Building Local Power

By Institute for Local Self-Reliance

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Category: Society & Culture

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Subscribers: 62
Reviews: 1
Episodes: 148

heidi
 Dec 31, 2022
Ive been listening to this podcast for a few years now. always interesting, it gives me news about what other communities are doing regarding local power, anti-monopoly, broadband internet coverage for urban and rural areas, banding together for many purposes to make their communities better. Really interesting

Description

Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Building Local Power is a podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance that brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of citizens and communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates, plus conversations with ILSR’s own in-house experts, who help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities, mapping the solutions that distribute power to everyday people. Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.

Episode Date
The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 2 - They Underestimated Us
Apr 30, 2026
The Data Centers Are Coming: Ep. 1 - Planting a Flag
Apr 30, 2026
Introducing "The Data Centers Are Coming"
Apr 16, 2026
Internet as a Human Right: Christopher Mitchell on Community Networks
Aug 21, 2025
Why Solving Waste Has To Be Local: Brenda Platt on Sustainability and Community
Aug 07, 2025
Why Clean Energy Is Not Enough: John Farrell on Lessons from David Morris
Jul 24, 2025
The Problems You Can Solve: Stacy Mitchell on David Morris’s Legacy
Jul 15, 2025
What Cities Can Do: Remembering David Morris
Jul 03, 2025
Increasing Internet Access at the Speed of Trust: Sean Gonsalves on the Digital Equity Act
Jun 12, 2025
The Human Side of Government Work: Paola Santana on Procurement
May 29, 2025
The Champion of Local Champions: Recast City’s Ilana Preuss
May 15, 2025
The Diner Building Community In Times of Crisis: Ladybird’s Meg Heriford
May 01, 2025
Where Things Are Happening: Ron Knox on the State(s) of Antitrust
Apr 17, 2025
Civil Unrest, Group Chats, and Representation: Rachel Hernandez on Governing as a First-Gen Mayor
Apr 03, 2025
“A Little Odd, but A Little Amazing”: Adriana Valdez Young and the Secret Mall Apartment
Mar 20, 2025
Taking a Risk for Rural Economic Growth with Dante Pittman
Mar 06, 2025
From Neighborhood Streets to City Hall with Zac Blanchard
Feb 20, 2025
Staying Local at the Statehouse with Tristan Rader
Feb 06, 2025
How Structural Racism Fuels American Monopolies
Jan 23, 2025
“The Bad Target”: The Rise of Consumer Redlining
Jan 09, 2025
A Rebalancing Act: How We Restore Local Power in 2025
Dec 26, 2024
The Environmental Inequity of AI
Dec 12, 2024
Pizza, DMs, and Solidarity: Filming the Amazon Labor Fight
Nov 27, 2024
Amazon, Labor, and Race
Nov 14, 2024
Bookstores and Local Power with BLP’s New Host, Danny Caine
Oct 31, 2024
The Will and the Way to Revive ‘the Mecca’
Oct 18, 2024
Mending Broken Promises on Dorr Street
Oct 04, 2024
A Heyday in the Toledo Life
Sep 19, 2024
Rediscovering Toledo’s Black Wall Street
Sep 05, 2024
Healthy Skepticism of Pharmacy Giants is Spreading
Aug 22, 2024
Absolute Power Corrupting Our Energy System
Aug 08, 2024
A National Strategy for Community Composting
Jul 25, 2024
DOJ Takes On Live Nation/Ticketmaster
Jul 11, 2024
Inside Scoop on Local News’ Future
Jun 21, 2024
Reviving the Riverfront, and D.C.
May 30, 2024
Essential Tools for Neighborhood Revitalization
May 16, 2024
The Seed of Local Power
May 02, 2024
Giving DC Its Flowers
Apr 18, 2024
New Generational Wealth in Detroit
Apr 04, 2024
It Takes an Avalon Village
Mar 21, 2024
Detroit Has No Time to Waste Food
Mar 07, 2024
Feeding Detroit
Feb 22, 2024
Writing Detroit’s Next Chapter
Feb 08, 2024
The City Series
Jan 29, 2024
How to Get Away With Merger Season Recap
Dec 21, 2023
Cleanup on Aisle 1990
Dec 14, 2023
Sparking a Community Broadband Revolution
Nov 30, 2023
Consolidation in the Cord-Cutting Era
Nov 16, 2023
Investment Funds v. A Democratic Future
Nov 02, 2023
New Mexicans v. Fossil Fuel Giants
Oct 19, 2023
BlackRock v. Black Gold
Oct 05, 2023
A Rotten Waste Merger
Sep 21, 2023
Beer Mergers Brew Disaster
Sep 07, 2023
How To Get Away With Merger (Season Preview)
Aug 31, 2023
Keeping My Public Options Open
Jul 06, 2023
Broadband is Good for Your Health
Jun 20, 2023
Left Out in the Coal
Jun 10, 2023
Housing Is Where the Heart Is
May 18, 2023
Composters Dreaming, Investors Scheming
May 03, 2023
Graying of the Fleet
Apr 18, 2023
A Country with No Farmers
Mar 30, 2023
A Food Oasis in North Tulsa
Mar 16, 2023
Toledo Takes Dollar Stores to Church
Feb 28, 2023
Shifting the Paradigm, One Community at a Time
Dec 29, 2022
Community Broadband’s Broad Appeal
Dec 15, 2022
Breaking Bad Energy
Nov 17, 2022
Unpacking the Year in Composting
Nov 03, 2022
A Renewable Rural America
Oct 20, 2022
A Short-Term Win, A Long-Term Target
Oct 06, 2022
A Renaissance for Black Voices and Spaces
Sep 22, 2022
Inflation: The True Monopoly Story
Aug 25, 2022
Creating New Narratives: Youth Are the Present — Episode 157 of Building Local Power
Aug 11, 2022
Maps Can Make or Break Communities’ Broadband Futures — Episode 152 of Building Local Power
Jun 02, 2022
Policy Progress and Coalition Building — Episode 151 of Building Local Power
May 19, 2022
In New York and Oregon, Canning Reduces Waste and Changes Lives — Episode 150 of Building Local Power
May 05, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: People Love Local Food. Yet Local Farmers are Disappearing. What’s Going On?
Apr 14, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: Democratizing Antitrust with Harry First
Mar 03, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: Independent Musicians and the Anti-Monopoly Movement
Feb 17, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: Centering Racial Justice in the Antimonopoly Fight
Feb 03, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: Is Amazon Picking Winners and Losers Among America’s Cities
Jan 20, 2022
Building Local Power Highlight: Zephyr Teachout on Building an Antimonopoly Movement
Dec 15, 2021
Building Local Power Highlight: David Dayen Talks America’s Monopoly Problem
Dec 01, 2021
Small Businesses Rise Up
Apr 20, 2021
Should Big Utilities Pay for Their Bad Choices? — Episode 117 of Building Local Power
Jan 07, 2021
A Cornucopia of Policy Opportunities in the New Year — Episode 115 of Building Local Power
Nov 25, 2020
How Local Control Empowers Cities to Fight Climate Change (Episode 109)
Sep 17, 2020
Zephyr Teachout on Building an Antimonopoly Movement (Episode 108)
Sep 03, 2020
Can the People Take Power Back From Big Tech? (Episode 107)
Aug 20, 2020
David Dayen Talks America’s Monopoly Problem (Episode 106)
Aug 06, 2020
Why Our Best Opportunity to Challenge Corporate Control is at the Local Level (Episode 105)
Jul 23, 2020
Mainers Consider Putting Electricity, Internet in Local Hands (Episode 103)
Jun 25, 2020
Local Compost Enterprise Cultivates a Just and Healthy Community (Episode 102)
Jun 11, 2020
How Cities and States Are Stepping up to Help Small Businesses in Crisis (Episode 101)
May 28, 2020
Locally-Owned Hardware Stores Show Flexibility and Resilience in the Face of COVID-19 (Episode 100)
May 14, 2020
Small Businesses Wait for Help While Amazon Profits From Pandemic (Episode 99)
Apr 30, 2020
Home Rule Empowers Cities to Innovate, Confront Challenges (Episode 98)
Apr 16, 2020
Independent Pharmacies are on the Front Lines of COVID-19 Care (Episode 97)
Apr 09, 2020
How States and Cities Are Leading the Clean Energy Revolution (Episode 96)
Apr 02, 2020
The Pandemic is Pushing Main Street Toward Collapse (Episode 95)
Mar 25, 2020
Coronavirus Shows How Inequity Makes Us Vulnerable (Episode 94)
Mar 18, 2020
Botanical Garden in NYC is a Hub for Composting, Food Recovery, Locally Grown Food (Episode 93)
Mar 05, 2020
Localism vs. Populism: Global Movements Against Centralization (Episode 92)
Feb 20, 2020
Podcast Share: Green Dreamer – Decentralized Energy and Natural Disasters (Bonus Episode)
Sep 26, 2019
Is Congress Starting to Take Antitrust Seriously? (Episode 79)
Aug 22, 2019
Local Storage is Changing the Decision Making Power of the Energy System (Episode 52)
Aug 09, 2018
Want to Strengthen Independent Businesses? Use These Policies (Episode 51)
Jul 26, 2018
The Huge Supreme Court Cases You May Have Missed (Episode 49)
Jun 28, 2018
Innovation in Small Town America (Episode 48)
Jun 14, 2018
A Better Way to Think about the Future of Work (Episode 47)
May 31, 2018
Understanding Media Monopolies with Laura Flanders (Episode 45)
May 03, 2018
Big Utilities See Pushback to Their Dominant Role in State Houses (Episode 44)
Apr 19, 2018
Rescuing Materials and Building Community in Berkeley Thanks to “Waste” (Episode 43)
Apr 05, 2018
Paying Taxes Is More Popular Than You Think (Episode 41)
Mar 08, 2018
Brendan Greeley on Why We Need a Pro-Competition Political Party (Episode 40)
Feb 23, 2018
Colorado State Senator Steve Fenberg on Local Power Versus Corporate Power (Episode 39)
Feb 08, 2018
Environmental Justice & Local Activism, A Conversation with NAACP Leader Jacqui Patterson (Episode 38)
Jan 25, 2018
Want Your City to Prosper? Then Forget Everything You Think You Know about Economic Growth (Episode 37)
Jan 11, 2018
The Rising Anti-Monopoly Movement (Episode 36)
Dec 28, 2017
Building a Zero Waste World, One Community at a Time (Episode 35)
Dec 14, 2017
Internet Connectivity in Indigenous Communities (Episode 34)
Nov 30, 2017
Supporting Family Farming in the Age of Monopoly with Joe Maxwell (Episode 33)
Nov 16, 2017
This Ag Economist Preached Bigger is Better. Now He Says the Evidence Favors Small Farms. (Episode 32)
Nov 02, 2017
San Francisco Breaks the Chain Stores, Strengthens Neighborhood Economies (Episode 31)
Oct 19, 2017
Beating the Monopolies: Barry Lynn Explains How We Will Win (Episode 30)
Oct 05, 2017
Electric Vehicles Use Local Power to Cut Pollution and Driving Costs (Episode 29)
Sep 21, 2017
What Neighborhood Retail Gets Right (Episode 27)
Aug 24, 2017
Connecting Rural America: Internet Access for All (Episode 26)
Aug 10, 2017
Fishing for Local Power (Episode 25)
Jul 27, 2017
Local Solar Power: Red Plus Blue Makes a Green Tea Party (Episode 24)
Jul 13, 2017
How Big Businesses Get Big Subsidies (Episode 23)
Jun 29, 2017
The Monopolist’s Playbook: Strategies To Retain Overwhelming Economic Power (Episode 21)
Jun 01, 2017
Tech Startup Allows Communities to Support Local Businesses (Episode 20)
May 18, 2017
Creating Community Wealth Through Compost (Episode 19)
May 04, 2017
Policies That Make Markets Work, Hello Antitrust! (Episode 18)
Apr 27, 2017
Mayors Take on Preemption to Defend Local Solutions (Episode 17)
Apr 20, 2017
Small Banks, Big Benefits (Episode 16)
Apr 13, 2017
Thanks To Your Local Economy, Renewables Aren’t Going Anywhere (Episode 15)
Apr 06, 2017
Breaking Through Partisanship: Left-Right-Local (Episode 14)
Mar 23, 2017
The Power and Perils of Cooperatives (Episode 12)
Feb 23, 2017
Bolstering Waste Recovery Through Model Legislation (Episode 11)
Feb 09, 2017
Preemption, Local Authority, & Municipal Broadband (Episode 10)
Jan 26, 2017
The Perils of Privatization (Episode 9)
Jan 12, 2017
The Year in Building Local Power (Episode 8)
Dec 29, 2016
Composting Cultivates Economic Development (Episode 7)
Dec 15, 2016
Broadband Boosted at the Ballot, An Election Wrap-Up (Episode 5)
Nov 17, 2016
Energy Democracy: Customer Control over Renewable Energy (Episode 3)
Oct 20, 2016
The True Value of Recycling and the Waste Stream (Episode 2)
Oct 06, 2016
The Dark Store Tax Dodge of Big-Box Retailers (Episode 1)
Sep 23, 2016