Search Engine

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 safe. Is that conviction, insulation, salesmanship, or something else? We find answers in his very unusual life story. The Thinking Machine by Stephen WittSign up for Incognito Mode

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? How do you make peace with the part of yourself that wants something that could destroy you? Meghan O’Gieblyn, Will and AttentionSign up for Incognito Mode

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.Instructions for moving your Forkiverse account to a different server.Become a premium member!

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 Freakonomics' YouTube page.

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.

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 of a government plot.Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. by Roland KeltsAmetora: How Japan Saved American Style by W. David MarxBecome a premium subscriber!

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? And if so, what does that mean about the future of war?Listen to The Gaza Chef.Become a premium member!

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 cutthroat fight to be number one and the extremely overthink-y debate that precedes the coronation.Wikipedia page for Lane Rasberry.Wikipedia page for penis.Wikipedia page for human penis.Become a premium member!

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 swing states to meet the people living at the center of these debates, and to understand where this all might be headed.  no data centers in my backyard by Jasmine Sun

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 big week for AI denialism by Casey NewtonIts AI agent spent days hacking a company, but sources say OpenAI did not notice for a week by Deepa Seetharaman, Raphael Satter, and Kenrick CaiCheating behaviour in frontier model evaluations by AI Security InstituteMore On An Internal OpenAI Model Hacking Into HuggingFace by Zvi Mowshowitz

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!

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 noodles. Trying so hard that they have signs admonishing their customers to ONLY EAT THEIR SPICY NOODLES THE CORRECT WAY, DO NOT TAKE THEM TO-GO, THE EXPERIENCE WILL BE RUINED.Why do some people still want to do small things perfectly, even at the expense of profits? An interview with Jason Wang, of Xi'an Famous Foods.Become a premium member!

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 party. A mission that takes us all the way to the gates of Berghain.Music Credits: Original composition in this episode by Armen Bazarian. Additional Tracks: Game One - Infiniti, Dead Man Watches The Clock - Marcel Dettmann & Ben Klock, The Call - Marcel Dettmann & Norman Nodge, Quicksand - Marcel Dettmann. Full playlist here.Sven von Thüle: https://soundcloud.com/svt // Der Klang der FamilieGesine Kühne: https://soundcloud.com/wannadosomething Become a premium member!

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 last 8 hours, and the bouncers are merciless in their judgments. The club does not explain how it makes its decisions about who can enter, but one foolish podcaster will try to explain anyway.Become a premium member!

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 beginnings in the Netherlands, to its supersizing in America, through the prism of crypto and widespread speculation that has led to this moment with SpaceX. What happened? ⁠The World's First Stock Exchange⁠ by Lodewijk Petram⁠The Wisdom of Finance⁠ by Mihir Desai⁠Liftoff⁠ and ⁠Reentry⁠ by Eric BergerSearch Engine's earlier reporting on Elon Musk’s controversial data centers: ⁠Colossus 1⁠ & ⁠Colossus 2⁠⁠⁠Sign up to be a premium subscriber!⁠

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 three times in a row? Search Engine investigates why a random American mom might be annoying people in her community. Cartoons Hate Her on SubstackBecome a premium member!

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!

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 Publica’s Jesse Eisinger, an investigative reporter who has played a strange role in this whole story.   Listen to our series with Jesse: Why is it so hard to tax billionaires? (Part 1) and (Part 2) Check out the new ProPublica podcast Paper Trail. Support the show!

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 powerhouse it is today.  The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China's Economic Rise by Shelley Rigger Get tickets to hear PJ read live! Friends With Words at Roulette

Nuclear energy was a taboo for decades, but it’s coming back, it’ll power AI data centers for Google and Microsoft. What does new nuclear technology look like, and why do the nuclear optimists believe this new tech is superior? Meltdowns, reactors that can fit in your backyard, and one podcaster’s heroic attempt to describe nuclear fission. Rachel Slaybaugh Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow (check out her book Atomic Dreams) Adam Stein Search Engine’s episodes on data centers: Colossus 1 & Colossus 2 Support the show!

We're supposed to be buried there forever, right? Right?? Answers this week from writer David Sloane, who grew up in a cemetery and spent his adult life studying them. The surprising history of the place we go where we die and an answer to what happens when it runs out of money. Is the Cemetery Dead? by David Charles Sloane  Support the show at searchengine.show

An enterprising reporter goes on a quest to find the restaurant serving the absolute best free bread in this country, and finds it. She returns to Search Engine with her results.  Read Caity Weaver’s story. Support the show!

The United States has begun a conflict with Iran that two thirds of the American public does not understand. One question we can try to answer: how much is this conflict costing us? The surprising story of how the government learned to hide the costs of war, and how someone learned to get to the bottom of those costs anyway. Check out Professor Bilmes’ work. Additional listening: our episode on ballooning national debt and why it's a big deal Support the show!

Search Engine is breaking its cowardly three-year silence on GLP-1s. We have been curious about them. We have been afraid of getting in trouble. We are no longer afraid. A conversation with Dr. Rachael Bedard about the many mistakes in how the media covered these drugs and what the research shows about their surprising effects.  Dr. Bedard’s story on the rise of Ozempic Support the show!

In blue cities throughout the country, unions and politicians are fighting to ban driverless cars. We travel to Boston, where the fight has reached a fever pitch, and where the cars themselves will create some very unusual political alliances. (This is part two of a two part series, listen to the beginning here.) ⁠⁠Support Search Engine!

The story of how a secret project at Google led to driverless cars on American roads. And, an answer to the question: are the robots actually safer drivers than we are?  Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car , Alex Davies ⁠Support Search Engine!

Anthropic hired philosophers to teach its AI to be good. In their tests, the AI blackmailed a human to keep itself alive. Writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus went inside the company to figure out what's going on with Claude, and whether anyone can actually control it.  Read Gideon's story here Support Search Engine!

A question from a four-year-old tips us into an investigation of one of our most fundamental taboos: cannibalism. With help from New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield and writer Kelefa Sanneh.

Two decades ago, bodybuilders on niche internet forums started injecting peptides. Now they're in the secret mini-fridges of some teenage boys. How did they get there? We track their crooked path from Silicon Valley to jaw-smashing influencers. Check out Jasmine Sun's work (and her piece on peptides) Check out Ezra Marcus' work (and his piece on peptides) Support Search Engine!

A simple question leads us on a journey from the bowels of New York City through the courtrooms of South Carolina to the disgusting truth. Support Search Engine!

The conclusion to our story about Venezuela. How a country goes from a prosperous democracy to a poverty-ravaged dictatorship. The End (our 2022 episode on Greenland) The Many Faces of Chavismo - Alejandro Velasco Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse - William Neuman

For the past year, there's been a steady drumbeat of headlines about Venezuela. Now the US has invaded, arrested its president, and installed itself in charge. To understand how we got here, we talked to Venezuelan historian Alejandro Velasco, who grew up there and has spent years trying to understand why a country with so much promise has proven so difficult to govern. The Many Faces of Chavismo - Alejandro Velasco Hard Fork with Casey Newton and Kevin Roose

Our present version of the internet is arguably the worst it’s ever been. Which means – any shot at changing things, even an unlikely one – is worth trying out. Three podcasters who’ve spent years critiquing social media companies try to build their own small alternative social media. A collaboration with Hard Fork’s Kevin Roose and Casey Newton: join ⁠The Forkiverse⁠ here.

A man walks into an airport body scanner, and with eerie consistency, the machine flags the exact same part of his body. What could be going on? Search Engine investigates a Bermuda Triangle. Incognito Mode⁠, our ad-free, no-rerun, bonus episode feed.

As a special, one-time holiday treat, we're sharing something we only usually offer on our premium feed, Incognito Mode. Our annual board meeting! We talk about what shopping a podcast has been like in this environment, our internal stats, and… Yes, Yes, No. Incognito Mode, our ad-free, no-rerun, bonus episode feed.

For years, the must-have phone for the discerning drug trafficker or hitman was a brand you may not have heard of: AN0M. Reporter Joseph Cox tells us the story of the AN0M phone, its sudden rise and shocking fall, and the shadowy group behind its invention. Joseph's new book: Dark Wire. Incognito Mode, our ad-free, no-rerun, bonus episode feed.

This week, in honor of the holiday season — can you, should you change your family’s politics through holiday conversation. If so, how? A conversation with Ezra Klein. ⁠Support Search Engine!

In part two of our story about Elon Musk’s growing data center empire, we visit the battle between people in Memphis and xAI. And we try to understand a strange, untested assumption at the heart of the AI financing boom. Support Search Engine!

Tech billionaires have made an enormous bet on AI, the biggest bet that tech has made on anything in a very long time. Reporter Sruthi Pinnamaneni goes on a journey – from Data Center Alley to the shadow of Colossus – to see what the money’s being spent on, and to learn what happens if things go wrong. Support Search Engine!

A reporter spends a year diving into a subculture of young men online who unite around their extreme commitment to constant, unadulterated porn consumption.  Why are they doing this, what is it doing to them, and what does their existence tell us about the internet we’re all stuck on? The Goon Squad by Daniel Kolitz for Harper’s Magazine Daniel’s Twitter Support Search Engine!

People review everything, but they almost never review what it’s like to live in another country. Until now.  We interview a writer who’s lived in China, covered China, and has had to choose between life here and there. What are the big misconceptions Americans have about China? How could America learn to build trains and bridges as fast as China does? And how should the two countries actually be copying each other?  Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang Support Search Engine!

Can you tickle your way to victory in an MMA fight? An investigation into a sports scandal with journalist Pablo Torre. See videos mentioned in this episode. Check out Pablo Torre Finds Out on Youtube or Spotify. Support Search Engine! Comment on this episode.

Last week, OpenAI released an app that quickly shot to the #1 spot in Apple's App Store. Sora is like TikTok, except all the videos are AI generated. Is this ... what we're doing now? What's the business case for a fake AI video platform?  Check out Casey Newton's newsletter (Platformer) and podcast (Hard Fork) Support Search Engine!

The makers of the medical drama The Pitt have been sued. The allegation: that the show is an unauthorized copy of ER.  This week, investigative reporter Nicholas Kulish walks us through the ensuing drama, reads us the possibly damning private emails, and finally helps us decide where inspiration ends and theft begins.  Is ‘The Pitt’ Really an ‘ER’ Spinoff? - Nicholas Kulish Sign up to be a premium subscriber at searchengine.show!

Not long after Alex’s wife Whitney dies, he looks at her obituary and discovers something strange. A sect of people online has hijacked her story and turned it into a disturbing conspiracy theory. Check out the place Whitney worked, Project: Onward, a non-profit studio for artists with disabilities. (They have very cool & reasonably priced art for sale). Support Search Engine! Comment on this episode!

A member of an unusual Bay Area community decides to try to have a baby in an unusual way – by putting out a very large prize for anyone who can help her find a mate. How the internet shaped one person’s decision-thinking.  Support Search Engine!

Garbage Day's Ryan Broderick traces the rise of this goopy green chocolate, and explains how Chinese social media is beginning to tug on US culture in unexpected ways. Support Search Engine!

Our listener Louisa is very annoyed by her sister’s preoccupation with keeping her children away from microplastics. Louisa wonders: are people with microplastics anxiety kind of overdoing it?  Search Engine investigates.   Support Search Engine!

This week, we try to understand an experience that 74% of Americans routinely report having. The first of many conversations (perhaps?). This one, an interview with Zvika Krieger. Comment on the episode Support the show!

A question that has launched a battle between bird-loving ecologists and ardent, cat-defending activists. What should we do about an invasive species beloved by many Americans -- cats? We hear from people on both sides of the war, and from one person who sits exactly in the middle. Comment on the episode Support the show!

In part two of our story about ADHD medications, we approach the question from a different angle. We meet a doctor who spent two decades convinced that her brain does not work correctly, and who struggled to find someone who believed her. Comment on the episode Support the show!

One of the millions of millennials given prescription stimulants to treat ADHD decides to quit. And afterwards wonders -- how did these drugs becomes so popular, so fast? This week, the story of amphetamine's birth, life, death, and rebirth in America. (Methylphenidates, too.) Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong? by Paul Tough Comment on the episode Support the show!

A journalist finds out that many of his vaunted mentors are seeing a psychic. The same psychic. He decides to pay her a visit.  Check out the 10% Happier podcast See more of Dan's work at DanHarris.com Support Search Engine!

Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski has heard a disgusting rumor — that the coffee on airplanes is unsafe to drink because the onboard water tanks are only cleaned once a year. We investigate and learn some disgusting lessons along the way. Go to our newsletter to comment on the episode and to see the images referenced in the story. Support the show!

A woman gets a disquieting piece of information about her pregnancy, and turns to technology to try to control her future. Second Life - Amanda Hess ( Bookshop ) Support the show! Comment on this episode A playlist of Recommended Search Engine episodes

A high school teacher has a question, but he wants his skeptical teenage students to answer it. Reporter Garrott Graham rides along as they investigate the motives of an international yogurt brand. Support the show Comment. on this episode Best of Search Engine

This week we ask a slightly absurd question – is there technology to stop you from using addictive technology – and get some surprising answers from The Verge's David Pierce. New developments in the anti-technology field, and a partial history of how our phones got so oppressive. Comment on this episode! Support the show, and get ad-free episodes! Listeners' favorite Search Engine episodes

A small group of Americans becomes convinced they’ve discovered something strange about their iPhones: a forbidden phrase the phone will refuse to transmit. A crack podcasting team searches for answers, wherever they may lead. Support the show (and get the ad-free version) Comment on this episode!

In a moment of deep economic uncertainty created by our tariff-loving president, suddenly, our national debt has become much more important. Important enough that, this week, we have decided to teach ourselves everything about it – how America first created its national debt, and how it got out of control. Support the show (and remove the ads)!Comment on this episodeExplore a colonial merchant ledgerBrendan GreeleyNoahpinion

A re-air from August 2023:Our quest for the answer to this one sends us over a hundred years into the past. We learn about the invisible rules and fights that determine what our neighborhoods look like. We also learn about houses with backyard roller coasters, tiny apartments inside of shopping malls, and then we think a little bit about death. Happy Friday!Check out our merchPJ's newsletter about the state of the showComment on this episodeSupport the show

A group of teenagers agrees to allow a filmmaker to record the things they do on their phones for a year-long experiment. To see the world they see through their phones, to encounter their algorithms. The results are honest, at times pretty upsetting, and tell us a lot about the internet that Gen-Z finds itself on. In the middle of our big, confusing, national argument about teenagers and their phones, a few answers.Lauren Greenfield's documentary series, Social StudiesSearch Engine merchSupport the show at searchengine.show

A beloved American rock band’s Spotify page appears to have been taken over by Russian rappers. Is this a scam? A mistake? A strange third act from some beloved alt-rockers? Kelefa Sanneh investigates.Bye-Bye - Cake, PulyaNaVetruSupport the show!

In the 1930s, two scientists made a very important discovery, but their breakthrough idea failed to spread. In large part because the two were considered so deeply annoying. Reporter Carl Zimmer brings us a story of the scientific process and its very human constraints.Airborne by Carl ZimmerApply to work with Search EngineSupport the show

Why it’s so difficult to manufacture something entirely in America, and what happens if you try anyway.The Smarter Scrubber Grill BrushDestin Sandlin’s YouTube Channel: Smarter Every DaySupport Search Engine

There’s a new president of America, and he’s doing a lot of things. How do you decide what to pay attention to? A story about reporters focusing on one mysterious line item during the DOGE headline storm, and where that led.Bobby AllynSupport Search Engine

... Or, am I being lied to by a Brooklyn-based musician? At twenty-five, I had a question for The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn. This week, I finally got to ask it.Support the show

An adult picky eater, ostracized by his friends, castigated by society, asks the most human question of all: can I change? Our friends Manny, Noah, and Devan, the chicken bone squad, return to answer their own question.Check out Manny, Noah, and Devan's new podcast, No Such ThingSupport Search Engine!

A teenager explains why he shouldn’t have to write homework essays anymore. Is there some way for adults to force teens to still do homework? Or to convince them they should want to?More Than Words - John WarnerCenter for Digital Thriving Support the show!

We're supposed to be buried there forever, right? Right?? Answers this week from writer David Sloane, who grew up in a cemetery and spent his adult life studying them. The surprising history of the place we go where we die and an answer to what happens when it runs out of money.Is the Cemetery Dead? by David Charles SloaneSupport the show at searchengine.show

One of the most routine and uncomfortable miracles many of us experience, flight. Airplanes have gotten increasingly more cramped and less comfortable. What’s it like flying as a fat person, all the invisible negotiations and strategizing. Audio Producer Ronald Young, Jr. reports on the experience, and why it’s been changing.Check out Weight For It! (We recommend you begin at the beginning, with episode one.) If you want to support Search Engine, you can sign up to be a premium subscriber over at searchengine.show.

What’s going on with Mark Zuckerberg? He recently conspicuously pivoted toward MAGA, meeting quietly with incoming Trump officials, and complaining about the Biden administration on Joe Rogan’s podcast. This week, we trace the story of the Meta CEO, and investigate what his new persona means for the 4 billion people who use his products.Support the show: searchengine.show

For our first episode in the new year, a reflection on how we spend our time. What we devote our life to, and the roads we choose not to take. A conversation with Ira Glass.Tickets for the Search Engine live showSupport the show

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 at searchengine.show

This week, a question a podcast has no business trying to answer. We talk to writer A.J. Daulerio about his own story of recovery, and the story of how he found himself opening a very unusual community on the internet.Check out The Small Bow.Support our show: searchengine.show

An anti-woke podcast abruptly announces its end, and in its final episode, a host offers its listeners some surprising news. She had taken ayahuasca, a powerful psychedelic, and it had contributed to her decision to step away. The internet, itself, now looked different. Huh? A conversation with former podcast host Sarah Haider.Support Search Engine at search engine.show

If ever there was a place where every person inside was guaranteed to already have luggage, it would be inside an airport. And yet ... the airport luggage stores persist. Who is going to these places? To answer, we will of course, unpack the story of the entire airport -- how these hellish modern places of security and commerce came to be.Alastair Gordon's Naked Airport.Unclaimed Baggage.Support Search Engine at search engine.show

The story of how an alternative theory of dentistry made its way from medicine's fringes to an audience of young men online. This week we try to make sense of jawmaxxing with help from Panic World’s Ryan Broderick.Panic WorldGarbage DayINVCEL - Reply AllSupport the show at searchengine.show!

A mortal human being finds himself stuck between two impressive organizations: the DMV, and an internet start-up called Carvana. He has a problem, but each side insists only the other can solve it. Search Engine’s crack automotive team investigates.Support the show at searchengine.show!

The story of the first people who invented democracy, and what it did to them.What's Wrong With Democracy? by Loren J. Samons IISupport the show at searchengine.show!

What if there was an event in the future, the outcome of which you couldn’t personally control, but it was still causing you anguish?This week, we talk to an ordained Zen priest and teacher to get some answers. Rev. angel Kyodo williams helps us learn how you could begin to quiet all the fears in your head that kidnap you from your actual life.Rev's website.Rev's instruction for point meditation.Support Search Engine at searchengine.show!

A year ago, we saw a stand-off between OpenAI's non-profit board and its leader, Sam Altman. Since then, the board has been reshuffled, Altman has consolidated power, and under his leadership, some strange things have happened. If AI might change the world, and OpenAI is leading the field -- how worried should we be? We check in with tech reporter Casey Newton of the newsletter Platformer and the podcast Hard Fork.Listen to our previous OpenAI episode (https://pjvogt.substack.com/p/who-should-be-in-charge-of-ai)Support the show: searchengine.show

We reveal the one weird trick some billionaires use to pay less in federal income taxes than you do. And we explain the consequences faced by the person who leaked the tax returns of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Taylor Swift, thereby enraging some of the most powerful people in our country.Support the show at searchengine.show!

A rogue IRS contractor leaks the private tax returns of the country’s wealthiest citizens to a reporter. That reporter, ProPublica’s Jesse Eisinger, learns that some of our billionaires are paying as little as zero dollars in federal income taxes. The story of how this country came up with an income tax in the first place, and how the wealthiest discovered an opt-out strategy.Support the show at searchengine.show!

This week we have for you ... not a whodunnit, but a what did I do? A listener tries a substance he doesn’t know much about and not long after, his life begins to change. Afterwards, he wonders — what was that, and why was it so easy to get? Search Engine investigates. Support the show over at searchengine.show!

The single issue that might decide the upcoming presidential election also happens to be: very confusing. Political economist Mark Blyth helps us understand: how inflation starts, how inflation is stopped, and shares his theory about why the powers-that-be may be just as confused about inflation as we are.Support the show: searchengine.show

25 years ago, The Sopranos, the best television show ever created, premiered. This week, a new documentary called Wise Guy asks the question: how did a show considered so risky & uncommercial even get made? We’re interviewing Wise Guy director Alex Gibney about that question, and about how stubborn lunatics like him and David Chase got to make the projects they wanted to make.Incognito Mode, our ad-free, no-rerun, bonus episode feed.

If you care about animals, but don't want to stop eating them... what's the least you could do while doing the most good? That question, posed to The Atlantic's Annie Lowrey, leads us to a pair of true crime stories about animals. Turkeys plummeting wildly from the sky and a private investigation involving a small brown cow.Links to Annie Lowrey's ReportingTossing a Bird That Does Not Fly Out of a PlaneThe Truth About Organic MilkLinks to Live EventsBrooklyn Live Event with Freakonomics - Thursday, September 26thAmsterdam Live Event with Podimo - Thursday, October 3rd

For years, the must-have phone for the discerning drug trafficker or hitman was a brand you may not have heard of: AN0M. Reporter Joseph Cox tells us the story of the AN0M phone, its sudden rise and shocking fall, and the shadowy group behind its invention.Joseph's new book: Dark Wire.Incognito Mode, our ad-free, no-rerun, bonus episode feed.

We are in an eighty-eight day sprint to the Presidential election. How would you follow this story if you wanted to actually understand something, instead of, like me, just feeling very anxious several times a day? We talk to Ezra Klein about how he follows elections and his own strange role in this election cycle.If you'd like to check out some of Ezra's election coverage this year, here are some good places to start. Democrats Have a Better Option than Biden (February, 2024)Are Democrats Right to Unite Around Kamala Harris? (July, 2024) Is Tim Walz the Midwestern Dad Democrats Need? (August, 2024)And if you'd like ad-free episodes of Search Engine, and bonus episodes, head to searchengine.show!

A trip to Greenland, a chance encounter with Coolio, and the end of the world. (This summer we’re publishing some of our favorite episodes from our previous series, Crypto Island.)Support the show over at searchengine.show!

An art heist in the crypto world plunges us headfirst into another mystery — why did so many celebrities suddenly start selling us on NFTs last year? (This summer we’re publishing some of our favorite episodes from our previous series, Crypto Island.)Support the show over at searchengine.show!

This week: Bitcoin. We trace it from its humble origins in a .PDF to the movement it has spawned, all over three days at an enormous Bitcoin conference in Miami. (This summer we’re publishing some of our favorite episodes from our previous series, Crypto Island.)Support the show over at searchengine.show!

A story about a strange auction for perhaps the most valuable piece of paper in America. This summer we’re publishing some of our favorite episodes from our previous series, Crypto Island.Support the show over at searchengine.show!

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 party. A mission that takes us all the way to the gates of Berghain. Music Credits: Original composition in this episode by Armen Bazarian. Additional Tracks: Game One - Infiniti, Dead Man Watches The Clock - Marcel Dettmann & Ben Klock, The Call - Marcel Dettmann & Norman Nodge, Quicksand - Marcel Dettmann. Full playlist here.Sven von Thüle: https://soundcloud.com/svt // Der Klang der FamilieGesine Kühne: https://soundcloud.com/wannadosomethingSupport the show at searchengine.show!

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 last 8 hours, and the bouncers are merciless in their judgments. The club does not explain how it makes its decisions about who can enter, but one foolish podcaster will try to explain anyway. Support the show: search engine.show

This week, we try to understand an experience that 74% of Americans routinely report having. The first of many conversations (perhaps?). This one, an interview with Zvika Krieger.Support the show: searchengine.show

An internet breaking news story. As we told you last week, Google has begun offering AI-generated answers to search questions. But some answers, it turns out, are strange. Users were told, for instance, that glue was an appropriate ingredient for homemade pizza. We talk to reporter Katie Notopolous, who baked and ate her own homemade glue pizza.Support the show: search engine.show

Last week, Google announced a fundamental change to how the site will work, which will likely have dire effects for the news industry. When you use Google now, the site will often offer AI-generated summaries to you, instead of favoring human-written articles. We talk to Platformer’s Casey Newton about why this is happening, why publishers are nervous, and about a secret new internet you may not have heard of, a paradise to which we may all yet escape.  Support the show at searchengine.show!Search Engine - How do we survive the media apocalypse? (Part 1)Platformer - Google's broken link to the web404 Media - Why Google is shit now

After stumbling on a new kind of search engine for faces, we called privacy journalist Kashmir Hill. She’s been reporting on the very sudden and unregulated rise of these facial search engines. Here’s the story of the very first one, the mysterious person who made it, and the copycats it helped spawn.Support the show: searchengine.show