Manifest Destiny and early American capitalism experts for podcast episode Hi! I’m a reporter at Quartz, working on a podcast episode that looks at modern AI development—namely, data centers and infrastructure buildouts—through a historical lens. I’m looking to speak with historians, professors, and authors who specialize in Manifest Destiny, boosterism and speculative development in the western U.S., and/or 19th-century American capitalism. The episode will look at how narratives of inevitability and economic opportunity shaped westward expansion, and how similar rhetoric is being used today to justify/sell AI and tech infrastructure. Questions will be big-picture, historically grounded, and conversational rather than narrow or academic. If you have relevant expertise and are open to a recorded interview, I’d love to hear from you.