78: Rob Hahn (Avanti) / Chuck Eesley (Stanford): Mezcal Negronis and the Economics of Misinformation

With this episode, we segue seamlessly from the Reversing the Arrow Conference to the Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Conference — affectionately known as GURK — held in Boulder in June 2024. Our transition is eased by our location: the sunny rooftop of Avanti Food and Beverage on the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder. On this gorgeous and scorching afternoon, Brad and Jeff speak with Avanti founder Rob Hahn. Over a round (or two) of Avanti’s signature Mezcal negronis, Rob shares Avanti’s inspiring origin story - from taking inspiration from Spain’s many food halls, to becoming a cutting edge accelerator for chefs and restauranteurs in Colorado, with locations in Denver and Vail as well as Boulder. Negronis are the perfectly coincidental drink for our guest researcher, Stanford’s Chuck Eesley. Faithful listeners of the podcast will recall our legendary Ada Lovelace gin episode, which was Chuck’s first time on the podcast. https://soundcloud.com/creative-distillation/episode-21-ada-lovelace-gin-and-the-efficacy-of-university-entrepreneurship-programs) Chuck returns to enjoy a proper Negroni and discuss his most recent research, published in the June 6, 2024, issue of Nature. The paper delves into the economics of misinformation, and how the algorithms on digital ad platforms route nearly one-third of ad dollars spent on news sites, to sites spreading misinformation. The impact of this on our political discourse is, shall we say, remarkable. Fortunately, Chuck proposes a solution that would bring transparency to this shadowy world, and reduce the economic incentives for misinformation entrepreneurs. Brad is impressed enough by Chuck’s research to bestow upon him his highest honor: a Professor Worthy of Their Tenure. It’s a fun and fascinating, instant-classic episode of Creative Distillation. Enjoy and cheers! —— This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Avanti Food and Beverage during the Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Conference, held in Boulder in June 2024. Learn more about Avanti at https://avantifandb.com Find out more about Chuck Eesley on his faculty page at the Stanford University website. https://profiles.stanford.edu/charles-eesley) Reach Chuck’s article, “Companies inadvertently fund online misinformation despite consumer backlash,” in the June 6, 2024, issue of Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07404-1)

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