The 10 Best Lex Fridman Podcast Episodes
Formerly called The Artificial intelligence Podcast, the Lex Fridman Podcast is full of intelligent and rational conversations about science, technology, philosophy and more. Lex, an AI and autonomous vehicle academic and researcher at MIT, sits down with everyone from Joe Rogan to Eric Weinstein and even Elon Musk, for discussions that put science before politics. With his technical background on hobbies in music and martial arts, Lex is able to dive into conversations and engage deeply with his guests. In longform conversations that are typically over an hour in duration, you’ll get exposed to some of the brightest minds on the planet. This podcast is a spin-off of Lex’ popular Youtube channel that he’s been running since 2006 with over a million subscribers and a hundred million views. He’s a frequent guest on the Joe Rogan podcast with 6 guest showings and counting. In the playlist below, find the best Lex Fridman podcasts episodes that were curated with the help of Podyssey’s podcast fans who love intellectual discussions and explorations.
Last Updated: Mar 15th, 2022
1) #136 – Dan Carlin: Hardcore History
Hear two of the best podcasters and thinkers idea jam in this best Lex Fridman podcast episode. Dan Carlin of the popular Hardcore History podcast joins Lex is a wide-ranging conversation about humanity, civilization, and of course, history. Lex begins the podcast right away with a hard-hitting question: “What is the nature of evil?” From there, they discuss the relationship of violence and force to human civilization, the nature of war, the ideologies of the US and communist countries, and who the greatest leader in history is. Hear them think out loud on what they think about Putin, Elon Musk, Hitler and Genghis Khan — and they don’t shy away from controversial takes. Finishing off the marathon episode, Dan and Lex offers advice on podcasting and talks about what’s next for the Hardcore History podcast. This three and a half hour long episode is one that will have you thinking and rethinking humanity and civilization again and again.
2) #123 – Manolis Kellis: Origin of Life, Humans, Ideas, Suffering, and Happiness
What is the meaning of life and how do we get out of the rat race? If you’re looking for the best of the best episodes of the Lex Fridman podcast, then look no further. Lex interviews Manolis Kellis, an MIT professor in the field of computational biology. The two start the conversation at the micro-level discussing the wonder of how we pack so much information in DNA. Then wander into the topics of evolution, whether humans killed the Neaderthals, why life is a fight against physics, and how ideas have transformed through civilizations. The second part of the episode focuses less on the technicalities of life, but the philosophy of it. Manolis’ mid-life crisis propelled him to a deep reflection on the meaning of life. His debacle eventually inspired him to host the meaning of life symposium that’s available on Youtube. Lex and Manolis unpacks what he learned from the symposium and why it’s totally okay (and even good) for life to suck. At the end of the episode, Manolis, who is also a poet, walks us through two of his original poems. This packed episode is full of revolutionary insights from science to philosophy, definitely making it a top Lex Fridman episode of all time.
3) #234 – Stephen Wolfram: Complexity and the Fabric of Reality
Hear from the great computer scientist, physicist and businessman who founded Wolfram Research, Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha — Stephen Wolfram. Lex Fridman starts the 3-hour intellectually-stimulating episode with a complex question: “What is complexity?” They dive into a plethora of mind-bending topics including randomness in the universe, what is intelligence, a rethink of space and time, predictions versus explanations, if atoms have consciousness, why our universe exists, multi-computation for biology, and even NFTs. This far-ranging conversation will give your mind a workout that’s bound to expand your sense of the universe making it truly one of the best Lex Fridman episodes ever.
4) #131 – Chris Lattner: The Future of Computing and Programming Languages
If you’re a student of computer science, this best Lex Fridman podcast episode will be an absolute treat. Lex interviews Chris Lattner, a world-renowned software engineer who’s the primary creator of various foundational technologies like Swift and LLVM, and the leader of multiple projects at Google, Apple, and Tesla. In this episode, you’ll hear him discuss his working experience with tech visionaries Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. He talks about why programming languages matter, why they're like a mental bicycle, and how to pick a language to learn. Towards the end of the conversation, Lex and Chris pivot to a discussion on quantum computing, AI, advice for up-and-coming software developers, and what the meaning of life is. If you love computers, don’t miss this episode with the master!
5) #371 – Max Tegmark: The Case for Halting AI Development
Max Tegmark is a physicist and AI researcher at MIT, co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, and author of Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Please support this podcast ...Show More
6) Noam Chomsky: Language, Cognition, and Deep Learning
Noam Chomsky is one of the greatest minds of our time and is one of the most cited scholars in history. He is a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political acti...Show More
Noam Chomsky: Language, Cognition, and Deep Learning
36:10 | Nov 29th, 2019
1 recommendation
2 playlists
7) #395 – Walter Isaacson: Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Einstein, Da Vinci & Ben Franklin
Walter Isaacson is an author of biographies on Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Mast...Show More
8) #345 – Coffeezilla: SBF, FTX, Fraud, Scams, Fake Gurus, Money, Fame, and Power
Coffeezilla is a journalist and investigator on YouTube who exposes financial frauds, scams, and fake gurus. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Rocket Money: https://rocketmo...Show More
9) Eric Weinstein: Revolutionary Ideas in Science, Math, and Society
Eric Weinstein is a mathematician, economist, physicist, and managing director of Thiel Capital. He formed the "intellectual dark web" which is a loosely assembled group of public intellectuals includ...Show More
Eric Weinstein: Revolutionary Ideas in Science, Math, and Society
1:21:45 | Mar 20th, 2019
1 recommendation
1 playlist
10) #419 – Sam Altman: OpenAI, GPT-5, Sora, Board Saga, Elon Musk, Ilya, Power & AGI
Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind GPT-4, ChatGPT, Sora, and many other state-of-the-art AI technologies. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Cloaked: https:/...Show More