WIRED

The Wired mission is to tell the world something they've never heard before in a way they've never seen before. It's about turning new ideas into everyday reality. It's about seeding our community of influencers with the ideas that will shape and transform our collective future. Wired readers want to know how technology is changing the world, and they're interested in big, relevant ideas, even if those ideas challenge their assumptions—or blow their minds.

Readers share their recovery stories and crypto ire.

UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE • The true-crime tale that never met a genre it didn’t like.

THE AGE OF NO SECRETS • It’s getting easier and easier to put data out there, to help people better understand the world. And that gives me hope for the future.

NOT-SO-BASIC TRAINING • Defense technology companies have caught metaverse fever.

SUBSCRIBERS GET UNLIMITED ACCESS TO WIRED.COM • HUNDREDS OF NEW STORIES EVERY MONTH

UNPLUGGED • How broken charging stations could stall the EV movement—and the fight against climate change.

HAZARDOUS WASTE • The space superpowers are using old satellites for target practice—and creating orbital clouds of shrapnel.

HOT SPOTS • The “urban heat island” effect generates potentially lethal conditions in many cities. It’s time to treat it like a disease.

Readout • The world, quantified.

THE ULTIMATE WEARABLE • Zhenan Bao is developing stretchy circuitry that can be used as “electric skin,” hoping to bring new sensations to prosthetics, sensors, and more.

OVERCLOCKED • Time is political by nature, governing everything from election cycles to environmental policies. Reconfiguring it could restore humanity’s hope for the future.

Dear Cloud Support:

HAPPY TOGETHER • When getting outdoors with friends and family this summer, the right gear will make every adventure easier, more fun, and more memorable.

FEATURES

THE MULTIFARIOUS MULTIPLEXITY OF TAIKA WAITITI • He makes big movies and little movies, funny movies and sad movies—but mostly big-little funny-sad movies. Waititi’s work is a bundle of contradictions. So is the man himself.

CALL OF DUTY • He tried to save his wife through the video game they both loved—and nearly lost himself. Then he stepped up to coach a fledgling esports team at a Wyoming junior college.

The Unwritten Laws of Physics • I never meant to be a trailblazer—I just wanted to be a scientist. But in my field, nearly every Black woman is an anomaly who faces constant scrutiny for her race and gender.

STAR, DESTROYER • Every so often, the sun fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. Our best hope the next time human civilization is in the crosshairs? Capacitors.

“THE DROPS OF RAIN ARE AS VISIBLE ON ME AS ON ANY OTHER PERSON.” • ON WAR, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE

STRANGE NEW WORLD

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED • Laser pointers. Umbrellas. Plastic ties. During Hong Kong’s mass protests in the summer of 2019, the city’s youth brought along everyday items to defend themselves against the police. Many of those arrested are still trapped in legal limbo.

THE PROVINCETOWN BREAKTHROUGH • When the Delta wave crashed on a queer vacation hot spot on Cape Cod, an ad hoc community proved that Americans can stifle large Covid outbreaks—if they want to.

COLOPHON

Honorable Mentions