Best Institute For Local Self Reliance Podcasts (2023)

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Local Energy Rules

1
Proof in the Public Takeover Pudding 26:24

1h ago26:24

26:24

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

1
Approaches to Digital Equity Work in Cleveland and Detroit - Episode 553 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 28:26

4h ago28:26

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Jessica Strom and Opportunity Home Help People Build Marketable Skills 18:39

9h ago18:39

18:39

Jessica Strom, Digital Inclusion Manager for Opportunity Home - the Public Housing Authority of San Antonio, shares the challenges of digital inclusion on their many properties as well as leaving us with exciting success stories of how people landed well-paying jobs after completing their courses. We also discuss the challenges for housing resident…

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Building Local Power

1
Housing Is Where the Heart Is 43:43

19m ago43:43

43:43

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…

C

Community Broadband Bits

1
Axiom Technologies’ Public Ownership Model for Connecting Communities in Rural Maine - Episode 552 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 29:20

7d ago29:20

29:20

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Deb Socia and Free, Fast Internet Access in Chattanooga 15:53

7d ago15:53

15:53

Sean Gonsalves interviews Deb Socia, President and CEO of the Enterprise Center, about Chattanooga's remarkable municipal fiber network, which began offering free, high-speed service to thousands of low-income families during the pandemic under a program called HCS EdConnect. They go on to talk about one of Sean's favorite slogans, "If it isn't aff…

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Local Energy Rules

1
Tennessee Valley’s Unchecked Authority 31:54

2h ago31:54

31:54

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Bill Callahan on Digital Equity History and NE Ohio Challenges 19:27

2h ago19:27

19:27

Bill Callahan, Executive Director of Connect Your Community, joins Christopher Mitchell to talk about some of the history of digital equity and the before-times that led to the formation of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. We also discuss Cleveland and later NE Ohio more specifically after exploring how Internet access has changed in the ar…

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Community Broadband Bits

1
Joey Wender and the Treasury's Capital Project Funds - Episode 551 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 22:13

17h ago22:13

22:13

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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Building Local Power

1
Composters Dreaming, Investors Scheming 37:42

7d ago37:42

37:42

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

1
Changing the Legislative Landscape of Texas - Episode 550 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 30:00

12d ago30:00

30:00

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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Local Energy Rules

1
The Value Idling in Electric Vehicles 44:46

14d ago44:46

44:46

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

1
Broadband as the Fifth Utility in Knoxville - Episode 549 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 30:00

1M ago30:00

30:00

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Dwight Thomas on Building Community Networks 19:14

17d ago19:14

19:14

Sean Gonsalves speaks with Dwight Thomas, who build the first citywide municipal fiber network in Texas in Mont Belvieu. They talk about Mont Belvieu as well as the importance of engaging the community and how to make sure people can use the network once it is built. Dwight also discusses his passion for discipleship and sharing his knowledge.…

C

Community Broadband Bits

1
Building and Sustaining a Tribal Network Surrounded by Mountains and Mesas - Episode 548 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 24:45

1M ago24:45

24:45

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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Building Local Power

1
Graying of the Fleet 52:51

22d ago52:51

52:51

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

1
Central California District Pushes for Public Power 41:50

28d ago41:50

41:50

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

1
Finding the Right Partners and Platforms - Episode 547 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 23:26

2M ago23:26

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Aneta Lee, FUSE Corps Fellow in Birmingham, Alabama 14:51

2M ago14:51

14:51

At the time of this interview at Net Inclusion, Aneta Lee was wrapping up her FUSE Corps Fellowship with the city of Birmingham in Alabama. We talk about the FUSE Corps Fellowship and her time at the city of Birmingham. Aneta discusses the ACP outreach campaign she put together and where she sees her future taking her - HINT, it could be to your co…

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Community Broadband Bits

1
The Transformation of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative - Episode 546 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 29:43

1M ago29:43

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Susan Corbett Discusses Digital Equity in Maine and Nationally 14:42

2M ago14:42

14:42

Susan Corbett is the Executive Director of the National Digital Equity Center and has long been involved in policy around Internet access and digital equity both in Maine and across the United States. Susan and I chatted at Net Inclusion about how she got going in this space in 2005 as the owner of a small ISP in rural Maine.…

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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Ella and Kim Discuss Digital Equity as Design 11:50

2M ago11:50

11:50

Emma Gautier interviews Kim Ilinon and Ella Silvas, two Interactive Media Design students from the University of Washington-Bothell, after they presented their lightning talk at Net Inclusion. Ella and Kim discuss their path into digital equity from a design background, including the Dear Digital Equity web site, and what they have learned about wh…

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Local Energy Rules

1
Extremely Comfortable Home Makeovers 51:34

1M ago51:34

51:34

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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Building Local Power

1
A Country with No Farmers 49:03

2M ago49:03

49:03

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

1
Modernizing a Tribal Network - Episode 545 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 26:11

2M ago26:11

26:11

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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Building for Digital Equity Podcast

1
Mikhail Sundust Offers Digital Equity Lessons from Gila River Indian Community - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 3 14:28

2M ago14:28

14:28

Mikhail Sundust is the Digital Connect Initiative (DCI) Executive Director for the Digital Connect Initiative at GRTI - Gila River Telecommunications Incorporated. GRTI has offered telecommunications and now high-quality Internet access to the reservation (and beyond with subsidiaries) for more than 30 years. We talk about lessons DCI has learned a…

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Community Broadband Bits

1
Lessons from a Rural County - Episode 544 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast 28:41

2M ago28:41

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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