This episode is all about the fight against data centers. Specifically, we’re sharing the story of how the residents of Monterey Park, California waged a successful campaign against the construction of a data center in their town. Chenjerai interviews Hrag Balian and Steven Kung, co-founders of No Data Centers in Monterey Park and Claire Wang, an independent journalist who has been covering the anti-data center movement for The Guardian and other outlets. 

☎️ Call our UNRULY HOTLINE: Have something you want to ask Chenjerai? Something you want us to cover on Unruly Subjects? Have a good joke? Leave us a message here:  215-436-9212

We make Unruly Subjects 100% independently - support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnrulySubjects  Go there now to hear Chenjerai and his friend D Noble dissect what's going on with the "rapper" Jack Harlow. 

Follow Chenjerai on Instagram @chenjerai and Bluesky @chenjerai.bsky.social and follow Unruly Subjects @unrulysubjectspod. Get in touch [email protected].

Listen to Proxy created & hosted by our friend Yowei Shaw.

Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Grizzly Beatz

Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions

Further reading & sources from this episode:

Rage against the machine: a California community rallied against a datacenter – and won, The Guardian 

After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area, Capital B News

Trump releases AI policy for Congress to pre-empt state rules, Reuters

Trump’s AI Order Is More Bark than Bite

While the executive order has created uncertainty for the many states that have passed artificial intelligence policies to protect their residents, its impact falls short of its menacing rhetoric.

Data Center Watch  

Support the show