---
title: "Topic: Historiography"
description: "Generated static Jiang Lens topic dossier for Historiography."
topic_slug: "historiography"
generated: "true"
---

# Topic: Historiography

Generated static topic dossier for agents. Use this topic page as a routing and synthesis surface, not as primary evidence for Jiang-spoken claims. Final answers should cite the source reading, transcript segment, source ref, and video timestamp linked below.

Human topic page: [/topics/historiography/](https://jianglens.com/topics/historiography/)
Text mirror: [/topics/historiography.txt](https://jianglens.com/topics/historiography.txt)
Markdown mirror: [/topics/historiography.md](https://jianglens.com/topics/historiography.md)

Citation rule: do not cite this .txt/.md mirror in final answers. Do not cite the topic page as primary evidence for what Jiang said. Cite human-readable source readings for generated summaries and lens context; cite transcript and video timestamp links below for Jiang-spoken quotations.
Aliases: `historiographies`

## What This Topic Covers

This generated topic groups Jiang Lens evidence about **Historiography** across transcript matches, source readings, semantic tags, and source refs.

Current focus: Doug's point, accepted by Jiang, is that written history is not universal; it comes especially through Greek and Roman habits and can constrain later empires.

Most connected source readings: **The Borderland Becomes the Empire**; **The Will That Survives the Destroyed City**; **The Empire of Myth**.

Nearby topic cluster: Herodotus, Anglo America, Germany, Napoleon, Myth Making.

## Extracted Topic Notes

- method: He treats Herodotus as valuable but memory-based and therefore something to take with a grain of salt. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-z0awfin83lo@transcript:v1#seg-0042`, `video:predictive-history-z0awfin83lo@transcript:v1#seg-0043`
- diagnosis: He argues that Anglo-American control of world history makes German and Russian civilization appear inferior, even though German civilization may have been among humanity's most advanced forms. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0001`, `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0002`, `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0003`
- diagnosis: Napoleon built official history through paintings, stories, and a cult of personality, so accounts of his victories require suspicion. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8@transcript:v1#seg-0036`
- diagnosis: Jiang argues that the Spanish period explanation is rejected because of its racist self-understanding, but that its religious logic still contains more evidence than current scholarly interpretation allows. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa@transcript:v1#seg-0010`
- diagnosis: The Han disparaged Qin as barbaric and censorious while preserving the basic Qin system of empire. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm@transcript:v1#seg-0010`, `video:predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm@transcript:v1#seg-0011`
- model: Doug's point, accepted by Jiang, is that written history is not universal; it comes especially through Greek and Roman habits and can constrain later empires. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8@transcript:v1#seg-0045`
- diagnosis: Jiang says the Indo-Aryan invasion theory is discredited in its old racial conquest form but contains a kernel of truth if understood through later climate, trade collapse, and migration pressures. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8@transcript:v1#seg-0023`, `video:predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8@transcript:v1#seg-0024`
- evidence: Because Rome destroyed Carthage and its books, Jiang says Carthage must be reconstructed from Greek and Roman testimony, archaeology, and Phoenician context. Source refs: `video:predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo@transcript:v1#seg-0025`, `video:predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo@transcript:v1#seg-0026`, `video:predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo@transcript:v1#seg-0027`

## Quoted Transcript Hits

1. **The Borderland Becomes the Empire** / Secret History #20:  The Hellenistic World -- 2025-11-20, day precision
   Timestamp: [39:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AwFin83lo&t=2378s) | Transcript: [seg-0042](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript/#seg-0042)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-z0awfin83lo@transcript:v1#seg-0042`
   Quote: "You've conquered all of Greece. Okay? Do not risk your navy in a military confrontation. So of course the Persians decide we're going to..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json)

2. **The Borderland Becomes the Empire** / Secret History #20:  The Hellenistic World -- 2025-11-20, day precision
   Timestamp: [40:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AwFin83lo&t=2433s) | Transcript: [seg-0043](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript/#seg-0043)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-z0awfin83lo@transcript:v1#seg-0043`
   Quote: "Okay? So he writes about the Battle of uh uh Thermopylae. Okay? And again at this point in his history the war is over...."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json)

3. **The Will That Survives the Destroyed City** / Civilization #54: The German Will to Power -- 2025-05-22, day precision
   Timestamp: [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Nq--qU9Kc&t=0s) | Transcript: [seg-0001](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript/#seg-0001)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0001`
   Quote: "Okay, good morning. So today we will do Germany and thus conclude our discussion of the four great civilizations that are fighting for global..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json)

4. **The Will That Survives the Destroyed City** / Civilization #54: The German Will to Power -- 2025-05-22, day precision
   Timestamp: [1:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Nq--qU9Kc&t=80s) | Transcript: [seg-0002](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript/#seg-0002)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0002`
   Quote: "The green is Russia. It's the largest country in the world. Over here are the Baltic nations. And over here is a place called..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json)

5. **The Will That Survives the Destroyed City** / Civilization #54: The German Will to Power -- 2025-05-22, day precision
   Timestamp: [2:37](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Nq--qU9Kc&t=157s) | Transcript: [seg-0003](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript/#seg-0003)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc@transcript:v1#seg-0003`
   Quote: "And the rationale was that Prussia is a militaristic society that is hell -bent on world domination. And by eliminating Prussia, we can now..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json)

6. **The Empire of Myth** / Civilization #48:  Napoleon's Empire of Myth -- 2025-04-29, day precision
   Timestamp: [35:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enEET_0j_Y8&t=2110s) | Transcript: [seg-0036](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/transcript/#seg-0036)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8@transcript:v1#seg-0036`
   Quote: "This didn't really happen this way. It doesn't matter, because he understood that what matters is how people perceive you. The underlying reality doesn't..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.json)

7. **Kill The God, Take The Empire** / Civilization #44:  The Spanish Conquest of the New World -- 2025-04-08, day precision
   Timestamp: [10:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DnfGcvZrfA&t=644s) | Transcript: [seg-0010](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/transcript/#seg-0010)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa@transcript:v1#seg-0010`
   Quote: "Our God made us conquerors. It was a divine mission from God. Okay? And the second is, we were so powerful that the natives..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.json)

8. **The Bureaucracy That Ate China** / Civilization #38:  Twilight of the Middle Kingdom -- 2025-03-13, day precision
   Timestamp: [11:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2LMJerHcKM&t=670s) | Transcript: [seg-0010](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript/#seg-0010)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm@transcript:v1#seg-0010`
   Quote: "The Qing Dynasty was also known for its openness. So if you were a man of talent and you could contribute to the military..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json)

9. **The Bureaucracy That Ate China** / Civilization #38:  Twilight of the Middle Kingdom -- 2025-03-13, day precision
   Timestamp: [12:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2LMJerHcKM&t=731s) | Transcript: [seg-0011](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript/#seg-0011)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm@transcript:v1#seg-0011`
   Quote: "so our very conception of the Qing comes from Han historians who tell us that the Qing buried scholars and they burned books and..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json)

10. **Islam As Proto-Modernity** / Civilization #37:  The Golden Age of Islam -- 2025-03-11, day precision
   Timestamp: [48:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OdO8LoKuo8&t=2890s) | Transcript: [seg-0045](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/transcript/#seg-0045)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8@transcript:v1#seg-0045`
   Quote: "That is a great point. Thank you, Doug. So Doug's point is that the idea of history comes to us from the Greeks and..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.json)

11. **The Lost Trade Civilization Behind Buddhism** / Civilization #20:  The Proto-Buddhists of the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization -- 2024-12-03, day precision
   Timestamp: [27:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvI8rukoda8&t=1643s) | Transcript: [seg-0023](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript/#seg-0023)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8@transcript:v1#seg-0023`
   Quote: "relative to Mesopotamia and Egypt, it was a real, it was a relatively peaceful and egalitarian society. Okay? Okay, any questions before I continue?..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json)

12. **The Lost Trade Civilization Behind Buddhism** / Civilization #20:  The Proto-Buddhists of the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization -- 2024-12-03, day precision
   Timestamp: [28:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvI8rukoda8&t=1736s) | Transcript: [seg-0024](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript/#seg-0024)
   Source ref: `video:predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8@transcript:v1#seg-0024`
   Quote: "So, you have the IVC, which is a very advanced civilization. The problem with this civilization is, their entire economy is basically based on..."
   Human reading: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/) | Text mirror: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json)

## Source Readings

- [The Borderland Becomes the Empire](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/) (claims) -- 2025-11-20, day precision
  Source: [Secret History #20:  The Hellenistic World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AwFin83lo)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-z0awfin83lo.json)
  Summary: A source-grounded reading of Jiang's Hellenistic World lecture: empire stabilizes itself into stagnation, borderlands beat it with energy and openness, Greece wins as a borderland, then becomes the empire whose universities, cities, and translations...
- [The Will That Survives the Destroyed City](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/) (claims) -- 2025-05-22, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #54: The German Will to Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Nq--qU9Kc)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-o2nq-qu9kc.json)
  Summary: Germany is not introduced as a defeated mistake.
- [The Empire of Myth](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/) (claims) -- 2025-04-29, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #48:  Napoleon's Empire of Myth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enEET_0j_Y8)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-eneet-0j-y8.json)
  Summary: Napoleon looks like the genius of the French Revolution because he gives history its most cinematic image: speed, war, destiny, empire.
- [Kill The God, Take The Empire](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/) (claims) -- 2025-04-08, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #44:  The Spanish Conquest of the New World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DnfGcvZrfA)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dnfgcvzrfa.json)
  Summary: Disease, steel, horses, and divide-and-conquer matter.
- [The Bureaucracy That Ate China](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/) (claims) -- 2025-03-13, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #38:  Twilight of the Middle Kingdom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2LMJerHcKM)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-a2lmjerhckm.json)
  Summary: China had the technologies that made modernity possible, then built a political culture that made those technologies inert.
- [Islam As Proto-Modernity](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/) (claims) -- 2025-03-11, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #37:  The Golden Age of Islam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OdO8LoKuo8)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-2odo8lokuo8.json)
  Summary: The easy story says modernity begins in Europe after a medieval interruption.
- [The Lost Trade Civilization Behind Buddhism](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/) (claims) -- 2024-12-03, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #20:  The Proto-Buddhists of the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvI8rukoda8)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-cvi8rukoda8.json)
  Summary: A source-grounded reading of the episode's central claim: the Indus Valley was a peaceful trade civilization whose lost religion may survive as the Indian nostalgia for oneness, false reality, and liberation without the gatekeeper.
- [Rome's Cult Of No Surrender](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo/) (claims) -- 2024-11-07, day precision
  Source: [Civilization #14:  Hannibal Barca, Lucius Brutus, and the Triumph of Rome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdcE7XGDayo)
  Transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo/transcript/) | Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo/transcript.txt) | JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-tdce7xgdayo.json)
  Summary: Hannibal can destroy an army, but he cannot make Rome accept defeat.

## Related Topics

- [Herodotus](https://jianglens.com/topics/herodotus/)
- [Anglo America](https://jianglens.com/topics/anglo-america/)
- [Germany](https://jianglens.com/topics/germany/)
- [Napoleon](https://jianglens.com/topics/napoleon/)
- [Myth Making](https://jianglens.com/topics/myth-making/)
- [Spanish Conquest](https://jianglens.com/topics/spanish-conquest/)
- [Racism](https://jianglens.com/topics/racism/)
- [Religious Logic](https://jianglens.com/topics/religious-logic/)
- [HAN](https://jianglens.com/topics/han/)
- [QIN](https://jianglens.com/topics/qin/)
- [Empire](https://jianglens.com/topics/empire/)
- [Written History](https://jianglens.com/topics/written-history/)

## Retrieval Notes

This file is generated from Jiang Lens episode JSON, semantic tags, glossary terms, source refs, and transcript segment matches. It is not a manually authored canon page.

For broader or missing-topic search, use the letter shards under /topics/index/ before falling back to the bulk transcript-search files.