#81 – Anca Dragan: Human-Robot Interaction and Reward Engineering

Janna Levin is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist specializing in black holes, cosmology of extra dimensions, topology of the universe, and gravitational waves. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep468-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/janna-levin-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: Janna's X: https://x.com/JannaLevin Janna's Website: https://jannalevin.com Janna's Instagram: https://instagram.com/jannalevin Janna's Substack: https://substack.com/@jannalevin Black Hole Survival Guide (book): https://amzn.to/3YkJzT5 Black Hole Blues (book): https://amzn.to/42Nw7IE How the Universe Got Its Spots (book): https://amzn.to/4m5De8k A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines (book): https://amzn.to/3GGakvd SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Brain.fm: Music for focus. Go to https://brain.fm/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (00:51) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:21) - Black holes (16:55) - Formation of black holes (27:45) - Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb (34:08) - Inside the black hole (47:10) - Supermassive black holes (50:39) - Physics of spacetime (53:42) - General relativity (59:13) - Gravity (1:15:47) - Information paradox (1:24:17) - Fuzzballs & soft hair (1:27:28) - ER = EPR (1:34:07) - Firewall (1:42:59) - Extra dimensions (1:45:24) - Aliens (2:01:00) - Wormholes (2:11:57) - Dark matter and dark energy (2:22:00) - Gravitational waves (2:34:08) - Alan Turing and Kurt Godel (2:46:23) - Grigori Perelman, Andrew Wiles, and Terence Tao (2:52:58) - Art and science (3:02:37) - The biggest mystery 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

5 Mai 3h 7min

Tim Sweeney is a legendary video game programmer, founder and CEO of Epic Games that created the Unreal Engine, Fortnite, Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, and many other groundbreaking and influential video games. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep467-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/tim-sweeney-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: Tim's X: https://x.com/timsweeneyepic Epic Games: https://epicgames.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://notion.com/lex MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts. Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (08:25) - 10,000 hours programming (11:42) - Advice for young programmers (19:54) - Video games in the 80s and 90s (22:02) - Epic Games origin story (34:40) - Indie game development (40:34) - Unreal Engine (1:06:30) - Technical details of Unreal Engine (1:11:23) - Constructive solid geometry (1:17:21) - Dynamic lighting (1:21:51) - Volumetric fog (1:25:19) - John Carmack (1:27:05) - Evolution of Unreal Engine (1:33:21) - Unreal Engine 5 (1:44:32) - Creating realistic humans (1:53:41) - Lumen global illumination (1:58:11) - Movies (2:12:53) - Simulating reality (2:25:08) - Metaverse (2:27:44) - Fortnite (2:31:40) - Scaling (2:47:04) - Game economies (2:48:33) - Standardizing the Metaverse (2:56:46) - Verse programming language (3:18:19) - Concurrency (3:25:56) - Unreal Engine 6 (3:30:34) - Indie game developers (3:33:32) - Apple (3:48:12) - Epic Games Store (4:11:03) - Future of gaming (4:17:03) - Greatest games ever made (4:22:39) - GTA 6 and Rockstar Games (4:25:58) - Hope for the future 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 Apr 0s

Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a historian of modern China. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep466-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/jeffrey-wasserstrom-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: Jeffrey Wasserstrom's Books: China in the 21st Century: https://amzn.to/3GnayXT Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink: https://amzn.to/4jmxWmT Oxford History of Modern China: https://amzn.to/3RAJ9nI The Milk Tea Alliance: https://amzn.to/42DLapH SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Oracle: Cloud infrastructure. Go to https://oracle.com/lex Tax Network USA: Full-service tax firm. Go to https://tnusa.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.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 (00:06) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (10:29) - Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong (13:57) - Confucius (21:27) - Education (29:33) - Tiananmen Square (40:49) - Tank Man (50:49) - Censorship (1:26:45) - Xi Jinping (1:44:53) - Donald Trump (1:48:47) - Trade war (2:01:35) - Taiwan (2:11:48) - Protests in Hong Kong (2:44:07) - Mao Zedong (3:05:48) - Future of China 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

24 Apr 3h 14min

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 Apr 3h 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 Apr 3h 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 Mar 3h 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 Mar 0s

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 Mar 5h 30min