Avengers: Infinity War Might Just Pull Off the Impossible
Avengers: Infinity War has an impossible task. It has to unite the narrative threads of 10 years of movies—some of which haven’t even been released yet—into a single film. It has to accommodate aesthetics from Thor's Asgard to Black Panther's Wakanda, to allow the swagger of Iron Man with the irreverence of Guardians of the…
With Spider-Man: Homecoming, Hollywood's Dude Director Problem Continues
When Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World roared into theaters in 2015, Hollywood noticed. It wasn't that Trevorrow, whose only other directorial credit was the tiny festival movie Safety Not Guaranteed, dino-stomped the box office (though he did), or that he had proven to be a wunderkind talented beyond his IMDB page; it was that he was…
The Current War Trailer Debut: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Thomas Edison
A little over a century ago, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse were locked in a seemingly endless battle. One of them, Edison, had direct current electricity, the backing of J.P. Morgan, and the juice to power Manhattan. The other, Westinghouse, had alternating current, a lot of money, and—eventually—Nikola Tesla. Over the course of many years…
This Excerpt from WIRED cofounder Louis Rossetto’s New Novel Parties Like It’s 1998
Louis Rossetto cofounded WIRED in 1993. From his perch as editor in chief, he watched as the nascent internet took off, fulfilling his prediction that the world was about to be swept by a digital “Bengali typhoon.” Among other things, that epochal storm spawned a dotcom wave that was cresting in 1998. Now, two decades…
The True History of 'Yanny' and 'Laurel'
If you somehow haven't already over the last few days, listen to this audio recording right now. What do you hear? Is the person saying "Yanny" or "Laurel"? If you heard the second answer, you're technically correct. But more importantly: Here's the backstory of where the audio clip came from—and how it went viral—down to…
Does This Black Mirror Fan Theory Mean We're Finally Ready For the Singularity?
When Black Mirror first hit the air in 2011, it drew invariable comparisons to The Twilight Zone. Understandably so: Both shows dealt with elements of science fiction and psychological horror, and both functioned as anthology shows, with episodes so distinct from one another that an uninitiated viewer could plunge in at random and be as…
Without Anthony Bourdain, Food Instagram Culture Wouldn't Exist
Anthony Bourdain didn’t think much of Instagram. The idea that sharing food photos constituted a generous and glorious form of fandom didn’t sit well with him. "It’s bullshit," Bourdain told Smithsonian in 2014. "It’s about making other people feel bad about what they’re eating. And a certain knowledge that what you’re eating is more interesting."…
Introducing AMP Stories, a Whole New Way to Read WIRED
A few years ago, WIRED dedicated an entire issue to examining how the smartphone had changed the world. That change continues to evolve: Starting today, if you're using Google to search for something, your results may include a selection of "AMP Stories," including some from us at WIRED. AMP Stories are an entirely new beast.…
Wolverine's Got a Podcast, and Sound Design Has Never Mattered More
There's an ongoing series of disturbing murders in Burns, Alaska, and investigators are frustrated. The killer hasn’t been seen, hasn't been heard. He leaves his victims sliced and dismembered, but Special Agents Tad Marshall and Sally Pierce can’t ever seem to get to the crime scene in time to see his claws. Or to hear…
Why Battle Royale Games Like Fortnite Are Everywhere (It’s Not Just Money)
When Electronic Arts' gaming showcase kicked off on Saturday in Los Angeles, one of the first games up for discussion was Battlefield V. No surprise there—the forthcoming title is part of one of the longest-running and most popular first-person shooter franchises in gaming. But in the course of showing off what was innovative about the…