The presentation is from PyCon 2008. Some of the statements from there are no longer true. For example, Python 3.3, as described in PEP 393, has a flexible str

The presentation is from PyCon 2008. Some of the statements from there are no longer true. For example, Python 3.3, as described in PEP 393, has a flexible string encoding, and will switch between 1, 2, and 4 byte internal representations. Things have changed enough that I would not point people to that presentation. I do not know of a newer one, but I haven't looked either.