Host Jess Del Fiacco talks to ILSR's Stacy Mitchell and Ron Knox about the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee's recent hearing on monopoly power in online platforms, which featured testimony from the CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google. The hearing was part of a year-long investigation of anti-competitive behavior in these companies — the first time in more than 40 years that Congress has conducted a detailed investigation of monopoly power.
Aug 20, 2020•35 min•Ep. 1
On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Chris Mitchell, director of ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative, and David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect. David discusses his latest book, Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, which tells the story of the daily impact of monopoly power on Americans’ lives.
Aug 06, 2020•42 min•Ep. 1
In this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Zach Freed, researcher with ILSR's Independent Business initiative, and John Farrell, ILSR co-director. The three discuss ILSR's new Fighting Monopoly Power guide, which spells out how local leaders can challenge concentrated corporate power in the banking, broadband, electricity, food and farming, pharmacy, small business, and waste sectors.
Jul 23, 2020•29 min•Ep. 1
On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Christopher Mitchell, director of ILSR's Community Broadband Initiative, and Representative Seth Berry of Maine. Seth is the House Chair of the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, and he is leading the call for the state to takeover Maine's two largest electric companies — including Central Maine Power, which has the distinction of being the least popular utility in the Unite...
Jun 25, 2020•42 min•Ep. 1
In this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Brenda Platt, Director of ILSR's Composting for Community Initiative, and Kesiah Bascom, founder of OffBeet Compost. OffBeet is a small-scale, community-minded food scrap collection and composting enterprise in the Lowell, Mass., area. Kesiah and her team have an ongoing mission to connect environmental goals with social justice values.
Jun 11, 2020•29 min•Ep. 1
Host Jess Del Fiacco talks with Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher with ILSR's Independent Business initiative, about efforts at the state and local level to support small businesses affected by the pandemic.
May 28, 2020•18 min•Ep. 1
Host Jess Del Fiacco and ILSR Co-Director John Farrell speak with Gina Schaefer, owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores in the D.C. area. Gina talks about how she and her husband got into the hardware business and explains some of the steps they've taken to adapt operations in order to safely serve customers during the pandemic, including moving to curbside pick-up and online ordering, changing operating hours and staffing, and adjusting the products they stock.
May 14, 2020•33 min•Ep. 1
Chris, John, Stacy, and Jess discuss the bumpy rollout of federal relief funding for America's small businesses, which are facing an unprecedented crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic. Stacy offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the legislation to help small businesses was crafted, and explains why some large franchises, including chain restaurants and hotels, benefitted from the initial round of relief funding, while many small businesses did not. Looking beyond the immediate future, Chris, John, S...
Apr 30, 2020•33 min•Ep. 1
Host Christopher Mitchell speaks with Fordham Law School Professor Nestor Davidson and National League of Cities Research Director Christiana McFarland, authors of a recent report on home rule. Home rule gives cities the authority to make policy decisions locally, without being preempted by state or federal governments. They talk about why local officials need "all the tools in the toolbox" in order to confront challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change, and not be held back by stat...
Apr 16, 2020•41 min•Ep. 1
Host Zach Freed speaks with Jim Hrncir, owner of Las Colinas Pharmacy in Irving, Texas. Zach and Jim discuss how independent pharmacies are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apr 09, 2020•13 min•Ep. 1
Jess Del Fiacco talks with ILSR Co-Director John Farrell about recent publications from ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, including the Community Power Scorecard, which grades states on whether their energy policies help or hinder local clean energy action, and ILSR's recent report on community choice energy, which allows communities take charge of their energy supply.
Apr 02, 2020•29 min•Ep. 1
This special episode of Building Local Power features a timely conversation between Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of ILSR, and small business owner Sandy Grodin. Sandy owns El Paso Office Products in El Paso, Texas. He's been in the business for more than 30 years, but his company is now on the verge of collapse due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. He's shutting down for three weeks, and, like many other small business owners, isn't sure when or if he'll be able to reopen.
Mar 25, 2020•16 min•Ep. 1
Host Jess Del Fiacco talks with Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of ILSR, and Christopher Mitchell, Director of ILSR’s Community Broadband initiative, about how communities are responding to the unprecedented challenge of Covid-19. It is already drastically impacting local businesses, and in many cases this crisis will further exacerbate existing inequalities -- making it impossible for people without high quality Internet access at home to work remotely, for example, and making it difficult for peop...
Mar 18, 2020•36 min•Ep. 1
Host Brenda Platt speaks with Elsa Higby and Aleks Jagiello of the Queens Botanical Garden Farm and Compost Site. Their site is a part of the New York Compost Project, which was created by the city in 1993. Brenda, Aleks, and Elsa discuss how the site has grown over the last 25 years, and the many benefits their programming has brought to their community and beyond.
Mar 05, 2020•32 min•Ep. 1
Host Christopher Mitchell is joined by ILSR Co-Founder David Morris for a wide-ranging conversation about whether or not modern populist movements are tied to concerns about centralized control.
Feb 20, 2020•47 min•Ep. 1
This week we’re bringing you a bonus episode from our friends at the Green Dreamer podcast. Green Dreamer is a podcast for those who are yearning to live lives of vitality and fulfillment and who are dreaming of a thriving planet to call home. Green Dreamer inclusively and inquisitively dives into how sustainability is intersectional to all areas of our lives. This episode explores how decentralized energy grids can make communities more resilient against natural disasters, like Hurricane Maria ...
Sep 26, 2019•34 min•Ep. 1
Building Local Power Host Zach Freed is joined by ILSR's Stacy Mitchell to discuss the team's most recent efforts in fighting monopolies.… Read More
Aug 22, 2019•35 min•Ep. 1
In this episode of Building Local Power, host Nick Stumo-Langer sits down with Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell to discuss John's latest report on solar and storage. … Read More
Aug 09, 2018•38 min•Ep. 1
Host Nick Stumo-Langer is joined by researchers Stacy Mitchell and Olivia LaVecchia to discuss their new guide to policy tools that strengthen independent businesses. … Read More
Jul 26, 2018•32 min•Ep. 1
Guest host Nick Stumo-Langer and ILSR co-director Stacy Mitchell discuss two recent Supreme Court cases that have vast implications for the state of our economy and the role of the court as a centralized entity in ILSR's decentralized worldview.… Read More
Jun 28, 2018•31 min•Ep. 1
Three of our researchers (Christopher Mitchell, John Farrell, & Brenda Platt) sit down together to discuss how small cities across America are innovating in the ways they are supporting their local economies. Mitchell discusses this innovation in Idaho; Farrell details the discussions in Decorah, Iowa; and Platt portrays many different home composting programs.… Read More
Jun 14, 2018•29 min•Ep. 1
Sarita Gupta of Jobs With Justice joins us to discuss the state of labor rights in the "gig economy" and how the care sector presents a huge opportunity to change both work and aging. … Read More
May 31, 2018•50 min•Ep. 1
In this episode of the Building Local Power podcast, ILSR co-director and Community-Scaled Economy initiative director Stacy Mitchell sits down with Laura Flanders to discuss the disturbing trend toward a calcified and monopolistic media landscape.… Read More
May 03, 2018•41 min•Ep. 1
Experts Stacy Mitchell, Christopher Mitchell, and John Farrell discuss the impact that concentrated economic power has in state legislatures in topics as wide-ranging as high-speed broadband access, electric utilities, and Facebook's recent Congressional foibles.… Read More
Apr 19, 2018•37 min•Ep. 1
Dan Knapp and Mary Lou Van Deventer sit down with long-time friend and ILSR co-founder Neil Seldman and Communications Manager Nick Stumo-Langer to discuss their successful reuse business and how they fit into the wider Berkeley community.… Read More
Apr 05, 2018•39 min•Ep. 1
Vanessa Williamson of the Brookings Institution joins Christopher Mitchell to discuss her new book, Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes, and the changing American attitudes in regard to taxation.… Read More
Mar 08, 2018•29 min•Ep. 1
Economics writer Brendan Greeley joins Stacy Mitchell and Christopher Mitchell to discuss what we all get wrong when we talk about economic indicators and how he's working to change that.… Read More
Feb 23, 2018•44 min•Ep. 1
Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) talks with John Farrell about his history as a renewable energy activist and local control advocate and how he translates that work into his role in the state legislature.… Read More
Feb 08, 2018•25 min•Ep. 1
Jacqui Patterson, the director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, talks with ILSR’s Neil Seldman and Nick Stumo-Langer about the practical implications of environmental justice.… Read More
Jan 25, 2018•30 min•Ep. 1
In this episode of ILSR's Building Local Power podcast, Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns sits down with Stacy Mitchell to discuss why the conventional wisdom about economic growth often leads communities down a dark path of decay. … Read More
Jan 11, 2018•53 min•Ep. 1
