#semiconductors
15 episodes
#2432: From RTL to GDSII: How Custom Silicon Is Designed
The economics and engineering of ASICs vs. CPUs and GPUs, from transistor placement to hyperscaler strategy.
#2106: The Silicon Shock: Inside the 2026 Hardware Supply Chain
AI is hoarding all the chips, and your smart toaster is stuck in line. Here’s why the hardware supply chain is breaking down.
#2088: Quantum's First Real Benchmarks Are Here
From drug discovery to logistics, quantum computing is finally delivering measurable speedups over classical systems.
#2054: From Dirt to Data: How Empires Conquered the Cloud
Why did we stop conquering land and start conquering servers? This episode traces the shift from soil to bits.
#1821: The Quantum Computer Inside the Giant White Thermos
Crack open a quantum computer and you won't find a CPU—just a gold-plated chandelier inside a giant white thermos.
#1538: The Cold Monetization Era: Why AI Limits are Here to Stay
Why is your $200 AI plan hitting limits? Discover the hidden costs of reasoning tokens and the physical bottlenecks of the 2026 AI energy crisis.
#1224: Cracking the CUDA Code: NVIDIA’s Software Dominance
Discover why NVIDIA’s CUDA is the oxygen of the AI industry and how tools like OpenAI’s Triton are finally challenging its 20-year software moat.
#1062: The Silicon Age: Turning Sand into Intelligence
Why did silicon win the chip wars? Explore the "modern magic" that turns ordinary sand into the world's most powerful processors.
#730: The Language of Chips: Decoding x86 vs. ARM
Why can’t you just "copy and paste" software between devices? Explore the hidden language of CPU architectures like x86 and ARM.
#709: ESD Myths: Protecting Your PC from the Silent Killer
Is static electricity a real threat to your hardware? Learn why 10 volts can destroy a chip with a charge you can't even feel.
#684: Breaking the Speed Limit: The Science of Overclocking
Why settle for factory speeds? Herman and Corn dive into the world of overclocking, from silicon binning to the physics of pushing your CPU.
#682: The Secret Power of Your Smartphone’s Tiny Microphones
Why does a phone mic outperform a pro headset for AI transcription? Herman and Corn dive into the physics of MEMS and the truth about audio quality.
#591: A Petabyte in Your Pocket? The Future of Micro SD Storage
From floppy disks to 4TB cards, how much data can we squeeze onto a fingernail before physics pushes back? Explore the future of storage density.
#559: Is Your Computer Hotter Than a Nuclear Reactor?
Why does a tiny chip need a massive metal tower? Explore the wild physics of cooling, from air fans to nuclear-level heat density.
#18: Beyond the GPU: Unpacking AI's Chip Revolution
Beyond the GPU: we're unpacking AI's chip revolution. Discover the crucial, often overlooked world of AI's fundamental building blocks.