Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman

Details

Conversations that explore technology, history, philosophy, physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, engineering, AI, robotics, programming, music, film, art, sports, psychology, neuroscience, geopolitics, business, economics, religion, astronomy, and the human condition with people from all walks of life.

Recent Episodes

NOV 10, 2026
#504 – Russia-Ukraine War: Putin, Zelenskyy, Drones and the Future of Warfare
Preston Stewart is a West Point graduate and Afghanistan veteran who covers the Ukraine war extensively on his YouTube channel, his podcast called War and Conflict, and his newsletter called Defense Tech News. Michael Kofman is a world-class military analyst specializing in the Russian and Ukrainian militaries. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and he hosts The Russia Contingency podcast on the War on the Rocks platform. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep504-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/preston-stewart-michael-kofman-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Michael’s X: https://x.com/KofmanMichael Michael’s Podcast: https://warontherocks.com/premium/therussiacontingency/ Preston’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prestonstewart Preston’s X: https://x.com/prestonstew_ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: GiveDirectly: Direct donations to people living in extreme poverty. Go to https://givedirectly.org/lex Fin: AI agent for customer service. Go to https://fin.ai/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app. Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex Shop: Turns any AI agent into your personal shopper. Go to https://shop.md/lex Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (08:20) – State of the war in Ukraine (21:59) – Drone warfare and the kill zone (59:09) – Who is winning the war? (1:10:46) – Military analysis of Russia’s 2022 invasion (1:26:34) – Battle of Bakhmut (1:42:17) – War optimism and bad information (2:02:26) – Prigozhin’s mutiny (2:16:40) – Putin vs Zelenskyy (2:34:38) – Trump (2:43:33) – Paths to peace in Ukraine (2:54:13) – Nature of war PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ywcdUyAXA3dNFKU4xjFeY – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
181 MIN
OCT 26, 2026
#503 – AI Crisis in Math: Navier-Stokes, Riemann Hypothesis & Complexity Theory
Ankur Moitra, Steven Brunton and Alex Kontorovich are three mathematicians who can speak to this incredible moment in the history of mathematics, when AI solved some of its hardest problems: Navier-Stokes, the quasi-Riemann hypothesis, the unique games conjecture and hundreds of other problems. Ankur Moitra is a mathematician at MIT (visiting the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton) working in theoretical computer science, who can speak to the unique games conjecture, complexity theory and the mathematics of how AI learns. Steven Brunton is a mathematician and fluid dynamics expert at UW, who can speak to Navier-Stokes, turbulence and machine learning for fluid dynamics. Alex Kontorovich is a mathematician at Rutgers specializing in number theory, who can speak to the Riemann hypothesis, Lean and machine-checked proofs. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep503-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/math-ai-crisis-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Ankur’s Website: https://people.csail.mit.edu/moitra/ Alex’s X: https://x.com/AlexKontorovich Alex’s Website: https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/~alexk/ Steven’s X: https://x.com/eigensteve Steven’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@Eigensteve Steven’s Website: https://eigensteve.com Lean: https://lean-lang.org/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app. Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex Fin: AI agent for customer service. Go to https://fin.ai/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Blitzy: AI agent for large enterprise codebases. Go to https://blitzy.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to https://netsuite.ai/lex Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (01:58) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:53) – Crisis moment in mathematics (18:10) – Will AI “solve” mathematics? (34:21) – Can AI create new math? (1:13:53) – Riemann hypothesis (1:37:45) – Navier-Stokes (2:03:42) – How nature computes (2:12:35) – Unique Games Conjecture and complexity theory (2:27:28) – How mathematicians think (2:41:05) – Is math invented or discovered? (2:47:13) – Can AI solve P vs NP? (2:57:28) – Why LLMs work so well (3:11:54) – Problems AI can’t solve yet (3:16:23) – Grigori Perelman (3:25:41) – Advice for young people
222 MIN
SEP 17, 2026
#502 – Psychiatry, Insane Asylums, Mental Illness, ECT, Lobotomies, Freud & Jung
Andrew Scull is a historian of psychiatry. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep502-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/andrew-scull-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Andrew’s Website (UCSD faculty page): https://sociology.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/emeritus/andrew-scull.html Desperate Remedies (book): https://amzn.to/4vmBquI Madness in Civilization (book): https://amzn.to/3SZhd0I SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app. Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex Fin: AI agent for customer service. Go to https://fin.ai/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (01:07) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (08:10) – Crisis in Psychiatry (37:48) – Categories of Mental Illness (45:07) – Asylums, Eugenics, and the Nazis (57:13) – The Ice Pick Lobotomy (1:03:26) – Malaria “Cure” for Syphilis (1:21:42) – Insulin Coma Therapy (1:29:34) – Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) (1:49:03) – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (2:06:35) – Freud and Psychoanalysis (2:36:30) – WWII and Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (2:57:04) – Antipsychotics (3:20:24) – Antidepressants (3:33:18) – Future of Psychiatry PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/082a1V6nazH9ZZqskV1vfz – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
223 MIN
AUG 26, 2026
#501 – DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux
DHH is the creator of Ruby on Rails, Omarchy Linux, CTO of 37signals, and a racecar driver. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep501-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/dhh-2-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: DHH’s X: https://x.com/dhh DHH’s Blog: https://world.hey.com/dhh Omarchy: https://omarchy.org Ruby on Rails: https://rubyonrails.org 37signals: https://37signals.com SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app. Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex Blitzy: AI agent for large enterprise codebases. Go to https://blitzy.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.ai/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Plaud: AI-powered note-taking devices and software. Go to https://plaud.ai/lex Higgsfield AI: AI-based video generation, filmmaking, and creative studio. Go to https://higgsfield.ai Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (01:14) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (08:56) – Programming with AI agents (24:14) – How software will change (33:30) – AI impact on open source (43:21) – Building Omarchy Linux distro (53:05) – Vibe coding vs agentic engineering (1:06:06) – The end of manual programming (1:16:24) – Advice for programmers (1:28:31) – Surviving Internet Hate (1:37:46) – Programming setup for AI Agents (1:50:11) – Obsessing about speed (2:13:06) – Voice prompting vs typing (2:27:05) – Best AI coding models (2:43:55) – Best AI coding harnesses (2:56:57) – AI video generation and filmmaking (3:16:28) – Fatherhood (3:44:35) – Linux will win the desktop (3:55:51) – PewDiePie (4:05:25) – Future of programming (4:28:18) – Politics and immigration (4:59:55) – Longevity, over-optimization, and fear of death (5:11:38) – Eternal recurrence and future of human civization
321 MIN
AUG 12, 2026
#500 – Khabib Nurmagomedov: Dagestan, MMA, UFC, Islam, Conor, Fedor & Football
Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fighters of all time, who retired from the UFC undefeated with a perfect 29-0 record. We did this conversation entirely in Russian. It’s translated and dubbed into English. Both language audio tracks (and subtitles) are available on YouTube. Here, only the English audio is available. We worked hard to make it enjoyable to listen to, by carefully dubbing the translation using voice-cloning, as we’ve done for previous foreign-language podcasts. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep500-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/khabib-nurmagomedov-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Khabib’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/khabib_nurmagomedov/ Khabib’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@KhabibTheEagle Khabib’s Facebook: https://facebook.com/KhabibTheEagle/ Khabib’s X: https://x.com/TeamKhabib Khabib’s Telegram: https://t.me/khabib_nurmagomedov Khabib’s Website: https://khabib.com SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app. Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (01:29) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (08:24) – Why Dagestan produces so many great fighters (18:31) – History of Dagestan warrior culture (27:51) – Hard training in the mountains of Dagestan (31:42) – The trap of fame, money, and power (42:23) – The key to Khabib’s dominance (53:36) – Discipline and hard work (1:06:04) – Street fights in Dagestan (1:19:45) – Khabib’s top pressure (1:25:29) – Khabib vs Conor McGregor (1:38:14) – Khabib’s toughest fight (1:46:02) – Greatest MMA fighters of all time (2:03:46) – Coaching (2:09:19) – Daniel Cormier (2:13:38) – Islam Makhachev (2:23:35) – Dana White (2:27:05) – Joe Rogan (2:29:20) – Ali Abdelaziz (2:31:57) – Football (2:39:12) – Messi vs Ronaldo (2:57:12) – Dubai (3:01:03) – God (3:08:46) – Advice for young people
199 MIN