Speed-Listening and the Trouble With 'Podfasters'
Like you—like every delirious commuter—I savor podcasts. They’re a reprieve from my dead-eyed Twitter scroll. But unlike you, I don’t stress about missing an episode or four. In fact, I find comfort in the medium’s buffet of excess. Therefore I reserve special scorn for so-called podfasters: the tweakers who listen at 1.5X, 2X, even 3X…
For the First Time, All Three Streamers Are Oscar-Bound
Only a few years ago, it seemed as though streaming companies were destined to be Oscar outsiders. In 2015, Netflix spent a reported $12 million to acquire the war-time drama Beasts of No Nation, with the hopes of turning both the intense film and star Idris Elba into awards-season frontrunners. (The company had managed a…
We Need to Talk About Crazy Rich Asians
A big thing happened this weekend. Crazy Rich Asians hit theaters and brought in an impressive $34 million over its five-day weekend. (It technically opened Wednesday night.) That may not qualify as "crazy rich" in the era of $100 million-plus Star Wars opening weekends, but for context, it's the best-performing comedy since last year’s Girls…
Xbox Tips Its Streaming Hand, and the Rest of the Week in Games
Sometimes it seems like this whole gaming thing is built on the future, and this week bears that out, with hints of things that could, possibly, be good? Someday? Speculation is always a tricky business, but don't worry—there's also news of some long-overdue changes that lots of you will appreciate, as well as a merch…
How Technology Is Changing the Way We Love: A WIRED Investigation
Let’s just get it out of the way: my wife and I met each other online. This was more than 15 years ago, when “online” meant either chatrooms or some sort of personals-based website. (It was the latter.) We had the internet, but not in our pockets; texting and emoji had yet to worm their…
Netflix and Amazon Binged Wins at the Golden Globes
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for another installment of The Monitor, WIRED's roundup of the latest in the world of culture, from breakout trailers to box-office breakdowns. In today's installment: Netflix and Amazon stay Golden at last night's awards; Brad Bird embarks upon a new movie mission; and, for the third weekend in a…
I Learned About Climate Change By Watching Fortnite on Twitch
I know very little about climate change. I know even less about Fortnite. And Twitch. (Yes, I know; I should be fired.) I'm aware that they’re all real things that exist, but videogames and global warming aren't my beat. Yet, I've been staring at this one Fortnite Twitch video for a good hour. No idea…
There's a New Ghostbusters Movie Coming in 2020
Another Thursday, another installment of The Monitor, WIRED's roundup of the latest in the world of culture. But this Thursday is much busier than most. Why? Well, there's a new Ghostbusters movie in the works from Jason Reitman (son of the original's director), Apple is adding some big names to its initiative to make original…
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Is a Massive Monument to Itself
The greatest thing about the Super Smash Bros. series is its dedication to impact. Every time a punch, kick, slash, or blast lands, it has a high likelihood of sending the victim flying—like a good superhero movie, or an anime. Every strike resonates with invisible power; smoke plumes follow these cartoon characters as they careen…
The Future of Work: Maximum Outflow, by Adam Rogers
“When normalized on a per 1,000-short-ton basis, the estimates indicate that 1,000 tons of recycled material attributes 1.57 jobs, $76,030 in wages, and $14,101 in tax revenues.” —“Recycling Economic Information Report,” Environmental Protection Agency (2016) Just move them, Iggy said. He and Jia were climbing down a ladder, her first. Now she’d stopped. Iggy had…