Podcast
Search Engine
Hosted by PJ Vogt · EN
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
72episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why do we have to pay into the new Anti-Weaponization Fund?
5d ago00:40:25Summary readyThe 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!
SummaryPresenting: Family Lore
1w ago00:34:51Summary readyPresenting 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 to recover the looted art.
SummaryThe many lives of Taiwan
2w ago01:06:56Summary readyWe 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
SummaryWhy are people excited about nuclear power again?
4w ago00:49:36Summary readyNuclear 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!
SummaryWhat if the cemetery goes out of business? (classic)
May 100:49:32Summary readyWe'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
SummaryWhere’s the best free restaurant bread in America?
Apr 2400:38:54Summary readyAn 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!
SummaryThe Cost of War
Apr 1700:48:39Summary readyThe 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!
SummaryWhat we got wrong about GLP-1s
Apr 1000:46:02Summary readySearch 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!
SummaryThe Trial of the Driverless Car
Mar 2601:03:40Summary readyIn 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!
SummaryAre you a good driver?
Mar 2301:06:47Summary readyThe 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!
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