“My running theory about data centers is that they're just a literal giant thing onto which we can project a lot of things. These are fears about energy prices, the environment, the incursion of big tech into all of our lives. Data centers are this perfect totem of everything going on in the world that is scary, AI and otherwise.”
The Vergecast · Tech Strategy & Big Tech · November 2026
Context
Pierce had asked whether the midterms were really about data centers, and was told mostly not, though people feel strongly about them. He offers his theory of why they have become such a focal point.
Transcript
…on the Verge team have been covering this at length over the last year or so, really. And as it comes to this moment, I brought Addie on the show to see how this became a data center election and what happens next, no matter who wins. Let's get into it. Adi Robertson, welcome back to The Vergecast.
Hey.
We're recording this on Monday, the day before the midterm elections in the United States. So I have brought you here to give your Nate Silver style predictions for every single race. I'm just kidding. What I want to talk about, and again, I bring this up because it's important to understand that. There are a lot of things we don't know, like who's going to win a lot of these races. I want to prognosticate a little bit at the end, but mostly I want to just dig into a question I've been thinking about and trying to figure out a lot over the last several months, which is how, in fact, data centers became maybe the central issue of, but certainly it seems like the story of this year's midterm elections. So I guess, to what extent do you think these midterms in the United States are actually about data centers? It's obviously a thing we talk about, but we are set up in prime to talk about this a lot. There's a lot going on in the world. Do you think this is in some real way an election about data centers?
I mean, I think in some ways we're not going to know that until afterward. But I honestly like, I know that I should not say this as we are the verge, we are the technology site. I think mostly no. Like I think that large part when you look at polls, if you ask people what are their top issues…
Well, and the thing that I struggle with is I think all of those things are really connected, right? Like I was reading over a lot of our coverage and a lot of what folks have been saying. And we have a lot of records from town hall meetings and stuff. And all this stuff is just so tied up in…
I think it's that. And I think we have said this on earlier podcasts and people have written about it, but it's also that it's something that you can stop. Like I think that there was a massive tech lash several years ago. And I think the thing people found out is if you're going up against a…
More from The Vergecast
