10 Surprising Facts About the Podcaster Who Interviewed PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast on March 16, marking one of the most profound conversations of Fridman’s career.

Fridman’s podcast has hosted influential figures like Elon Musk (four times), Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Jordan Peterson, among others.

Known for its marathon episodes that often exceed three hours, Fridman’s show delves deep into personal stories and global issues with an empathetic approach.

Fridman prioritizes understanding his guests rather than challenging their views, even stating, “If you want to understand history, you need to empathize.”

Born in present-day Tajikistan, Fridman moved to the U.S. at age 11. His father, a renowned plasma physicist, later became a professor at Drexel University.

Fridman earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Drexel University and later worked as a Machine Learning researcher at Google.

His 2019 MIT study on driver behavior in semi-automated Tesla cars challenged long-held assumptions about driver attention in such systems.

Fridman launched his podcast in 2018, initially focused on AI. A conversation with Elon Musk after his Tesla study gave him a major audience boost.

Fridman aims to celebrate technological and scientific achievements while offering balanced perspectives on emerging technologies and ethical dilemmas.