If you were to believe the worst, TikTok, doom-scrolling, and two-minute-long pop songs have shortened our attention spans to eight seconds - shorter than that of a goldfish. Fortunately, the headlines aren’t quite right. Humans 1 - Goldfish 0.
While it’s true we love TikTok’s short-and-snappy videos and, yes, the biggest songs of the day are deceptively short (Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso is just 2 minutes, 55 seconds, and Charli XCX’s 365 is a meager 2 minutes and 13 seconds), Gen Z’s attention span is actually on the up. Short videos on TikTok are more of an entryway into longer-form videos or podcasts on subject matters they wish to explore in more depth.
Which could explain the increasing popularity of Lex Fridman.
An AI research assistant by trade, Lex has become something of a celebrity to celebrities - who else could get Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Kanye West to give up hours of their day for a podcast? If you ever doubt his clout, he even secured an interview with Donald Trump in September 2024, in the middle of his Presidential campaign (and in the middle of his two assassination attempts).
Just how did a scientist become the greatest podcaster?
How Lex Became MIT’s MVP
Born in the Soviet Union, growing up in Moscow, and moving to Chicago at age 11, one could argue that Lex had already lived quite a life before finding fame. He eventually found his way into the elite world of science through his interest in AI, having worked with Google and eventually becoming a research scientist at MIT.
But it was the podcast started in 2018 that would set about a chain of events resulting in Lex Fridman’s very own Big Bang, propelling him into the stratosphere as one of the most successful MIT alumni in history.
The Lex Fridman podcast – where science meets humanity
Originally titled The Artificial Intelligence Podcast, the podcast would rebrand in 2020 as The Lex Fridman Podcast. And it was one of the smartest branding decisions since Nike became the meeting point of fashion and culture or Kesha dropped the dollar sign.
But the original podcast title doesn't truly sum up what it’s all about. Because it’s not about science. It’s about you. It’s about us. It’s about everything. As Lex describes it himself, it’s a place for ‘conversations about the nature of intelligence, consciousness, love, and power.’
Topics covered? Human nature, the Palestine/Israel conflict, investing, AI, lost civilizations, aliens, and even Judo.
His now infamous 2022 Kanye West interview lasted 2 hours and 26 minutes. Lex gave Kanye the room to make some to-be-expected controversial comments, but he also held his feet to the fire on reported antisemitic claims. It was a lesson in empathy and conversation.
And it’s not just the celebrity of Kanye West which afforded him such a long interview. Left-wing political commentator Cenk Uygur delved into the 2024 Presidential Race with Lex in a video lasting over four hours. Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen had over three hours to talk about all things nuclear war, the CIA, and Area 51. It's open dialogue through and through and at either end of the spectrum – all of which rigorously accounted for.
It’s a numbers game
Fridman moved to Austin, Texas in 2021, deciding to focus more on the podcast than his research at MIT (where he still works, but it’s more sporadic visits).
But with the success he’s built up since starting out in 2018, it’s not hard to see why he made this decision.
As of October 2024:
– The Boston Globe reported that the podcast had attracted 3.6 million subscribers
– His YouTube channel boasted 4.24 million subscribers
– His official X account has 3.7 million followers.
Loyal listeners - this Texan knows how to hold ‘em
Lex’s success is only growing as his reputation for deep, authentic conversation draws in interested guests and an engaged following. Like his audience, he is a listener first. He lets his notable guests speak. And this inspires the audience to come, listen and stay.
In the Kevin Costner film, Field of Dreams, the famous line has it that ‘build it and they’ll come.’ And Lex has a similar attitude (Fridman of Dreams, anyone?) - build the content and the audience will come, don’t design it around algorithms.
It’s the antithesis of quick-click journalism many have become accustomed to; a celebrity cancelled over a soundbite, 10 words or fewer enough for people to form an entire opinion, topics condensed into a clickbait headline.
Through conversation and connection, Lex’s podcasts and videos put the power back into the people.
