Lex Fridman Podcast
Long-form conversations about science, technology, history, philosophy, and the nature of intelligence, consciousness, love, and power.
Zach Bitter on Ultramarathon Running, Quitting, MAF Training and Low-Carb Fueling
Ultrarunner and coach Zach Bitter talks 100-mile records, the voice that tells you to quit, aerobic base training, low-carb fueling and his run across America.
Jimmy Pedro on Judo, Visualization and Building Olympic Champions
Judo world champion and coach Jimmy Pedro tells Lex Fridman how he built Olympic medalists like Kayla Harrison and Travis Stevens, and why belief matters.
Joscha Bach on Consciousness as a Story, the Dream World, Free Will, AI and Love
Cognitive scientist Joscha Bach argues we live inside a dream our brains generate, and explores free will, suffering, GPT-3, ideology and love.
Vincent Racaniello on How Viruses Work, COVID-19, Vaccines and Trust in Science
Columbia virologist Vincent Racaniello explains to Lex Fridman what viruses are, how SARS-CoV-2 and vaccines work, and what the pandemic taught us.
Charles Hoskinson on Cardano, Proof of Stake, Bitcoin Maximalism and a Financial Operating System
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson explains proof of stake, extended UTXO, governance, Ethiopia and why crypto should give everyone fair access.
Rodney Brooks on Robotics, the Limits of Computation, Self-Driving Hype and Building iRobot
Roboticist Rodney Brooks and Lex Fridman debate AI hype, self-driving cars, whether computation is the right metaphor, and lessons from iRobot and Rethink.
Yeonmi Park on Escaping North Korea, Love, Freedom and Why Systems Matter
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park tells Lex Fridman about life under the Kims, being trafficked in China, discovering love and freedom, and China's role.
RZA on Wu-Tang Clan, Kung Fu, Mortality, God and the Meaning of Life
RZA talks with Lex Fridman about losing his mother, kung fu wisdom, hip-hop greats, Allah, filmmaking, veganism, chess and life's meaning.
Luís and João Batalha on Fermat's Library, Broken Scientific Publishing and the Art of Reading Papers
The Fermat's Library co-founders talk paper backstories, paywalled journals, how to read and annotate papers, Perelman, and Messi vs. Ronaldo with Lex Fridman.
Travis Stevens on Judo, Brutal Weight Cuts, Olympic Heartbreak and the Road to Silver
Olympic judo silver medalist Travis Stevens walks Lex Fridman through throws, weight cuts, injuries, a 2012 heartbreak and his 2016 comeback.
Sara Walker on the Origin of Life, Assembly Theory and How to Search for Aliens
Astrobiologist Sara Walker argues life is the physics of existence, explains assembly theory, and rethinks how we search for alien life.
Cumrun Vafa on String Theory, Symmetry, Extra Dimensions and the Swampland
Harvard physicist Cumrun Vafa walks Lex Fridman through physics history, how to picture ten dimensions, string theory's evidence and the swampland.
Jocko Willink on Lex Fridman: War, Leadership Lessons from Musk and Jobs, Discipline and Jiu-Jitsu
Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink talks war's bonds and costs, leadership case studies of tech CEOs, humility, his 4 a.m. routine and jiu-jitsu.
Jeff Hawkins on the Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence, AI Risk and Preserving Human Knowledge
Neuroscientist Jeff Hawkins explains how 150,000 cortical columns vote to build our model of the world, and why he thinks intelligent machines won't turn on us.
Wojciech Zaremba on GPT-3, Codex, Robot Hands, Consciousness and Love as Shared Reward
OpenAI co-founder Wojciech Zaremba on GPT-3, Codex and Copilot, the Rubik's cube robot hand, consciousness as compression, meditation and love.
Rick Doblin on Lex Fridman: Psychedelics, MDMA Therapy for PTSD and the History of MAPS
MAPS founder Rick Doblin traces psychedelic history from Leary to MK Ultra and explains the landmark phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.
Barry Barish on LIGO, Gravitational Waves and the Most Precise Instrument Ever Built
Nobel laureate Barry Barish explains gravitational waves, how LIGO measures a thousandth of a proton, and what black holes may teach us.
Douglas Lenat on Cyc: A 37-Year Quest to Give AI Common Sense
Cyc founder Douglas Lenat explains how his team spent decades hand-encoding common sense so AI can reason, explain itself and stop making absurd mistakes.
David Buss on Mating Strategies, Jealousy, Sex Differences and Love
Evolutionary psychologist David Buss explains what men and women want in mates, why we get jealous, and how evolution shapes love and conflict.
Michael Saylor on Lex Fridman: Bitcoin as Digital Energy, Inflation as a Vector, and the Future of Money
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor argues inflation is badly mismeasured and makes his case for Bitcoin as ethical digital property and digital energy.
Grimes on Music Production, Motherhood, AI and Choosing Humanity's Future
Grimes talks with Lex Fridman about music production, becoming a mother, optimistic futures, AI, consciousness and why we are now Homo techno.
Ben Askren on Wrestling Mastery, MMA Dominance, Losing, and Coaching Champions
Ben Askren talks Jake Paul, Jordan Burroughs, his loss to Masvidal, how he built his funk wrestling, coaching, and why he loves Bitcoin.
Niels Jorgensen on 9/11, Ground Zero, Leukemia and the Unity of 9/12
Retired FDNY firefighter Niels Jorgensen recounts 9/11 at Ground Zero, his leukemia, the fight for responders' care and the unity that followed.
John Vervaeke on the Meaning Crisis, Relevance Realization, Religion and the Search for Wisdom
Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke on the meaning crisis, relevance realization, wisdom, non-theism, flow, psychedelics and learning to love wisely.