
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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