Lex Fridman Podcast
Preston Stewart is a West Point graduate and Afghanistan veteran who covers the Ukraine war extensively on his YouTube channel, his podcast called War and Conflict, and his newsletter called Defense Tech News. Michael Kofman is a world-class military analyst specializing in the Russian and Ukrainian militaries. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and he hosts The Russia Contingency podcast on the War on the Rocks platform.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep504-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/preston-stewart-michael-kofman-transcript
CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact
EPISODE LINKS:
Michael’s X: https://x.com/KofmanMichael
Michael’s Podcast: https://warontherocks.com/premium/therussiacontingency/
Preston’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prestonstewart
Preston’s X: https://x.com/prestonstew_
SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
GiveDirectly: Direct donations to people living in extreme poverty.
Go to https://givedirectly.org/lex
Fin: AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://fin.ai/lex
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
Wispr Flow: AI-powered voice dictation app.
Go to https://wisprflow.ai/lex
Shop: Turns any AI agent into your personal shopper.
Go to https://shop.md/lex
Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
Go to https://perplexity.ai/
OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(08:20) – State of the war in Ukraine
(21:59) – Drone warfare and the kill zone
(59:09) – Who is winning the war?
(1:10:46) – Military analysis of Russia’s 2022 invasion
(1:26:34) – Battle of Bakhmut
(1:42:17) – War optimism and bad information
(2:02:26) – Prigozhin’s mutiny
(2:16:40) – Putin vs Zelenskyy
(2:34:38) – Trump
(2:43:33) – Paths to peace in Ukraine
(2:54:13) – Nature of war
PODCAST LINKS:
– Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
– Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
– Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MAi0BvDc6GTFvKFPXnkCL
– RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
– Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
– Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

-
#125 – Ryan Hall: Martial Arts and the Philosophy of Violence, Power, and Grace
Ryan Hall is a jiu jitsu black belt, UFC fighter, and a philosopher of the martial arts. Please check out our sponsors to get a discount and to support this podcast: – PowerDot, use code…
-
#124 – Stephen Wolfram: Fundamental Theory of Physics, Life, and the Universe
Stephen Wolfram is a computer scientist, mathematician, and theoretical physicist. This is our second conversation on the podcast. Please check out our sponsors to get a discount and to support this podcast: – SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex…
-
#123 – Manolis Kellis: Origin of Life, Humans, Ideas, Suffering, and Happiness
Manolis Kellis is a professor at MIT and head of the MIT Computational Biology Group. Please check out our sponsors to get a discount and to support this podcast: – Public Goods: https://publicgoods.com/lex and use…
-
#122 – David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering
David Fravor is a navy pilot of 18 years and a primary witness in one of the most credible UFO sightings in history, video of which has been released by the Pentagon and reported on…
-
Lex Solo #3 – In Memory of My Grandmother
My attempt to find the words to honor my grandmother, an amazing woman who is responsible for much of who I am, who taught me how to be a man, taught me about strength, about…
-
#121 – Eugenia Kuyda: Friendship with an AI Companion
Eugenia Kuyda co-founder of Replika, an AI companion. Please check out our sponsors to get a discount and to support this podcast: – Dollar Shave Club: https://dollarshaveclub.com/lex – DoorDash: download app & use code LEX…
-
Lex Solo #2 – The Future of Neuralink
My thoughts on 8 possible long-term futures of Neuralink after attending the August 2020 progress update. This is a solo episode #2 of the podcast. Hopefully it’s interesting to some folks. The aim is for…
-
#120 – François Chollet: Measures of Intelligence
François Chollet is an AI researcher at Google and creator of Keras. Support this podcast by supporting our sponsors (and get discount): – Babbel: https://babbel.com and use code LEX – MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex – Cash App:…
-
#119 – David Eagleman: Neuroplasticity and the Livewired Brain
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford. Support this podcast by supporting our sponsors: – Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex – BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex – Cash App: download app & use code “LexPodcast” Episode links: David’s Website: https://www.eagleman.com/…
-
New Name: Lex Fridman Podcast
New podcast name. New Russian hitman thumbnail. Everything else stays the same. AI is still my passion, but this gives me a bit more freedom to talk to interesting folks from all over. Thanks for…
