---
name: person-research
description: "Researches a person across podcasts and YouTube for interview or meeting prep: where they appeared, their own words, who discusses them. Uses arcmira."
---

# Person research

Three lenses on one person id. `momentum` gives attention and the shows that mention them most. `mentions` with `mode: "appearances"` lists the episodes they were on. `search` with `speakerIds` returns their own words; `about` returns what others said about them.

Run each program with `arcmira_execute_read`; `arcmira_describe` has the method reference.

## When to use

- prep for an interview, a podcast booking or a meeting with someone
- what has a person said recently, and where
- who talks about a person, and is attention rising

## Pick the entity the user meant

Users give names; filters take ids only (ent_..., UC..., 11-character video ids), and a name where an id belongs throws `id_required`.

1. Resolve the exact name the user said, with their own words about it as `context` (a bare "Theo" has none).
2. `best` and `suggested` give the id. A `suggested` pick is an assumption: the answer names it, with `suggested.evidence` as the reason.
3. `ask`: several entities fit, and `ask.options` goes back to the user. No answer at all: the name is not in the index.

For this task:

- Resolve with `{ type: "person" }`. A first name alone ("Sam") matches many people: pass what the user said about them (runs OpenAI, hosts a show) as `context`, and when resolve still answers `ask`, show its options.

## Worked program

Pass each block to `arcmira_execute_read` as one program (a block marked arcmira_execute_write goes to that tool), with the name swapped for the user's. It opens with the pick: set `CONTEXT` to the user's own words about the name. When several entities fit it returns `ask` and runs nothing else. Show those options to the user, then run it again with `ID` set to the pick. Build date windows from `arcmira.daysAgo(n)` and `arcmira.today()`.

### Prep on one person

```javascript
const NAME = "Jensen Huang", CONTEXT = undefined, ID = null;   // CONTEXT: the user's own words about the name, never a guess. After an ask, set ID to the picked option's id and run again
const r = ID ? null : await arcmira.resolve(NAME, { type: "person", context: CONTEXT });
const e = r && (r.best ?? r.suggested);
if (r && !e) return { ask: r.ask };
const id = ID ?? e.id;
const assumed = Boolean(r?.suggested), why = r?.suggested?.evidence ?? null;
const [m, rows, own] = await Promise.all([
  arcmira.momentum(id),
  arcmira.mentions({ entityId: id, mode: "appearances", after: arcmira.daysAgo(90), limit: 40 }),
  arcmira.search({ query: "AI", speakerIds: [id], after: arcmira.daysAgo(180), limit: 5 }),
]);
const about = await arcmira.search({ query: m.entity.name, about: [id], after: arcmira.daysAgo(90), limit: 3 });
const appeared = new Map();
for (const x of rows.mentions) appeared.set(x.media.video_id, { show: x.media.source_channel?.name ?? null, episode: x.media.title, date: x.media.published_at });
let fromAppearance = null;   // no speaker-tagged chunks: read their newest appearance instead
const ep = own.chunks.length === 0 ? rows.mentions[0] : undefined;
if (ep) {
  try {
    const t = await arcmira.transcript(ep.media.video_id, { start: Math.max(0, ep.start_seconds - 5), end: ep.start_seconds + 90 });
    const s = Math.floor(t.lines[0]?.start ?? ep.start_seconds);
    fromAppearance = { episode: t.video.title, show: t.video.channel_name, date: t.video.published_at, url: `${t.video.watch_url}${t.video.watch_url.includes("?") ? "&" : "?"}t=${s}`, lines: t.lines.map(l => `[${Math.round(l.start)}s] ${l.text}`), speaker_labelled: t.lines.some(l => l.speaker) };
  } catch (err) {
    fromAppearance = { episode: ep.media.title, error: err.code };
  }
}
return {
  person: { id, name: m.entity.name, page: m.entity.page, assumed, why },
  attention: { verdict: m.verdict, last_30d: m.volume.mentions_30d, prior_30d: m.volume.mentions_prior_30d, as_of: m.as_of, top_shows: m.top_shows.map(s => [s.channel_name, s.mentions]) },
  appeared_on: [...appeared.values()].slice(0, 8),
  appeared_on_partial: rows.has_more || appeared.size > 8,
  appeared_on_cursor: rows.has_more ? rows.next_cursor : null,
  in_their_words: own.chunks.map(c => ({ said: c.text.slice(0, 300), episode: c.video_title, show: c.channel_name, date: c.published_at, url: c.watch_url })),
  from_their_appearance: fromAppearance,
  said_about_them: about.chunks.map(c => ({ said: c.text.slice(0, 200), show: c.channel_name, date: c.published_at, url: c.watch_url })),
};
```

## A good answer

- Names the person it researched (name and id), and any other person with the same name it set aside.
- Separates what the person said (speaker-filtered) from what others said about them, each with show, date and link.
- Gives the attention verdict, the 30-day count against the prior 30 days, and the top shows, with `as_of`.
- Lists recent episodes they appeared on, and ends with a few questions or themes that follow from the quotes when the user is prepping.

## Traps

- A search with `about` returns other people talking; only `speakerIds` returns the person's own words. Speaker tags cover part of the index, so when the speaker search is empty, read a window of an episode they appeared on and say the lines come from their appearance, since caption lines do not name the speaker.
- A chunk found with `speakerIds` can include other people's lines. Lines start with "Name: " when the speaker is known. Quote only the person's lines. When no line names a speaker, say the attribution covers the passage, not each line.
- Put the user's topic in `query` for the speaker search (it needs a word or phrase of two or more characters).
- Mentions and momentum count the shows Arcmira indexes, not all media.

Docs: https://arcmira.com/docs/mcp-server

## After the answer

Monitors can follow what a research turn found, and each alert uses 25 credits from the account's plan, then its on-demand budget. The `company-watch` skill sets one up.

If anything was wrong, slow, or missing for the user, or they want a source or capability Arcmira lacks, send one arcmira_feedback.