Explore the challenges and implications of removing Python's Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) in this 46-minute EuroPython 2016 conference talk. Delve into the history of the GIL, its impact on CPython's performance, and the experimental "gilectomy" branch that successfully removes it. Learn about the technical and political considerations involved in GIL removal, including tracing garbage collection, software transactional memory, and the handling of globals and statics. Examine benchmark results comparing GIL and GIL-less implementations, and gain insights into the performance trade-offs and potential optimizations. Discover the complexities of multi-core Python execution and the ongoing efforts to balance speed with parallel processing capabilities in CPython.