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#461 – ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God

#461 – ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God

Lex Fridman Podcast
Mar 22, 2025 5h 30m
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About this episode

<p>ThePrimeagen (aka Michael Paulson) is a programmer who has educated, entertained, and inspired millions of people to build software and have fun doing it.<br /> Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep461-sc">https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep461-sc</a><br /> See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.</p> <p><b>CONTACT LEX:</b><br /> <b>Feedback</b> &#8211; give feedback to Lex: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/survey">https://lexfridman.com/survey</a><br /> <b>AMA</b> &#8211; submit questions, videos or call-in: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/ama">https://lexfridman.com/ama</a><br /> <b>Hiring</b> &#8211; join our team: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/hiring">https://lexfridman.com/hiring</a><br /> <b>Other</b> &#8211; other ways to get in touch: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/contact">https://lexfridman.com/contact</a></p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s X: <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePrimeagen">https://twitter.com/ThePrimeagen</a><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s YouTube: <a href="https://youtube.com/ThePrimeTimeagen">https://youtube.com/ThePrimeTimeagen</a><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s Twitch: <a href="https://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen">https://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen</a><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/theprimeagen">https://github.com/theprimeagen</a><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s TikTok: <a href="https://tiktok.com/@theprimeagen">https://tiktok.com/@theprimeagen</a><br /> ThePrimeagen&#8217;s Coffee: <a href="https://www.terminal.shop/">https://www.terminal.shop/</a></p> <p><b>SPONSORS:</b><br /> To support this podcast, check out our sponsors &#38; get discounts:<br /> <b>Invideo AI:</b> AI video generator.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/invideoai-ep461-sc">https://invideo.io/i/lexpod</a><br /> <b>Shopify:</b> Sell stuff online.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep461-sc">https://shopify.com/lex</a><br /> <b>NetSuite:</b> Business management software.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/netsuite-ep461-sc">http://netsuite.com/lex</a><br /> <b>BetterHelp:</b> Online therapy and counseling.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep461-sc">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a><br /> <b>AG1:</b> All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep461-sc">https://drinkag1.com/lex</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (10:27) &#8211; Love for programming<br /> (20:00) &#8211; Hardest part of programming<br /> (22:16) &#8211; Types of programming<br /> (29:54) &#8211; Life story<br /> (39:58) &#8211; Hardship<br /> (41:29) &#8211; High school<br /> (47:15) &#8211; Porn addiction<br /> (57:01) &#8211; God<br /> (1:12:44) &#8211; Perseverance<br /> (1:22:40) &#8211; Netflix<br /> (1:35:08) &#8211; Groovy<br /> (1:40:13) &#8211; Printf() debugging<br /> (1:46:35) &#8211; Falcor<br /> (1:56:05) &#8211; Breaking production<br /> (1:58:49) &#8211; Pieter Levels<br /> (2:03:19) &#8211; Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube infrastructure<br /> (2:15:22) &#8211; ThePrimeagen origin story<br /> (2:30:37) &#8211; Learning programming languages<br /> (2:39:40) &#8211; Best programming languages in 2025<br /> (2:44:35) &#8211; Python<br /> (2:45:15) &#8211; HTML &#38; CSS<br /> (2:46:05) &#8211; Bash<br /> (2:46:45) &#8211; FFmpeg<br /> (2:53:28) &#8211; Performance<br /> (2:56:00) &#8211; Rust<br /> (3:00:48) &#8211; Epic projects<br /> (3:14:12) &#8211; Asserts<br /> (3:23:26) &#8211; ADHD<br /> (3:31:34) &#8211; Productivity<br /> (3:35:58) &#8211; Programming setup<br /> (4:11:28) &#8211; Coffee<br /> (4:18:32) &#8211; Programming with AI<br /> (5:01:16) &#8211; Advice for young programmers<br /> (5:12:48) &#8211; Reddit questions<br /> (5:20:20) &#8211; God</p> <p><b>PODCAST LINKS:</b><br /> &#8211; Podcast Website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> &#8211; Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> &#8211; Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> &#8211; RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> &#8211; Podcast Playlist: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4</a><br /> &#8211; Clips Channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/lexclips">https://www.youtube.com/lexclips</a></p>

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