Last week, just hours after exploding pagers and two-way radios killed dozens of people in Lebanon and injured hundreds more, a peculiar new show appeared on podcast apps. Pager Protocol isn’t about the attacks aimed at Hezbollah members or the Israeli operatives believed to be behind them. It’s an ongoing …
Read More »Is AI More Sustainable if You Generate It Underwater?
AI data centers are so hot right now. Each time generative AI services churn through their large language models to make a chatbot answer one of your questions, it takes a great deal of processing power to sift through all that data. Doing so can use massive amounts of energy, …
Read More »Laura Loomer: The ‘Free Spirit’ Whispering in Trump’s Ear
From political fundraisers to the presidential debate to a September 11 commemoration, far-right influencer Laura Loomer has become a staple in former president Donald Trump’s political entourage. WIRED’s David Gilbert and Tim Marchman join Leah to discuss Loomer’s history of conspiracies and Islamophobia, and how she ended up in Trump’s …
Read More »Why Threads Is All the Rage Bait
One surefire way to go viral on Threads—the Meta-owned Instagram-spinoff social network with more than 200 million users—is to ask a ridiculous question that enrages your followers so much, they just have to chime in to answer you, mock you, or berate you. When it first launched last summer, Threads …
Read More »How Useful Will Apple Intelligence Be? The Next iPhone Will Tell Us
On Monday, Apple held one of its splashy media events. This one was used to show off its next round of iPhones, AirPods, and Apple Watches. These are three of its biggest products, and all of the design tweaks feel very familiar to the current Apple universe. But Apple has …
Read More »No Dogs or Cats Were Harmed In the Making of This Post-Debate Podcast
WIRED’s Makena Kelly and Tim Marchman join Leah to discuss the memorable moments, the policies and, of course, the conspiracies that came up in Tuesday’s presidential debate. Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. Makena Kelly is @kellymakena. Tim Marchman is @timmarchman. Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to the …
Read More »The NSA Has a Podcast—Here's How to Decode It
My first story for WIRED—yep, 31 years ago—looked at a group of “crypto rebels” who were trying to pry strong encryption technology from the government-classified world and send it into the mainstream. Naturally I attempted to speak to someone at the National Security Agency for comment and ideally get a …
Read More »Could AI and Deepfakes Sway the US Election?
A few months ago, everyone was worried about how AI would impact the 2024 election. It seems like some of the angst has dissipated, but political deepfakes—including pornographic images and video—are still everywhere. Today on the show, WIRED reporters Vittoria Elliott and Will Knight talk about what has changed with …
Read More »Seriously, Use Encrypted Messaging
Encrypted messaging is a godsend for mobile communications, whether you’re sending texts to your friends that you want kept private, or engaging in interactions that are better kept secret for safety reasons. Apps like Signal and Telegram offer users the ability to trade messages that can be read by only …
Read More »Netflix is making a 'Sweet Bobby' documentary
In 2022, journalist Alexi Mostrous investigated the story of Kirat Assi, a 29-year-old London radio broadcaster who was romantically catfished for eight years in one of the most complex cases of false identity you’ll ever hear. Tortoise Media’s resulting true crime podcast Sweet Bobby saw millions tuning in. And now, …
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