Ask HN: Best tools today to learn programming?

I have several friends approach me saying they feel the urgency to know programming more than ever. Because their lovable app doesn't do the one next thing they want badly.

I used to ask people to try datacamp with varying degrees of success. But for someone reasonably smart, who might have even had some programming course during undergrad but doesn't get code naturally what are courses, tools that you've seen work. Are any of the AI first apps out there any good for this?