Per My Last Email
Per My Last Email
Morning Brew
The Surprising Power of Constraints at Work (with David Epstein)
47 minutes Posted Jun 15, 2026 at 10:00 am.
Intro
The story of General Magic
Additive bias
Brooks’s Law
How Bell Labs is an example of useful constraints
Can removing constraints ever be beneficial?
How do we build a constraint to prevent distraction?
David’s observations on AI’s impact on human productivity
Creativity and the Green Eggs and Ham Effect
What is the relationship between creativity, expertise, and constraints?
Is having unlimited professional options actually good career advice?
Decision-making and Fredkin’s Paradox
How David’s two books Range and Inside the Box tie into one another
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47:14
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Show notes
In this episode, Kaila and Kyle are joined by author David Epstein to discuss the topic of his latest book, Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better. Listen to hear why constraints increase both productivity and creativity, and how to implement them on your own to help you in work and life.
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Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app!
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