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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s podcast to break monopoly power.
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This bi-weekly podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shares powerful stories of local renewable energy, from mayors discussing their city’s commitment to 100% renewable energy to tales of innovative community owned solar to questions about the the best rooftop solar policy. Join host John Farrell, the director of the Institute’s Energy Democracy Initiative, as he asks if the 100-year-old monopoly market structure for electricity delivery makes sense in an on-demand, distributed ...
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Short interviews with people doing interesting things to expand broadband networks that put community needs first.
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Community Broadband Bits
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Filling in Connectivity Gaps with Open Access Fiber - Episode 554 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
18:40
18:40
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This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Keith Quarles, President and CEO of A2D, a fiber-based, open access competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). A2D stands for ‘Analog to Digital,’ and as Keith explains, represents the infrastructure transition from analog to digital communications. Chris and Keith discuss A2D’s business model, whic…
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Randy Knight explains how the Winter Park, Fla., overcame utility opposition to create a publicly-owned electric utility and shares his advice to other cities. Portions of this interview were released as part of last year’s series on public power.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
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Approaches to Digital Equity Work in Cleveland and Detroit - Episode 553 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
28:26
28:26
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28:26
This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Joshua Edmonds, CEO of DigitalC, a nonprofit technology social enterprise in Cleveland. DigitalC offers affordable wireless service for $18/month, as well as a co-working and collaboration space for the community. Joshua served as Detroit’s Digital Inclusion Director for four years before heading Di…
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When Jasmine’s apartment roof started caving in, she asked her landlords to fix it. Instead of fixing it, the landlord gave her an ultimatum: accept the conditions or leave. Jasmine left, turning to activism and organizing with the Louisville Tenant’s Union to help neighborhoods throughout the city have access to safe and affordable housing. As she…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Axiom Technologies’ Public Ownership Model for Connecting Communities in Rural Maine - Episode 552 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:20
29:20
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This week on the podcast, Christopher tunes in from Broadband Communities in Houston for an interview with Mark Ouellette, CEO of Axiom Technologies. Axiom is an Internet Service Provider based in Machias, Maine, the county seat for the large, rural county of Washington along the state’s eastern border. Christopher and Mark discuss Axiom’s publicly…
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Maggie Shober discusses how the Tennessee Valley Authority operates like a for-profit utility, despite its public ownership. Portions of this interview were released as part of last year’s series on public power.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
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Joey Wender and the Treasury's Capital Project Funds - Episode 551 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
22:13
22:13
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This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Joey Wender, Director of the Capital Projects Fund (CPF), U.S Department of the Treasury. Joey administers the $10 billion fund targeted to help close the digital divide on behalf of the Biden Administration. Joey and Chris discuss the flexibility of CPF funding and how it allows states to tailor th…
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In this episode of Building Local Power, three community composters detail how the biggest challenge in developing their program is funding. Jessica Toth joins the second half of the episode to outline how the very people implementing solutions to lessen our carbon footprint — while providing jobs and education in a circular food system — are under…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Changing the Legislative Landscape of Texas - Episode 550 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
30:00
30:00
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This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Outreach Team Lead DeAnne Cuellar and John Speirs, Harris County, Texas' (pop. 4.7 million) Broadband Manager. Its county seat, Houston, is home to one of the largest ports in the world, and citizens and elected officials are working on projects to boost the region's economic development, climate r…
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Brian Callnan discusses New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s Transactive Energy Rate pilot program and how the energy sitting in electric vehicle batteries can provide additional value to the owner and the grid.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
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Broadband as the Fifth Utility in Knoxville - Episode 549 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
30:00
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This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Jamie Davis, CTO of KUB Fiber, the broadband division of the Knoxville Utilities Board in Tennessee. The division is poised to be halfway done with a build across its footprint by June 2024, hitting 90,000 premises, with plans to steam ahead and complete its electric service territory as quick as p…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Building and Sustaining a Tribal Network Surrounded by Mountains and Mesas - Episode 548 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
24:45
24:45
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This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Kevin Shendo, Education Director at the Pueblo of Jemez Department of Education, and Angela Diakah, Network Operations Supervisor at Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network (JPTN). JPTN is a wireless network serving more than 500 households in the Jemez Pueblo north of Albuquerque. Kevin and Angela share the o…
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Twenty-five years ago, there were over 2,000 commercial shrimp boats in Mississippi. Today, that number has fallen to around 200. This trend is not unique to Mississippi: Across U.S. coastlines, commercial fisherfolk are seeing their way of life disappear.… Read MoreBy Luke Gannon
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Local Energy Rules
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Central California District Pushes for Public Power
41:50
41:50
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Peter Rietkerk discusses how a public agency could do a better job than Pacific Gas & Electric and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s 18 year endeavor to provide retail electric service in California’s Central Valley.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
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Finding the Right Partners and Platforms - Episode 547 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
23:26
23:26
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23:26
This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Claudia Tarbell, Senior Engagement Manager for Tribal, Indigenous and First Nation Communities and Michael Weening, President and CEO, both from Calix. Claudia shares what it was like to transition from working at Mohawk Networks to becoming a part of Calix' community engagement team, and how she t…
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Community Broadband Bits
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The Transformation of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative - Episode 546 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:43
29:43
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29:43
This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Alyssa Clemsen Roberts, President and CEO of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC). Two and a half years ago, there were no plans to add broadband to its portfolio. Two membership votes and a new CEO later, and NHEC is building 25 miles of new fiber a week across its footprint, and planning to …
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Nate Adams explains how to electrify homes in cold climates, which policies and incentives actually support home electrification, and the problems we must solve to reach net zero emissions by 2050.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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The rapid consolidation of agriculture across the U.S. has obliterated many small and mid-size farms and has posed monumental challenges for small farmers and consumers alike. On this episode, an onion farmer tells his story of how small and mid-size farmers across the country are going extinct. Sarah Carden weaves his story with the necessary poli…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Modernizing a Tribal Network - Episode 545 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
26:11
26:11
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This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Kristan Johnson, Telephone Operations Manager of the Tohono O'odham Utility Authority (TOUA), which provides telephone, electric, water, gas, and Internet service to a large portion of those living throughout the Tohono O'odham Nation in south-central Arizona. Currently, the utility authority serve…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Lessons from a Rural County - Episode 544 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
28:41
28:41
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28:41
This week on the show, Christopher is joined by Senior Researcher Ry Marcattilio for a conversation about on-the-ground work in a rural county in Minnesota. After joining a listening session with local elected officials, the district representative, and the broadband action team, Christopher and Ry hop in the studio to reflect on what they heard. F…
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Aaron Johnson, founder and owner of Oasis Fresh Market in North Tulsa, Oklahoma, tells his journey of opening a grocery store to provide a refuge, safe place, and shelter to a community that had been a food desert for fourteen years. On the second half of the episode, Stacy Mitchell explains the policy decisions that have led to an increasingly con…
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Sky Stanfield discusses how good interconnection policy and proactive grid planning can capitalize on existing distribution infrastructure for the most cost-effective clean energy transition.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
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Building Frontline Digital Equity Tools at Education Superhighway - Episode 543 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
30:28
30:28
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This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Evan Marwell (CEO) and Jenny Miller (Director of Government Affairs), from the nonprofit Education Superhighway. Begun as an organization aimed at improving Internet access for schools, today Education Superhighway focuses its efforts on leveraging data and on-the-ground work to bring solutions for…
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Community Broadband Bits
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Powering Up With BrightRidge in Johnson City, Tennessee - Episode 542 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
32:06
32:06
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This week on the show, Christopher is joined by Stacy Evans, Chief Broadband and Technology Officer at BrightRidge, the municipal network for Johnson City, Tennessee. They talk an accelerating build timeline, returning millions to local government, keeping electric prices low, and working with nearby communities to build a more resilient eastern Te…
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