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Follow the Carrot

Follow the Carrot

Written by: Jack Smothers
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About this listen

 Every headline has a hidden driver, and every decision is shaped by an invisible lever. This is Follow the Carrot—the podcast where we don’t just follow the money…we follow the motives. We dive beneath boardroom shake-ups, billion-dollar policies, tech disruptions, and political power plays to uncover what really moves leaders, systems, and strategy. So if you're a builder, a leader, a strategist—or just plain curious—this is your weekly shortcut to understanding how power really works.Jack Smothers
Episodes
  • Redata Rising: Brazil’s Tech Incentive Play

    Redata Rising: Brazil’s Tech Incentive Play
    Sep 1 2025

    Brazil is rolling out Redata—a new program offering tax breaks to lure big tech data centers, but only if they run on renewable energy. On the surface, it’s about jobs and clean power. Beneath it, it’s a strategic play in global trade and climate politics. Who really benefits—Brazil, big tech, or someone else? And what happens when today’s carrots risk becoming tomorrow’s crutches?

    In this episode, we follow the incentives shaping Brazil’s bid to become a digital powerhouse—and the tension between smart growth and costly dependence.
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    4 mins
  • Netting the Cost: When Solar Brings Backlash from Power Utilities

    Netting the Cost: When Solar Brings Backlash from Power Utilities
    Aug 25 2025

    Why are solar incentives sparking lawsuits in California while Illinois stays steady? In this episode of Follow the Carrot, we unpack the motives driving the solar power fight—and what it reveals about designing incentives that last.
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    4 mins
  • Innovation’s Incentive Problem: Why Bold Ideas Need Better Backing

    Innovation’s Incentive Problem: Why Bold Ideas Need Better Backing
    Aug 18 2025

    Big ideas don’t win on brilliance alone—they win when the incentives line up. From ARPA-I’s public projects to Google’s $9B data bet, we unpack how to fund breakthroughs that actually last.
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    6 mins
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