WIRED

The Wired mission is to tell the world something they've never heard before in a way they've never seen before. It's about turning new ideas into everyday reality. It's about seeding our community of influencers with the ideas that will shape and transform our collective future. Wired readers want to know how technology is changing the world, and they're interested in big, relevant ideas, even if those ideas challenge their assumptions—or blow their minds.

The Earth Issue

Readers deliberate on deception and the morality of immortality. • In our July/August issue, Brendan I. Koerner discovered that some of OnlyFans’ biggest creators hire paid “chatters” to speak (and have virtual sexytime) with subscribers on their behalf. Then he became one of those chatters. And at wired.com, Ray Kurzweil made waves—and ruffled feathers—with his eerie vision of a future when immortal humans are deeply entwined with AI.

THE TECH WORLD’S GREATEST LIVING NOVELIST GOES META • In which Robin Sloan writes Moonbound—a science fiction book about science fiction—and our writer writes his way into total insanity.

THE ETERNAL TRUTH OF MARKDOWN • An exegesis of the most ubiquitous piece of code on the web.

SPIN CYCLE • To study tornadoes, it helps to wear a skirt (and rocket launchers).

TERMINAL VELOCITY

COOLER HEADS

PIECE OF MIND • This diagram maps 1 cubic millimeter of the brain—but its unprecedented clarity deepens the mysteries of cognition.

ELECTRIC DREAMS • It’s time for wired to celebrate the most electrifying new EVs. Even with a few hybrid vehicles in the mix, there’s plenty to excite us.

FEATURES

THE HOLE IN THE MAP OF THE WORLD • ON THE SURFACE, THERE’S NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT IT. JUST A SPOT OF OCEAN. BUT BENEATH THE WAVES LURKS SOMETHING INCREDIBLE: A MASSIVE WATERFALL. AND IN ITS MYSTERIOUS DEPTHS, THE FATE OF THE WORLD CHURNS.

AN IMPERFECT STORM • CAN THE U.A.E. REALLY MAKE RAIN ON DEMAND—OR I S I T SELLING VAPORWARE?

TOWARD A MORE FANTASTIC PLASTIC • Stretchy seaweed. Reverse vending machines. QR-coded take-out boxes. To cure our addiction to disposable crap, we’ll all need to get a little loony.

DAMAGE CONTROL • Ripping out pipelines, destroying gas pumps—these are violent, criminal acts. According to Léna Lazare, the 26-year-old face of the radical climate movement, they’re also acts of joy.

PRISCILA, QUEEN OF THE RIDESHARE MAFIA • She came to the US with a dream. Using platforms like Uber, Instacart, and DoorDash, she built a business empire up from nothing. There was just one problem …

I Am Laura Kipnis-Bot, and I Will Make Reading Sexy and Tragic Again • MARGARET ATWOOD, MARLON JAMES, LENA DUNHAM, ROXANE GAY: WE’VE ALL AGREED TO BE TURNED INTO AI READING COMPANIONS BY A MYSTERIOUS COMPANY CALLED REBIND. I REPORT FROM THE INSIDE.

COLOPHON

DO NOT DISTURB THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT. • THE ASSIGNMENT: IN SIX WORDS, SOLVE THE FERMI PARADOX.