Talk Python to Me is a weekly podcast hosted by developer and entrepreneur Michael Kennedy. We dive deep into the popular packages and software developers, data scientists, and incredible hobbyists doing amazing things with Python. If you're new to Python, you'll quickly learn the ins and outs of the community by hearing from the leaders. And if you've been Pythoning for years, you'll learn about your favorite packages and the hot new ones coming out of open source.
#543: Deep Agents: LangChain's SDK for Agents That Plan and Delegate
April 01, 2026
1:03:53
10.71 MB ( 50.82 MB less)
Downloads: 0
When you type a question into ChatGPT, the model only has what you typed to work with. But tools like Claude Code can plan, iterate, test, and recover from mistakes. They work more like we do. The difference is the agent harness: Planning tools, file system access, sub-agents, and carefully crafted system prompts that turn a raw LLM into something genuinely capable.
Sydney Runkle is back on Talk Python representing LangChain and their new open source library, Deep Agents: A framework for building your own deep agents with plain Python functions, middleware hooks, and MCP support. This is how the magic works under the hood.
Episode sponsors
Sentry Error Monitoring, Code talkpython26
Temporal
Talk Python Courses
Sydney Runkle: github.com
Claude Code uses: x.com
Deep Research: openai.com
Manus: manus.im
Blog post announcement: blog.langchain.com
Claudes system prompt: github.com
sub agents: docs.anthropic.com
the quick start: docs.langchain.com
CLIs: github.com
Talk Python's CLI: talkpython.fm
custom tools: docs.langchain.com
DeepAgents Examples: github.com
Custom Middleware: docs.langchain.com
Built in middleware: docs.langchain.com
Improving Deep Agents with harness engineering: blog.langchain.com
Prebuilt middleware: docs.langchain.com
Watch this episode on YouTube: youtube.com
Episode #543 deep-dive: talkpython.fm/543
Episode transcripts: talkpython.fm
Theme Song: Developer Rap
🥁 Served in a Flask 🎸: talkpython.fm/flasksong
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YouTube: youtube.com/@talkpython
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Michael on Mastodon: @mkennedy@fosstodon.org
Michael on X.com: @mkennedy
Sydney Runkle is back on Talk Python representing LangChain and their new open source library, Deep Agents: A framework for building your own deep agents with plain Python functions, middleware hooks, and MCP support. This is how the magic works under the hood.
Episode sponsors
Sentry Error Monitoring, Code talkpython26
Temporal
Talk Python Courses
Links from the show
GuestSydney Runkle: github.com
Claude Code uses: x.com
Deep Research: openai.com
Manus: manus.im
Blog post announcement: blog.langchain.com
Claudes system prompt: github.com
sub agents: docs.anthropic.com
the quick start: docs.langchain.com
CLIs: github.com
Talk Python's CLI: talkpython.fm
custom tools: docs.langchain.com
DeepAgents Examples: github.com
Custom Middleware: docs.langchain.com
Built in middleware: docs.langchain.com
Improving Deep Agents with harness engineering: blog.langchain.com
Prebuilt middleware: docs.langchain.com
Watch this episode on YouTube: youtube.com
Episode #543 deep-dive: talkpython.fm/543
Episode transcripts: talkpython.fm
Theme Song: Developer Rap
🥁 Served in a Flask 🎸: talkpython.fm/flasksong
---== Don't be a stranger ==---
YouTube: youtube.com/@talkpython
Bluesky: @talkpython.fm
Mastodon: @talkpython@fosstodon.org
X.com: @talkpython
Michael on Bluesky: @mkennedy.codes
Michael on Mastodon: @mkennedy@fosstodon.org
Michael on X.com: @mkennedy