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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Scientists Are Inching Closer to Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth
De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences claims it has found a way to reprogram elephant cells, a technical breakthrough that could lead to the return of the long-lost mammals. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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
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
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
Tesla’s Charging Network is Now Open to Other EVs and Ford Is First In Line
From today, Ford electric car drivers can plug into the Supercharger network. You can bet more makers will follow. 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
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
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
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
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
This Small Wearable Device Reduces Parkinson’s Symptoms
People with Parkinson’s have fewer tremors when they receive rhythmic physical stimulation—so a UK startup has created a coin-sized vibrating device to help patients move more easily. 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
Climate Finance Is Targeting the Wrong Industries
Roughly half of the world’s emissions currently can’t be reduced, yet green investment continues to avoid the sectors that need the most help—manufacturing, agriculture, and the built environment. 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
AI Is Coming for the Experts. First, It Needs Their Help
A new workforce of language experts, creative writers, and nuclear physicists are turning to data labor—and potentially making their future jobs obsolete in the process. 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 Virus Found in Wastewater Beat Back a Woman’s ‘Zombie’ Bacteria
Viruses called phages offer a promising treatment option for bacterial infections when antibiotics stop working, but they have limitations. 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 Feds Just Bet Even Bigger on American-Made Heat Pumps
The US Department of Energy is announcing another $63 million to supercharge domestic manufacturing of the devices—in the name of national, energy, and climate security. 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
Smoking Alters Your Immune System for Years After You Quit
By switching genes on and off, cigarettes have a long-lasting effect on immunity, and appear to shape your immune system just as much as aging. 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
AI Is Rewiring Coders’ Brains. Yours May Be Next
The CEO of GitHub says half of all code produced by users of the Copilot programming helper is now AI-generated—but that there’s no sign the technology will replace human coders. 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
Who Tests If Heat-Proof Clothing Actually Works? These Poor Sweating Mannequins
These mannequins undergo daily torture at the hands of textile scientists, but their suffering means we humans can have future-proofed clothing capable of handling our warming 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
Developers Are in Open Revolt Over Apple’s New App Store Rules
European app makers are seething, comparing Apple to “the Mafia” and piling pressure on lawmakers to act. 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 Far-Right's Favorite Web Host Has a Shadowy New Owner
Known for doing business with far-right extremist websites, Epik has been acquired by a company that specializes in helping businesses keep their operations secret. 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 Prepares for a Future Where Search Isn’t King
CEO Sundar Pichai tells WIRED that Google's new, more powerful Gemini chatbot is an experiment in offering users a way to find information and get things done without a search engine. 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 Study at the Center of the Abortion Pill Battle Was Just Retracted
A scientific publisher found serious flaws in a paper that links the medication mifepristone to more emergency room visits.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
Mystery Company Linked to Biden Robocall Identified by New Hampshire Attorney General
The FCC has issued a cease and desist and is working on a new proposal banning AI-generated robocalls. 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 Startup Allegedly ‘Hacked the World.’ Then Came the Censorship—and Now the Backlash
A loose coalition of anti-censorship voices is working to highlight the legal threats aimed at making reports of one Indian company’s hacker-for-hire past disappear. 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
You Can’t Buy Lab-Grown Meat Even If You Wanted To
All of the restaurants that once sold cultivated meat have stopped offering it, leaving the industry in a strange limbo. 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 Cheaper Tesla Model Is Coming in 2025 as Chinese Competition Intensifies
A low-cost model of Tesla will launch in 2025, CEO Elon Musk told investors. It could help the EV maker compete with BYD and other surging Chinese automakers. 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
Comcast’s Xfinity Stores Your Sensitive Data. You Can Kind of Opt Out
One of America’s largest internet providers may collect data about your political beliefs, race, and sexual orientation to serve personalized ads. 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
Big-Name Targets Push Midnight Blizzard Hacking Spree Back Into the Limelight
Newly disclosed breaches of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise highlight the persistent threat posed by Midnight Blizzard, a notorious Russian cyber-espionage group. 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
Apple Isn’t Ready to Release Its Grip on the App Store
In response to new rules, the iPhone maker announced drastic changes for users in Europe. But criticism is mounting that Apple’s new system only recreates old problems. 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
Researchers Say the Deepfake Biden Robocall Was Likely Made With Tools From AI Startup ElevenLabs
Two fake-audio experts say that the deepfake robocall of President Biden received by some voters was likely created with technology from Silicon Valley’s favorite voice-cloning startup. 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
This Chatbot Screens Your Dating App Matches for You
Users of the new dating app Volar train a chatbot to go on virtual first dates for them with the bots of potential matches. We tested it out. 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
No, the Great Tech Layoffs of 2023 Aren’t Happening Again
Amazon, Discord, Duolingo, and Google all started 2024 with job cuts. But the tech job market isn’t facing the same trouble it did last year. 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
This Chinese Startup Is Winning the Open Source AI Race
Kai-Fu Lee, an AI expert and prominent investor who helped Google and Microsoft get established in China, says his new startup 01.AI will create the first “killer apps” of generative AI. 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
ChatGPT's Hunger for Energy Could Trigger a GPU Revolution
With AI projects booming and the physical limits of silicon looming, some startups are challenging Nvidia's dominance and say it’s time to reinvent the computer chip entirely. 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
Trawling Boats Are Hauling Up Ancient Carbon From the Ocean Depths
The world’s trawlers are stirring carbon dioxide into the water—and into the atmosphere. 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 Murky Campaign to Discredit Lab-Grown Meat
A new ad campaign is targeting the cultivated meat industry on TV and online. Industry supporters criticize it as unscientific. 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 Tech Workers Are Ditching Big Cities for Boise
Idaho’s capital city is seeing an influx of young people as they apply for tech jobs away from big coastal cities amid massive layoffs and a disillusion with Big Tech. 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
These Mining Companies Are Ready to Raid the Seabed
Ocean exploration to prepare for deep-sea mining has been greenlit in Norway. These are the startups hoping to benefit. 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
Congress Wants Tech Companies to Pay Up for AI Training Data
At a Senate hearing on AI’s impact on journalism, lawmakers backed media industry calls to make OpenAI and other tech companies pay to license news articles and other data used to train algorithms. 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
Scammy AI-Generated Books Are Flooding Amazon
Authors keep finding what appear to be AI-generated imitations and summaries of their books on Amazon. There's little they can do to rein in the rip-offs. 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