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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 t

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

A road trip through the data center debate

The midterms are approaching, and as the discourse heats up, one of big new villains is: a kind of building. Data centers. Reporter Jasmine Sun took a road trip through t

The machines are learning… to do crimes?

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 technol

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 subscrib

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 pe

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

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 outsid

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

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 stom

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 t

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 o

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 technologi

Why are people excited about nuclear power again?

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

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

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. Th

Where’s the best free restaurant bread in America?

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

The Cost of War

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

What we got wrong about GLP-1s

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.

The Trial of the Driverless Car

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 whe