Episode 7: Electric Futures Live! Everything You Need to Know About Data Centers

About this episode

This episode discusses key issues surrounding data centers with expert panelists.

Recorded live in USC’s Wallis Annenberg Hall in April 2026, this special episode focuses on the key issues surrounding data centers, the focus of Season 3. What exactly are data centers? Who benefits from their development? What are the drawbacks? Experts will answer those questions – and yours – alongside host Chip Zukoski, USC’s Robert E. Vivian Professor in Energy Resources and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering. Featured panelists include: Shaolei Ren, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside Kelly Twomley Sanders, Professor, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sean Wilcock, Vice President of Business Development & Services at Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation You can follow us on Instagram at⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠@usc_electricfutures⁠ ⁠⁠⁠. Additional resources from USC’s Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication: ⁠https://climatecenter.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Data-centers-guide.pdf⁠ ⁠How to Create a Climate Podcast⁠ ----- Electric Futures is an original podcast from the University of Southern California, hosted…

People in this episode

Host: Chip Zukoski

Guests: Shaolei Ren, Kelly Twomley Sanders, Sean Wilcock

Topics covered

• data centers
• energy resources
• climate journalism
• engineering
• community development

Keywords

• data centers
• energy resources
• climate journalism
• engineering
• community development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Southern California, University of California, Riverside, Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation

Places: USC’s Wallis Annenberg Hall

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• The Data Center Next Door | Episode 6: The AI Data Center Pushback · April 15, 2026 · 1h 1m
• The Data Center Next Door | Episode 5: Will AI Bring Jobs to the Valley? · April 15, 2026 · 43 min
• The Data Center Next Door | Episode 4: Not in My Backyard · April 15, 2026 · 1h 3m
• The Data Center Next Door | Episode 3: Water is for Fighting Over · April 15, 2026 · 45 min
• The Data Center Next Door | Episode 2: The Tech Behind an AI Data Center · April 15, 2026 · 59 min