303 - How LLMs Work - the 20 minute explainer

303 - How LLMs Work - the 20 minute explainer

From Fragmented - AI Developer Podcast by Kaushik Gopal, Iury Souza

February 2, 2026 · 26 min · Episode 303

About this episode

The episode explains how LLMs work, covering the full pipeline from tokenization to inference.

Ever get asked "how do LLMs work?" at a party and freeze? We walk through the full pipeline: tokenization, embeddings, inference — so you understand it well enough to explain it. Walk away with a mental model that you can use for your next dinner party.

People in this episode

Hosts: Kaushik Gopal, Iury Souza

Topics covered

  • LLMs
  • tokenization
  • embeddings
  • inference
  • mental model
  • explanation

Keywords

  • LLMs
  • tokenization
  • embeddings
  • inference
  • explanation
  • mental model

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: LLMs

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