00:00 — Introduction

00:37 — The Rivers

01:53 — The Highways

03:07 — Why We Built It in the First Place

04:26 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- ABC News AU - Removing Tidal Barriers on Farmland to Create Wetlands (Queensland): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-02/removing-tidal-barriers-on-farmland-to-create-wetlands/106496784

- OPB - Klamath River Ecosystem Is Booming One Year After Dam Removal: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/14/klamath-river-ecosystem-one-year-after-dam-removal/

- VOA - Klamath Undammed: Salmon Return After America's Largest River Restoration: https://projects.voanews.com/klamath-undammed/

- NOAA Fisheries - World's Biggest Dam Removal Project to Open 420 Miles of Salmon Habitat: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/worlds-biggest-dam-removal-project-open-420-miles-salmon-habitat-fall

- California Trout - A River Reborn: One Year After Klamath River Dam Removal: https://caltrout.org/news/1-year-anniversary-klamath-dams/

- ASCE - What Can Engineers Learn from Klamath River Dam Removals: https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/article/2026/03/04/what-can-engineers-learn-from-klamath-river-dam-removals-as-trend-ramps-up

- Wikipedia - Cheonggyecheon (Seoul Stream Restoration): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheonggyecheon

- Grist - Seoul Tears Down an Urban Highway and the City Can Breathe Again: https://grist.org/infrastructure/2011-04-04-seoul-korea-tears-down-an-urban-highway-life-goes-on/

- Congress for the New Urbanism - Eight Completed Highway Removals That Changed Their Cities: https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2022/05/31/eight-completed-highway-removals-tell-story-movement

- Off-Ramp NYC - Highway Removal Economics: https://www.offramp.nyc/why-tear-down

- Science Array - Dam Removal Brings Salmon Back: River Restoration Success: https://environment.sciencearray.com/dam-removal-salmon-recovery-river-restoration

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:35 — The Grudge

01:58 — The Movie Is the Ad

03:20 — Why This Matters Beyond Hollywood

04:22 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- NBCUniversal Media - DreamWorks' Shrek Celebrates 25 Years of Iconic Legacy: https://www.nbcuniversal.com/article/dreamworks-shrek-celebrates-25-years-iconic-legacy-and-lasting-cultural-impact

- Medium - The $250 Million Mistake That Gave Rise to Disney's Greatest Rival: https://medium.com/@celestineriza/the-250-million-mistake-that-gave-rise-to-disneys-greatest-rival-8d7af4003881

- AV Club - Shrek 2 Turned One Executive's Petty Grievances Into a Box Office Fairy Tale: https://www.avclub.com/shrek-2-turned-one-executive-s-petty-grievances-into-a-1846164022

- Cultura Colectiva - How Disney Accidentally Created Its Enemy DreamWorks: https://culturacolectiva.com/en/entertainment/movies/disney-created-dreamworks/

- The Free Library - Taking the Mickey: Feud That Packed Shrek with Jokes About Disney: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Taking+the+Mickey;+FEUD+THAT+PACKED+SHREK+WITH+JOKES+ABOUT+DISNEY.-a076312694

- IndieWire - The 10 Most Lucrative Movie Merchandise Franchises: https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/movies-that-sold-the-most-merchandise-star-wars-frozen-batman/

- MickeyBlog - Which Disney Franchises Have Made the Most Money?: https://mickeyblog.com/2023/09/14/which-disney-franchises-have-made-the-most-money/

- Wikipedia - Shrek Franchise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_(franchise)

- Wikipedia - List of Highest-Grossing Animated Films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_animated_films

- Far Out Magazine - 10 Movies That Made More Money Through Merchandising Than at the Box Office: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/10-movies-that-made-more-money-through-merchandising-than-the-box-office/

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00:00 — Introduction

00:37 — The Switch

01:45 — The Hardest Thing Humans Make

02:56 — From Games to AI

04:26 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- TechTarget - The History of Semiconductors and the Chip-Making Industry: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/The-history-of-semiconductors-and-the-chip-making-industry

- Works in Progress - The World's Most Complex Machine (ASML/EUV): https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-worlds-most-complex-machine/

- Construction Physics - How ASML Got EUV: https://www.construction-physics.com/p/how-asml-got-euv

- Wikipedia - History of the Transistor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_transistor

- Computer History Museum - Silicon Engine Timeline: https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/timeline/

- NVIDIA Blog - Why GPUs Are Great for AI: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/why-gpus-are-great-for-ai/

- NVIDIA Blog - How the World's First GPU Leveled Up Gaming and Ignited the AI Era: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/first-gpu-gaming-ai/

- CNBC - Nvidia Faces Backlash from Gamers Who Feel Abandoned for AI: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/18/nvidia-ai-backlash-gamers-geforce-gpu.html

- freeCodeCamp - From Pixels to Predictions: How GPUs Started Powering Modern AI: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/from-pixels-to-predictions-how-gpus-started-powering-modern-ai/

- Chris Miller - Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology (Book Summary): https://mukundmohan.blog/2025/01/27/book-summary-chip-war-by-chris-miller/

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:04 — Recap

00:04 — Wrap Up

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:28 — The Violation That Won't Hurt You

02:00 — Laughter Isn't About Jokes

03:16 — The Line

04:26 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Wikipedia - Theories of Humor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor

- Peter McGraw - A Brief Introduction to the Benign Violation Theory of Humor: https://petermcgraw.org/a-brief-introduction-to-the-benign-violation-theory-of-humor/

- Humor Research Lab (HuRL) - Benign Violation Theory: https://humorresearchlab.com/benign-violation-theory/

- APA Speaking of Psychology - What Makes Things Funny? With Peter McGraw, PhD: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/humor-theory

- Scientific American - What's So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/

- PMC - Robert Provine: The Critical Human Importance of Laughter, Connections and Contagion: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9489296/

- Robert Provine - Laughter (American Scientist, 1996): http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Provine_96.html

- ScienceInsights - What Makes Someone Laugh? Brain, Body, and Social Cues: https://scienceinsights.org/what-makes-someone-laugh-brain-body-and-social-cues/

- Journal of Ethics (AMA) - The Science of Comedy (Sort of): https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/science-comedy-sort/2020-07

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:33 — The Floor

02:10 — Cash, Not Dash

03:24 — The Story We Tell vs. The Story That's True

04:30 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Quartz - Entrepreneurs Don't Have a Special Gene for Risk, They Come from Families with Money: https://qz.com/455109/entrepreneurs-dont-have-a-special-gene-for-risk-they-come-from-families-with-money

- Marketplace - To Succeed as an Entrepreneur, Do You Need Rich Parents?: https://www.marketplace.org/story/2023/01/18/want-to-start-a-business-it-helps-to-have-rich-parents

- Inc. - Do You Need a Wealthy Background to Be a Successful Entrepreneur?: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/do-you-need-a-wealthy-background-to-be-a-successful-entrepreneur.html

- Journal of Economic Growth - Do Attitudes Toward Risk Taking Affect Entrepreneurship? Evidence from Second-Generation Americans: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10887-021-09197-8

- Organization Science - Cultural Roots of Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Second-Generation Immigrants: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2022.1645

- Springer - Migration, Risk Attitudes, and Entrepreneurship: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s40176-014-0017-4.pdf

- NBER - Risk Preferences Are Not Time Preferences (Environmental Factors Shape Risk Tolerance): https://www.nber.org/papers/w19145

- Kauffman Foundation - Startup Costs and Funding Sources: https://www.kauffman.org/research/

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:30 — The Numbers

01:27 — The Weapon Nobody Can Use

02:46 — Why Iran Changes Everything

04:22 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Arms Control Association - Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance: https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nuclear-weapons-who-has-what-glance

- Arms Control Association - U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreements at a Glance: https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/us-russian-nuclear-arms-control-agreements-glance

- Council on Foreign Relations - U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Control Timeline: https://www.cfr.org/timelines/us-russia-nuclear-arms-control

- Council on Foreign Relations - Nukes Without Limits? A New Era After the End of New START: https://www.cfr.org/articles/nukes-without-limits-a-new-era-after-the-end-of-new-start

- ICAN - The Expiration of New START: What It Means and What's Next: https://www.icanw.org/new_start_expiration

- American Friends Service Committee - 4 Things to Know About the End of the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Treaty: https://afsc.org/news/4-things-know-about-end-us-russia-nuclear-arms-treaty

- XLab (University of Chicago) - Nuclear Risk: https://xrisk.uchicago.edu/nuclear-risk/

- GIS Reports - Nuclear Deterrence After Arms Control Collapse: https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/nuclear-deterrence/

- Arms Control Today - When Gorbachev and Reagan Tried to End the Nuclear Threat: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2026-05/arms-control-today/when-gorbachev-and-reagan-tried-end-nuclear-threat

- Wikipedia - Nuclear Weapons of the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_of_the_United_States

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:29 — Eighteen Point Four Cents

01:54 — The Pike That Turns

03:27 — The Road Nobody Wants to Build

04:21 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Peter G. Peterson Foundation - The Highway Trust Fund Explained: https://www.pgpf.org/article/budget-explainer-highway-trust-fund/

- PolitiFact - Trump Wants a Gasoline Tax Suspension. But It's Never Been Done and Could Have Serious Drawbacks: https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/may/12/trump-gasoline-diesel-tax-highway-trust-fund/

- Tax Policy Center - What Is the Highway Trust Fund, and How Is It Financed?: https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-highway-trust-fund-and-how-it-financed

- Bipartisan Policy Center - Options to Stabilize the Highway Trust Fund: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/issue-brief/options-to-stabilize-the-highway-trust-fund/

- Congressional Research Service - The Highway Trust Fund's Highway Account: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48472

- Transportation For America - The Highway Trust Fund Isn't on Life Support. It's Been Dead Since 2008: https://t4america.org/2025/05/22/the-highway-trust-fund-isnt-on-life-support-its-been-dead-since-2008/

- Federal Highway Administration - Toll Facilities in the United States: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/tollpage/history.cfm

- Federal Highway Administration - Why Does the Interstate System Include Toll Facilities?: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/tollroad.cfm

- GovFacts - Are Toll Roads Fair? The Growing Debate Over Pay-to-Drive America: https://govfacts.org/housing-infrastructure/transportation/roads-highways/are-toll-roads-fair-the-growing-debate-over-pay-to-drive-america/

- NPR - Inflation Jumps to Its Highest Level Since 2023: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/12/nx-s1-5818279/inflation-cpi-gas-prices-housing-fuel-iran-war

- RateGenius - The 3,000-Year History of Toll Roads: https://www.rategenius.com/3000-year-history-toll-roads

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:34 — Picking Your Voters

01:45 — Both Sides of the Aisle

03:15 — The Court That Walked Away

04:22 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Library of Congress - Gerrymandering: The Origin Story: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2024/07/gerrymandering-the-origin-story/

- HISTORY - How Gerrymandering Began in the U.S.: https://www.history.com/articles/gerrymandering-origins-voting

- Wikipedia - Gerrymandering in the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering_in_the_United_States

- Campaign Legal Center - What Is Gerrymandering?: https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-gerrymandering

- Christian Science Monitor - When Gerry Met a Salamander: The 1812 Roots of Today's Gerrymandering Battles: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2025/1120/gerrymandering-redistricting-texas-california

- Population Education - A Brief History of How Gerrymandering Distorts US Politics: https://populationeducation.org/a-brief-history-of-how-gerrymandering-distorts-u-s-politics/

- Wikipedia - Rucho v. Common Cause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rucho_v._Common_Cause

- PBS NewsHour - GOP Rush to Redraw U.S. House Seats Creates Voter Confusion: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/

Full interactive experience at thehigheriq.com — skip between stories, test your recall, and get personalized briefings.

00:00 — Introduction

00:32 — The Mood Repair

01:38 — The Stranger in the Mirror

02:50 — What Actually Works

04:24 — Wrap Up

Sources:

- Pychyl, T.A. & Sirois, F.M. - Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation (2013): https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12011

- APA Speaking of Psychology - Why We Procrastinate, with Fuschia Sirois, PhD: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/procrastinate

- Carleton University News - Procrastination Problem? Tim Pychyl Knows Why: https://carleton.ca/news/story/procrastination-problem-tim-pychyl/

- PMC - Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Academic Procrastination: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7671960/

- Hershfield, H.E. et al. - Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self (2011): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22106393/

- Nature Scientific Reports - Identifying the Neural Substrates of Procrastination: A Resting-State fMRI Study (2016): https://www.nature.com/articles/srep33203

- PMC - A Neuro-Computational Account of Procrastination Behavior (2022): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9513091/

- ScienceDirect - Procrastination, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being (Pychyl & Sirois, 2016): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128028629000086

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