#479 – Dave Plummer: Programming, Autism, and Old-School Microsoft Stories

Robert Rodriguez is a legendary filmmaker and creator of Sin City, El Mariachi, Desperado, Spy Kids, Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Alita: Battle Angel, The Faculty, and his newest venture Brass Knuckle Films. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep465-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/robert-rodriguez-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: Robert’s X: https://x.com/rodriguez Robert’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/rodriguez/ Brass Knuckle Films: https://brassknucklefilms.com/ Rebel without a Crew (book): https://amzn.to/3G7gtQJ Rebel without a Crew (audiobook): https://amzn.to/3Ri5wyc SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Invideo AI: AI video generator. Go to https://invideo.io/i/lexpod Brain.fm: Music for focus. Go to https://brain.fm/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (10:04) – Explosions and having only one take (17:39) – Success and failure (26:28) – Filmmaking on a low budget (38:41) – El Mariachi (50:10) – Creativity (1:12:06) – Limitations (1:18:22) – Handling criticism (1:34:32) – Action films (1:45:53) – Quentin Tarantino (1:55:52) – Desperado (1:56:54) – Salma Hayek (2:01:40) – Danny Trejo (2:06:55) – Filming in Austin (2:13:05) – Editing (2:22:35) – Sound design (2:27:43) – Deadlines (2:31:14) – Alita: Battle Angel (2:39:36) – James Cameron (2:52:39) – Sin City (3:06:48) – Manifesting (3:18:12) – Memories and journaling (3:27:56) – Mortality PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

17 Huhti 20253h 35min

Dave Smith is a comedian, libertarian, political commentator, and the host of Part of the Problem podcast. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep464-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/dave-smith-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: Dave’s X: https://x.com/ComicDaveSmith Dave’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/DSmithcomic Dave’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/theproblemdavesmith Dave’s Website: https://comicdavesmith.com/ Part of the Problem Podcast: https://partoftheproblem.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Call of Duty: First-person shooter video game. Go to https://callofduty.com/warzone Tax Network USA: Full-service tax firm. Go to https://tnusa.com/lex Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://notion.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (00:10) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:32) – Libertarianism (10:47) – Ron Paul (13:59) – Military–industrial complex (20:53) – War on Terror (33:12) – China and Taiwan (41:00) – Just war theory (48:09) – Israel and Gaza (1:05:35) – Douglas Murray (1:13:29) – Hamas (1:29:48) – Hitler and Stalin (1:32:01) – Darryl Cooper (1:41:13) – Antisemitism (1:54:46) – World leaders (2:07:21) – Jeffrey Epstein (2:15:24) – Sam Harris (2:28:07) – Ukraine and Russia (2:47:32) – Joe Rogan (3:00:01) – Conspiracy theories (3:17:52) – Hope PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

9 Huhti 20253h 26min

Douglas Murray is the author of On Democracies and Death Cults, The War on The West, and The Madness of Crowds. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep463-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/douglas-murray-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: Douglas’s X: https://x.com/DouglasKMurray Douglas’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@douglasmurray Douglas’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/douglaskmurray Douglas’s Website: https://douglasmurray.net On Democracies and Death Cults (book): https://amzn.to/4jahsxL The War on the West (book): https://amzn.to/38L7B36 SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Call of Duty: First-person shooter video game. Go to https://callofduty.com/warzone Oracle: Cloud infrastructure. Go to https://oracle.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (02:04) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:31) – War in Ukraine (13:17) – Trump and Zelenskyy (27:47) – Putin (48:40) – Peace (58:31) – Zelenskyy (1:13:11) – Israel-Palestine (1:23:57) – Hamas (1:38:30) – Corruption (1:41:40) – Gaza (2:02:18) – Benjamin Netanyahu (2:19:29) – Hate (2:43:59) – Iran (2:54:48) – Interview advice (3:09:12) – War PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips SOCIAL LINKS: – X: https://x.com/lexfridman – Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman – TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman – LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman – Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman – Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman – Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman – Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman

30 Maalis 20253h 16min

Ezra Klein is one of the most influential voices representing the left-wing of American politics. He is a columnist for the NY Times and host of The Ezra Klein Show. Derek Thompson is a writer at The Atlantic and host of the Plain English podcast. Together they have written a new book titled Abundance that lays out a set of ideas for the future of the Democratic party. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep462-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-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: Abundance (new book): https://amzn.to/4iZ1S8J Ezra’s X: https://x.com/ezraklein/ Ezra’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/ezraklein Ezra’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/EzraKleinShow The New York Times: https://nytimes.com/by/ezra-klein Derek’s X: https://x.com/dkthomp Plain English (podcast): https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson The Atlantic: https://theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Call of Duty: First-person shooter video game. Go to https://callofduty.com/warzone LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (03:17) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (10:33) – Left-wing vs right-wing politics (19:54) – Political leaders on the left and the right (44:29) – Internal political divisions (47:29) – AOC (58:50) – Political realignment (1:10:32) – Supply-side progressivism (1:17:42) – Wealth redistribution (1:27:50) – Housing problem (1:44:09) – Regulation and deregulation (2:00:43) – DOGE, Elon, and Trump (2:59:46) – Sam Harris (3:09:24) – Future of America PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

26 Maalis 20250s

ThePrimeagen (aka Michael Paulson) is a programmer who has educated, entertained, and inspired millions of people to build software and have fun doing it. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep461-sc See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. 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: ThePrimeagen’s X: https://twitter.com/ThePrimeagen ThePrimeagen’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/ThePrimeTimeagen ThePrimeagen’s Twitch: https://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen ThePrimeagen’s GitHub: https://github.com/theprimeagen ThePrimeagen’s TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theprimeagen ThePrimeagen’s Coffee: https://www.terminal.shop/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Invideo AI: AI video generator. Go to https://invideo.io/i/lexpod Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (10:27) – Love for programming (20:00) – Hardest part of programming (22:16) – Types of programming (29:54) – Life story (39:58) – Hardship (41:29) – High school (47:15) – Porn addiction (57:01) – God (1:12:44) – Perseverance (1:22:40) – Netflix (1:35:08) – Groovy (1:40:13) – Printf() debugging (1:46:35) – Falcor (1:56:05) – Breaking production (1:58:49) – Pieter Levels (2:03:19) – Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube infrastructure (2:15:22) – ThePrimeagen origin story (2:30:37) – Learning programming languages (2:39:40) – Best programming languages in 2025 (2:44:35) – Python (2:45:15) – HTML & CSS (2:46:05) – Bash (2:46:45) – FFmpeg (2:53:28) – Performance (2:56:00) – Rust (3:00:48) – Epic projects (3:14:12) – Asserts (3:23:26) – ADHD (3:31:34) – Productivity (3:35:58) – Programming setup (4:11:28) – Coffee (4:18:32) – Programming with AI (5:01:16) – Advice for young programmers (5:12:48) – Reddit questions (5:20:20) – God PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

22 Maalis 20255h 30min

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India. On YouTube this episode is available in English, Hindi, Russian (and soon other languages). Captions and voice-over audio tracks are provided (for the main episode video on YouTube) in English, Hindi, Russian, and the original mixed-language version, with subtitles available in your preferred language. To listen to the original mixed-language version, please select the Hindi (Latin) audio track. The default is English overdub. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep460-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/narendra-modi-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: Narendra Modi’s X: https://x.com/narendramodi Narendra Modi’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/narendramodi Narendra Modi’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/narendramodi Narendra Modi’s Website: https://narendramodi.in/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Brain.fm: Music for focus. Go to https://brain.fm/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts. Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (17:24) – Fasting (29:42) – Early life (41:38) – Advice to Young People (47:20) – Journey in the Himalayas (58:50) – Becoming a monk (1:00:37) – RSS and Hindu nationalism (1:08:22) – Explaining India (1:12:32) – Mahatma Gandhi (1:24:27) – Path to peace in Ukraine (1:27:41) – India and Pakistan (1:33:21) – Cricket and Football (1:37:45) – Donald Trump (1:48:56) – China and Xi Jinping (1:56:01) – Gujarat riots in 2002 (2:11:37) – Biggest democracy in the world (2:21:53) – Power (2:26:39) – Hard work (2:29:46) – Srinivasa Ramanujan (2:31:53) – Decision-making process (2:39:40) – AI (2:49:55) – Education (3:00:10) – Learning and focus (3:06:01) – Mantra (3:07:45) – Meditation (3:13:43) – Lex visiting India (3:18:08) – Siddhartha

16 Maalis 20253h 25min

Dylan Patel is the founder of SemiAnalysis, a research & analysis company specializing in semiconductors, GPUs, CPUs, and AI hardware. Nathan Lambert is a research scientist at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) and the author of a blog on AI called Interconnects. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep459-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/deepseek-dylan-patel-nathan-lambert-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: Dylan’s X: https://x.com/dylan522p SemiAnalysis: https://semianalysis.com/ Nathan’s X: https://x.com/natolambert Nathan’s Blog: https://www.interconnects.ai/ Nathan’s Podcast: https://www.interconnects.ai/podcast Nathan’s Website: https://www.natolambert.com/ Nathan’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@natolambert Nathan’s Book: https://rlhfbook.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Invideo AI: AI video generator. Go to https://invideo.io/i/lexpod GitHub: Developer platform and AI code editor. Go to https://gh.io/copilot Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (13:28) – DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V3 (35:02) – Low cost of training (1:01:19) – DeepSeek compute cluster (1:08:52) – Export controls on GPUs to China (1:19:10) – AGI timeline (1:28:35) – China’s manufacturing capacity (1:36:30) – Cold war with China (1:41:00) – TSMC and Taiwan (2:04:38) – Best GPUs for AI (2:19:30) – Why DeepSeek is so cheap (2:32:49) – Espionage (2:41:52) – Censorship (2:54:46) – Andrej Karpathy and magic of RL (3:05:17) – OpenAI o3-mini vs DeepSeek r1 (3:24:25) – NVIDIA (3:28:53) – GPU smuggling (3:35:30) – DeepSeek training on OpenAI data (3:45:59) – AI megaclusters (4:21:21) – Who wins the race to AGI? (4:31:34) – AI agents (4:40:16) – Programming and AI (4:47:43) – Open source (4:56:55) – Stargate (5:04:24) – Future of AI

3 Helmi 20255h 16min

Marc Andreessen is an entrepreneur, investor, co-creator of Mosaic, co-founder of Netscape, and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep458-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/marc-andreessen-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: Marc’s X: https://x.com/pmarca Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com Marc’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@a16z Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Encord: AI tooling for annotation & data management. Go to https://encord.com/lex GitHub: Developer platform and AI code editor. Go to https://gh.io/copilot Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://notion.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (12:46) – Best possible future (22:09) – History of Western Civilization (31:28) – Trump in 2025 (39:09) – TDS in tech (51:56) – Preference falsification (1:07:52) – Self-censorship (1:22:55) – Censorship (1:31:34) – Jon Stewart (1:34:20) – Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan (1:43:09) – Government pressure (1:53:57) – Nature of power (2:06:45) – Journalism (2:12:20) – Bill Ackman (2:17:17) – Trump administration (2:24:56) – DOGE (2:38:48) – H1B and immigration (3:16:42) – Little tech (3:29:02) – AI race (3:37:52) – X (3:41:24) – Yann LeCun (3:44:59) – Andrew Huberman (3:46:30) – Success (3:49:26) – God and humanity PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

26 Tammi 20253h 57min