About this episode
Ian O’Grady discusses Arizona's strategies for attracting major investments in semiconductor and battery production.
How did Arizona lock in billion-dollar investments from TSMC, Intel, and LG Energy? Ian O’Grady, Senior Policy Advisor to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, joins ChinaTalk to share war stories from the state that’s successfully reshoring semiconductor and battery production. Our conversation covers: Labor Disputes and Crisis Management — How the Governor’s Office mediates disagreements between stakeholders and keeps workers happy. Clean Air Act vs. chips — Why Arizona’s fabs struggled to get building permits despite the state’s low per-capita emissions. Arizona’s Abundance Playbook — Including a consolidated commerce authority, a culture of engineering > litigation, and institutional factors that help Arizona outbuild Ohio and Texas. Taiwanifying the Desert — How Phoenix welcomed TSMC engineers with Mandarin programs in schools, Din Tai Fung, and a new Costco. Industrial Policy Resource Wars — How Arizona avoids backlash based on power and water use concerns. Co-hosting is ChinaTalk researcher Aqib Zakaria. Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Hosts: Aqib Zakaria, Jordan Schneider
Guest: Ian O’Grady
Topics covered
- semiconductor production
- battery production
- industrial policy
- labor relations
- environmental regulations
- economic development
Keywords
- Arizona
- semiconductors
- TSMC
- Intel
- LG Energy
- labor disputes
- Clean Air Act
- industrial policy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: TSMC, Intel, LG Energy
Books & works: Cadillac Desert
Places: Arizona, Phoenix
More episodes of ChinaTalk
- ModelTalk: Claude Fable (Nathan's pissed), is AI actually productive, advice for graduates · June 12, 2026 · 56 min
- Sen. Slotkin on NDAA, AI Nukes, Chinese Cars, and Taiwan · June 11, 2026 · 32 min
- Paul Kennedy on Great Powers, Past and Present · June 8, 2026 · 1h 19m
- WarTalk: The View from AFRICOM with LTG Brennan · June 5, 2026 · 1h 3m
- The Pope has AI Takes · June 1, 2026 · 51 min
- WarTalk: NatSec in Congress + AI Evals for War · May 29, 2026 · 49 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the ChinaTalk podcast page.