Carson Gross explores the concept of 'vendoring' in software development, where external project sources are copied directly into a project. He covers the benefits of vendoring, such as improved visibility and control over dependencies, and discusses challenges like transitive dependencies and the culture of dependency in modern software development. He also contrasts vendoring with modern dependency management tools, and considers the potential for vendor-first dependency managers to combine the strengths of both approaches. He encourages a rethinking of dependencies and promotes a more independent approach to software development.