The AI Data Center Moral Panic
The AI Data Center Moral Panic  
Podcast: The Dispatch Podcast
Published On: Fri Aug 28 2026
Description: Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and David French to discuss the political battle over data centers and Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada. The Agenda: —Data center u-turn —How data centers affect communities —National security implications —Misinformation about data centers —The U.S.-Canada trade war —Worth your time: Dolly Parton Show notes: —Megan McArdle’s podcast —Wall Street Journal’s AI op-ed —Fox News poll on data centers —Why’d You Come In Here —Dolly Parton's Johnny Carson song —The Wailin' Jennys—Light Of A Clear Blue Morning —Dolly’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including audio versions of all our articles and newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices