Ask HN: Where do I start in Machine Learning?

I am a beginner and a little confused as words like AI/ML/Data Science are thrown at me as in everybody should have a degree in each of those fields by the time they graduate. Researching a little bit on the internet overwhelms me with the number and kinds of resources that exist.

I am average with mathematics. What is the most appropriate approach to take so that I get to learn the applied mathematics along with Machine Learning and be able to reason myself into why the system behaves the way it does?

I am good with programming.

I would love texts' recommendations in ML with applied mathematical background explained in detail.