People often complain that dynamic languages such as Python execute slowly. Of course, Python (and similar languages) are generally unable to reach the execution speeds that we see and know in other languages. Why is this?  What makes Python slow, and what can make it fast — or at least, faster? In this talk, Alex Gaynor provides descriptions and comparisons of Python code with other languages, and talks about strategies that we can and should consider in order to speed up our Python programs.