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Culture

[Hot or Not Built the Internet Were Still Swiping Through]

Face Value

Hot or Not Built the Internet Were Still Swiping Through

The early website Hot or Not taught its users to rank people at scale. Twenty-six years later, dating apps are trying to escape the culture the site helped create.

Megan Tomos

[Viral Disneyland Content Creator Defends Her Special Friendship With Peter Pan]

Forever Young

Viral Disneyland Content Creator Defends Her Special Friendship With Peter Pan

Ej Dickson

[This R-Rated Film Studio Wants to Be the HBO of AI]

Uncensored

This R-Rated Film Studio Wants to Be the HBO of AI

Jason Parham

Digital Culture

[These Masturbation Consultants Were Hired to Pleasure Themselves With AI]

These Masturbation Consultants Were Hired to Pleasure Themselves With AI

Joi AI hired 10 people to masturbate using AI companions as part of a monthlong wellness study. The company claims the practice could help solve male loneliness.

Mattha Busby

[People Are Marrying Chatbots. These Lawmakers Want to Stop Them]

People Are Marrying Chatbots. These Lawmakers Want to Stop Them

Human-AI marriages are not currently recognized by US law. Some Republican state policymakers are drafting legislation to keep it that way.

Jason Parham

[Youre Thinking About Online Trends All Wrong]

Youre Thinking About Online Trends All Wrong

From pessimism around dating to AI reshaping culture, cyber-ethnographer Ruby J. Thelot tells WIRED why people are putting too much stock into things that go viral.

Jason Parham

[The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch]

The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch

Willy Myco has made over 120 videos showing people his exact process for making everything from LSD to DMT vapes. Not everyones a fan of his methods.

Mattha Busby

Movies and TV

[Zyzz Was the Original Looksmaxxer. His Rise and Untimely Death Feel More Relevant Than Ever]

Zyzz Was the Original Looksmaxxer. His Rise and Untimely Death Feel More Relevant Than Ever

A new Apple documentary explores the life of Aziz Zyzz Shavershian, who rocketed to internet fame in an age before influencers, then died at age 22 in 2011.

Miles Klee

[The 9 Best Movies to Stream This Month]

The 9 Best Movies to Stream This Month

Avatar Aang, Heartstopper Forever, and Exit 8 are among the films deserving of your eyeballs this month.

Matt Kamen

[The Gender War Over Obsession Has Come for Theme Parks]

The Gender War Over Obsession Has Come for Theme Parks

Debate over the true villain in Obsession is raging again after Universal Studios announced the movies female lead will be featured at an upcoming Halloween event.

Miles Klee

[The 12 Best Anime to Watch if You Think You Hate Anime]

The 12 Best Anime to Watch if You Think You Hate Anime

Japans strongest media export makes a solid case for your attention span. Heres what to watch.

Megan Tomos

Books and Music

[Did an AI Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?]

Did an AI Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?

Fenix Flexins hit song Rubberz has hip-hop fans arguing over whether it was generated by AI. Some say they have proof its machine-made, but will anyone care?

Dexter Thomas

[More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI Literary Counterculture]

More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI Literary Counterculture

Novelists, journalists, and power LinkedIn posters are embracing first-person narratives and idiosyncrasies to avoid being mistaken for chat bots.

Emma Madden

[Boomers Cant Stop Gifting Their Grandkids AI-Generated Slop Books]

Boomers Cant Stop Gifting Their Grandkids AI-Generated Slop Books

Parents are getting fed up with garbled bedtime stories that feature characters based on actual photos of their children.

Miles Klee

[FIFAs World Cup Halftime Show Puts American-Style Spectacle on the World Stage]

FIFAs World Cup Halftime Show Puts American-Style Spectacle on the World Stage

Organizers want the show to be the most-viewed halftime show in history. Having Shakira, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, and BTS will surely help—but do soccer fans want it?

Angela Watercutter

Video Games

[No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore]

No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore

Myst sold over 6 million copies in the 90s. Its latest spinoff couldnt shore up any funding, pointing to an existential crisis among double-A games.

Adam Morgan

[More Than a Thousand Pokmon Go Players Descend on Times Square to Defeat Mewtwo]

More Than a Thousand Pokmon Go Players Descend on Times Square to Defeat Mewtwo

A surprise 10th-anniversary event saw Niantic fulfilling a promise teased in the original 2016 launch trailer for its popular mobile game.

Julian Chokkattu

[The Other Major Soccer Event of 2026? The Shake-Up in the World of Video Games]

The Other Major Soccer Event of 2026? The Shake-Up in the World of Video Games

The 48-team World Cup is not the only historic soccer event this year. Four titans are vying for control of video game soccer in the fiercest battle the industry has ever seen.

Javier Rodrguez

[Gamers Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True]

Gamers Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True

From the global RAM shortage driving up console prices to job loss in the industry, gaming is shaping up to be one of the AI boom's biggest casualties.

Helen Vogelsong-Donahue

Latest

[The 7 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month]

Streaming Guides

The 7 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month

Jennifer M. Wood

[The Manosphere Isnt a Movement. Its a Multibillion-Dollar Grievance Industry]

Smoke and Mirrors

The Manosphere Isnt a Movement. Its a Multibillion-Dollar Grievance Industry

Miles Klee

[Theres No Good Way to Talk About Celebrities and Eating Disorders]

Media Diet

Theres No Good Way to Talk About Celebrities and Eating Disorders

Kat Tenbarge

[TikTok Says Moderator Error Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up]

Social Media

TikTok Says Moderator Error Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up

Ej Dickson

[Viral Mugshot Accounts Are Humiliating Women Years After Their Arrests]

Overexposed

Viral Mugshot Accounts Are Humiliating Women Years After Their Arrests

Hope Corrigan

[Everyone Is Doing It: The Truth About AI in Hollywood]

The Big Interview

Everyone Is Doing It: The Truth About AI in Hollywood

Katie Drummond

[People Are Ghosting Long-Term Partners. Some Dont Regret It]

Vanishing Act

People Are Ghosting Long-Term Partners. Some Dont Regret It

Jason Parham

[YouTube Star AboFlah Made Streaming His Life. He Wants His Kids to Live Offline]

WIRED Q&A

YouTube Star AboFlah Made Streaming His Life. He Wants His Kids to Live Offline

Carla Sertin

[This AI Assistant Wants to Make Up for Your Boyfriends Incompetence]

Third Wheel

This AI Assistant Wants to Make Up for Your Boyfriends Incompetence

Jason Parham

[Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is a Superhero Movie for Yearners]

Man of the Moment

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is a Superhero Movie for Yearners

Carla Sertin

[Dont Get Too Attached to Jimothy]

Against All Odds

Dont Get Too Attached to Jimothy

Miles Klee

[Theyre Fucking a Lot of People: 7-OH Users Brace for DEA Ban]

High and Dry

Theyre Fucking a Lot of People: 7-OH Users Brace for DEA Ban

Manisha Krishnan

[Wellness Influencers Are Pushing Natural and Unproven Alternatives to Adderall]

Alternate Reality

Wellness Influencers Are Pushing Natural and Unproven Alternatives to Adderall

Miles Klee

[The Odyssey Was Made for Imax 70mm. Good Luck Watching It That Way]

Big Picture

The Odyssey Was Made for Imax 70mm. Good Luck Watching It That Way

Corey Atad

[Some Kids Will Never Think AI Is Cool]

Kids These Days

Some Kids Will Never Think AI Is Cool

Elana Klein

[People Are Getting Off to Porn About ICE Raids]

Plot Twist

People Are Getting Off to Porn About ICE Raids

Jason Parham

[Banning Social Media for Kids Is a Bad Idea]

Kids These Days

Banning Social Media for Kids Is a Bad Idea

Claudia Del Pozo and Nict Cabaas

[The Odysseys Success Is Inspiring Unprecedented Levels of Cope]

Cope Harder

The Odysseys Success Is Inspiring Unprecedented Levels of Cope

Miles Klee

[A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out]

Kids These Days

A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out

Ara Rosenthal

[Etsy Is In Its Flop Era, and Sellers Are Fleeing]

Slop House

Etsy Is In Its Flop Era, and Sellers Are Fleeing

Ej Dickson

[WIRED]

WIRED is obsessed with what comes next. Through rigorous investigations and game-changing reporting, we tell stories that dont just reflect the momentthey help create it. When you look back in 10, 20, even 50 years, WIRED will be the publication that led the story of the present, mapped the people, products, and ideas defining it, and explained how those forces forged the future. WIRED: For Future Reference.

Culture

Hot or Not Built the Internet Were Still Swiping Through

Viral Disneyland Content Creator Defends Her Special Friendship With Peter Pan

This R-Rated Film Studio Wants to Be the HBO of AI

Digital Culture

These Masturbation Consultants Were Hired to Pleasure Themselves With AI

People Are Marrying Chatbots. These Lawmakers Want to Stop Them

Youre Thinking About Online Trends All Wrong

The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch

Movies and TV

Zyzz Was the Original Looksmaxxer. His Rise and Untimely Death Feel More Relevant Than Ever

The 9 Best Movies to Stream This Month

The Gender War Over Obsession Has Come for Theme Parks

The 12 Best Anime to Watch if You Think You Hate Anime

Books and Music

Did an AI Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?

More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI Literary Counterculture

Boomers Cant Stop Gifting Their Grandkids AI-Generated Slop Books

FIFAs World Cup Halftime Show Puts American-Style Spectacle on the World Stage

Video Games

No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore

More Than a Thousand Pokmon Go Players Descend on Times Square to Defeat Mewtwo

The Other Major Soccer Event of 2026? The Shake-Up in the World of Video Games

Gamers Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True

Latest

The 7 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month

The Manosphere Isnt a Movement. Its a Multibillion-Dollar Grievance Industry

Theres No Good Way to Talk About Celebrities and Eating Disorders

TikTok Says Moderator Error Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up

Viral Mugshot Accounts Are Humiliating Women Years After Their Arrests

Everyone Is Doing It: The Truth About AI in Hollywood

People Are Ghosting Long-Term Partners. Some Dont Regret It

YouTube Star AboFlah Made Streaming His Life. He Wants His Kids to Live Offline

This AI Assistant Wants to Make Up for Your Boyfriends Incompetence

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is a Superhero Movie for Yearners

Dont Get Too Attached to Jimothy

Theyre Fucking a Lot of People: 7-OH Users Brace for DEA Ban

Wellness Influencers Are Pushing Natural and Unproven Alternatives to Adderall

The Odyssey Was Made for Imax 70mm. Good Luck Watching It That Way

Some Kids Will Never Think AI Is Cool

People Are Getting Off to Porn About ICE Raids

Banning Social Media for Kids Is a Bad Idea

The Odysseys Success Is Inspiring Unprecedented Levels of Cope

A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out

Etsy Is In Its Flop Era, and Sellers Are Fleeing

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