Episode

Data centers: Small town politics turn into a national fight

Podcast
On Assignment
Published
Jul 18, 2026
Duration seconds
1453
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/THRH3439056517.mp3
Audio
https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/THRH3439056517.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/on-assignment-7432756/episodes/data-centers-small-town-politics-turn-into-a-national-fight
Markdown
/podcast/on-assignment-7432756/data-centers-small-town-politics-turn-into-a-national-fight.md

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Summary

As AI transforms our lives, companies are racing to build data centers, the physical infrastructure needed to power such a technological revolution. On this week's episode of On Assignment, energy reporter Valerie Volcovici and video journalist Eric Cox travel to Middleton Township, Ohio. There, a new Meta data center and power station have sparked a debate about whether jobs and promises of investment are worth the cost of building this infrastructure. Hear how this small town's fight is being replicated around America and the world. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to opt out of targeted advertising.