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What's New

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The latest in-depth coverage covering the intersection of technology and culture will help you make sense of a world in constant transformation. Join us as we explore the ways technology is changing our lives.

Episodes

OpenAI’s GPT Store Is Triggering Copyright Complaints

A publisher says some chatbots in OpenAI’s GPT Store were created using its copyrighted textbooks. OpenAI has taken down some of the bots but could face more complaints from rights holders. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Apr 05, 20249 min

Meta Kills a Crucial Transparency Tool At the Worst Possible Time

CrowdTangle helps researchers track disinformation, but Meta will close it down before the US election. The tool's cofounder, Brandon Silverman, says it's time to force companies to share data. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Apr 04, 20247 min

Citizen Zoo Is Rewilding the UK, One Grasshopper at a Time

The London-based social enterprise is turning regular people into at-home zookeepers. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apr 03, 20248 min

How to Resist the Temptation of AI When Writing

Follow these tips to produce stronger writing that stands out on the web even in the age of AI and ChatGPT. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apr 02, 20248 min

Smartphones Do or Don’t Harm Kids! So Which Is It?

Two new books offer radically different approaches to how people should think about smartphones and social media. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apr 01, 202411 min

The Earth Will Feast on Dead Cicadas

Two cicada broods, XIX and XIII, are emerging in sync for the first time in 221 years. Birds, trees, and dirt are about to get the banquet of a lifetime. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 29, 20248 min

The Baltimore Bridge Collapse Is About to Get Even Messier

Closing the city’s seaport will send shockwaves across global shipping. Supersized container ships pose a growing risk to bridges and other infrastructure when things go wrong. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 28, 20246 min

Enjoy Your Favorite Wine Before Climate Change Destroys It

Extreme heat and droughts are making it harder to grow grapes in many traditional regions. Here’s how scientists are helping the industry adapt. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 27, 202410 min

A Deepfake Nude Generator Reveals a Chilling Look at Its Victims

WIRED reporting uncovered a site that “nudifies” photos for a fee—and posts a feed appearing to show user uploads. They included photos of young girls and images seemingly taken of strangers. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 26, 202411 min

Why You Hear Voices in Your White Noise Machine

If you've ever heard music, voices, or other sounds while trying to sleep with a white noise machine running, you're not losing your mind. Here's what's going on. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 25, 20248 min

The Feds Are Trying to Get Plants to Mine Metal Through Their Roots

Some species can absorb extreme amounts of nickel from soils. Such “phytomining” could help provide batteries essential for the renewable revolution. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 22, 20247 min

The World Needs to Crack Battery Recycling, Fast

The shift to electric vehicles is exciting, but it will leave us with thousands of tonnes of spent batteries. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 21, 20248 min

Why Is the Slack Hold Music So Haunted and So Good?

Those sounds you hear when you’re alone in a Huddle aren’t canned. They’re uncanny. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 20, 20249 min

The Designer Who’s Trying to Transform Your City Into a Sponge

Kongjian Yu pioneered China’s “sponge city” concept—less concrete and more green spaces to exploit stormwater instead of fighting it. Metropolises all over the world are following suit. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 19, 20248 min

States Are Lining Up to Outlaw Lab-Grown Meat

Around 46 million Americans live in states that have introduced bills to ban cultivated meat, the latest escalation in a surprising culture war. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 18, 20249 min

Regulators Need AI Expertise. They Can’t Afford It

The European AI Office and the UK government are trying to hire experts to study and regulate the AI boom—but are offering salaries far short of industry compensation. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 15, 20247 min

Ageism Haunts Some Tech Workers in the Race to Get Hired

Hundreds of thousands of tech workers have been laid off since 2022. Some who don’t fit the young coder archetype say being more experienced can feel like a disadvantage. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 14, 20249 min

Rampant Wildfires Are Threatening a Collapse of the Amazon Rainforest

Rainforests in South America are burning this year faster than ever before, setting the course for a collapse of the Amazon in the coming decades. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Mar 13, 20248 min

The Quest to Give AI Chatbots a Hand—and an Arm

Robotics startup Covariant is experimenting with a ChatGPT-style chatbot that can control a robotic arm, as a way to create machines that can be more helpful in the physical world. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 12, 20246 min

Apple Could Be the First Target of Europe's Tough New Tech Law

An architect of the EU's tough new Digital Markets Acts says Apple would be a logical first candidate for investigation under the law, which aims to “break open” tech platforms. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 11, 20246 min

Europe Is Breaking Open the Empires of Big Tech

Tech giants have to comply with a new EU law that is set to change the internet. It aims to force open the biggest platforms to encourage competition and give users more choice in their digital lives. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 08, 20248 min

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Trump Trial Ransomware Leak

The notorious LockBit gang promised a Georgia court leak "that could affect the upcoming US election.” It didn't materialize—but the story may not be over yet. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 06, 20248 min

Google’s Deal With StackOverflow Is the Latest Proof That AI Giants Will Pay for Data

StackOverflow’s programming community will power a version of Google’s Gemini chatbot. It’s part of a new breed of AI data licensing deals with websites seeking a cut of the generative AI boom. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 05, 20245 min

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against a Group That Found Hate Speech on X Isn’t Going Well

X alleges that the Center for Countering Digital Hate cost it millions by showing that hate speech was spreading on the platform. In a hearing Thursday, a federal judge sounded skeptical of those claims. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Mar 04, 20248 min

RIP Apple Car. This Is Why It Died

Any tech company moving into the auto space needs a manufacturing partner. But the Apple's EV died as it lived: alone. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Feb 29, 20247 min

A Discarded Plan to Build Underwater Cities Will Give Coral Reefs New Life

A 1970s plan to grow underwater limestone objects has been repurposed as a way of regenerating the seabed, reestablishing corals, and stopping coastal erosion. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Feb 28, 20243 min

Neuralink’s First Brain Implant Is Working. Elon Musk’s Transparency Isn’t

Elon Musk says Neuralink’s first human trial subject can control a computer mouse with their brain, but some researchers are frustrated by a lack of information about the study. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Feb 27, 20248 min

Google Tweaked Search to Comply With EU Rules. Yelp Says It Makes Results Even More Unfair

Google says its new designs comply with the Digital Markets Act, which bars platforms from favoring their own tools. Yelp says tests show one tweak made people even more likely to stick with Google. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...

Feb 26, 202410 min
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