AI is transforming everything—but what’s powering it? In this episode of The Deep, Erika Ahern uncovers the hidden costs of AI data centers: skyrocketing energy use, water consumption, rising utility bills, and growing local backlash. The cloud isn’t weightless—it’s industrial. And it might be coming to your backyard next.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro: The AI data center explosion

1:59 How data centers have changed

4:07 Mapping U.S. data centers

5:40 Energy consumption

7:52 Residents pay the price

9:18 Water usage

11:11 Land grabs and noise

12:23 Tax incentives

13:23 Do data centers create jobs?

14:55 Encroachment on residential areas

15:37 What are we doing about it?

17:24 Conclusion: Is there any stopping it?

Watch The Deep on Zeale: https://zeale.co/podcasts/the-deep

Trump pauses strikes on Iran as troop deployments ramp up and Hormuz negotiations continue. Meanwhile, DHS shutdown chaos spreads to airports, causing long TSA wait times. And finally, are Catholic conversions rising nationwide? All this and more on the LOOPcast!

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00:00 Welcome to the LOOPcast

04:00 Iran War - Day 25

32:44 TSA/DHS Disaster

42:00 Good News

1:02:38 Culture Block

1:11:15 Church Corner

1:41:46 Twilight Zone

1:58:12 Closing Prayer

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What would happen if euthanasia had a marketing department?

In Breakfast of Champions, director Andrew Shemin imagines a darkly satirical world where a cheerful sales representative walks into a neighborhood bar with an unusual proposal: partner with her company to promote assisted death to elderly patrons. What follows is a tense and unsettling conversation that explores dignity, persuasion, and the quiet pressures shaping end-of-life decisions today.

In this interview, Andrew Shemin explains the inspiration behind the film, how satire can reveal uncomfortable truths, and why stories like this matter right now.

Watch now on Zeale: https://zeale.co/video/breakfast-of-champions