{"podcast":{"title":"First Principles","slug":"first-principles-7708985","podcast_index_feed_id":7708985,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN4765221373","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/06eebd2a-0779-11f1-826e-37926ac18342/image/fca7c8febd1441fc3b0d54084418b06d.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Adrian Wells","episode_count":426,"summary":"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. Wells spent twelve years teaching philosophy and critical thinking before ditching the lecture hall for the microphone. Turns out, the same principles that help you think clearly about ancient Greek ethics also work pretty well for modern business decisions. Who knew? Every episode strips away the latest trends and buzzwords to focus on the core ideas that don't change. How to actually evaluate evidence when everyone's throwing around statistics. Why most \"revolutionary\" business advice is just old wine in new bottles. The thinking patterns that separate smart decisions from lucky guesses. You won't get hyped-up success stories or flavor-of-the-month strategies. Instead, you'll learn how to think through problems the way philosophers have for centuries, applied to the stuff that matters in your work and life right now. Multiple new episodes drop daily, so there's always something fresh when you need it. Follow now if you're ready to think better, not just…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T02:18:54.580675+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985"},"episode":{"title":"Alex Cooper: The $60M Secret She Hid From Her Audience","slug":"alex-cooper-the-60m-secret-she-hid-from-her-audience","published_at":"2026-09-09T19:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985/alex-cooper-the-60m-secret-she-hid-from-her-audience","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN9357168341.mp3?updated=1776257599","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN9357168341.mp3?updated=1776257599","summary":"What if the podcaster everyone thinks they know built her empire on a secret she never planned to reveal? In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down how Alex Cooper turned brutal honesty into a $60 million media empire, and why her strategy challenges everything we think we know about authentic content creation. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How Cooper generates 200+ million downloads yearly with just one show • The counterintuitive reason her $60M Spotify deal actually strengthened her brand • Why targeting the \"ignored\" 18-34 female demographic became her competitive advantage • The specific storytelling framework that turns personal struggles into business gold 👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone passionate about personal growth who wants to understand how authentic vulnerability can become a legitimate business strategy. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces Cooper's hidden empire strategy [01:45] The $60M deal nobody saw coming and what it reveals [03:30] Why 75% female audience became her secret weapon [05:15] The storytelling method that built 200M+ downloads [07:00] How authentic vulnerability drives real business results [09:30] What traditional media missed about Gen Z content [11:15] Key takeaways you can apply to your own content strategy Cooper's rise isn't just another success story. It's a masterclass in how being genuinely yourself, even when it's uncomfortable, can become your biggest competitive advantage. Her approach proves that audiences crave real stories over polished presentations. The numbers don't lie: Call Her Daddy consistently ranks in the top 5 podcasts globally, pulling in about $15 million annually in ad revenue before her Spotify move. That's not luck. That's understanding your audience better than anyone else in the room. 🔔 Never…","meta_description":"What if the podcaster everyone thinks they know built her empire on a secret she never planned to reveal? In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down how Al…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":887,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/first-principles-7708985/episodes/alex-cooper-the-60m-secret-she-hid-from-her-audience/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985/alex-cooper-the-60m-secret-she-hid-from-her-audience.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}