Get Your Covid Vaccine, Win a Million Dollars

This week we unpack the behavioral science behind vaccine lotteries and why a life-changing amount of cash will motivate humans to get their shots.

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This Electric Kick Scooter Is Lightweight and Folds Fast

This electric kick scooter doesn’t offer the comfiest or the fastest ride, but it’s lightweight enough to ignore those flaws.

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I Revisited SaGa Frontier—and My Bisexual Video Game Crush

As a kid in the 90s, the original game was my escape. In the new remastered version, Lady Asellus's story still resonates.

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Microsoft’s Vote Tracking Software Clears a Major Hurdle

Hart InterCivic will be the first private vendor to partner with the company on using its open-source ElectionGuard system.

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Google's New Nest Hub Beats Wearing a Sleep Tracker to Bed

The new version of the smart display can now track your sleep without a camera—and it gave me fresh insight into some of my sleep habits.

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Our Favorite Hair Dryers and Diffusers

We tried blow dryers, brushes, diffusers, and one reverse air-dryer that sucks your hair up like a vacuum. These are our favorite hair drying tools.

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Don't End Up on This Artificial Intelligence Hall of Shame

A list of incidents that caused, or nearly caused, harm aims to prompt developers to think more carefully about the tech they create.

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One of Our Favorite Standing Desks Just Got Cheaper

Flexispot’s 55-inch adjustable desk has three height presets and is well made. It’s now $100 off.

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The Sneaky, Lying Flower That Pretends to Be a Rotting Beetle

Aristolochia microstoma finds love by smelling like death. Coffin flies can’t resist.

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Changing Minds About Why Doctors Change Their Minds

After Covid, being open with patients about uncertainty may be the surest way to build trust in medicine.

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How an Adaptive Game Controller Helps My Family Bond

Multiplayer gaming was something we thought my son would never be able to do, but a special Xbox controller changed everything.

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They Rage-Quit the School System—and They're Not Going Back

The pandemic created a new, more diverse, more connected crop of homeschoolers. They could help shape what learning looks like for everyone.

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Get Ready for Summer With These Nature-Themed Board Games

We selected a few great outdoorsy games that are perfect for playing on the patio or by an open window.

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Wait, Vaccine Lotteries Actually Work?

Ooh, the behavioral economists are going to be so smug about this.

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The All-Seeing Eyes of New York’s 15,000 Surveillance Cameras

Video from the cameras is often used in facial-recognition searches. A report finds they are most common in neighborhoods with large nonwhite populations.

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Six-Word Sci-Fi: Stories Written By You

Here's this month's prompt, how to submit, and an illustrated archive of past favorites.

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Lyft’s Revamped Bike-Share Ebike Is Sleek—and Beefy

It’s got a better motor, a bigger battery, and a flashy paint job. Riders in San Francisco will soon be able to take the public beta for a spin.

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Help! Must We With the Virtual Meeting Small Talk?

Megan weighs in on the value of idle chatter.

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How Apps and VR Therapy Can Help OCD Patients

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often misunderstood. Here’s what it is, and how you can use technology to help navigate uncertainty.

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More Content Moderation Is Not Always Better

Simply erasing things from the internet comes at a cost. It might not be worth it.

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45 Father’s Day Gifts for the Dependable Dad in Your Life

Show how much you appreciate him this Father’s Day with these useful and offbeat gift ideas.

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The UK Has a Plan for a New ‘Pandemic Radar’ System

Disease surveillance schemes to catch the next rising virus already exist—they’re just not communicating with each other.

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Welcome to Planet Egirl

What does it look like when women’s long-held interest in gaming is finally accepted into the mainstream—and embraced by billion-dollar industries?

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Ransomware Hits a Food Supply Giant—and Underscores Dire Risk

Hackers targeting JBS USA have disrupted meat processing facilities around the world, just one month after the Colonial Pipeline attack caused fuel distribution havoc.

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There’s Hope for American Movie Theaters After All

Covid-19 closures put movie chains in a tough spot. A Quiet Place Part II’s box office performance shows they could find their way out of the woods.

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New to Vinyl Records? Here’s What You Need to Know

Before you go shopping for turntables, cartridges, and headphones, here are a few things to remember as you start your journey into records.

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Inside Silicon Valley’s Mayo Marketing Madness

The war on eggs started back in the ’70s, not with the company formerly known as Hampton Creek, but with a little cafe-grocery store in Los Angeles.

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The Mayor of Reno Is Betting Big on the Blockchain

Hillary Schieve invests in cryptocurrencies herself, and she sees the technology as a way to improve government services.

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This Arcane Manual Could Lead to More Human-Friendly Cities

For decades, the federal government has issued a guide for designing streets. Activists want to make it better for pedestrians and cyclists.

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Peanut the Waiter Robot Is Proof That Your Job Is Safe

Restaurants are struggling to hire people, so one Jersey Shore grill employed a machine. It confirms that humans remain indispensable.

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Indie Video Games Have Finally Embraced the Tabletop Scene

Video games like Monster Train, Slay The Spire, and Gordian Quest use decks, cards, and dice rolls to stake their claim.

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The Dog Poodemic Is Here. Call in the Dung-Hunting Drones

Lockdown puppy madness has left sidewalks littered with feces. Robots that scan and scoop can help.

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How to Game on a PC When You Can't Find a Graphics Card

Don't want to get scammed by a scalper or pay more than double for a new GPU? We have some tips to help you keep gaming without emptying your wallet.

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This Dam Acts Like a Water Cannon. Let’s Do Some Physics!

Like a giant bucket with a hole, the Funil Hydropower Plant sprays out an enormous jet of water. We can use its speed to calculate the depth of the reservoir.

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Remote Weddings and Memorials Are Here to Stay. Be Prepared

Are you Zooming, streaming, or Skyping big life events? Here’s how to better prepare for tech glitches so you can get to the church on time.

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The Gear to Carry on Your Next Bikepacking Adventure

Here's what to consider (and what to buy) before safely heading out on a multiday cycling trip into the hinterlands.

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What Is a Supply Chain Attack?

From NotPetya to SolarWinds, it’s a problem that’s not going away any time soon.

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The 9 Best Portable Grills You Can Buy

We barbecued for weeks to find the right charcoal and propane gas grills for your home or that you can lug to the beach, park, or campsite.

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Apple's M1 Chip Has a Fascinating Flaw

The covert channel bug demonstrates a fundamental fact of CPUs: even new ones have vulnerabilities.

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Chair Simulator Is a Game About ... Sitting

The free PC game is pointless. That's why it's so absurdly fun.

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6 Easy Ways to Make Your Own Memes

Your idea is destined to go viral. These sites and apps can help.

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Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof

Some of nature’s simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved long before centralized nervous systems.

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An Online Pastry Course to Challenge Curious Home Chefs

Rouxbe's extensive web-based course takes a deep dive into French pastry knowledge.

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I'm a Cicada. You're a Horny Human. We Are Not the Same

People preparing for a post-vax summer are likening themselves to the emerging insects. WIRED commissioned one cicada for its take.

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US Soldiers Exposed Nuclear Secrets on Digital Flashcards

Plus: A major hack in Japan, Citizen app run amuck, and more of the week's top security news.

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It’s Tough to Defend Overwatch, but It’s Still Unparalleled

One of the best hero shooters just turned 5 years old. It’s still an incredible game, but Blizzard definitely has some work to do.

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The Lego Games and the Glory of Not Being Challenged

Though the series has entertained players for 20 years, the past 12 months in particular have given easy games the chance to shine.

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There’s a Great Whip Spider Boom. What Gives?

The discovery of exotic arachnids reveals as much about the structure of science as it does about the creatures.

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WIRED's Picks for the 9 Books You Need to Read This Summer

From sci-fi to queer magic, these tomes have what you need when you're headed to the beach—or anywhere else.

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Our Favorite Mattresses Are on Sale for Memorial Day

Whether you want to spend as little as possible or have no budget constraints, you can find a discounted mattress right now.

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Grilling Over Charcoal Is Better Than Grilling Over Gas

Cooking on a gas grill is more convenient than cooking with charcoal. It’s also a lot less special.

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The Bizarro Streaming Site That Hackers Built From Scratch

BravoMovies isn't real. But it puts in a remarkable amount of effort trying to trick you into believing that it is.

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The Best Memorial Day Sales on Tech, Gaming, Home, and More

There are deals on the best streaming stick, our favorite sunglasses, and dozens of other WIRED top picks this holiday weekend.

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Grilling Over Gas Is Better Than Grilling Over Charcoal

A gas grill rules. But the real debate should be whether charcoal is necessary at all.

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The SolarWinds Hackers Aren't 'Back.' They Never Went Away

A new phishing campaign from Russian spies targeted USAID among others. But it's less an escalation than a regression to the mean.

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Blurred Satellite Images Make Rebuilding Palestine Harder

Digital researchers and aid groups say free mapping tools like Google Earth are too imprecise.

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The Covid Lab Leak Theory Is a Tale of Weaponized Uncertainty

Scientists almost never say they’re sure, and it could take years to pin down the pandemic's origins. Until then: People are trying to scare you.

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Maybe Future Generations Will Be Just Fine

In his new book, legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein argues that there may be reasons to not worry about the hereafter.

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Vaccine Milestones in the US, Shots for India, and More News

Catch up on the most important updates from this week.

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How to Master Google's AI Phone Call Features

Your Android phone can do a lot of fancy tricks, from making reservations with Duplex or screening calls. Here's how to get the most out of them.

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The Friends Reunion Proves It’s Time to Move On

The show found a second life on streaming, but now it’s time to let it go.

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How a Chaos Monkey Caused an Apple Uprising

Plus: A review of the book from 2016, the accessibility potential for AR, and a few too many sinking ships.

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How Humanity’s Obsession With Color Shaped Our Modern World

This week, we talk about how the technology we’ve invented to more accurately re-create colors has driven whole civilizations.

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NASA’s MOXIE Experiment Is Making Oxygen on Mars

Future crews on the Red Planet will need it to make propellant for the trip home. Scientists are also testing whether oxygen can be extracted from lunar soil.

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Hide Your Instagram Likes—and Be Free

A feed without likes is far from a revolution. But I want to enjoy this summer with my friends, not my metrics.

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The Space and Air Forces Launch an LGBTQ Task Force

Ten years after “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” a major general from the Space Force is leading a new inclusion initiative.

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Deepfake Maps Could Really Mess With Your Sense of the World

Researchers applied AI techniques to make portions of Seattle look more like Beijing. Such imagery could mislead governments or spread misinformation online.

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This Vibrator Is Approachable and Adorable

The Dame Pom is a tiny but powerful sex toy, and after more than a year of testing, it's one of our favorites.

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14 Memorial Day Deals to Spruce Up Your Smart Home

From robot vacuums to app-controlled power strips, these deals will add a high-tech boost to your abode.

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The Psychology of Why Fan Art Is So Delightful

Drawing your favorite characters or writing fanfic isn’t just fun. It’s also a way for fans to explore their own identities.

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WhatsApp's Fight With India Could Have Global Repercussions

The country's “traceability” requirement would undermine the privacy of the encrypted messaging app's users far beyond its borders.

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Uber’s Union Deal in the UK Doesn’t Mean Its Battles Are Over

The company's first-ever union agreement could distract from more changes that need to happen, both within the gig economy and governments.

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The Many Identity Crises of Sonic the Hedgehog

Sega's beloved speedster arrived on the scene 30 years ago. Since then, he's gone through numerous transformations—not all for the better.

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A Never-Before-Seen Wiper Malware Is Hitting Israeli Targets

The malicious code, which masquerades as ransomware, appears to come from a hacking group with ties to Iran.

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SimpliSafe Is a Hassle-Free Way to Secure Your Home

Is this home monitoring ecosystem really simple and safe? We tried it out for six months.

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How Many People Die When Polluters Exceed Their Limits?

A new report tallies the death toll from excess emissions by looking at air pollution and spikes in local ozone levels.

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Your Grandma's Tube TV Is the Hottest Gaming Tech

Thanks to a retro gaming renaissance, enthusiasts are scouring online marketplaces for 20-year-old CRTs.

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When Driving Is (Partially) Automated, People Drive More

A study finds that users of advanced driver-assistance systems drive 4,888 more miles per year than similar drivers without the feature.

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One Man’s Amazing Journey to the Center of the Bowling Ball

Mo Pinel spent a career reshaping the ball’s inner core to harness the power of physics. He revolutionized the sport—and spared no critics along the way.

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AI Could Soon Write Code Based on Ordinary Language

Microsoft reveals plans to bring GPT-3, best known for generating text, to programming. “The code writes itself,” CEO Satya Nadella says.

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Dumbed Down AI Rhetoric Harms Everyone

By ignorance or malice, policymakers use sweeping platitudes to regulate artificial intelligence, which may prosecute citizens more than protect them.

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Amazon Just Bought MGM For Over $8 Billion. Your Move, Netflix

The move is the latest, and greatest, in a new wave of media consolidation sparked by the streaming wars.

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As Chips Shrink, Rowhammer Attacks Get Harder to Stop

A full fix for the “Half-Double” technique will require rethinking how memory semiconductors are designed.

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Help! My Coworker Always Asks for Advice—Then Ignores It

Megan unravels what your colleagues might really want from you.

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When to Reply on Social Media—and When to Not

Sometimes the best thing to do on Twitter or Facebook is to just shut up … isn’t it?

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VR Trainings Are Not Going to Fix Corporate Racism

HR departments are deploying virtual-reality platforms to foster racial empathy. But building inclusive workplaces will take more than that.

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All Our Favorite Accessories for the Nintendo Switch

Did you pick up the handheld console recently? Here are some screen protectors, chargers, and other extras for your new best friend.

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Meet Your Next Angel Investor. They're 19

It’s never been easier to invest in startups, and Gen Z is taking full advantage.

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So You’re Vaccinated! How Can You Let People Know?

Homegrown Covid-19 vaccine signals help create a positive environment so you and your neighbors can feel safer removing face masks.

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The Hostile Takeover of a Microsoft Flight Simulator Server

A community of air traffic control roleplayers gets torn apart by a lawsuit, and the founders scatter, trying to pick up the pieces.

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A New Antitrust Case Cuts to the Core of Amazon’s Identity

The Washington DC attorney general claims that the company obsessed with satisfying customers is actually screwing them.

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This 'Post-Soviet Sad 3D' Game Is Not About Having Fun

Sandbox game It’s Winter is set in a khrushchyovka, a mass housing unit in the USSR. It's a lonely, haunting ode to Eastern ennui.

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The Best Vinyl Accessories to Jazz Up Your Analog Audio

From record cleaners to slip mats, these extras are for budding enthusiasts and die-hard collectors alike.

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STEM’s Racial Reckoning Just Entered Its Most Crucial Phase

One year after George Floyd’s murder, science and technology institutions continue to evolve. The most radical and necessary step remains.

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Nature Can Save Humanity From Climate Doom—but Not On Its Own

By restoring ecosystems, conservationists can help the land sequester carbon. But it's still no substitute for drastically cutting emissions.

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How to Buy Movies Online and Watch Them Anywhere

Imagine buying a movie once and watching it in any app you like, or whichever one gives you the best quality on your device. Now wake up, it's real.

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As the US Unmasks, the Pressure Is on for Vaccine Passports

Now that the CDC has relaxed mask requirements, a verification system might help identify who's vaccinated—but it’ll be a technical and political mess.

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Freedom, Mayhem, and the Uncertain Future of Revel’s Mopeds

People went wild for its shared rides. Then came trouble. Now the startup is hellbent to prove it can be cool and safe—and exactly what cities need.

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Florida’s New Social Media Law Will Be Laughed Out of Court

The Stop Social Media Censorship Act almost certainly violates both the US Constitution and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

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The Power of a Non-Stereotypical Asian Character in Gaming

When I met Grace Nakimura in the Gabriel Knight trilogy, I found not just someone like me but someone who inspired me.

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