Powering America

34 Episodes

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Unclogging the Pipeline: Why Permitting Delays Are Stalling BEAD Broadband

2026-11-1017:29

On this episode of the Powering America Podcast, host Brian Hyde speaks with Bartlett Cleland, research fellow at the Institute for Policy Innovation, about the systemic delays facing the federal government's $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Cleland outlines how municipal bureaucracy and overlapping local, state, and federal permits have stalled rural broadband expansion, while presenting practical administrative solutions to streamline reviews and highlighting how advancing satellite technology is reshaping the future of rural connectivity.

The Net-Zero Illusion: Gordon Tomb on Green Mandates and the Grid

2026-11-0317:04

On this episode of the Powering America Podcast, host Brian Hyde sits down with Gordon Tomb, Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation, to examine the real-world impact of state renewable energy mandates. Drawing on decades of experience in the utility and nuclear sectors, Tomb details how policies like Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards have saddled ratepayers with billions of dollars in added costs while wind and solar still generate just 4% of the state's electricity. The conversation explores the engineering reality of power density, the scapegoating of AI data centers for high electricity prices, and why affordable, reliable power depends on unleashing natural gas and expanding advanced nuclear energy.

Derailed Competition: The $85B Rail Mega-Merger Threatening US Supply Chains

2026-10-2719:59

Boston University assistant professor and American Economic Liberties Project senior fellow Eric Peinert joins the Powering America Podcast to break down the proposed $85 billion mega-merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. Peinert details how creating the nation's first transcontinental railroad would crush shipper leverage, depress rail labor wages, and reverse decades of Surface Transportation Board precedent designed to halt anticompetitive rail consolidation. He also examines the political pressure surrounding the independent agency and argues regulators must block the transaction outright rather than settle for unenforceable behavioral concessions.

Data Centers: The New Infrastructure, Taxpayer Friend or Foe?

2026-10-2016:45

Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, discusses the evolving role of data centers in the U.S. economy and their impact on taxpayers. Sepp clarifies common misconceptions about data centers, highlighting their function as essential infrastructure for the information economy, encompassing everything from personal photos to AI development. He uses Loudoun County, Virginia, as a prime example of how data centers can be significant net contributors to local tax bases, contrasting it with Montgomery County, Maryland, where a moratorium on data centers has coincided with tax increases. Sepp advocates for a rational approach to data center policy, emphasizing fair tax treatment comparable to other industries and addressing concerns about energy and water consumption with factual data. Additionally, he touches on the National Taxpayers Union's broader priorities, including curbing government spending and advocating for taxpayer rights.

Diana Moss: How Corporate Monopolies Threaten Free-Market Competition

2026-10-1315:57

Are corporate monopolies undermining America's free-market economy? On this episode of The Powering America Podcast, host Bryan Hyde speaks with Diana Moss, vice president and director of competition policy at the Progressive Policy Institute. Moss says dominant companies can squeeze out smaller competitors, raise prices and limit consumer choice. She also warns about "regulatory capture," a phenomenon in which powerful corporations seek government regulations that help preserve their market dominance.

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