#461 – ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God
Mar 22, 2025•6 hr 30 min
Summary
In this episode, Lex Fridman interviews ThePrimeagen, a legendary programmer, on topics ranging from programming and AI to personal struggles with addiction and finding meaning in life. They explore the nature of code, the future of AI in development, and the importance of personal values in a technology-driven world. The conversation touches on overcoming adversity, the role of love and forgiveness, and finding joy and purpose in one's work and life. The Primeagen shares insights into productivity, tool setups, and philosophical perspectives on faith and the human condition.Episode description
ThePrimeagen (aka Michael Paulson) is a programmer who has educated, entertained, and inspired millions of people to build software and have fun doing it.
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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/
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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
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