The Data Center Next Door

The Data Center Next Door

From Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

May 16, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

This episode explores the rapid expansion of data centers in Virginia and the local opposition to their development.

Virginia might be for lovers, but more recently, it’s for data centers. The state has more data centers than anywhere in the world, and companies are pushing to build more of them, including around some of the most hallowed ground in the country: the Manassas National Battlefield Park. “The amount of surface land that is being displaced by data centers and everything that goes with that, I don’t think people understand what’s really happening,” says Elena Schlossberg, a leading activist against data center development in Northern Virginia. “There’s NIMBY and there’s NOTE, and NOTE is ‘not over there, either.’” This week on Reveal , we look into our AI future and the local machinations that are pitting neighbor against neighbor. And we listen in as our “tech lords” talk about the future they are planning for us, whether we want it or not. Support Reveal’s journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly Connect with us on Bluesky , Facebook and Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

People in this episode

Host: Reveal

Guest: Elena Schlossberg

Topics covered

  • data centers
  • environmental impact
  • local activism
  • technology
  • community conflict

Keywords

  • data centers
  • Virginia
  • Elena Schlossberg
  • Manassas National Battlefield Park
  • NIMBY
  • NOTE
  • technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Reveal

Places: Virginia, Manassas National Battlefield Park

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