Data centers are growing faster in Atlanta than anywhere else in the country.

That rapid growth has left communities grappling with how these new developments will impact the environment and their neighborhoods.This week, “Plugged In” hosts Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali are joined by WABE Business Reporter Marlon Hyde and WABE Southside Reporter DorMiya Vance for the first of two episodes exploring WABE’s series, Server South.

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This week the Political Breakfast team was pleased to record the podcast in front of a live studio audience, alongside legends from Sesame Street and the Muppet Show at Atlanta's own Center for Puppetry Arts! It's home to more than 5 thousand puppets and artifacts. 

Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson joined host Lisa Rayam to answer questions from some of our loyal listeners. 

We discuss the most pertinent news from Washington that impacts our Georgia audience.

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Two Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) incumbents are on the ballot this year after a lengthy legal battle and their challengers are taking aim at the current commission’s performance.

Voting in the primary is already underway.

On this week’s episode of “Plugged In,” hosts Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali speak with WABE and Grist climate reporter Emily Jones about the PSC and some of the challenges the statewide body is grappling with, like the influx of data centers, increasing energy costs and climate change.

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On this week's second serving of Political Breakfast, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is officially running to replace Governor Brian Kemp. But are Dems pleased?

Bottoms tells WABE that we are "facing chaos and uncertainty and anxiety" based on the policies that are coming out of Washington and "Georgians want and need a fighter.”
Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam also discuss the case of a north Georgia college student, 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal -- who is undocumented.

Her life changed recently, after she was pulled over by a Dalton police officer for allegedly making an illegal turn. She was arrested, turned over to ICE and detained for more than two weeks.

Turns out, dash cam video shows the officer stopped the wrong driver. The officer has resigned.

But that hasn't stopped the community backlash. And some Republicans in deep-red Georgia are taking a stand against the Trump Administration's immigration crackdowns. 

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On this week's live edition of Political Breakfast just after the Memorial Day holiday, strategists Brian Robinson, Tharon Johnson and host Lisa Rayam discuss the 2026 U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff. 

Governor Brian Kemp decided not to run. He and President Donald Trump met recently in Washington earlier this month to mull-over who will face Ossoff. 

In the race so far: U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, from Georgia's coast, who was the first major Republican candidate to declare. Then came state Insurance Commissioner John King. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene also declined to challenge Ossoff.

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Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother, was about nine weeks pregnant in February when doctors declared her brain dead after she suffered a medical emergency.

Smith’s family says doctors at Emory University Hospital have been keeping her on life support because she is pregnant, citing Georgia’s restrictive abortion law.

In this week’s episode of “Plugged In,” hosts Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali take a closer look at the case and its possible implications.

Plus, a former Atlanta mayor says she’s running for governor and some Republicans say they want to eliminate the state income tax.

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Historic Medicaid cuts are advancing in Washington under President Donald Trump, as nearly 2 million low-income Georgians depend on the program for health insurance.

That includes Georgians with disabilities and seniors, as Medicaid pays for their daily help with basic needs.

The proposed federal cuts are all part of Trump's attempts to slash government spending. But Republican strategist Brian Robinson says on this week's Political Breakfast, GOP lawmakers know that would hurt some of our most vulnerable, including the base of their own party. 

Robinson, host Lisa Rayam, and the Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba Long to discuss the impact in Georgia, and tough decisions that come with historic pullbacks of federal support. 

Long is filling-in this week for Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson.

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On this edition of Political Breakfast, the team talks about the life of Adriana Smith, her unborn child and a Georgia law that appears to be holding her grieving family hostage.

Adriana is brain dead, but has been kept on life support since February because she's pregnant.

Her family says it's time for Adriana to rest in peace -- peace that's entangled in a restrictive law that bans most abortions after six weeks.

It's an issue people are talking about, including host, Lisa Rayam, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and the Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba Long, who is sitting-in for Tharon Johnson.

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This week, judges heard appeals in two major Georgia voting cases.

One panel is considering whether conservative group True the Vote illegally intimidated voters when they helped file tens of thousands of voter challenges while another is reviewing Georgia’s political maps in the ongoing fight over redistricting.

In this week’s episode of “Plugged In,” hosts Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali discuss what’s at stake for Georgia elections in these long-running federal court cases, which could have national implications.

Plus, a messy Republican primary in Georgia for the U.S. Senate is now underway and Governor Brian Kemp has finished vetoing and signing bills from this year’s legislative session into law, including one that could allow President Donald Trump to recover millions of dollars in legal costs from taxpayers in the Georgia election interference case.

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Chair of the Georgia Republican Party Josh McKoon joins this week's Political Breakfast. 

Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam have some questions about McKoon managing party unity.

They ask McKoon if he agrees with everything that President Donald Trump has been ordering in Washington, and what he thinks about Republicans who refuse to come together under Trump, and support more MAGA-aligned candidates: AKA, former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.

Earlier this week, the PB team spoke with the new Georgia Democratic Chair, Charlie Bailey.

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