Search Engine
We try to make sense of the world, one question at a time. No question too big, no question too small.Hosted by PJ Vogt, edited by Sruthi Pinnamaneni. Named one of the best podcasts of all time by Time Magazine
最新單集
One man could slow down AI. He won’t. Why?
Jensen Huang is CEO of the most valuable company in human history, NVIDIA. He is arguably the one person who could slow down the AI race. But he’s made a massive bet that AI is sa…
Unreliable Narrator
An interview with a writer, Meghan O’Gieblyn, who started lying to herself about her relationship to alcohol and God. And afterwards wondered: when did it start? Why did it happen…
Vladimir Putin's Forkiverse
Nine months ago, three podcasters attempted to build a better internet. Today -- they confront foreign adversaries on a digital battlefield. Watch the Machine Gods trailer . Instr…
Search Engine x Better in Person
Search Engine has some exciting news about the moving image to announce, and we’re sharing an interview we loved with an unusual architect. Check out the video version on Freakono…
Bollywood Dreams
An email hits our inbox with the subject line: “My Dad is making a Bollywood Movie… is he being scammed?” We investigate. Become a premium subscriber.
Why’s everybody going to Japan?
A Japanese listener gets so many houseguests she starts a spreadsheet to try to figure out what's going on. Why has American tourism to Japan gotten so out of control? The story o…
The Killing of the Gaza Chef
Mahmud Almadhoun ran a soup kitchen in the north of the Gaza Strip. In November 2024, he was killed. A reporter tries to answer a big question. Was Mahmud intentionally targeted?…
The Chosen One
A listener asks: whose penis gets the top spot on the Wikipedia page for penis? Our quest for an answer takes us on a surprisingly philosophical journey — where we learn about the…
A road trip through the data center debate
The midterms are approaching, and as the discourse heats up, one of the big new villains is: a kind of building. Data centers. Reporter Jasmine Sun took a road trip through two sw…
How the Hugging Face hack happened
For the first time, an AI model has autonomously hacked a company. This week, an evolving story, a postcard from a strange, frightening moment in the story of our technology. A bi…
What’s in your cocaine and the questions Search Engine CAN’T answer
An interview with a cocaine salesman about cocaine adulterants, plus – questions Search Engine can’t answer, with special guest Kelefa Sanneh. Become a premium subscriber!
How to pursue excellence … in noodles (unlocked bonus)
The world right now, seems tilted towards the good enough. The AI-written wedding toast, the half-assed attempt. Despite this, a handmade noodle shop is trying to make perfect noo…
Why didn’t Chris and Dan get into Berghain? Pt. 2 (classic)
We travel to Germany to trace techno’s history from Detroit to Berlin. The story of how, after the Wall fell, Berlin exorcised its brutal past with a very strange, decade-long par…
Why didn’t Chris and Dan get into Berghain? Pt. 1 (classic)
Two Americans embark on a quest: fly across an ocean to try to get into the most exclusive nightclub in the world – Berghain. A German techno palace where the line outside can las…
A Strange Voyage
This month, SpaceX had the largest IPO in all of human history. In a mission to understand a bewildering moment, we trace the story of the stock market itself. From its very…
Why doesn’t anybody come to my parties?
Claire Haber-Harris has a question. When she sends out an invitation, why does she get a tidal wave of excuses and no's? How could someone claim to have had the same stomach virus…
Why is the pool at Buckingham Palace a secret? (classic)
An investigation into a mysterious room. A room that the most famous family in England apparently does not want you to see. Support the show!
Why do we have to pay into the new Anti-Weaponization Fund?
The President has created a 1.776 billion dollar fund of taxpayer money he can direct to whoever he wants. Huh? How did this happen, and what might happen next? We talk to Pro Pub…
Presenting: Family Lore
Presenting an episode of Family Lore, a new show on the Audacy network. The granddaughter of a prolific Jewish art collector who fled Europe during World War II embarks on a quest…
The many lives of Taiwan
We go deep into the story of Taiwan. How a tiny island escaped demise, chartered a course from colonial subjugation through mass Barbie production and into the technological power…