Search Engine

One of the millions of millennials given prescription stimulants to treat ADHD decides to quit. And afterwards wonders -- how did these drugs becomes so popular, so fast? This week, the story of amphetamine's birth, life, death, and rebirth in America. (Methylphenidates, too.)

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They’re shiny rocks that we’ve somehow agreed embody romance and eternity. But diamonds, it turns out, are not as rare as we think. And these days, they can be made in a lab. So why do we continue to spend so much money on them? This week, the story of a century-long, international scheme. And the story of how it fell apart.

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Isn't it bad business to kill your own customers? In part one of our answer to this question, we talk to reporter Ben Westhoff, who helps us understand how Fentanyl became a street drug in the first place. He'll share recordings taped in a Chinese Fentanyl lab, and explain why some dealers might want to poison their own customers with the drug. If you have questions or comments about this episode, or if you'd like to support the show, head to our newsletter.

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Ezra Klein joins Search Engine this week to answer a question that's increasingly confounded us: how do I use the internet now? How do I get information about the things I care about, without getting sucked into a vortex of opinion, unearned certainty, and yelling?

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This week, the story of former crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried. The government alleges he stole over eight billion dollars from the customers of the crypto exchange he started, FTX.

Our question ... how do you blow eight billion dollars? Investigative financial reporter Zeke Faux helps us answer our question.

Be sure to check out Zeke's book, Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. If you'd like to support the show, head to our newsletter: pjvogt.com.

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