Podcast / Tech Won’t Save Us / Apr 3, 2025

The Dirty Alliance Between Tech and the Oil Industry

On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, JS Tan on the relationship between Microsoft and Chevron.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The Dirty Alliance Between Tech and the Oil Industry w/ JS Tan | Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by JS Tan to discuss his experience seeing first hand how Microsoft deployed its cloud and machine learning services to help Chevron extract more oil and gas, and the state of tech worker organizing around climate change. 

JS Tan is a PhD student at MIT, researching cloud computing in the US and China. He’s a a member of Collective Action in Tech and writes the Value Added newsletter.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Chevron gas station logo is seen on February 13, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

(Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, we are joined by JS Tan to discuss his experience seeing firsthand how Microsoft deployed its cloud and machine learning services to help Chevron extract more oil and gas, and the state of tech worker organizing around climate change. 

JS Tan is a PhD student at MIT, researching cloud computing in the United States and China. He’s a a member of Collective Action in Tech and writes the Value Added newsletter.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Too Much Computer: Ingrid Burrington discusses Hyperscale with Paris Marx / Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

Hyperscale data centers are not an inevitable infrastructure, but a product of capitalist financialization pushing us further from a livable future. Ingrid Burrington interviews Paris Marx about his new book Hyperscale, discussing the history behind the rise of hyperscale data centers and how companies are obscuring their true social and environmental costs to maximize profits before the overinflated bubble bursts.

Ingrid Burrington is the author of Networks of New York and host of RIP Corp. She’s been writing about internet infrastructure for over a decade, including an 18-story online series for The Atlantic in 2015.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Paris Marx

Paris Marx is the author of Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires. He hosts the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast and writes the Disconnect newsletter.

More from The Nation

A protest against the proposed Cop City being built in an Atlanta forest on March 9, 2023, in New York City.

Building Power Against the State—With Kamau Franklin Building Power Against the State—With Kamau Franklin

“No one has a right to tell you how to organize, to free yourself, and to liberate yourself.”

Shilpi Chhotray and Mindy Ramaker

A plume of smoke rises during a reported air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa, on October 9, 2026.

US and Israel Plan Iran Strikes, Ansar Allah Hits Saudi Arabia, Mass Protests Sweep France US and Israel Plan Iran Strikes, Ansar Allah Hits Saudi Arabia, Mass Protests Sweep France

Neera Tanden has not yet posted a tirade about AP, and we’re starting to take it personally. In this week’s news: The US and Israel prepare for renewed strikes against Iran after t…

Podcast / American Prestige

The JHB1 hyperscale date center in Midrand, South Africa, on Sunday, September 28, 2025.

Too Much Computer: Ingrid Burrington Discusses “Hyperscale” With Paris Marx Too Much Computer: Ingrid Burrington Discusses “Hyperscale” With Paris Marx

Paris Marx is interviewed by Ingrid Burrington about his new book “Hyperscale,” the financial forces driving data center expansion, and its hidden social and environmental costs.

Paris Marx

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs on October 20, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.

The Only Western Conference NBA Preview You Need The Only Western Conference NBA Preview You Need

Arya Shirazi joins us again for our annual NBA preseason predictions

Podcast / Edge of Sports

Elon Musk and Jensen Huang react after being awarded the National Medal of Science during the “Golden Age of American Innovation Summit” at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2026.

Elon Musk and the Future of Capitalism—With Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff Elon Musk and the Future of Capitalism—With Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff join Danny and Derek to explore Elon Musk’s vision of capitalism, his political influence, and the future of Big Tech.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

Hundreds of Cornell students participate in a rally against the university’s actions after a student was sexually assaulted at a campus fraternity in 2024, on October 5, 2026, in Ithaca, New York.

Massive GOP Spending Hasn’t Slowed the Coming Blue Wave—Plus, the Cornell Rape Case Massive GOP Spending Hasn’t Slowed the Coming Blue Wave—Plus, the Cornell Rape Case

Economist Isabella Weber joins the show to discuss how economic inequality fuels authoritarianism and how public policy can protect democracy.

Jon Wiener

x