Deceleration Podcast

Marisol Cortez & Greg Harman
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Deceleration Podcast is talking all things climate and environmental justice, rooted in San Antonio and the South Texas bioregion with global concerns.  For the Earth. And all Her families. Eds. Marisol Cortez & Greg Harman Deceleration.news

  1. 43: Project Matador: Fermi's 'Hyperscale' Data Center Complex Hitting Resistance in the Texas Panhandle

    19H AGO

    43: Project Matador: Fermi's 'Hyperscale' Data Center Complex Hitting Resistance in the Texas Panhandle

    Send us Fan Mail “Project Matador” outside of Amarillo, Texas, pairs Fermi America and the Texas Tech University System seeking a pod of “hyperscale” data centers over 6,000 acres across a privately owned and operated electric grid. Already permitted for 6GW of power with 93 planned gas-fired turbines and seeking to build multiple nuclear power plants, this is a truly climate-breakdown accelerating power footprint that brings severe water concerns atop one of the planet’s most imperiled major aquifers that is relied upon by tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers (you know, the folks who produce our food and clothes, at least for those of us not wearing plastic). Deceleration’s guest this week is Kendra Seawright of Women’s March. She is doing the work of organizing the resistance on the ground that is pushing back on the many assumptions and assertions of what this project is good for—if anything. As more MAGA supporters start to split with President Trump on crypto and AI data centers, this means new challenges to foster a diverse hub of voices. We wanted to hear more about what that looks like and what lessons there may be for others in the trenches.  “We didn’t expect a rubber stamp,” Seawright told us about the permit already in Fermi’s pocket. “We want real honest communication about what this is going to mean for our health and future generations too.”  Next week is the deadline for a new permit application to take power production to 11GW (with a goal of 17GW of power and resulting pollution). Details/Public Comment: https://www.amarilloaction.org/ai Past Deceleration Data Center Coverage: The Texas Data Center Rebellion Has BegunCritical Texas Data Center Fights Happening Right Now Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    49 min
  2. 42: Texas Data Center Boom + Todos Agua at Esperanza + Women Lead Drive to Abolish ICE

    MAR 19

    42: Texas Data Center Boom + Todos Agua at Esperanza + Women Lead Drive to Abolish ICE

    Send us Fan Mail Across Texas we’re seeing an explosion of two kinds of industrial warehouses going up: one to fill up with humans in the some of the most miserable conditions imaginable as part of the drive to deport millions (including many being actively stripped of citizenship or refugee protections to do so), the other to fill with an emerging human-like/human-displacing (anti-human?) consciousness. This week, Deceleration speaks with two members of the Data Center Action Coalition, Saunders Drukker and Kay, about what they learned while beating back an AI data center that had its sites on San Marcos, headwaters of the sacred San Marcos River. We speak in advance of a panel being hosted by the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center in San Antonio dedicated to recovering an identity rooted in relationship with water: Todos Agua, now in its third year. Azul Barrientos fills in the details of that convening. And ICE Watch correspondent Roxana Rojas speaks with local organizer Sarah Cruz about how women are leading the fight against the deportation-industrial complex in the state.  Data Center Resources: Data Center Action Coalition (Instagram)HARC Research on Data Centers"The Unpaid Toll: Quantifying and Addressing the Public Health Impact of Data Centers" (UC Riverside)Statement on AI RiskMore about Todos Agua: Esperanza Event ScheduleSubscribe to ICE Watch: Deceleration NewslettersSupport the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    1h 36m
  3. 41: Bill Barker on Extreme Heat, City Planning, and Policies to Save Lives

    FEB 10

    41: Bill Barker on Extreme Heat, City Planning, and Policies to Save Lives

    Send us Fan Mail Humankind didn't evolve in heat like this. It's been well over 100,000 years since the planet has seen the sort of scorching temperatures that have become the norm in the last few years. And that goes for Texas, too, where many are still tempted to shrug and claim, 'This is Texas. It's always been hot.'  But this is not the heat (or the humidity) of our parents or grandparents. And it's claiming lives. Obviously, until we transition away from fossil fuels and begin the work of ecological repair the world over to bring these temperatures back down the work of adaptation will be needed. So how can we design our cities and towns to help more people survive? Bill Barker has worked as director of planning at VIA Metropolitan Transit, as executive director of Solar San Antonio, and has spent years thinking about heat, cities, and adaptation. Lately, he's been making his case for local action with presentations to groups small and large.  Deceleration had a chance to sit down and hear from him recently about the situation in San Antonio. But the lessons here are relevant to communities the world over. Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    1h 4m
  4. 40: Liam Ramos, Gaige Davila on Gulf Coast Fights, Defeating Climate Behemoth, More

    FEB 5

    40: Liam Ramos, Gaige Davila on Gulf Coast Fights, Defeating Climate Behemoth, More

    Send us Fan Mail Liam Ramos and father freed from Dilley Detention, but Federal Judge Biery's words need to be heard by those who snatched him. Plus: Extended dialogue with Gaige Davila about his years chronicling Texas Gulf fights over colonial extraction and plans for a new Deceleration newsletter, 'Coastlines & Faultlines.' Plus words from Syris Valentine on defeating Climate Behemoth and Sulma Franco on the crimes of immigration detention. Enjoy! Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    1h 20m
  5. 39: 10 Years of Deceleration: Talking Year Behind, Year Ahead w/ Marisol Cortez & Syris Valentine

    JAN 16

    39: 10 Years of Deceleration: Talking Year Behind, Year Ahead w/ Marisol Cortez & Syris Valentine

    Send us Fan Mail Strange times, indeed. Deceleration turns 10 this year. Founder/Managing Editor Greg Harman speaks with Executive Editor Marisol Cortez and contributor/Alternative Futures correspondent Syris Valentine about the year behind and year ahead for Deceleration. More video is part of the recipe, so join us as we dust off some of these innerwebbings. Marisol's recs for 2025 stories: Her Body Was 126 Degrees After She Died; Bexar County Medical Examiner Blames DrugsMessages from Jess’s Last Days—A Social AutopsyAs Trump Works to Crush Climate Efforts, Local Projects Persevere at the GrassrootsFemme Friendship as Eco-Resistance—From Barton Springs Attack to Poland’s ‘Sister Rivers’New Cli-Fi Novel Gropes for Happiness through the Dark of Texas Blackouts and Louisiana HeatOn the Responsibility of Latin@ Academics, Artists, and Cultural WorkersPODCAST: Building Radical Democracy Into Climate Struggles w/ Ashish Kothari‘Vanishing Ice, Melting ICE’—A Deceleration Quarterly Creative Review‘SUNAK’ (‘Awaken’) Music Video Release Celebrates Migration as a Birthright of All BeingsVictims and Survivors of Martial Law Under Autocrat Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Remembered in a Moment of U.S. Authoritarian PerilA few of Greg's favs: Jaguar Watch: What ‘Finishing the Wall’ Means for Borderland CatsSpace Industry’s Explosive Growth Could ‘X’ the Earth’s AtmosphereICE Abuses, Punishing Floods Show the Cesar Chavez March in the RGV is Still Necessary Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    1h 3m
  6. 38: Building Radical Democracy Into Climate Struggles w/ Ashish Kothari

    12/04/2025

    38: Building Radical Democracy Into Climate Struggles w/ Ashish Kothari

    Send us Fan Mail Deceleration’s Marisol Cortez speaks with Ashish Kothari on his work with the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, recently returned from the People’s Summit and COP30 in Belem, Brazil. An activist and author based in Pune, India, Kothari has been at the forefront of movements both in India and globally to imagine and enact on-the-ground alternatives to “development” as a colonial and often environmentally destructive paradigm. We talk with Kothari about radical democracy as the “missing debate” from climate discussions and the importance of maintaining focus on the work of “yes” as much as the work of “no.”  Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    36 min
  7. 37: Antiwar Vets Urge Soldiers to Claim their 'Right to Refuse' Illegal and Immoral Orders

    11/13/2025

    37: Antiwar Vets Urge Soldiers to Claim their 'Right to Refuse' Illegal and Immoral Orders

    Send us Fan Mail In a community conversation closing out a gallery exhibit organized by ABOUT Face: Veterans Against the War, panelists from Texas and California discuss the histories of veteran activism against war and occupation and why soldiers today have a “right to refuse” Trump administration orders to deploy against US cities.  This panel was the concluding event of the multi-day Veteran Voce, hosted by Galeria E.V.A. Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    1h 35m
  8. 36: ‘Curtains of Rain’ Author Anel Flores Examines South Texas Environmental Racism in Queer Coming-of Age Story

    10/24/2025

    36: ‘Curtains of Rain’ Author Anel Flores Examines South Texas Environmental Racism in Queer Coming-of Age Story

    Send us Fan Mail Deceleration’s Marisol Cortez speaks with Anel Flores about their new novel Curtains of Rain/Cortinas de Lluvias (Jaded Ibis Press, 2025), a queer coming-of-age story that explores the intersections of homophobia and transphobia with environmental racism in South Texas, specifically the industrial contamination inflicted on Mission, Texas, for decades by companies like Monsanto. But it’s also a book about the beauty and sacredness of queer familia and the landscapes that hold us all, in all our relations, in spite of these histories of violence.  Support the show Deceleration.news: 'For the Earth. And all Her families.'

    42 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
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About

Deceleration Podcast is talking all things climate and environmental justice, rooted in San Antonio and the South Texas bioregion with global concerns.  For the Earth. And all Her families. Eds. Marisol Cortez & Greg Harman Deceleration.news

Information

  • Creator
    Marisol Cortez & Greg Harman
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Deceleration Podcast
  • Show Website
    Deceleration Podcast