Former Ranger Regiment psychologist Jeremy Noble is the stranger on a plane who talked me through a racing heart. He swears by the good guy factor, and joins a couple of our crew, Greg Wuestner and Jeff Sangillo, two veterans, to talk leaving the military and asking for help.

Chapters

00:00 A stranger on a plane: "Hey, how's the heart?"

06:24 Greg Wuestner: from Army infantry to QTS through SkillBridge

08:09 Jeff Sangillo: from Navy nuclear propulsion to the QTS energy team

10:00 What nobody tells you about leaving the military

11:10 207 hours walked at West Point

16:08 Autonomy, mastery and belonging: what disappears overnight

24:12 Googling "what is a data center?"

29:30 When a mistake can cost a life

33:11 Picking the right people first

35:54 Psychological safety: more mistakes, or more honesty?

42:18 Why asking for help is the hardest part

46:10 Nobody calls a torn ACL weak

52:20 The sergeant major who stopped in the rain

57:02 What people need to flourish

1:02:46 What a veterans group can do for new vets

1:15:33 If you feel cut off from your team

1:21:52 Parting words: ask for help, and be a good dude

Links

Jeremy Noble: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-noble-phd-abpp-b93a7617a/

Noble Organizational Consulting: https://www.psychology.consulting/home

Greg Wuestner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-wuestner/

Jeff Sangillo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsangillo/

QTS Data Centers: https://qtsdatacenters.com

Dan Ferriter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danferriter/

Darrian Winston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrian-winston/

"Why You Should Hire a Ranger," Jeremy Noble: https://www.psychology.consulting/post/why-you-should-hire-a-ranger

More articles from Jeremy Noble: https://www.psychology.consulting/blog

Amy Edmondson, "Learning from Mistakes Is Easier Said Than Done" (1996): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021886396321001

DoD SkillBridge: https://skillbridge.osd.mil/

VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline on Suicide Risk (2024 synopsis): https://scholar.usuhs.edu/en/publications/assessment-and-management-of-patients-at-risk-for-suicide-synopsi/

Also mentioned: self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci), Good to Great by Jim Collins, The Assessment of Men (OSS)

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.Q.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

Henrico turned people away from White Oak for years — the crypto guys, companies waving billions. Anthony Romanello had a hand in most of those calls, and he retired from Henrico in January, so he can finally tell me how they made them. Turns out the community was vetting us the whole time.

Chapters:

00:00:06 Chapter Two After 34 Years

00:08:56 Frito-Lay Chips, Not Semiconductors: How White Oak Happened

00:11:57 When the Conversation Turned Political

00:14:58 The Landscape Changed and Nobody Explained Why

00:17:47 Communities See What You Say Yes To

00:20:19 Fencing Off the Revenue for Affordable Housing

00:25:13 Why Henrico Added a Conditional Use Permit

00:27:59 The Photo on His Phone

00:32:05 Stop Talking and Listen

00:41:41 Who's Actually Paying for the Power

00:52:50 Half the Calls, People Need a Neighbor

Links and References:

Anthony Romanello — LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/anthony-romanello-510723157

S.I.R. — Richmond — sirhq.com

Henrico Economic Development Authority — henrico.com

DE-CIX Richmond — de-cix.net

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.Q.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

José Luis Friebel got into data centers by accident — second job interview in London, start tomorrow, we've got a conference in six months. Best accident of his life, he says. He told me the thing slowing this whole build-out down isn't power. It's plumbers. I did not expect that.

00:00:00  From a sunny coastal town in Spain to the global data center business

00:07:13  Why an industry that built the cloud still doesn't talk to itself

00:12:08  The panel where somebody says "you're full of crap" — and nobody's offended

00:17:03  The human capital crunch, and the unsung heroes of modern civilization

00:19:57  Scholarships, electricians and plumbers: not charity, industry survival

00:29:26  What communities actually say when you ask them

00:34:11  Water, energy, and what it takes to be a good neighbor

00:38:50  Why the industry got caught by surprise on transparency

00:43:55  AI as infrastructure, and 90 billion in Aragon

00:48:16  Radiologists, drones, and why AI creates more jobs than it destroys

00:54:41  AI cities, and the jobs question: direct, indirect, and induced

01:02:22  "You're not an island, you're a peninsula"

01:04:49  What José wants you to remember

José Luis Friebel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-luis-friebel-dcd/

InfraXmedia: https://www.infraxmedia.com/

DatacenterDynamics: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/

AI Cities Summit Europe 2027: https://www.aicitysummit.com/europe/2027

AI Cities Summit launch: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/marketwatch/infraxmedia-launches-ai-cities-summit-series-to-support-governments-navigating-ai-infrastructure-growth/

SPAINDC (Spanish Data Center Association): https://spaindc.com/

MEXDC (Mexican Data Center Association): https://asmexdc.com/

Infrastructure Masons: https://imasons.org/

Lays Rodrigues: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lays-rodrigues/

George Rockett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-rockett-b18a3b4/

Dan Loosemore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-loosemore-marketing-specialist/

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe! For more information, go to https://www.Q.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

Jake Dukes runs programs at Zac Brown's camp for veterans and kids. Years ago he came to me and said he didn't want to talk about money or sponsorship — he wanted us to show up. I stayed till one in the morning. Their chef is also unreasonably good.

Chapters

00:00:06 Pastor, camp, and a friendship that started on a beach

00:04:29 The mission: find what makes a person unique, then magnify it

00:07:30 What a data center has to do with a camp in Georgia

00:12:22 Warrior Week, Warrior Path, and the invisible wounds of war

00:16:56 A lumpy first eighteen months, and the go/no-go stations

00:21:23 Why trust is the hardest thing to rebuild

00:26:31 Don’t scrap who you were — reforging instead of starting over

00:35:39 What the week is actually for: making one real friend

00:39:41 Zac Brown’s heart for veterans and at-risk kids

00:42:07 Who pays for it: 93% of the kids are on scholarship

00:43:35 The light in the eyes, and a cucumber that tasted like a Kit Kat

00:45:50 Why kids and veterans belong in the same place, and what neurodiversity means

00:50:28 What a hiring manager should know about the veteran across the desk

01:06:48 Twenty years of building in communities, hiring from them, and being welcomed

01:09:30 How to tell whether a company that says it hires vets actually does

01:20:52 “I don’t want to talk to you about money”

Links & References:

Camp Southern Ground: https://campsouthernground.org/

Camp Southern Ground staff: https://campsouthernground.org/staff/

Jake Dukes, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jachindukes/

Mike Caimona, incoming CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbcaimona/

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe! For more information, go to https://www.Q.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

When James told me the best early warning for a job-site injury isn’t a safety number, I said what you’re probably thinking — that’s ridiculous, and how would you even measure it? What came next changed how I look at it. Come find out what the number is.

Chapters:

00:00:00 A Gaelic footballer walks into a data-center podcast

00:02:07 Culture as bedrock: measure the inputs, not the score

00:05:30 Scaling culture when you’re hiring thousands

00:06:34 What PepTalk does: feedback from the field, and morale as a leading indicator

00:11:57 The blind spot: why the once-a-year survey misses it

00:16:18 The data: low-morale stretches vs. high-incident stretches

00:19:43 People leave unsafe sites: retention as the early warning

00:36:14 Construction vs. operations: human error and reinforcement

00:40:19 Staying alert in a “fully operational Death Star”

00:45:39 Reading the site like a body: must-have or nice-to-have?

00:51:11 Measuring the truth, and the one big takeaway

Links / References

James Brogan (guest) — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbrogan1/

Bernard Brogan (co-founder) — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardbrogan/

PepTalk — website: https://www.peptalk.com

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.Q.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

Rob Hopewell’s been in data centers so long I keep accusing him of starting at 11 — UUNET, EdgeConneX, now running QTS sales. We get into why this AI moment isn’t the dot-com bust, why the phone in your hand is a data center, and how our industry can finally explain itself.

Chapters:

0:00  From UUNET to now — the early internet, peering, MAE East/West

5:44  “Unprecedented” — solving first-time problems (spiky AI load, the utility)

7:47  Selling power, not square feet — the model that changed the industry

11:48  A day in the life running QTS sales — deals at the C-level

14:16  What the dot-com bust taught him — strategy, relationships, hustle

15:29  The 2016 hyperscale pivot — the Freedom Design and the availability zones

19:04  “Plan B: make plan A work” — the first deal, and Blackstone

24:09  EdgeConneX and what “the edge” really is

30:37  Building speculatively — the formula that won Atlanta

36:04  The messaging problem — what a data center actually is

40:09  Why AI isn’t a bubble (and meeting OpenAI in 2017)

45:08  “One throat to choke,” building sales talent, and the takeaway: culture

Links:

Rob Hopewell on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robhopewell/]

QTS Data Centers: Q.com

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe! 

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

Rob Hopewell’s been in data centers so long I keep accusing him of starting at 11 — UUNET, EdgeConneX, now running QTS sales. We get into why this AI moment isn’t the dot-com bust, why the phone in your hand is a data center, and how our industry can finally explain itself.

Chapters:

0:00 From UUNET to now — the early internet, peering, MAE East/West

5:44 “Unprecedented” — solving first-time problems (spiky AI load, the utility)

7:47 Selling power, not square feet — the model that changed the industry

11:48 A day in the life running QTS sales — deals at the C-level

14:16 What the dot-com bust taught him — strategy, relationships, hustle

15:29 The 2016 hyperscale pivot — the Freedom Design and the availability zones

19:04 “Plan B: make plan A work” — the first deal, and Blackstone

24:09 EdgeConneX and what “the edge” really is

30:37 Building speculatively — the formula that won Atlanta

36:04 The messaging problem — what a data center actually is

40:09 Why AI isn’t a bubble (and meeting OpenAI in 2017)

45:08 “One throat to choke,” building sales talent, and the takeaway: culture

Links: Rob Hopewell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robhopewell/

QTS Data Centers: Q.com

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

A West Texas frac company turned out to be one of the best-positioned energy players of the AI era. Luke Saladyga explains how that happened, why power got scarce so fast, and why the steadiest jobs of the next decade might be ones nobody told you to want.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Welcome back on Star Wars Day

00:02:13 The perfect storm: how power got scarce

00:09:10 From Oracle to VoltaGrid: frack fields to AI power

00:10:21 Moving 25 to 40 megawatts in under 24 hours

00:12:38 The hard part: load transients in milliseconds

00:20:24 Why Luke joined, and betting before the contracts

00:24:00 8.3 gigawatts contracted, and why competition matters

00:30:09 How Oracle burned the ships

00:36:14 Will the grid catch up? The swing-set problem

00:46:01 Is this a bubble? Why turbine makers stay cautious

00:54:04 Communication and energy: the engine of every advance

00:56:20 Behind the meter, explained simply

00:58:50 Take-or-pay contracts and the coming efficiency push

01:03:38 Labor: the real constraint and the aging-talent crisis

01:11:18 The markers of who adapts well

01:28:37 Mike Rowe, welders, and the trades PR battle

01:31:19 Georgia's free trade tuition and a welder who blew his mind

01:35:23 Where to follow Luke, and the one takeaway: embrace the chaos

References and Links:

Luke Saladyga LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saladyga/

VoltaGrid: https://voltagrid.com

Jim Gao (Phaidra): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgao/

Texas SB6 — load-transient / large-load interconnection bill

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.QTSDataCenters.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

Somewhere along the way “diesel” turned into a dirty word. Jim McDonald’s spent 30 years on the generators that keep 911, hospitals, and your data alive — and he’s a little tired of playing the villain. We get into what’s real, what’s myth, and why he still thinks everybody wins.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Welcome, and the “luminary chair”

00:01:24 From the University of Delaware to founding MIRATECH (1992)

00:04:16 The first data center (2006) and the “internet hotel”

00:06:52 What a backup generator does, and why a data center needs it

00:10:16 The “nines” of reliability and the 7-second diesel start

00:13:27 What “five nines” actually means in downtime

00:16:42 How often the generators really run (mostly testing)

00:19:44 Diesel’s “Mufasa moment”: how a word got loaded

00:24:00 “Dirty diesel” — where the myth comes from

00:25:07 The ratepayer pledge and the peak-power problem

00:27:06 Why diesel: 48 hours of fuel on site

00:30:15 Behind-the-meter and microgrids, explained

00:36:14 202(c) orders, Ashburn, and grid-vs-on-site emissions

00:48:14 PJM, the load-duration curve, and demand response

01:02:10 EPA Tier 2 to Tier 4 and a “new spirit of cooperation”

01:14:57 Energy storage: heating bricks, ice, and synthetic DNA

01:30:05 Small modular reactors and the nuclear question

01:33:24 Three daughters and “nuclear is super safe”

01:40:44 What to watch in the next 18–24 months

01:43:13 The takeaway: open minds, and everybody wins

References and Links:

Jim McDonald (guest), MIRATECH — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-mcdonald-80229223

MIRATECH (guest’s company): miratechcorp.com

David McCall (host): linkedin.com/in/davidnmccall

QTS: q.com

Ratepayer Protection Pledge (White House, March 2026): whitehouse.gov — Ratepayer Protection Pledge

PJM Interconnection (regional grid operator referenced re: load-duration curve / demand response): pjm.com

Book referenced — “The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel” by Douglas Brunt (2023).

Plant Vogtle (Georgia Power / Southern Company) — the Georgia nuclear plant Jim worked near during construction.

Michael Shellenberger nuclear talk (~10–15 years ago, “several million views”)

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.QTSDataCenters.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]

We’re all chasing the same thing: safe, affordable, local power. Rahul Kar thinks we keep overlooking the easiest source of it — the power already sitting unused inside our own data centers. He’s convinced it’s hiding in plain sight, and he explains it with a kids’ story.

Chapters:

00:00:00 From Boston to Redwood City: an engineer’s “five grand challenges”

00:06:53 Hammerhead AI for non-engineers: the two-toy-car rule

00:09:49 Why data centers run at 30–40% capacity (and why it’s by design)

00:15:41 Plain English: training vs. inferencing, and what a “token” is

00:21:06 Visibility first: how operators stop over-building

00:24:43 Turning stranded power into net-new, flexible workloads

00:28:14 Reliability, community trust, and being a good steward

00:31:56 Resilience by distribution: many sites, one brain (the 60-millisecond point)

00:35:07 From virtual power plants to AI orchestration

00:41:46 Small Is Beautiful vs. The Bitter Lesson: the tension driving the company

00:49:08 The “easy button,” and the one big idea: a utilization crisis, not a power crisis

References and Links:

Rahul Kar (guest) — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rahulkar

Hammerhead AI (guest’s company): hammerheadco.ai

AutoGrid — Rahul Kar’s prior company; pioneered software-defined “virtual power plants” and was later acquired by Schneider Electric 

E. F. Schumacher, “Small Is Beautiful” (1973) — the economics-of-scale idea Rahul cites as a guiding influence

Richard Sutton, “The Bitter Lesson” (2019) — the essay arguing that brute-force compute tends to beat hand-designed methods; Rahul calls Sutton “the father of reinforcement learning” Dean Nelson — named as a longtime champion of the do-more-with-what-you-have mindset; associated with Sun Microsystems

Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) — the industry conference where David spoke on a panel Rahul attended

Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!

For more information, go to https://www.QTSDataCenters.com

Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters

Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]