Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman is an AI researcher who built one of the most respected long-form interview shows in podcasting. His conversations routinely stretch past three hours, and they earn every minute. Fridman brings a quiet, almost meditative interview style that gives guests room to think out loud, which makes his show feel genuinely different from most podcasts in this space. The guest roster is absurdly wide-ranging. You might get a deep technical breakdown of nuclear fusion from a Helion Energy engineer one week, then a conversation about ancient Babylonian tablets with a British Museum curator the next. Recent episodes have featured Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, mathematician Joel David Hamkins, and Amazon conservationist Paul Rosolie. With nearly 500 episodes and a 4.7-star rating from over 12,000 reviews, the show has clearly found its audience. What sets Fridman apart is his genuine curiosity. He asks questions that other interviewers skip over, and he is not afraid to sit in uncomfortable silence while a guest formulates a thought. The show covers AI, consciousness, physics, history, love, power, and pretty much anything else that catches his attention. If you appreciate Joe Rogan's willingness to let a conversation go wherever it wants but prefer a more cerebral vibe, this is probably the first podcast you should try.