What do people around the world ask when they need help, reassurance, or answers they may not feel comfortable seeking elsewhere? A new book by data journalist and Google Data Editor Simon Rogers attempts to answer that question by analysing two decades of Google search data.

In What We Ask Google, Rogers explores billions of anonymous searches to uncover the questions that unite people across cultures, languages, and continents. The book examines how people turn to Google to seek guidance on love, parenting, health, grief, relationships, anxiety, and everyday challenges, creating what Rogers describes as one of the largest records of human curiosity ever assembled.

Drawing on search trends from around the world, the book reveals that people frequently ask remarkably similar questions regardless of where they live. From “How do I find love?” and “Why am I so tired?” to “How do I help my child?” and “Why does grief feel so lonely?”, the searches offer a unique glimpse into shared human concerns and aspirations.

Among the findings highlighted in the book is the observation that parents across the globe often search for advice on helping babies sleep in the early hours of the morning. Rogers also notes that many searches are focused not only on personal problems but on helping others—whether understanding grief, caring for pets, supporting loved ones, or even learning how to help bees.

Combining data analysis with storytelling, psychology, social observation, and cultural history, What We Ask Google examines how search behaviour reflects broader social and personal trends over the past 20 years. The book argues that, despite perceptions of growing division, search data often reveals curiosity, empathy, generosity, and common ground.

Rogers, who leads a team of data journalists, analysts, and visualisers at Google, previously founded Guardian Data at The Guardian and served as Twitter’s first Data Editor. He is also the author of Facts Are Sacred and teaches data journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School.

The book has drawn praise from prominent writers and researchers. Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up, described it as “both charming and insightful,” while former Google Chief Economist Hal Varian called it “entertaining and enlightening.”

Through the lens of billions of searches, What We Ask Google offers a data-driven portrait of modern humanity—capturing people at their most curious, vulnerable, and hopeful.