Load Bearing Podcast

Is AI a giant bubble? Jonathan Koomey has spent more than a quarter century measuring how much electricity computers and data centers really use. We talk about the $700-800 billion going into AI infrastructure this year and whether it will ever be paid back, what the fiber boom of the 1990s tells us, why GPUs lose their value so fast, and why 2027 could be an interesting year for Nvidia, the Nasdaq and the midterms.

We also go through the electricity and water claims that did not hold up, the xAI data center in Memphis and its jet engines, who pays when the promised demand never comes, what happens to workers, and why lawyers keep citing cases that do not exist.

Reports mentioned, from Jonathan Koomey:
Understanding AI energy use (Koomey and Masanet, Veolia and Microsoft, February 2026): https://www.institut.veolia.org/en/publications/veolia-institute-review-facts-reports/ai-energy-water-and-waste-management
Separating fact from fiction in data center electricity forecasts: A guide for regulators (Koomey, Schmidt, Sreedharan, Kumar and McNair, Koomey Analytics and Gridlab, March 2026): https://gridlab.org/portfolio-item/data-center-load-forecast-report/
Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed (Koomey, Schmidt and Das, Bipartisan Policy Center, February 2025): https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/electricity-demand-growth-and-data-centers/

Jonathan Koomey: https://www.koomey.com

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rhB6mVbZ_KY
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Music: "Hall of the Mountain King" by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Is wine dying? Professor Jean-Marie Cardebat, wine economist at the University of Bordeaux and INSEEC and president of the European Association of Wine Economists, says no: demand is evolving, and the industry has to change with it.

We talk about why young people drink less wine, why France is paying growers to pull up vines while prices still do not rise, Trump's tariffs, alcohol-free wine, TikTok and kalimotxo, new markets in India, Africa and Brazil, climate change, and why crémant is growing while red wine falls.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2X_msJYDa1g
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Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Singapore has just had its longest run of unhealthy haze since 2015, and with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, Asian benchmark diesel prices have risen sharply. Matthew Phan, chief investment officer of a family office in Singapore, explains what is happening in Indonesia: the palm oil biodiesel blend that went from 40% to 50% and is targeted at 60%, why it saves the country money on imported diesel, the peat fires that keep burning underground for years, why fuel subsidies weaken the case for electric cars and motorbikes, Indonesia's push into nickel and EV batteries, and where its stock market and currency stand now.

Host: Sheelam Chadha. Guest: Matthew Phan, CIO of a family office, Singapore. Recorded 26 October 2026.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hzocvdU_pf4

Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Grieg), performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 — creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Spirit Airlines shut down in May after two bankruptcies, American Airlines has just reported another quarterly loss, and American Express paid Delta $8.2 billion last year. Gary Leff, who writes View from the Wing and is chief financial officer of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, explains why airlines struggle to make money from flying: deregulation, fuel, airport slots, why the US has no high-speed rail, the loyalty programmes and co-brand credit cards that now earn much of the profit, sale-leasebacks, overbooking, China's aircraft, and what tariffs and the drop in Canadian visitors mean for travel to the US.

Host: Sheelam Chadha. Guest: Gary Leff, View from the Wing; CFO, Mercatus Center, George Mason University. Recorded 23 October 2026.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_Vjj3zQAggY

Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Grieg), performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 — creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Rough diamond prices fell 36% between 2022 and September this year, De Beers is reportedly for sale for about $1 billion, and mines in Canada and South Africa are closing or on pause. Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, explains what has happened to the diamond industry: competition from synthetic diamonds made mostly in China and India, the Russian sanctions, Botswana's reliance on rough diamonds, the cost of mining, the potential buyers of De Beers, the difference between buying a diamond and selling one back, and where she sees signs of recovery.

Host: Sheelam Chadha. Guest: Karen Rentmeesters, CEO, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), Antwerp, Belgium. Recorded 22 October 2026.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qkeaDR4B28M

Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Grieg), performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 — creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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