What’s in your cocaine and the questions Search Engine CAN’T answer

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 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 [https://jasmi.news/p/no-data-centers-in-my-backyard] by Jasmine Sun

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 [https://www.platformer.news/a-big-week-for-ai-denialism/] by Casey Newton Its AI agent spent days hacking a company, but sources say OpenAI did not notice for a week [https://www.reuters.com/business/its-ai-agent-spent-days-hacking-company-sources-say-openai-did-not-notice-week-2026-07-24/] by Deepa Seetharaman, Raphael Satter, and Kenrick Cai Cheating behaviour in frontier model evaluations [https://www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/cheating-behaviour-in-frontier-model-evaluations] by AI Security Institute More On An Internal OpenAI Model Hacking Into HuggingFace [https://thezvi.substack.com/p/more-on-an-internal-openai-model] by Zvi Mowshowitz

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! [https://searchengine.supercast.com/]

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! [https://searchengine.supercast.com/]

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 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gKdMHv8jN0a7p2KszLuWV?si=ct9eAnM1T--RgS-YrzQRFA&pi=u-6fNvYuF_Txus]. Sven von Thüle: https://soundcloud.com/svt [https://soundcloud.com/svt] // Der Klang der Familie Gesine Kühne: https://soundcloud.com/wannadosomething [https://soundcloud.com/wannadosomething]  Become a premium member! [https://searchengine.supercast.com/]