Kunze: Maryland Organizing Director at Clean Water Action, who took Danny on a tour of the Baltimore Incinerator.  Brenda Platt: Director of ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative  Amber Sherman: Local policy organizer in Memphis  Learn More:  Data Center Watch Briefing Inside Memphis' Battle Against Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center -Andrew Chow, Time How the AI Boom Sparked a Housing Crisis in One Texas City -Andrew Chow, Time From Neighborhood Streets to City Hall with Zac Blanchard - Building Local Power Memphis Community Against Pollution  We Went to the Town Elon Musk Is Poisoning - More Perfect Union

    39 min
  5. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 2 - They Underestimated Us

    Apr 30

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 2 - They Underestimated Us

    When a notice appeared in a local newspaper about a company applying for an air quality permit for a power plant, it set off alarm bells in the small West Virginia town of Davis. After residents realized that a major data center project, enabled by West Virginia’s hastily passed state preemption bill, was being pushed through without anyone knowing about it, the community took action. A coalition of artists, outdoor enthusiasts, and generations-deep mining families formed Tucker United, and we met with them to learn about the state of the fight: why Davis, West Virginia; is the proposed reduction in state income tax and influx of data center revenue actually going to reach the local community; and how do they make sure their voice is heard by local and state government and that corporations are held accountable to them in the face of a politics that is pushing an “abundance” agenda of development with few guardrails?  In this episode, we hear from:   Linda Bilsens Brolis: Associate Director for Education for the Composting for Community Initiative, who first told us about this story, and lives in Davis.Nikki Forrester: Helped launch Tucker United, now serves as the Director of Communications and spokesperson, lives in Tucker County, West Virginia, and is a journalist. Mayor Alan Tomson: Mayor of Davis, West Virginia, who was alerted about the project and helped organize the initial town hall meeting that led to Tucker United. He shares what inspired him to move from his life as a career Army Officer in D.C. to Davis.Cris Parque: lead organizer of Tucker UnitedShaena Crossland: member of Tucker United

    40 min
  6. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 1 - Planting a Flag

    Apr 30

    The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 1 - Planting a Flag

    Welcome to Building Local Power’s “The Data Centers Are Coming,” where we journey to some of the most active places in the cross-country battle over data centers in our local communities. We start at the epicenter: Data Center Alley in Loudoun County, Virginia. This once semi-rural community has now been transformed by Big Tech’s sprawling data centers, sparking a fight for land, autonomy, and transparency from local residents. What does it feel like living there now? How is it impacting home values, affordability, energy and water usage, electric bills, and the overall well-being of the people who live nearby? We took a road trip to find out.  In this episode we hear from:   Elena Schlossenberg: Our local tour guide, and deeply involved in grassroots organizing in Prince William County and Loudoun County. She has a deep knowledge of land use management and is the Executive Director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County.Greg Pirio: A longtime Sterling, VA resident, Greg’s home literally sits across the street from a Vantage data center. Greg is an artist and has become an unlikely activist, organizing his neighbors to advocate for local solutions and demand accountability for the relentless noise pollution impacting their daily lives.

    41 min
  7. Introducing "The Data Centers Are Coming"

    Apr 16

    Introducing "The Data Centers Are Coming"

    Welcome to the newest season of Building Local Power, The Data Centers Are Coming, where we take a trip across the country to some of the hot spots for data center fights. Big Tech is racing for AI dominance, attempting to steamroll local communities through secrecy and shell companies, but that’s only part of the story. We hear from activists and agitated neighbors, experts on energy supply and the environment, and tech correspondents chasing these fights across state lines.  Through this series, we start to uncover just how deeply this conflict is steeped in America’s legacy of monopoly corporations versus motivated local communities. And we learn that one thing is certain: the corporate giants behind the data center boom better not underestimate the power of passionate and organized local resistance.

    3 min
  8. Internet as a Human Right: Christopher Mitchell on Community Networks

    08/21/2025

    Internet as a Human Right: Christopher Mitchell on Community Networks

    You'd think a company with as many resources, employees, and facilities as AT&T or Comcast would have good customer service. Surely, with all the billions of dollars flowing through these businesses, there'd be some resources devoted to creating a really good customer experience, right? If only that were the case. The thing is, these telecom monopolies are so big, with their power so entrenched, that it doesn't matter if their customer service is good. When you control the market, you control the market whether customers are happy or not. Time and again, smaller, locally-controlled telecom companies and networks have better customer service and better products. Because they're small and connected to their communities, these small companies have greater motivation to please their customers. Plus, since they're competing against giants, they have a lot to prove to their customers. This is the crux of one of Christopher Mitchell's arguments about why community broadband matters. Christopher Mitchell, today's guest on Building Local Power, is the head of ILSR's Community Broadband Networks Initiative. Community broadband networks can take many forms, from municipal networks to co-ops and more. These networks are important, says Mitchell, not just because they're better for consumers but because Internet access is essentially a human right in the contemporary world. Reliable and affordable Internet access isn't just about social media and Netflix; everything from healthcare to education and beyond relies on a good Internet connection, all the more reason to leave broadband access in the hands of local communities. On today's episode, Christopher explains all this, as well as sharing his thoughts on his friend, ILSR's recently passed co-founder David Morris. It's a compelling conversation with a passionate advocate. For full show notes and transcript, visit https://ilsr.org/articles/blp-internet-as-a-human-right

    26 min
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About

Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.

Information

  • Creator
    Institute for Local Self-Reliance
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    152
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Institute for Local Self-Reliance
  • Show Website
    Building Local Power

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