Reviews
Rate ShowBrilliant Investigative Storytelling
At one of the dumbest moments in recent American history, when everyone lost their minds over BLM and DEI, Reply All decided to swan dive into irrelevance for no good reason, taking podcasting legends PJ Vogt and Shruthi Pinnamaneni with it. But thank God (or chaos?) for Search Engine, because now we get the same addictive, brainy storytelling—minus the self-inflicted drama. PJ and Shruthi have a rare gift: they can tell a story that’s ROFL funny, deeply meaningful, and capable of sparking real change. This is a podcast nobody should sleep on.
- Stingo Army
- Dec. 8, 2024
Consistently interesting
PJ Vogt can be your imaginary friend too, I’ll share since he wont be distracted from our imaginary friendship. Always interesting and surprising.
- Truro Listener
- Dec. 8, 2024
Entertaining and informative
Interesting topics, thoughtful reporting and wonderful storytelling. Well done 🙏🏼🌟
- gabbym
- Dec. 8, 2024
- Billy TwoRivers
- Dec. 8, 2024
- Sedorner
- Dec. 8, 2024
- RD0280
- Dec. 8, 2024
A worthy successor to ReplyAll
Great reporting, in- depth research answering interesting, though-provoking questions.
- petezrioka
- Dec. 8, 2024
- tgk-cw
- Dec. 8, 2024
Just right
Search Engine team continues to bring their magic: deep reportage on subjects frivolous and profound. Compelling stories, tightly edited and filled with surprises. Plus a legit soundtrack, easily the most thoughtful music I’ve ever heard behind a podcast.
- DaveWalk1
- Dec. 8, 2024
Thoughtful, Fascinating, Funny
This is my favorite podcast. Nuanced consideration of our complex weird world.
- lianaespey
- Dec. 8, 2024
- judidec
- Dec. 8, 2024
Well researched and beautifully crafted
Thoughtful, funny, smart, engaging, and always entertaining. So glad this show exists. Hope they keep cranking out episodes for a long time to come.
- pritchardsbike33618
- Dec. 8, 2024
My Favorite Podcast
Beautifully produced, well reported, and extremely human. This show is exactly what I want when I click on a podcast—something that helps me stay optimistic and curious about the world.
- Gkskanforiwndidodjeoajd
- Dec. 8, 2024
My favorite in my queue
Search Engine has such a great random mix of questions they cover that it’s impossible not to have an episode where even your skeptical “I don’t really like podcasts” friend will find one here that they want to listen to. Some shows are deep existential, some are simply about whether airline coffee is sanitary or not or why the number of roaches in cities went down mysteriously. Love y’all!
- KTS231
- Dec. 8, 2024
A bit drawn out
This is a nice, well made podcast. My only issue is the episodes are often wayyy too long. For example if the episode is about why people would buy luggage at an airport, before getting to the question we get an unnecessary 40 minute history on airports… for many episodes you can safely skip the first half.
- Ricky R Richard
- Dec. 7, 2024
- shenmasheen
- Dec. 6, 2024
Do not pay for Incognito Mode
I’m still giving the main show 4 stars because I love it.
However, if you’re a long time listener, I do not recommend subscribing to Incognito Mode. I signed up thinking there would be more new episodes but all they really did is unpublish/rename old episodes and called them “Incognito Mode” episodes.
If you want to support independent podcasting or don’t want ad-breaks, go for it but don’t sign up expecting a lot of new content, at least not currently.
- ChairishSeller
- Nov. 30, 2024
Wonderful show!
This show is absolute perfection for anyone who loves to learn. Not only does he deep dive into interesting topics and do incredibly professional research and story telling, every episode is somehow connected to the human experience, even for things that don’t directly impact your life. The production is top notch and listening to this show is one of my favorite ways to relax while I do shopping or other mundane tasks!
- pka4lif
- Nov. 30, 2024
Still waiting to hear from women on this podcast
When are we going to hear from a woman on this show? Every expert or person with an opinion is a man on this show. It’s disappointing how disproportionately male the guests are.
- Leah3897
- Nov. 24, 2024
Wonderful, Well-Researched Show
I feel compelled to write my first-ever podcast review because I truly love Search Engine. I'm a longtime listener of This American Life, which is my standard for interesting journalism, well-researched storytelling, and captivating human interest pieces. I mean it as the highest compliment when I say that Search Engine's host PJ's voice, confessional storytelling style, and way of looking at the world is strikingly similar to that of Ira Glass—which is a true feat. Search Engine is consistently the podcast I recommend to all my friends, and there is something for everyone here—even if you didn't think you cared about the feelings of the monkeys at the zoo, or Kratom, Bitcoin, or spiritual healing, you will by the end of PJ's shows. Thanks Search Engine for being a thoughtful, calming, and truly reflective antidote to the Joe Rogans of the world.
- TALObssessive
- Nov. 22, 2024
Great Storytelling
The Search Engine team always seem to find the story underneath the story, somehow making topics like car titles and airplane water filters fascinating. I find that almost every episode makes me curious about even the most mundane of things.
- bulgarius
- Nov. 20, 2024
- Happydapperdanish
- Nov. 15, 2024
Navigating the chaos of what we can’t control
This podcast helps make sense of well articulated questions I may or may not have. I think in some ways I’m oddly more at peace and feel more equipped in my lifestyle choices.
- Keerawr
- Nov. 8, 2024
Pretty much always a good listen
Love the topics on this podcast. Most are things I never realized would be so interesting to understand fuller.
- la-lars
- Oct. 27, 2024