{"podcast":{"title":"Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer","slug":"pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707","podcast_index_feed_id":653707,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/PPY5667678674","website_url":"http://www.pitchforkeconomics.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/c5ce4202-f4f7-11e8-8f50-a71b647a9c02/image/Pitchfork_Branding_Final_2023.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Civic Ventures","episode_count":445,"summary":"We are living through a paradigm shift from trickle-down neoliberalism to middle-out economics — a new understanding of who gets what and why. Join zillionaire class-traitor Nick Hanauer and some of the world’s leading economic and political thinkers as they explore the latest thinking on how the economy actually works.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-28T20:20:54.030078+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707"},"episode":{"title":"How the AI Oligarchy Went Hyperscale (with Tim Murphy)","slug":"how-the-ai-oligarchy-went-hyperscale-with-tim-murphy","published_at":"2026-05-12T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707/how-the-ai-oligarchy-went-hyperscale-with-tim-murphy","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707","url":"https://chrt.fm/track/28EG51/traffic.megaphone.fm/PCHEC6831278338.mp3","audio_url":"https://chrt.fm/track/28EG51/traffic.megaphone.fm/PCHEC6831278338.mp3","summary":"The AI “cloud” sounds weightless. But behind every chat bot, every prompt, and every promise of a coming AI revolution is a massive physical footprint: hyperscale data centers consuming enormous amounts of land, electricity, water, and public subsidies. This week, Nick and Goldy talk with Tim Murphy, national correspondent at Mother Jones, about his cover story on how the American oligarchy went hyperscale in the age of AI. Murphy has been reporting from communities across the country where residents are watching enormous data centers rise in their backyards, often with little transparency, few long-term jobs, and huge demands on local infrastructure. The result is a familiar story: public risk, private reward. Tech billionaires get the profits. Communities get higher utility costs, depleted resources, tax breaks they may never recoup, and facilities that could become tomorrow’s stranded assets when the AI bubble bursts. AI may be new. But the economic model behind this boom is very old: extract from communities, concentrate power at the top, and call it progress. Tim Murphy is a national correspondent at Mother Jones. Social Media: @timothypmurphy.bsky.social @timothypmurphy @motherjones.com @MotherJones Further reading: Mother Jones - How the American Oligarchy Went Hyperscale Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠","meta_description":"The AI “cloud” sounds weightless. But behind every chat bot, every prompt, and every promise of a coming AI revolution is a massive physical footprint: hy…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2311,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707/episodes/how-the-ai-oligarchy-went-hyperscale-with-tim-murphy/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pitchfork-economics-with-nick-hanauer-653707/how-the-ai-oligarchy-went-hyperscale-with-tim-murphy.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}