Gem podcast in a sea of blah

As someone who consumes 3-4 hours of podcasts a day, my timeline has become bloated with content that started with promise, only to lose creative steam.

Does that stop these tired hosts from posting? No. Instead, they double down with increased content to wring as much advertising revenue as possible out of this medium. Which I completely understand…creatives need to eat too.

So when a show like Search Engine comes along, I’m reminded why I fell in love with this medium in the first place. It’s one of the rare shows that drives me to scroll past pages of podcast releases, most of which will age into obscurity before I hear them, in hopes that I’ll find the morsel I crave above all others. It’s a great day when Search Engine drops.

PJ Vogt is a unique voice, whose personal style is both engaging and informative, without informing us against our will. His research is compelling, his conversational approach is fresh, and he’s able to cross all demographic boundaries.

When PJ laughs out loud, so do I. When he feels anxiety, I feel it with him.

I discovered PJ on Reply All after hearing one of the greatest podcasts of all time, “The Case of the Missing Hit.” I’ve played that show for literally dozens of people, it’s that good.

Since starting Search Engine, I’ve been mesmerized by Berghain even though I’m not gay, been gripped by a mysterious Buckingham pool even though I’m not an Anglophile, and purchased a Smarter Scrubber even though I rarely grill food.

That’s the power of Search Engine. You won’t be disappointed.