Quantum Entanglements

A new podcast, coming soon from AirGo and Respair, about community fighting back against being poisoned, pushed out, and policed by a proposed new Quantum computer on the Southside of Chicago.

Over the four decades since the US Steel South Works steel mill shut its doors, the land it sat on has remained undeveloped as the surrounding communities heal from the physical, environmental, economic, and social wounds left behind by this industrial behemoth.

Now, a coalition of public and private power players from all levels of government and different sectors of industry is preparing to break ground on a "Quantum Campus"–a multi-billion dollar sprawling facility of next-generation technology and surveillance that could both release poisonous contamination and dismantle digital privacy around the globe.

As the next industrial revolution descends on a community still reeling from the destruction of deindustrialization, we talk with organizers and neighbors living alongside the site about how they're building power, demanding answers, making sense of the area’s history, and fighting for the ability to determine the future of their neighborhoods, livelihoods, and relationships to the land on which they live.

Check It Out If You Care About

environmental justice, digital privacy and surveillance, encryption and decryption, gentrification, Chicago history.

Who We Partnered With

This work was made possible in part by funding from the Alliance Matters campaign, an initiative of Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) and the Field Foundation.