Episode 40: Counter-Space and the Data Center Revolt w/ Kai Bosworth

Kai Bosworth joins us to discuss the strange politics of the data center revolt, the AI boom’s place in the global energy system, and what the rise and fall of the climate movement can teach us about the struggles taking shape in its wake.Works mentioned: Where is the U.S. climate movement?, Pipeline Populism: Grassroots Environmentalism in the 21st Century, AI Data Center Development in Frackland, Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism, The Production of SpaceKai Bosworth is a geographer and political ecologist, and an Associate Professor at the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of Pipeline Populism: Grassroots Environmentalism in the 21st Century. His current book project is provisionally entitled Protectors of the Subsurface: Militant Investigation and Critical Imagination in Anti-Oil Activism.To support Palestinians in Gaza, consider donating through The Sameer Project.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek VenkatramanResearcher: KC This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe