Podcast

First Principles Daily

A daily narrative podcast that reasons about the world from first principles — the 'magic wand number' and the 'Idiot Index'. Episodes alternate between a concrete example of first-principles…

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Latest episodes

  1. Ep 68: Funerals often total seven to twelve thousand dollars, yet the raw materials in a casket…12 Aug 2026
  2. Ep 67: Before the barcode, every price at checkout had to be typed by hand; afterward, a laser…11 Aug 2026
  3. Ep 66: Textbooks that cost students hundreds of dollars each term could be duplicated at near-zero…10 Aug 2026
  4. Ep 65: A pen that once sold for the price of a luxury watch now costs pennies because one company…9 Aug 2026
  5. Ep 64: A DC fast-charging stall can cost several times the price of the charger hardware alone…8 Aug 2026
  6. Ep 63: Traditional steel plants cost billions to build from ore, yet minimills using scrap and…7 Aug 2026
  7. Ep 62: Sustainable aviation fuel often costs three to five times fossil jet fuel, even though the…6 Aug 2026
  8. Ep 61: A high-wheel bicycle that demanded months of wages and athletic nerve became an everyday…5 Aug 2026
  9. Ep 60: Parking that feels free to drivers actually bundles thousands of dollars of land and…4 Aug 2026
  10. Ep 59: Wheat that once collapsed under heavy grain now yields two to three times more per acre…3 Aug 2026