Oct 26, 2026 · 6 min
Technology’s trust collapse reaches America’s data centers
Introducing How We Got Here -- NLW's new podcast
The episode frames opposition to data centers as part of a broader shift in how Americans understand technology’s power, wealth, and social costs.
- 1How We Got Here will add historical context to major trends that daily news coverage cannot fully explain.
- 2The debut examines technology’s movement from America’s most trusted industry to a source of public anxiety and political conflict.
- 3Public anger over data centers becomes a lens for understanding the forces that shaped the present.
Don't miss
The episode recasts anger over data centers as a symptom of technology’s broader loss of public trust.
The brief
Nathaniel Whittemore introduces How We Got Here, a weekly podcast spun out of the AI Daily Brief for stories whose historical context cannot fit into daily coverage.
The debut starts with public anger over data centers, treating the controversy as evidence of a wider change in America’s relationship with technology.
Technology once ranked among America’s most trusted industries; it now carries anxieties about wealth, power, infrastructure, and who benefits from progress.
The episode’s central question is how the country arrived at this point, and what the backlash over data centers reveals about the present.
What was said on this episode
5 statements · 5 negative
A majority opposed data centers near their homes by February 2026.
“51 percent opposed”
Listen at 3:09
Opposition to local data centers reached 70% by May 2026.
“By May of this year, it was up to 70 percent opposed.”
Listen at 3:11
Among 2024 Trump voters, 47% opposed nearby data centers versus 35% supporting them.
“35% of 2024 Trump voters supported a data center near them, 47% opposed them”
Listen at 4:21
American trust in the technology industry declined substantially over roughly 15 years.
“Over roughly 15 years, tech went from one of the most admired and trusted large industries in America to the embodiment of people's deepest anxieties about money and power.”
Listen at 4:53
Public views of the internet industry became net negative by 2021.
“The internet industry, meanwhile, went from 59% positive in 2017, to a net negative by 2021, with just 35% positive ratings compared to 40% who viewed it negatively.”
Listen at 5:40
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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