The latest gold rush isn’t buried in the dirt. It’s powered by servers. As tech giants race to build hyperscale data centers for the artificial intelligence boom, the promise of economic growth is colliding with growing resistance from rural communities.

In our eighth episode this season, we take you to rural Texas, where Paluxy River Valley residents are determined to protect their water, land and way of life. Why has Texas become a new frontier for this rapidly expanding industry?

Tech advocates point to investment, jobs and the U.S.’s technological future. Data centers are critical to AI and the digital economy, but they can consume enormous amounts of electricity, water and land while generating noise and light pollution. As the data center boom accelerates, one question looms: How do we build the infrastructure of the future without sacrificing the places people call home?

Special guests:

• Rita Beving, North Texas representative for Public Citizen
• Joanne Carcamo, co-founder of Protect the Paluxy Valley
• Patrick Hedger, director of policy at NetChoice
• Robert Paterson, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens. 

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.