Emily Kwong

We know all of this matters to you, and that is why some of you have already stepped up to share in the cost of bringing you Shortwave each week.

Like Gloria, a listener in Texas who says, I would be less informed, thoughtful, and interesting without Fresh Air, ThruLine, Shortwave, and Up First.

I love these programs, and I hope they continue.

We are so grateful to listeners like Gloria who have stepped up to support NPR this year.

You can join them.

Sign up for NPR Plus and Mark Giving Tuesday.

This is a simple recurring donation that gets you perks to NPR's podcasts.

Join at plus.npr.org.

Thanks again for your support.

Here's the show.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hi, short wavers.

Emily Kwong here with NPR alum, now independent science writer, one of our favorite reporters on the planet, Dan Charles.

Hey, Dan.

OK, you've brought us basically a mystery novel, something about money and power.

Yes, these are the buildings that are full of computing equipment and are seeing a rapid increase in construction to power AI.

You've been poking around in them, huh?

Yeah, that's a real concern.

I was just reading there's this analysis from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University found that electric bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 and as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia because of data centers and cryptocurrency mining.

So he's clearly dazzled by how the grid has changed.