Search Engine

Latest Episodes:

Why can’t we just turn the empty offices into apartments? Aug 04, 2023

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Our quest for answers this week 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!

If you have questions or comments about this episode, or if you'd like to support the show, head to our newsletter.

What's it like to slowly go blind? Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

We interview writer Andrew Leland, who has been gradually losing his sight for two decades. Andrew takes us inside the blind internet, and teaches us how you deal with anxiety about the things you can't control that aren't going away.

Check out Andrew's new book, The Country of the Blind. If you have questions or comments about this episode, or if you'd like to support the show, head here.

What's going on with Elon Musk? Jul 21, 2023

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Search Engine investigates the erratic behavior of the world’s wealthiest man with Hard Fork’s Casey Newton. The three top theories for why Elon Musk has begun to act strangely, including one theory that upset our understanding of reality itself.

If you'd like to read more about this episode or support the show financially, go here.

How do I find new music now that I’m old and irrelevant? Jul 14, 2023

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We enlist a very overqualified person to answer this question, writer Kelefa Sanneh, author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres. Kelefa listens to more music than practically anyone on earth, and this week he breaks down how even a normal person can find new stuff when they feel like their ears have rusted.

Check out the Search Engine newsletter for playlist recommendations from Kelefa, Search Engine's Noah John, and PJ Vogt.

Wait, should I not be drinking airplane coffee? Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

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 here to see the images referenced in this episode.

How sad are the monkeys in the zoo? May 12, 2023

Show notes

To answer this question, we’ll unpack a scientific battle centuries in the making, one that involves a serial killer elephant and a suicidal dog. We’ll also learn a new way that people who are ambivalent about zoos can now go to zoos in good conscience. Guest: Dr. Laurel Braitman, author of Animal Madness.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Animal-Madness/Laurel-Braitman/9781451627015

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Introducing: Search Engine Jan 13, 2023

Show notes

No question too big, no question too small. A new show that’ll be out soon. You can hear it here, on this feed. The one you're on now. Question you'd like answered? Email pjvogt85@gmail.com

09 The End Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

A trip to Greenland, a chance encounter with Coolio, and the end of the world.

08 The Kidnapping of Ape #8398 Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

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? (To help support the show or subscribe to the free newsletter, check out http://www.pjvogt.com)

07 The Drug Trader May 26, 2022

Show notes

This week we follow a dollar underground. For notes, further reading, or to support this project visit pjvogt.com.

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