This document is aimed at machine learning (ML) practitioners who have a solid foundation in the field but have lost touch with recent advancements, particularly around transformers, large language models (LLMs), and related research. Its goal is to provide a high-level overview of key concepts and trends in a simple, digestible format. Rather than offering novel perspectives, it organizes existing information to help readers quickly get up to speed. In doing so, the document often includes direct excerpts, figures, and citations from original sources—rather than paraphrasing—to ensure accuracy and credit the original authors. Curated reading lists are also provided for those who want to explore specific topics in more depth.