First Principles

First Principles

By Adrian WellsBusinessEducationSelf-Improvement
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First Principles episodes

  • Dr Will Cole: The Gut Health Lies Your Doctor Won't Tell You
    Your doctor says your gut is fine, but you're bloated, tired, and dealing with brain fog every afternoon. What if the "healthy" foods you're eating are actually fueling chronic inflammation? Adrian Wells sits down with functional medicine expert Dr. Will Cole to expose the surprising culprits hiding in your daily diet.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why 60-70% of your immune system lives in your gut (and what that means for your energy levels)
    • The gluten truth: how this protein triggers inflammation even without celiac disease
    • Which ultra-processed foods make up 60% of the average diet and wreck your digestive system
    • How sugar creates inflammatory cytokines within 2 hours of eating (yes, even "natural" sugar)
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone tired of feeling tired who wants real answers about their digestive health.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells reveals the gut-brain connection myth
    [02:15] The immune system shock: why your gut controls more than digestion
    [04:30] Gluten's hidden damage beyond celiac disease
    [06:45] Ultra-processed food breakdown: the 60% problem
    [09:00] Sugar's 2-hour inflammation cycle exposed
    [11:30] Dr. Cole's top action steps you can start today
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
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    🔍 Topics: gut health, inflammation, gluten sensitivity, processed foods, functional medicine

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    Keywords: social media addiction, evidence evaluation, business strategy, critical thinking podcast, personal development

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    37 min
  • The Milk Cancer Study Big Pharma Doesn't Want You to See
    What if everything you've been told about milk being "healthy" is actually increasing your cancer risk by up to 50%? Adrian Wells breaks down the explosive research findings that Big Pharma desperately wants buried, plus the alarming side effects surfacing with popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why dairy consumption is linked to 20-50% higher prostate cancer rates in major studies
    • The shocking difference between conventional and organic milk's IGF-1 levels (hint: it's 10-20 times higher)
    • Over 3,000 reported cases of gastroparesis-like symptoms from weight-loss drugs that the FDA is tracking
    • The 15% breast cancer increase in women who consumed the most dairy according to the Adventist Health Study
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone passionate about personal growth who wants the real story behind health headlines before making decisions about their body.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells exposes the milk cancer connection studies
    [02:15] IGF-1 levels: why conventional dairy is 20x more dangerous
    [04:30] The Adventist Health Study bombshell on breast cancer rates
    [06:45] Ozempic's hidden side effects: 3,000+ gastroparesis cases reported
    [08:30] What longevity experts actually eat vs. what they avoid
    [10:00] How to evaluate health claims when everyone has an agenda
    This isn't another recycled health trend episode. It's the raw data that pharmaceutical companies and dairy lobbies don't want trending on your feed. Wells applies his philosophy background to cut through the marketing spin and show you what the peer-reviewed research actually says.
    The findings on dairy alone will make you rethink your morning coffee routine. The Ozempic revelations? They're already changing how smart people approach weight loss.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
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    🔍 Topics: milk cancer study, dairy health risks, ozempic side effects, longevity research, IGF-1 levels

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: wealth mindset, celebrity interviews, social media addiction, success psychology, anxiety management, leadership psychology, behavioral economics

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    22 min
  • Jimmy Carr: Why Men Are Broken and Nobody Cares
    Men are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than women, but society barely acknowledges this crisis exists. Comedian Jimmy Carr isn't just making jokes about it: he's calling out the uncomfortable truth that men are struggling in ways we refuse to discuss. In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down Carr's provocative argument about why modern men are lost, lonely, and literally dying at alarming rates.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why boys are falling behind girls at every level of education and what this means for the future
    • The friendship crisis: how men went from tight communities to having zero close friends
    • Why men's life expectancy keeps dropping while women's rises, and it's not just about biology
    • The specific ways society dismisses men's mental health struggles while amplifying everyone else's
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners who want to understand the social dynamics shaping modern masculinity and anyone curious about the data behind controversial cultural debates.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the male suicide epidemic nobody talks about
    [01:30] Jimmy Carr's take on why "toxic masculinity" misses the real problem
    [03:45] The education gap: how boys became the underperforming gender
    [06:15] Male loneliness: from brotherhood to isolation in two generations
    [08:30] Why men's mental health gets dismissed as "privilege problems"
    [10:45] What actually helps men versus what we think helps them
    This isn't about taking sides or playing oppression Olympics. It's about looking at the actual data on a group that's quietly struggling while everyone argues about whether they deserve help. Carr's comedy background gives him permission to say what academics and politicians won't touch.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: men's mental health, suicide statistics, education gap, male loneliness, masculinity crisis

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: decision making, anxiety management, personal development, relationship psychology, social media addiction

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    23 min
  • Jocko Willink: Why You Should Never Fight Fear (Do This Instead)
    What if everything you think you know about handling fear is actually making it worse?
    Navy SEAL Jocko Willink spent years leading one of the most elite combat units in the world, and his approach to fear might surprise you. Instead of fighting it or trying to eliminate it, he does something completely different. In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down Jocko's counterintuitive method that transforms fear from your enemy into your best source of information.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why Jocko's "Default Aggressive" mindset beats positive thinking every time
    • The anxiety reappraisal technique that improves performance by 23% (backed by research)
    • How Task Unit Bruiser handled the deadliest combat zone in Iraq using fear as fuel
    • The 4:30 AM routine that builds unshakeable mental discipline
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone who wants to stop letting fear make their decisions for them.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces Jocko's fear philosophy
    [01:45] Why fighting fear backfires (and what works instead)
    [03:20] The "Default Aggressive" response to anxiety
    [05:40] Combat lessons from Ramadi that apply to everyday life
    [08:15] Anxiety reappraisal: the science behind reframing fear
    [10:30] Building discipline that makes fear irrelevant
    This isn't about becoming fearless. It's about becoming fear-smart. Jocko figured out how to make fear work for him instead of against him, and the difference is everything.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: Jocko Willink, fear management, anxiety reappraisal, Navy SEAL mindset, Default Aggressive

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: health myths, mental health celebrities, wealth mindset

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    39 min
  • What Liver King's Steroid Confession Reveals About Every Fitness Influencer
    So what happens when a fitness influencer worth millions gets caught in the biggest steroid scandal of 2022? Adrian Wells breaks down the Liver King controversy and what his $11,000-per-month hormone confession reveals about the entire fitness influencer ecosystem.
    Brian Johnson built an empire selling the "ancestral lifestyle" while secretly spending more on performance enhancing drugs than most people make in a year. His fall from 1.7 million followers exposes the uncomfortable truth about authenticity in a $4.4 billion industry built on impossible standards.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why Liver King's monthly steroid budget exceeded most people's salaries (and what that says about influencer economics)
    • How unrealistic fitness content contributes to body dysmorphia in 30% of social media users
    • The psychological tricks fitness influencers use to sell you their lifestyle
    • Red flags that expose when "natural" transformations are anything but
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone who's ever wondered if that fitness transformation you saw online was too good to be true.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the Liver King steroid scandal
    [01:45] The $11,000 monthly hormone protocol exposed
    [03:30] How 1.7 million followers got fooled by "ancestral living"
    [05:15] The psychology behind fitness influencer marketing
    [07:45] Why unrealistic standards damage mental health
    [09:30] Red flags to spot fake natural transformations
    [11:00] What this means for the future of fitness content
    This isn't just about one influencer's lies. It's about how an entire industry profits from selling impossible dreams and what you can do to see through the smoke and mirrors.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: fitness influencers, Liver King, steroid use, social media authenticity, body image

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: billionaire mindset, motivation psychology, cognitive biases, evidence evaluation, logical reasoning, ai dangers

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    39 min
  • Why Google's Former AI Chief Says Your Phone Is Killing Your Heart
    Your phone buzzes. Your heart rate spikes. That notification just triggered the same stress response as being chased by a lion. Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, says this cycle is literally killing young people. In this episode, Adrian Wells sits down with Gawdat to unpack why heart attacks in people under 40 have jumped 30% in the past decade.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why your cortisol stays elevated for 6 hours after checking one stressful email (and what that does to your arteries)
    • The 27% increased heart attack risk that comes with chronic stress, plus the 59% stroke risk nobody talks about
    • How constant worrying creates 40% higher inflammatory markers in your blood, literally damaging your cardiovascular system
    • Gawdat's specific techniques to break the anxiety loop before it becomes a medical emergency
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone who feels like their stress levels are out of control but doesn't know where to start.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the hidden health crisis
    [01:45] Mo Gawdat's wake-up call about stress and sudden cardiac death
    [03:30] The phone-to-heart attack pipeline (it's faster than you think)
    [06:15] Why your brain can't tell the difference between real and digital threats
    [08:45] Three practical steps to reset your nervous system
    [11:00] How to build stress resilience in a hyperconnected world
    This isn't about telling you to throw your phone in a drawer. It's about understanding what chronic stress actually does to your body and learning practical ways to interrupt the cycle. Gawdat's perspective comes from both the tech world that created these problems and the wellness space working to solve them.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: stress management, heart health, anxiety, digital wellness, Mo Gawdat

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: evidence evaluation, first principles, relationship psychology

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    33 min
  • Why Comedians Age Better Than Everyone Else (Russell Kane Explains)
    What if the secret to staying mentally sharp has nothing to do with brain training apps and everything to do with bombing on stage? Russell Kane just shared the psychological tricks that keep comedians cognitively flexible as they age, and Adrian Wells breaks down why this matters for anyone who wants to build real confidence.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why acknowledging your nervousness before speaking actually improves performance by 31%
    • The specific brain patterns comedians develop that mirror people 10-15 years younger
    • Russell Kane's honest take on why he didn't feel truly confident until his mid-thirties (despite starting comedy at 19)
    • How regular creative risk-taking literally rewires your brain for better decision-making
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone who wants to understand the real psychology behind confidence and mental agility.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells on why comedians might have cracked the aging code
    [01:45] The confidence paradox: why doubt isn't your enemy
    [03:30] Russell Kane's 20-year journey from nervous newcomer to seasoned performer
    [05:15] The neuroscience behind creative risk-taking and brain flexibility
    [07:00] Why comedians show 23% higher cognitive flexibility than average
    [09:30] Practical ways to apply comedian psychology to everyday confidence
    [11:15] Key takeaways you can use starting today
    This isn't another "fake it till you make it" conversation. Kane gets real about the messy middle of building confidence, and the research backs up why his approach actually works. Plus, you'll understand why adults who regularly take creative risks show brain patterns that suggest they're aging slower than their peers.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: confidence building, brain aging, comedy psychology, cognitive flexibility, creative risk-taking

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    Keywords: critical thinking podcast, performance optimization, leadership psychology, mental health celebrities

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    25 min
  • Johann Hari: Big Pharma Is Hiding Ozempic's Secret Mental Health Effects
    What if the weight loss drug everyone's talking about is rewiring your brain in ways nobody's discussing? Johann Hari believes Big Pharma and mainstream media are burying the real story about Ozempic's psychological effects. In this episode, Adrian Wells sits down with Hari to uncover what patients are actually experiencing beyond the headlines.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why Ozempic prescriptions jumped 300% in two years despite being originally designed for diabetes
    • The hidden social isolation many patients face when food stops being a connector in relationships
    • How pharmaceutical companies control which side effects get emphasized in public discussions
    • What doctors in multiple countries told Hari off the record about unreported psychological changes
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners who want to think critically about health trends and anyone questioning what's really behind the latest medical breakthroughs.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the Ozempic controversy
    [01:45] The 300% prescription increase nobody's talking about
    [03:20] Johann Hari's investigation across multiple countries
    [05:10] Patients losing connection to food-based social activities
    [07:30] Why certain side effects stay buried in medical literature
    [09:15] What doctors really think but won't say publicly
    [11:00] How to evaluate health claims when profit motives are involved
    This isn't another surface-level health debate. It's about learning to spot the gaps between what we're told and what's actually happening. Hari's months of patient interviews reveal patterns that should make anyone think twice about accepting medical marketing at face value.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: Ozempic side effects, pharmaceutical industry, weight loss drugs, medical research transparency, health media coverage

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: performance optimization, behavioral economics, leadership psychology, business strategy, depression stories, philosophy business, evidence evaluation, cognitive biases

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    23 min
  • What Running 10,000 Miles Across Africa Actually Did to My Mind
    What if the hardest part of running 10,000 miles across Africa wasn't the physical pain, but admitting you oversimplified an entire continent for social media? In this episode, Adrian Wells sits down with the truth behind one of the most viral adventure stories of our time.
    Russ Cook gained millions of followers documenting his 352-day journey through 16 African countries. But the real story is messier, more complex, and more honest than what made it to Instagram.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why Cook says he "hasn't told the whole truth" about his African experience
    • How viral content creation forces you to simplify complex realities
    • The stark differences between countries that his audience never saw
    • What 10,000 miles of running actually taught him about storytelling vs. truth
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners who question what's behind the viral stories everyone's sharing, and anyone curious about the gap between social media narratives and reality.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the "Hardest Geezer" controversy
    [01:45] Why Cook admits he oversimplified Africa
    [03:30] The countries that nearly broke him (that followers never heard about)
    [05:15] How gaining millions of followers changed his storytelling
    [07:00] The infrastructure realities that don't make good content
    [09:30] What he'd do differently knowing what he knows now
    [11:00] The mental challenge that outlasted the physical pain
    Cook's honesty about the compromises content creators make is refreshing. He doesn't hide from the fact that 16 countries with vastly different political situations, infrastructure challenges, and cultural contexts got flattened into digestible daily updates. Sometimes the most interesting story is why the story we heard isn't the whole story.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
    Follow First Principles on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
    🔍 Topics: Russ Cook, Africa run, content creation, social media storytelling, viral adventures

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: evidence evaluation, success psychology, decision making, social media addiction, motivation psychology, critical thinking podcast

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    23 min
  • Psychology Expert: Why Living in This City Color Is Ruining Your Mood
    What if the color of your bedroom walls is secretly sabotaging your sleep every single night? In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down the fascinating psychological research showing how your name, location, and surroundings create invisible forces that shape your mood, decisions, and success in ways you never realized.
    🎯 What You'll Learn:
    • Why people with easier-to-pronounce names are 70% more likely to get hired and earn higher salaries
    • How students taking tests in red rooms score 20% lower than those in blue or green environments
    • The surprising reason people in neighborhoods with more green space report 15% higher life satisfaction
    • Why children with cool-colored bedrooms (blues and greens) fall asleep 37 minutes faster than those with warm colors
    👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone passionate about personal growth who want to understand the hidden psychological forces affecting their daily life.
    📍 Chapters:
    [00:00] Adrian Wells reveals the hidden psychology of your environment
    [01:30] The name game: how pronunciation affects your career prospects
    [04:00] Color psychology: why red rooms tank test scores
    [07:00] The green space effect on mental health and happiness
    [10:00] Your bedroom color's impact on sleep quality
    [12:00] Practical steps to optimize your environment today
    This isn't just interesting trivia. These are research-backed insights you can actually use to make small changes that create real improvements in your life. From choosing paint colors to understanding workplace dynamics, these psychological principles give you an edge most people don't even know exists.
    🔔 Never miss an episode:
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    🔍 Topics: color psychology, environmental psychology, name psychology, sleep optimization, workplace psychology

    Find all episodes at First Principles

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    Keywords: productivity science, depression stories, fame psychology, mental health celebrities

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    29 min

About First Principles

From the publisher's feed

First Principles isn't another business podcast recycling the same startup stories. Adrian Wells takes the fundamentals that actually matter and breaks them down like you're having coffee with the smartest professor you ever had.