5/6/26: Shark Tank Host Faces Data Center Backlash, Nick Shirley Visists Cuba, Trump Attacks Disloyal MAGA, 2026 Dire Job Market

This episode covers pushback against massive data center builds amid AI hype, Nick Shirley's fraught reporting trip to Cuba, primary election fallout from Trump's gerrymandering demands, and a grim job market for new computer science graduates facing AI disruption.

Data Centers Spark Local and Economic Backlash

A proposed 62-square-mile data center in Utah desert faces fierce local opposition over power demands exceeding the state's total, water use, noise, heat, and a huge tax break. Developer Kevin O'Leary, claiming environmental expertise, touts air-cooled tech, solar integration, and efficient batteries, dismissing 90% of protesters as uninformed. Despite public outcry, the project advances.

Rohit Chopra, ex-CFPB director ousted by Trump, explains states competing with tax subsidies for these power-hungry facilities, despite few ongoing jobs post-construction. He highlights AI's role in rising consumer costs like electricity and chips, per Goldman Sachs. A Bloomberg graphic reveals "circularity"—Microsoft funding Nvidia to supply Microsoft—in a self-reinforcing loop among Magnificent Seven tech firms, comprising over a third of the stock market. This concentration boosts top 1% wealth (baby boomers gained $1T in one quarter) but risks ripples if revenues falter, as with OpenAI's delayed IPO. Regulators, Chopra warns, aren't scrutinizing linkages like pre-2008 banks.