On May 4, Grist and Climate Mayors hosted a live conversation with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and two other mayors titled, “Local Power, Local Impact: How Cities and States are Leading on Climate Solutions.” In 2024, Bibb served as the head of the bipartisan Climate Mayors organization. Grist, the oldest climate-focused newsroom in the country, also published a positive profile on Bibb in May 2025. 

When asked to provide details on his response to climate change, Bibb spent a lot of time avoiding specifics. He blamed the Trump administration for pulling funding from “green” initiatives, and the biggest achievement he touted was a complex $21 million investment to upgrade the five police district buildings.

With 20 minutes remaining in the one-hour panel, the moderator announced that Bibb had already left and was not available for audience questions.

Despite the well-documented environmental concerns with data centers, Climate Mayors’ position seems to encourage mayors to work with tech companies instead of against them.

For example, while acknowledging data centers face “increased opposition,” mayors are supposed to engage and educate residents, set clear expectations, and channel community concerns, according to the group’s platform. Mayors are further coached to strengthen the city’s “negotiating position” with developers and reduce “the risk of outright project rejection.”

Last June, Bibb’s administration pushed legislation through to clear the way for a data center at the I-X Center, though the deal ultimately fell through. Now, the city has received a permit application for a $1.6 billion hyper scale data center in Slavic Village.

The proposed data site is located in Northern Slavic Village, a majority-Black neighborhood with an average median income under $30,000 a year, according to the U.S. Census. Bibb has expressed concerns but has not come out to oppose the project.

I know what I think, so I’d love to hear from you – especially if you’re in Cleveland – about the possibility of such a large data center coming to the city.

Besides all that, it’s “just” pop culture recommendations this week. The theme should be pretty obvious.

Thanks for reading,
Dakotah

P.S. As always, tips are appreciated → venmo or cash app.

Sorry not sorry for including another song by Open Mike Eagle. I narrowly missed his show at the Beachland on Sunday and I’m clearly still in my feelings about it.

Out of the whole Marvel universe, Daredevil was my first love. As someone who identifies as a public defense girl at heart, I was so excited for a superhero that was and attorney who believed in defending the innocent and the guilty.

The series follows Matthew Murdock (played by Charlie Cox, who you might know from Stardust), who is basically a public defender by day and a masked vigilante by night. 

Oh, and he’s blind. 

The show had three seasons on Netflix, premiering in 2015. Ten years later, the series continued under the title, Daredevil: Born Again, after Marvel’s ownership switched from Netflix to Disney. So, just to clarify, you will need to watch the Netflix series first. I also recommend checking out its sequels and spin-offs: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and The Punisher. (Note: This is the closest I will come to acknowledging Iron Fist because yikes.) 

Mild plot spoilers ahead!

In the first episode of Born Again, one of the main characters dies suddenly. Like many superhero stories, this is another one about grief. Daredevil loses someone so important, he hangs up the helmet and tries to start over.

The thing that most excites me about Born Again is that I might finally get the Punisher storyline I’ve been waiting six years for. In short, I think we are finally going to see Frank Castle – also known as the Punisher – go after the corrupt cops who have embraced his iconography.

Over the last several years, the Punisher’s signature skull logo remains misunderstood by people who are pro-cop. In 2017, Kentucky law enforcement had Punisher and the Thin Blue Line (aka “Blue Lives Matter”) flag on their police cars. They were promptly removed. 

Transparently, I’m a huge nerd and actually wrote my first research paper in grad school about this and vigilantes and who gets to be one.

Also, Wilson Fisk is played by Vincent D’Onofrio, and is the main villain across the entire series. I think he’s one of the best-written villains across both DC and Marvel personally. In Born Again, he returns to give up his crime empire and run for Mayor of Hell’s Kitchen.

Oh, and there’s literally a sinkhole plot line.

Listen, once the theme of this week quickly bubbled up into superheroes and vigilantes, there is just no better artist than Open Mike Eagle. His 2020 album, Anime Trauma and Divorce, was the first vinyl record that I ever purchased.

After the divorce from his longtime partner (“Black Mirror Episode Ruined My Marriage”), Eagle went to therapy to put the pieces back together. As conveyed by the album’s title, there are a bunch of anime references in tracks such as “Death Parade,” “Headass (Idiot Shinji)” feat. Video Dave and “I’m a Joe Star (Black Power Fantasy).” The music video for “Death Parade” is stellar, featuring original animation as it examines the cyclical nature of trauma.

There are also two tracks with his young son, including “Asa’s Bop” and “Fifteen Twenty Feet Ocean Nah.” I also absolutely love “Bucciarati” feat. Kari Faux, mostly because I have a sweet spot for duets.

Basically, listen to the whole album from start to finish. We need more albums that are good all the way through, and this is absolutely one of my tops.

You Are Good, originally called Why Are Dads, explores the roles of feelings and father figures in movies ranging from Dead Poets Society to Practical Magic.

Hosted by Sarah Marshall (You’re Wrong About) featuring Aubrey Gordon (Maintenance Phase), the episode is all about Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. I like the series as a whole because it’s easy to skip around based on which movies you’re interested in, this one just happens to stick around in my mind a lot.

When The Dark Knight came out in 2008, especially following the tragic death of Heath Ledger, the film was revered by… well, it felt like everyone. I enjoyed it, especially as I’m a big fan of Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) as Harvey Dent.

After listening to the You Are Good episode about it, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I ever liked it. But in a fun way.

I love The Pudding and found this visual story about how we assign genders to animals in kids books. It’s by a bunch of data nerds who have spent a lot of time conducting actual research, and the idea of “girl power pigs” really spoke to me.