Need a Memorial Day to Remember? Ice-Bike the Northwest Passage
When I first mount the bicycle—a sturdy Rocky Mountain Blizzard with 4.8-inch-wide tires—and push, I barely move. I grit my teeth, throw my weight onto the pedal, and the bike ekes forward. We power our way along Polar Bear Point among glistening, 6-foot-thick ice caps and sunning ringed seals. After a short time, my legs…
These Days It Makes More Sense for Batman to Be a Villain
Batman has been a hero for decades, constantly saving Gotham City from mad men and murderers. But take away the cape and noble purpose and he's actually a terror—someone capable of causing as much damage as he prevents. And seen through the lens of the 21st century, a time when it's understood that vigilante justice…
In Its Second Season, American Vandal Gets Even Smarter
“You think poop is funny?” asks one of the countless truth-seekers in the second season of Netflix’s American Vandal. It’s a question you’ll likely want to ask yourself before diving into the new installment of this crime-doc spoof, which is utterly, disgustingly, full o’ feces: Splattered on walls, plopped onto floors, even hanging in the…
William Gibson's New Graphic Novel Takes Nuclear Anxiety to Its Terrifying End
Like a lot of children of the 1950s, William Gibson grew up haunted by the specter of the atomic bomb, and enthralled by science fiction stories. His latest project combines his two childhood preoccupations by imagining a very different outcome to World War II—one in which America bombed its allies in the Soviet Union as…
Is Steven Soderbergh's New App the Future of TV?
Director Steven Soderbergh—the man behind Magic Mike, The Knick, and this summer’s Logan Lucky—just released the trailer for his latest project. He made it with the help of HBO, but it’s not a movie or TV show. Instead, Mosaic is an interactive narrative app that will be available for free download in November. Co-written by…
Westworld's Strength Is Its Inhumanity
In anticipation of Sunday's Emmy Awards, this week WIRED staffers are looking back at some of their favorite shows from the past year. One scene from Westworld replays in my head again and again, a little like (I imagine) one of the poor, doomed robots on the show who start noticing and remembering the programmatic…
A Breaking Bad Movie Is Coming to Netflix
Happy Valentine's Day and welcome to The Monitor, WIRED's look at all that's new and news in the world of pop culture, from casting rumors to the current state of the streaming wars. This week: Breaking Bad is coming to Netflix (again), Apple's streaming service is coming (soon?), and Thanos is coming to Dune. A…
Terms of Service Aren't Just Annoying—They're a Failure
I’m from the internet myself, so when we started out, I wanted to believe that the architects of my home would make things better if they just knew how. After nearly two years of working closely with tech companies, that illusion has been shattered. I’m gambling many of my relationships revealing this, but I believe…
How Many Times Has Mario Died? Announcing a WIRED Investigation
There are certain seminal moments in history, and July 9, 1981, should surely stand among them. That was the day Nintendo officially began selling Donkey Kong to arcades—and introduced the world to a mustachioed little fellow named Jumpman. Jumpman was a simple soul with a simple talent: jumping. He jumped over barrels thrown at him…
You'll Find Far Cry 5 Provocative—Even if It's a Mess
Last week's ** announcement of Far Cry 5 wasn't itself a surprise. Over the past 13 years, the series has evolved from a playground of first-person shooter mayhem to something far more distinctive: A collection of deep, difficult, often political games that served as meditations on violence as much as enactments of violence itself. They've…