Riley and Casey explore technology and society in rural communities. Today's focus: Community Tech & Governance.

NEWS ROUNDUP: We break down [TechRadar] 'Big tech pays for power — why not broadband?': Hyperscalers signed the rate protection pledge for electricity infrastructure, so should they do it for broadband? An expert chimes in and [Williams Lake Tribune] B.C. allowing Vancouver and Victoria to create independent police academies, plus 1 more stories, and explore what these developments mean for communities like ours.

RURAL CONNECTIONS: Deep dive on Community Tech & Governance Topics include: broadband, data sovereignty, AI, infrastructure, community ownership.

Hosts: Riley (Tech optimist with an engineering background) and Casey (Community-first skeptic of tech promises).

Sources discussed:

• TechRadar: [TechRadar] 'Big tech pays for power — why not broadband?': ...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] B.C. allowing Vancouver and Victoria...
• NYT Business: [NYT Business] YouTube Adds Tool to Help Public Figures Repo...
• TechRadar: [TechRadar] Dutch MPs call for free government-backed VPN, a...
• My Cariboo Now: [My Cariboo Now] CNC Fort St James campus to close its doors...
• Quesnel Cariboo Observer: [Quesnel Cariboo Observer] New detection system in Chilliwac...
• Quesnel Cariboo Observer: [Quesnel Cariboo Observer] New mental health crisis helpline...
• ScienceAlert: [ScienceAlert] One Key Protein Could Be a Powerful New Targe...
• ScienceAlert: [ScienceAlert] We Finally Know How Bumblebee Queens Can Surv...
• My Cariboo Now: [My Cariboo Now] Williams Lake city councillor to propose “a...

Additional sources provided:

• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Rally at Surrey border park to mark ...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Princeton man who attacked doctor ha...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] U.S. Ambassador Hoekstra says he and...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Former Chilcotin chief guilty on 2 o...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Heavy police presence Tuesday evenin...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Williams Lake Film Club presents Osc...
• TechRadar: [TechRadar] 'People don’t trust bad AI voices': listeners ra...
• TechRadar: [TechRadar] 'AI has reinvented computing and is driving the ...
• The Tyee: [The Tyee] Who You Gonna Call? Not 911 on BC’s Central Coast
• My Cariboo Now: [My Cariboo Now] Pride groups call for censure and resignati...
• Kottke.org: [Kottke.org] The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-w...
• The Tyee: [The Tyee] Our First Look at the New St. Paul’s Hospital
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] Acting merit commissioner selected f...
• Williams Lake Tribune: [Williams Lake Tribune] MLA Lorne Doerkson responds to Human...

Credits
Theme Song: Cariboo Signals by Sumo AI
Content Curation & Script: Claude (Anthropic)
TTS Voices: OpenAI TTS API
Cover Art: ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Podcast Coordination: Erich Zirnhelt
© 2026 Erich Zirnhelt. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.