Did the Midterms Destroy All Hope for Data Centers? | E2360
Show notes
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Today’s show:
Democrats swept the midterms, and a lot of their candidates ran explicitly against AI data centers. Then on Thursday, the Nasdaq fell 5%. But fear not: Jason says the panic is overblown. Back in August, he predicted that the anti-data center rhetoric on the campaign trail would transform into cutting a deal once the voters were counted.
On TWiST, Jason and Lon discuss the route to compromise that could define the next year of AI discourse. Find out why Jason still gives President Trump an A+ on AI, even as he lost touch with the country’s mood on other issues.
Plus we’re checking out some highlights from the archive, as the show followed the decline of Trump 2.0 in real time, and Jason explains his simple method for staying informed and in touch with everyday reality. (Talk to lots of different people!)
Plus: OpenAI’s post-election pledge, Anthropic’s first content licensing deal, Apple cuts engineer AI budgets, Lon’s latest This Week in AI demo, and the guys get mega-hyped for “Godzilla Minus Zero.”
Relevant Links
Voters rebuff data centers in every ballot measure except one (CNBC): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/data-center-ballot-measures-2026-midterm.html
Hinojosa's call for a data center moratorium until the legislature acts (campaign): https://ginafortexas.com/2026/07/new-hinojosa-calls-on-greg-abbott-to-put-moratorium-on-data-centers-until-a-legislative-session-that-puts-texans-first/
Talarico defeats Ken Paxton (Texas Tribune): https://www.texastribune.org/2026/11/03/texas-ken-paxton-james-talarico-us-senate-elections-2026/
Microsoft pulls out of its UK data center deal with Nscale (Computing): https://computing.co.uk/news/2026/ai/microsoft-exits-nscale-deal-ipo-at-risk
Gavin Baker on TX data center rules: https://x.com/GavinSBaker/status/2118420042283102604
California's billionaire tax (Prop 40) goes down (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-05/california-voters-poised-to-reject-first-ever-billionaire-tax
TWiST E2113 w/ Steven Borrelli of Cuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxDoJvzSiY
TWiST E2332 w/ Jason’s data center prediction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojSmG6xHCdI
OpenAI pledges to pay for its data centers' power and halt NDAs (CNBC): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/05/openai-to-pay-for-data-center-power-after-election-shows-ai-concern.html
Anthropic strikes its first licensing deal, with the AP, for election coverage (Adweek): https://www.adweek.com/media/anthropic-licensing-deal-ap-election/
The New York Times v. OpenAI discovery fight (Bloomberg Law): https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/new-york-times-wants-access-to-top-openai-executives-documents
Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro, from $2,899 (Tom's Guide): https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/macbooks/apple-reveals-oled-touchscreen-macbook-pro
Lon’s Plaud demo post: https://www.thisweekinai.ai/p/record-your-ideas-with-plaud-then
Plaud MCP for ChatGPT and Claude: https://in.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-mcp-for-chatgpt-and-claude
Terry Black's Barbecue: https://terryblacksbbq.com
P. Terry's: https://www.pterrys.com
Torchy's Tacos: https://torchystacos.com
Velvet Taco: https://www.velvettaco.com
”Godzilla Minus Zero” trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu0pH5BuCPM
“Hope” trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYRc2Gl7geY
“Dark Matter” Season 2 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhB6_1UbR7s
“House of the Dragon” Season 3 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlMjgqduVw
Timestamps:
0:00 Jason’s initial take on the Blue Wave 6:40 The data center pause was about appeasing voters 10:55 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Your first app is free! Get started today at https://Odoo.com/twist 11:56 Corruption, Iran, and the cost of living brought down Republicans 16:18 How the Cuts CEO shifted Jason’s tariff take 21:12 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST26 29:06 Plaud - If your work depends on conversations - interviews, meetings, calls - you need a Plaud NotePin S. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 29:15 Lon’s Plaud Agent demo 33:40 Stripe - Stripe Startups offers early-stage, venture-backed startups access to Stripe fee credits and more. Apply today on https://stripe.com/startups. 34:48 Leadership is repetition 40:19 Why AI labs should revenue share with publishers 50:16 Pricing out the new touchscreen MacBook Pro 56:46 Income taxes, capital gains, and margin loans 1:01:17 Godzilla returns in “Minus Zero”
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