This episode of the Founders Podcast recounts Bill Gates’s exceptional work ethic, drawing on his new autobiography Source Code as well as four additional works that examine his unique entrepreneurial journey.

Nicolai Tangen interviews Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of LEGO, on how the company sustains its relevance in the digital era while preserving intergenerational connections. They discuss the challenges of rapid growth, creativity in design, and lessons learned from past failures. Christiansen also reflects on how artificial intelligence may reshape the company’s future. (h/T gewer)

Tomas Pueyo’s excellent essay shows how the United States’ unique geography grants it structural advantages that cannot be replicated. He highlights factors such as the abundance of navigable waterways, rich energy resources, and natural barriers that reinforce the nation’s strategic position. It seems that the world’s largest economy enjoys more than one so-called “exorbitant privilege.”

Despite the widespread adoption of generative AI tools in companies, few observe meaningful productivity gains. The authors argue that one key reason is the surge in “noise,” which shifts the burden of work downstream—forcing recipients to interpret, correct, or redo tasks. In other words, the effort is transferred from the creator to the receiver.

The world is experiencing increasing instability in electrical grids due to the growing share of solar and wind power—a challenge also relevant here in Brazil. This Wall Street Journal video explains why power distribution networks struggle to manage this types of energy generation.