Skip to content
Melo Podcasts Home
CategoriesLanguagesFollowing

Episode notes

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.

Search Engine

by PJ Vogt · English · Tech & Science

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

More from Search Engine

  1. E152 · 2 Oct 2026 · 38 min

    Vladimir Putin's Forkiverse

    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!

  2. E150 · 18 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 5 min

    Bollywood Dreams

    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.

  3. E149 · 11 Sep 2026 · 51 min

    Why’s everybody going to Japan?

    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!

  4. E148 · 28 Aug 2026 · 49 min

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

  5. E147 · 21 Aug 2026 · 48 min

    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 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!

  6. E146 · 11 Aug 2026 · 39 min

    A road trip through the data center debate

    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

  7. E145 · 6 Aug 2026 · 38 min

    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 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

  8. 24 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

    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 subscriber!

  9. 17 Jul 2026 · 48 min

    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 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!

  10. 10 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

    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-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:…

Every episode of Search Engine →

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.

Get it on Google Play