Building Local Power Podcast: Taking On Corporate Monopolies And Data Centers

Do you want proof that the United States is suffering from more income inequality than any time in its history? As of March 2026, the United States has a record 989 billionaires, according to the Forbes 2026 Billionaires List. They are the top-ranked country in the world for billionaire population and hold a combined wealth of several trillion dollars. The Trump Administration has 13 billionaires. Does anyone think these billionaires care at all about the other 340 people who live in this country? Jeff Bezos held a wedding for $50 million while his employees in the warehouse must urinate in bottles to keep their jobs. 

Building Local Power is a podcast by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) that highlights stories and strategies for dismantling corporate monopolies and strengthening community control over local economies. It features interviews with policymakers, activists, and experts focused on sustainable development, renewable energy, and economic equity. 

 Topics include combating corporate power, community broadband, renewable energy, and local food systems. The show's objective is to empower citizens and local leaders to build democratic, resilient, and locally owned communities. Recently hosted by Danny Caine, the show, which has released 150 episodes to date, has shifted to long-form, character-driven storytelling.

Building Local Power presents empowering stories and transformative ideas that drive community resilience, equitable economies, and sustainable futures. Its host, author, former bookseller, and passionate antimonopoly advocate Danny Caine, loves to talk to the people fighting monopoly power in their communities.  There are people working together to make their communities stronger, healthier, and more self-reliant. These are their stories.

The current season strikes at a controversy that is heating up all around the U.S.: Data Centers. As electrical rates skyrocket, consumers are discovering that data centers have these sweetheart deals that make them immune to this price volatility, and in fact, we learn that these data centers can be the actual cause of much higher electrical rates for us, precisely because of these data centers. 

The current season, "The Data Centers Are Coming," focuses on local fights against Big Tech. 

Host Danny Caine says: "In 'The Data Centers Are Coming' 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."

Podcast Consultant Illana Nevins notes: "They take us on a road trip to data center alley and to the outdoor paradise of Davis, West Virginia, where a new data center is being proposed. It dives into not only Big Tech's race for AI dominance, but what it feels like in these communities where data centers are being built (or have already been built) literally... right next door. How are people fighting back? What do the local politics look like? And what might be next?" 

 From the deafening noise pollution impacting the health of residents in Northern Virginia’s "Data Center Alley" to the severe environmental and water-use threats facing Tucker County, West Virginia, the series goes beyond the technology to tell a deeply human story.

Featuring interviews with weary neighbors, tech correspondents, and experts on energy supply and the environment, "The Data Centers Are Coming" uncovers how this modern technological conflict is steeped in America’s long legacy of monopoly corporations battling motivated local communities.

"The data center story is as old or older than the 250-year history of America," adds host Danny Caine. "It’s a story about repeating that history."

Key themes explored in the season include the loss of local control; The massive energy demands; water consumption; Health and Environmental Tolls such as pollution created by on-site microgrids and cooling systems; and how state legislation is stripping counties of their ability to regulate zoning, noise, and environmental impacts.

Building Local Power takes a definitive look at why the corporate giants behind the data center boom should not underestimate the power of passionate, organized local resistance.

In the first episode -- The Data Centers Are Coming -- we hear from Elena Schlossberg, who acts as 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.

Then we hear from Greg Pirio, a longtime Sterling, Va. resident, whose home literally sits across the street from a Vantage data center. Greg is an artist who has become an unlikely activist, organizing his neighbors to demand accountability for the relentless noise pollution that impacts their daily lives. 

By the time this review is published, a second and third episode should be released.

Don't be caught in the dark when electrical rates become prohibitive. The ultrarich and corporate monopolies have taken control and are gunning for your electrical power. Listen to Building Local Power.