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2,526 episodes — Page 2 of 51
DART Showed How to Smash an Asteroid. So Where Did the Space Shrapnel Go?
2022’s NASA mission proved it was possible to knock an incoming near-Earth object off course. But that creates debris—which might also be a threat. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
'Largest Botnet Ever’ Tied to Billions in Stolen Covid-19 Relief Funds
The US says a Chinese national operated the “911 S5” botnet, which included computers worldwide and was used to file hundreds of thousands of fraudulent Covid claims and distribute CSAM, among other crimes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Why Some Animals Thrive in Cities
Why does some wildlife thrive in the city? Figuring this out is the first step to boosting urban biodiversity. And that's good for everyone. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
From Science, Spoken: Why Antidepressants Take So Long to Work
We're bringing an extra episode from our show Science, Spoken.A clinical trial reveals the first evidence of how the brain restructures physically in the first month on SSRIs—and the link between neuroplasticity and depression. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Anduril Is Building Out the Pentagon’s Dream of Deadly Drone Swarms
The US military aims to maintain its dominance by building autonomous attack drones that collaborate with humans and overwhelm defenses in swarms. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
What’s Up With These Crazy Northern Lights?
Solar winds at a million miles an hour and freaky magnetic turbulence are sparking some of the best light shows in centuries. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Most US TikTok Creators Don’t Think a Ban Will Happen
The Chinese-owned app is in serious trouble in Washington, but a survey of US creators suggests TikTok’s influencer economy is carrying on with business as usual. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
What Scarlett Johansson v. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
If Scarlett Johansson pursues legal action against OpenAI for giving ChatGPT a voice she calls “eerily similar to mine,” she might claim the company breached her right to publicity. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Finding a Tech Job Is Still a Nightmare
We're bringing you a special episode from our Business, Spoken show. Check it out wherever you're listening.Tech companies have laid off more than 400,000 people in the past two years. Competition for the jobs that remain is getting more and more desperate. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Crypto Astrologers See Price Moves in the Stars
They predict the ups and downs of Bitcoin based on planetary movements, and their super-secretive clientele listens. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The End of ‘iPhone’
Ken Segall is the reason so many Apple products start with “i.” Now he says it’s time to drop the prefix entirely. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
A Huge Scam Targeting Kids With Roblox and Fortnite ‘Offers’ Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight
We wanted to bring you one of our favorite stories from 2023: The wide-ranging scams, often disguised as game promotions, can all be linked back to one network. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Prepare to Get Manipulated by Emotionally Expressive Chatbots
The emotional mimicry of OpenAI’s new version of ChatGPT could lead AI assistants in some strange—even dangerous—directions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
These Electric School Buses Are on Their Way to Save the Grid
Loaded with ever more renewables, the grid will need to store a whole lot of energy. Enter: a new kind of magic school bus—one that can both charge and give power back. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Tornado Cash Developer Found Guilty of Laundering $1.2 Billion of Crypto
Alexey Pertsev, cofounder of the crypto-anonymizing tool, has been sentenced to over five years behind bars. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Generative AI Doesn’t Make Hardware Less Hard
Wearable AI gadgets from Rabbit and Humane were panned by reviewers, including at WIRED. Their face-plants show that it’s still tough to compete with big tech in the age of ChatGPT. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Elon Musk's Neuralink Had a Brain Implant Setback. It May Come Down to Design
Neuralink experienced a mechanical issue with its first human brain-computer interface implant. Its novel design may make it more prone to failure. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
How Not to Get Brain-Eating Worms and Mercury Poisoning
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. had both a brain parasite and mercury poisoning at the same time. Just how rare is each condition? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
OpenAI Is ‘Exploring’ How to Responsibly Generate AI Porn
OpenAI released draft guidelines for how it wants the AI technology inside ChatGPT to behave—and revealed that it’s exploring how to ‘responsibly’ generate explicit content. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
OpenAI Offers an Olive Branch to Artists Wary of Feeding AI Algorithms
ChatGPT developer OpenAI says that artists and other content owners will be able to request that their work be excluded from use in AI development. Many details of the scheme remain unclear. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
No One Knows How Far Bird Flu Has Spread
With little incentive for US farmers to test their cattle, and many undocumented laborers on dairy farms, the full scale of the outbreak is unclear. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The US Government Is Asking Big Tech to Promise Better Cybersecurity
The Biden administration is asking tech companies to sign a pledge, obtained by WIRED, to improve their digital security, including reduced default password use and improved vulnerability disclosures. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The White House Has a New Master Plan to Stop Worst-Case Scenarios
President Joe Biden will update the directives to protect US critical infrastructure against major threats, from cyberattacks to terrorism to climate change. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Net Neutrality Returns to a Very Different Internet
The FCC voted 3-2 to restore net neutrality rules that had disappeared during the Trump administration. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Net Neutrality Returns to a Very Different Internet
The FCC voted 3-2 to restore net neutrality rules that had disappeared during the Trump administration. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Ads for Explicit ‘AI Girlfriends’ Are Swarming Facebook and Instagram
WIRED found thousands of ads running on Meta’s social platforms promoting sexually explicit “AI girlfriend” apps. Some human sex workers say the platform unfairly polices their own posts more harshly. 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
Noncompetes Are Dead—and Tech Workers Are Free to Roam
A new rule from the US Federal Trade Commission invalidates most noncompete agreements, frequently used to bind tech workers. It could unlock higher wages, and more entrepreneurship and innovation. 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
Bitcoin Miners Brace for the ‘Halving’—and Race to Cash In
The Bitcoin halving is imminent. Crypto mining companies are reaching for every trick in the book to survive it. 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
Plant-Based Meat Boomed. Here Comes the Bust
Sales of vegan meat are trending downward in the US, with companies scrambling to win back customers. 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
The Real-Time Deepfake Romance Scams Have Arrived
Smooth-talking scammers known as “Yahoo Boys” use widely available face-swapping tech to carry out elaborate romance scams. 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
What If Your AI Girlfriend Hated You?
AngryGF offers a perpetually enraged chatbot intended to teach men better communication skills. WIRED took it for a spin. 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
How One Author Pushed the Limits of AI Copyright
Elisa Shupe was initially rebuffed when she tried to copyright a book she wrote with help from ChatGPT. Now the US Copyright Office has changed course—but there’s a catch. 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
Google Workers Protest Cloud Contract With Israel's Government
Google employees are staging sit-ins and protests at company offices in New York and California over “Project Nimbus,” a cloud contract with Israel's government, as the country's war with Hamas continues. 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
It Takes Guts, Not College, to Fix Wind Turbines for a Living
Want one of the fastest-growing jobs in the US? Get used to being high. 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
Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways
H5N1 has infected cattle across the US and jumped from a mammal to a human for the first time. Experts fear it may someday evolve to spread among humans. 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
Eric Schmidt Warned Against China’s AI Industry. Emails Show He Also Sought Connections to It
Transparency advocates say that Eric Schmidt's pursuit of “personal” connections with AI companies in China represents a concerning conflict of interest. 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
Europe Rules That Insufficient Climate Change Action Is a Human Rights Violation
In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland had not done enough to protect its citizens from climate change—blowing open the door for further cases against governments. 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
Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI
Turnitin, a service that checks papers for plagiarism, says its detection tool found millions of papers that may have a significant amount of AI-generated content. 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
How I Became a Python Programmer—and Fell Out of Love With the Machine
When I started coding, I was suspicious of all the abstractions. Then I discovered the Django framework. 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
A TikTok Whistleblower Got DC’s Attention. Do His Claims Add Up?
Zen Goziker worked at TikTok for only six months. Many of his allegations about the company and the US government are improbable. But he still may have shaped how the app is viewed in Washington. 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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