Castuner

Building Local Power

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.

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Episodes

154 episodes

  1. The Data Centers Are Coming: Bonus Episode 2 - Fighting for Our Lives 37:12
  2. The Data Centers Are Coming: Bonus Ep. 1 - A New Lens on Community 31:16
  3. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 6 - Closing Arguments 48:45
  4. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 5 - A Better Way 47:07
  5. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 4 - Transmission (Im)possible 41:36
  6. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 3 - Contamination Without Representation 38:58
  7. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 2 - They Underestimated Us 40:07
  8. The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 1 - Planting a Flag 40:54
  9. Introducing "The Data Centers Are Coming" 3:00
  10. Internet as a Human Right: Christopher Mitchell on Community Networks 26:16
  11. Why Solving Waste Has To Be Local: Brenda Platt on Sustainability and Community 29:54
  12. Why Clean Energy Is Not Enough: John Farrell on Lessons from David Morris 26:37
  13. The Problems You Can Solve: Stacy Mitchell on David Morris’s Legacy 26:07
  14. What Cities Can Do: Remembering David Morris 33:57
  15. Increasing Internet Access at the Speed of Trust: Sean Gonsalves on the Digital Equity Act 26:32
  16. The Human Side of Government Work: Paola Santana on Procurement 22:51
  17. The Champion of Local Champions: Recast City’s Ilana Preuss 23:33
  18. The Diner Building Community In Times of Crisis: Ladybird’s Meg Heriford 33:20
  19. Where Things Are Happening: Ron Knox on the State(s) of Antitrust 27:46
  20. Civil Unrest, Group Chats, and Representation: Rachel Hernandez on Governing as a First-Gen Mayor 22:36
  21. “A Little Odd, but A Little Amazing”: Adriana Valdez Young and the Secret Mall Apartment 27:15
  22. Taking a Risk for Rural Economic Growth with Dante Pittman 23:16
  23. From Neighborhood Streets to City Hall with Zac Blanchard 28:40
  24. Staying Local at the Statehouse with Tristan Rader 23:24
  25. How Structural Racism Fuels American Monopolies 27:53
  26. “The Bad Target”: The Rise of Consumer Redlining 20:26
  27. A Rebalancing Act: How We Restore Local Power in 2025 38:30
  28. The Environmental Inequity of AI 28:53
  29. Pizza, DMs, and Solidarity: Filming the Amazon Labor Fight 25:10
  30. Amazon, Labor, and Race 36:59
  31. Bookstores and Local Power with BLP’s New Host, Danny Caine 22:15
  32. The Will and the Way to Revive ‘the Mecca’ 23:14
  33. Mending Broken Promises on Dorr Street 23:17
  34. A Heyday in the Toledo Life 15:00
  35. Rediscovering Toledo’s Black Wall Street 19:08
  36. Healthy Skepticism of Pharmacy Giants is Spreading 27:59
  37. Absolute Power Corrupting Our Energy System 58:01
  38. A National Strategy for Community Composting 45:58
  39. DOJ Takes On Live Nation/Ticketmaster 37:02
  40. Inside Scoop on Local News’ Future 32:17
  41. Reviving the Riverfront, and D.C. 27:33
  42. Essential Tools for Neighborhood Revitalization 26:04
  43. The Seed of Local Power 26:08
  44. Giving DC Its Flowers 17:51
  45. New Generational Wealth in Detroit 27:37
  46. It Takes an Avalon Village 25:14
  47. Detroit Has No Time to Waste Food 18:23
  48. Feeding Detroit 30:56
  49. Writing Detroit’s Next Chapter 16:56
  50. The City Series 1:43