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Who Gets to Investigate the State?
Episode 5067
When a state fails catastrophically, who gets to investigate? This episode traces the strange history of public commissions of inquiry — from medieva…
1 month, 1 week ago
East Jerusalem Under Jordan: More Than Just a Border
Episode 5066
Between 1948 and 1967, East Jerusalem was on the Jordanian side of a border that split a city in two. On paper, it was fully integrated into the Hash…
1 month, 1 week ago
How a Standards Body Built a State Before the State Existed
Episode 5065
How did the Jewish community in Palestine build a fully functioning state while the British were still in charge? This episode traces the parallel in…
1 month, 1 week ago
What a Polar Station Stocks for a Year of Isolation
Episode 5064
What does it take to keep a polar research station — or a deployed aircraft carrier — running for months with no resupply? We open the shipping manif…
1 month, 1 week ago
The Search Arbitrage Trap: Amazon's Pop-Up Brands
Episode 5063
Veteran Amazon shoppers develop heuristics to spot them — random brand names, scattergun product lines, review patterns that spike and flatline. But …
1 month, 1 week ago
High-Vis Beyond the Vest: A Safety Gear Countdown
Episode 5062
Daniel's shopping report on high-vis clothing sparks a deep dive into the ANSI/ISEA 107 standard, the engineering behind retroreflective tape, and th…
1 month, 1 week ago
Why Plastic Vapor Triggers Asthma More Than Sawdust
Episode 5061
When asthmatic engraver Daniel started marking his inventory, he expected metal and wood dust to be his biggest triggers. Instead, plastic vapors fro…
1 month, 1 week ago
Engraving Bits Decoded: Geometry, Grade, and Material Match
Episode 5060
Rotary engraving bits look like tiny metal toothpicks, but inside each one hides four engineering decisions: head shape, flute count, helix angle, an…
1 month, 1 week ago
Israel's Unique Plug Problem: Standards, Cost, and Identity
Episode 5059
Why does every Israeli apartment have a wall full of plug adapters? This episode explores the Standards Institution of Israel, a pre-state body that …
1 month, 1 week ago