If you use public transportation, you know just how gross the air can be. Commuters are constantly coughing and sneezing, which releases thousands of germs into the air. Taking a flight can be even worse, thanks to the recycled air. And that’s not to mention pollution-filled cities like Wuhan in China, or even Los Angeles.…
DetailsAlmost three years ago, artist Simon Weckert noticed something unusual at a May Day demonstration in Berlin: Google Maps showed there was a massive traffic jam, even though there were zero cars on the road. Soon enough, Weckert realized that it was the mass of people, or more specifically their smartphones, that had inadvertently tricked…
DetailsAs the 202016 election begins in earnest with Monday’s Iowa caucuses, YouTube is cracking down on election-related disinformation in an attempt to protect users. Google’s video-sharing site has long had policies barring deceptive practices and engagement manipulation, but in a blog post on Monday, the company specified that the rules would also apply to a…
DetailsIt’s perhaps the best known and more worrisome of climate feedback loops: As the planet warms, permafrost—landscapes of frozen soil and rock—begins to thaw. And when it does, microbes consume organic matter, releasing CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, leading to more warming, more thawing, and even more carbon emissions.But here’s something you’ve probably never…
DetailsHello, dear readers. Welcome to today’s post-Super Bowl edition of The Monitor, WIRED’s culture news roundup. As you might imagine, this latest installment includes a few of the Big Game trailers that dropped during last night’s Super Bowl LIV. There’s also some other cool news about David Byrne and Disney+’s Loki show. Tune in.The New…
DetailsIn March, when cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, the Japanese leg of the Olympic Torch relay will kick off at a soccer stadium 12 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (yes, that nuclear power plant). A nearby sports complex will also host the Games’ baseball and softball matches. That’s bound to surprise…
DetailsIn May 2019, WIRED joined the One Free Press Coalition, a united group of preeminent editors and publishers using their global reach and social platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide. Today, the coalition is issuing its eighth monthly “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases demand…
DetailsIt’s a strange time for Star Wars fans right now. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker closed a chapter of the main series in a way that divided critics, and now the future of the movie side of the franchise is in a bit of limbo. (Although, according to some, it could involve Taika Waititi,…
DetailsThis is an argument against nihilism.It begins with me lying on the floor of my office before class. I’ve brought in an old yoga mat and two one-pound packages of rice, which I’ve wrapped in a canvas Trader Joe’s bag and placed on my chest. I’m taking slow breaths, preparing myself under my makeshift weighted…
DetailsAlphabet, née Google, reports fourth-quarter financial result Monday, after weeks in which its market capitalization has bounced around $1 trillion. Only three other US companies have reached that milestone: Apple, Microsoft, and, for a while on Friday, Amazon.WIRED OPINIONABOUTZachary Karabell is a WIRED contributor and president of River Twice Research.So what now? No company, especially…
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