Search Engine

What if the cemetery goes out of business? (classic)

Where’s the best free restaurant bread in America?

The quest to identify the best free restaurant bread in America reveals how a seemingly trivial question can unspool into a complex investigation of culinary tradition and personal history. Caity Weaver, a staff writer at The Atlantic, crowdsourced hundreds of responses to determine which establishment offers the super...

The Cost of War

What we got wrong about GLP-1s

The podcast explores GLP-1 drugs, examining their impact beyond cosmetic weight loss. Dr. Rachael Bedard, a physician at a homeless clinic and writer, shares her experiences prescribing GLP-1s to underserved populations with diabetes, high blood pressure, and addiction issues, noting improvements in their overall healt...

The Trial of the Driverless Car

The podcast explores the contentious debate surrounding the introduction of Waymo's driverless cars in Boston, focusing on the conflict between technological advancement and the protection of jobs, especially union jobs. It highlights the city council hearings where union drivers and disability advocates presented oppo...

Are you a good driver?

The podcast explores the history and potential future of driverless cars, questioning whether "driver" will soon refer to machines instead of humans. It traces the evolution of autonomous vehicle technology, beginning with early dreams of replacing human drivers and DARPA's Grand Challenge, which spurred innovation in ...

Odd Lots x Search Engine

The podcast explores the role of real estate in China's economy, examining the tensions between housing as a social good and an investment asset. Economist Mike Bird, author of "The Land Trap," discusses how China adopted Hong Kong's land leasing system to generate revenue, which led to local governments becoming heavi...

Mysteries of a Chatbot

The podcast explores the complexities of AI development through the lens of Anthropic, an AI company striving for ethical AI. It questions whether safe AI is achievable in a for-profit tech race. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, a writer embedded within Anthropic, shares insights into the company's culture, its ethical war games, a...

Why don’t we eat people? (classic)

How Peptides Conquered the Internet

Are flushable wipes actually flushable?

The Venezuelan Curse (Part 2)

The Venezuelan Curse (Part 1)

The Fediverse Experiment

Heavyweight x Search Engine

A Perfectly Average Anomaly

In this episode of Search Engine, PJ Vogt investigates a peculiar phenomenon reported by multiple listeners: being repeatedly flagged by TSA body scanners in the groin area. Despite the listeners' claims of having average-sized genitals and no unusual body modifications, they consistently trigger false alarms. Vogt con...

Unlocked: The State of Search Engine 2025

What's the best phone to do crimes on? (classic)

How to talk (or not talk) politics at family holidays

Colossus 2

In the second episode of "Search Engine's" Colossus story, PJ Vogt investigates the AI arms race, focusing on Elon Musk's xAI project in Memphis and the associated financial risks. The episode explores Musk's vision of AI's limitless potential and the ravenous hunger for GPUs driving tech companies into debt. It examin...