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 s...
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Technology
Crypto Island
A new series from a founding host of Reply All. Crypto Island explores the frontiers of a strange new world. (This series is best experienced by beginning at episode one).
Episodes
20 of 149 episodesWhy’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 Japa...
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 questi...
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 philosoph...
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...
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 mome...
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 Sanne...
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 no...
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 pa...
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 techn...
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 s...
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 c...
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 wha...
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...
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 prod...
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 te...
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 hi...
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 retu...
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 answ...