Government Works Best in the Dark: Miranda Spivack on Secrecy & Corruption

The All About Nothing: Podcast · Jul 20, 2026 · 1h 2m

For two decades, Miranda Spivack covered government and land-use fights for the Washington Post. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on how local governments avoid scrutiny, why wealthy landowners and developers often get a pass on the rules, and how the boom in data center construction is reshaping communities with little public input.

Miranda explains what she calls the "secrecy industrial complex" — the web of closed-door deals, vague public notices, and bureaucratic friction that keeps ordinary residents from knowing what's happening in their own backyards. She also talks about…