Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we break down books that challenge the way we think, work, and live. This is our Weekend Book Review, and today, we step into the origin story of a man whose name is synonymous with technology, innovation, and, yes—those infamous Ctrl+Alt+Del resets of the early days.
Bill Gates.
We know him as the Harvard dropout who built Microsoft, the billionaire who turned to philanthropy, the man who forever changed how we interact with computers. But how did he become that person? What moments shaped the mind behind Windows, behind the Gates Foundation, behind one of the greatest technological revolutions in history?
His new memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, isn’t about corporate boardrooms or billion-dollar deals. It’s about childhood hikes that tested his resilience, card games that sharpened his mind, and the nights spent sneaking into a computer lab, where he discovered his true obsession. It’s about family, friendships, failure, and the thrill of solving a puzzle—whether that puzzle was a line of code or the future of computing itself.
Bill Gates tells his own story for the first time—wise, warm, and surprisingly candid. It’s the story of a kid who loved to think, a teenager who questioned everything, and a young man who took a risk that changed the world.
So, let’s ask: If you could rewind your life to its source code, what defining moments would you find?
Thanks to Bill Gates and the team at Knopf for bringing us this fascinating read. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe to Revise and Resubmit on Spotify and check out our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher. You can also find us on Amazon Prime Music and Apple Podcasts.
See you next time—until then, keep revising, keep questioning, and maybe, just maybe, start thinking about your own source code.
Reference
Gates, B. (2025). Source Code: My Beginnings. Knopf. https://www.gatesnotes.com/meet-bill/source-code
Youtube channel link
https://www.youtube.com/@weekendresearcher
Support us on Patreon
https://patreon.com/weekendresearcher
00:22:18 Book Song: Code and Mountains
(Verse 1)
(Clap, clap, whistle in the background)
I was just a skinny kid, hiking through the rain,
Typing dreams in my head, walking miles of pain.
With a backpack full of stories, a mind that wouldn’t rest,
Lines of code and mountain trails, I loved them both the best.
(Chorus – Drop beat kicks in)
Take me home, to my mainframe,
Through the wires, through the rain.
Where the screen glows, algorithms flow,
Take me home, take me home.
(Verse 2)
(Clap, clap, foot tap beat builds up)
We were five kids, wild and free, hiking side by side,
Living off of cheap old Spam, chasing every tide.
But deep inside my wandering soul, the circuits lit a spark,
In the cold, I found my fire, coding in the dark.
(Chorus – Big instrumental moment, whistle solo!)
Take me home, to my mainframe,
Through the wires, through the rain.
Where the screen glows, algorithms flow,
Take me home, take me home.
(Verse 3 – Soft, storytelling vibe before final drop beat hit)
Years went by, I took my dream, turned it into gold,
Built a world of ones and zeroes, just like I had told.
Still I hear those mountain winds, calling back to me,
To the boy who wrote his future, under old pine trees.
(Final Chorus – Full band drop, hands clapping, crowd singing!)
Take me home, to my mainframe,
Through the wires, through the rain.
Where the screen glows, algorithms flow,
Take me home, take me home.
(Outro – Whistle fades)
