48 Comments

I look forward to Search Engine’s spin-off podcast, Questions from Otto. This kid has a talent for picking good ones

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Great show! Did anyone else catch some unintended puns? “Going out on a limb..”, or “let’s carve this one out.” Haha

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Great episode! But you missed the fourth option, cause someone doesn't need to die to taste them. There was this show in the Netherlands ("Proefkonijnen", "Guinea pigs") where the two hosts had a surgeon remove a tiny bit of flesh from eachothers butts. They had a chef prepare the meat and they ate eachothers meat. Caused quite a stir. You can watch the episode here, it's in Dutch. But skip to about 30 mins to see the tasting

https://bnnvara.nl/videos/413308

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How is a 4-year-old more eloquent with his words than I was at 12?

F U T U R E

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Was your explanation of a dump a dump in itself? Dumpception?

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This episode made me realize that I think about cannibalism a lot more than I thought I did.

This episode did a great job of pointing out how irrational the taboo of cannibalism is. Not saying I’d like to start eating people; on the contrary, it actually kind of pushes me closer to vegetarianism. It’s a lifestyle choice I’ve considered and abandoned more than once over the years, but here I am, thinking about it once again.

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Speaking of how you determine what a taboo is...

I am the child of a nurse. Gross, graphic hospital stories were ubiquitous in my childhood - including at the dining room table. As a result, unappetizing stories NEVER impede my ability to eat. I'll lose my appetite for other reasons, but never from a story. Until now! I listened to this episode while working and eating a snack at my desk. I had to stop eating, I immediately got a bad case of the ick! I guess hearing cannibalism is my appetite's weakness. Well done Search Engine team.

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Does switching up form keep audiences more engaged? Do you notice people getting bored with just one form being done for too long? It’s wild to me that some shows can go 7 years with one form and the audience never tires. There’s no rules in podcasting, I wish some of my favorite shows played around more like Reply All used to!!

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It keeps us engaged! I don't know if it keeps the audience engaged but my suspicion is that it might. I like trying to make work where, from week to week, you might not entirely know what to expect.

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I was enjoying the show ironically while cooking dinner until you started eating crunchy pastries on air. I have misophonia and that was the WORST sound ever. I yelled in my kitchen and hoped the pastry fought back. So now as penance for your pastry eating shenanigans I would like you to do an episode on misophonia. Its a real thing and you crossed the misophonia line, sir. So for the love all things good in this world never, ever crunch on air again!! And please consider my episode request :)

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I really liked this episode. Loved that the macabre question came from a tiny child, and also really enjoyed the buddy vibe with Kelefa.

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Warning: This is gross.

I had surgery last week and have two drains that keep fluid from building up in my chest. Every person who I've hung out with in the last week has asked if I've thought about drinking it. Every. Single. Person. It feels like a call of the void thought that everyone seems to have but maybe it's so extreme that people feel like they can joke about it? I'd describe myself as an adventurous eater, but I have absolutely no desire to drink the fluid, for the record.

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That's just intrusive thoughts.

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And to think, I was so relieved to finish Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica yesterday, so I can stop thinking about cannibalism for a while.

I also recommend the Podcast "Overthink." They discuss the German case through the lens of consent in an episode titled "Sexual Consent." They have other really good episodes as well.

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I really appreciated the casual jump from cannibalism to savoury pastries

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Great episode. I’m left with one question though. Is the protein that causes the neurological disease only a problem when consuming brain? l know it affects the brain, but if I’m enjoying a nice fatty PJ chop, is it not an issue?

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I can take this one:

"The brain contained most of the infectious agent and its consumption was largely responsible for the transmission of kuru."

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2008.0074

Which leaves the door open to offering PJ chop as some kind of premium benefit if the podcast market doesn’t turn.

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Great episode. I kept waiting for a mention of Hufu, the flesh-flavored tofu for vegan cannibals that went sort of viral in the early 2000s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hufu_(novelty_item)

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Amazing, I had completely missed Hufu.

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I had an interesting moment listening to the story today as I was listening while I breastfed my one week old son. As it got to the section on whether humans actually enjoyed the flavour of other humans we got to the end of the feed and as I looked down at his milk drunk little face I was certain that he really enjoyed the flavour of this rather less taboo consumption from another human.

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