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Machine Gods · Friday · 37 min

The Purple Tsunami Against Data Centers

AI was all over the 2026 midterms: in the ads, in the political spending and in voters’ opposition to data centers. We break down the races that most surprised us, from Texas to a small Ohio town that recalled its mayor over a proposed Meta facility. Will the backlash slow AI progress, or just force the industry to strike a better deal with communities? Then Rob Flaherty, co-founder of the Democratic AI super PAC Tomorrow Together, joins to share which AI messages moved voters, what a Democratic Congress could get done on AI safety, and how the fight over AI could shape 2028. For a transcript of this episode, select the episode on npr.org/machinegods. You can watch this full episode on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And if you’ve got a question you want us to answer, you can drop us a comment on any of those platforms or email us at hey@machinegods.fm. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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show notes

AI was all over the 2026 midterms: in the ads, in the political spending and in voters’ opposition to data centers. We break down the races that most surprised us, from Texas to a small Ohio town that recalled its mayor over a proposed Meta facility. Will the backlash slow AI progress, or just force the industry to strike a better deal with communities? Then Rob Flaherty, co-founder of the Democratic AI super PAC Tomorrow Together, joins to share which AI messages moved voters, what a Democratic Congress could get done on AI safety, and how the fight over AI could shape 2028.

For a transcript of this episode, select the episode on npr.org/machinegods.

You can watch this full episode on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And if you’ve got a question you want us to answer, you can drop us a comment on any of those platforms or email us at hey@machinegods.fm.


See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
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