The Anti-Data Center Backlash Just Hit OUR Hometown

The national news landed in my backyard this week. Paducah, Kentucky, is getting a $100 billion data center at our old Department of Energy site. My friend Lacey Bowling joins me to sort through the water, the power, the money, and why nobody trusts anyone enough to lead us through it.

Topics discussed:

• Paducah's $100 billion data center announcement — Brookfield, NextEra, and a new natural gas plant at the old DOE site

• The anti-data center backlash: water use, noise, utility rates, and tax subsidies

• AI, inequality, and the comment that explains everything: "a hundred billion dollar investment when my family still lives paycheck to paycheck"

• The trust vacuum — local, state, and federal

• Outside of Politics: Our kids are high school seniors

Resources mentioned:

Hyperscale data center, natural gasfired project planned for Paducah's former nuclear plant (Kentucky Lantern)

The A.I. Revolt Is Here (The Ezra Klein Show)

Planned Texas data centers could emit significant pollution (Texas Tribune)

Bell County passed a data center moratorium. Residents worry that work continues. (Kentucky Lantern)

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

GiantSized Butterflies by Justin Roberts

Join us live in Minneapolis August 29

—

Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community:

—

Pantsuit Politics is hosted by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. Produced by Studio D Podcast Production. Our theme music was composed by Xander Singh with inspiration from original work by Dante Lima.

This podcast and every episode of it are wholly owned by Pantsuit Politics LLC and are protected by US and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

☑️ Explore the latest episodes, transcripts and updates

⭐ Join Pantsuit Politics Premium, support the show and enter the Spice Cabinet:

✅ Subscribe for nuanced political analysis every Tuesday and Friday

💬 What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

*Inside Pantsuit Politics: Nuanced News, Honest Disagreement & A Better Way Through*

Pantsuit Politics is the political podcast for people who want to understand the news without letting outrage take over. Hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers bring different personalities, priorities and perspectives to the week's biggest political stories, with more in common than cable news would have you believe.

➡️ Every Tuesday and Friday, they connect national headlines to the people, institutions, communities and relationships that shape everyday life. The goal is not to flatten complex issues into partisan talking points, but to offer context, competing perspectives and a manageable way to keep paying attention.

Episodes explore elections, democracy, public policy, courts, education, the economy, foreign affairs and political culture. Interviews with writers, public officials, experts and community leaders add depth, while Outside of Politics remembers that civic life is only one part of a full human life.

Pantsuit Politics is independent and listener-supported. Premium membership expands the conversation through Good Morning, More to Say, Spicy Live and the Spice Cabinet community, creating more space for analysis, reflection and kind, curious civic dialogue.

After more than a decade of conversations and two books, Sarah and Beth remain committed to a simple idea: disagreement does not have to destroy relationships, and staying informed does not have to mean living in a constant state of alarm.

✅ Subscribe to Pantsuit Politics for thoughtful political analysis, meaningful interviews and honest conversations that help you understand the news instead of simply reacting to it.

📬 Free Newsletter

🎧 Apple Podcasts

📱 *Follow Pantsuit Politics on social media!*

Instagram ▶️

Facebook ▶️

#PantsuitPolitics