For months, German V-1s terrorized the city. To take them down, US physicists had to develop a “smart fuse”—a task they were told was practically impossible.

Chinese companies have been free to expand in the US while American firms were stymied by Beijing. Now, the climate is not as welcoming.

On the app, users drape themselves in the trappings of Black culture—and steal the viral spotlight. It’s exploitation at its most refined and disturbing.

Seth Rogen's new movie is funny, although some gags meant to skewer hip Brooklynites seem strangely dated.

The 4A is an upgrade in almost every way over its predecessor, yet it’s cheaper. It's our new fave Android phone.

Regimbartia attenuata doesn’t take too kindly to being eaten. Once locked inside a frog’s maw, it turns around and starts heading for the exit.

This month's focus is on Austin Tice, an American photojournalist who has gone missing in Syria and is presumed to be alive.

The poetry editor of The Journal of the American Medical Association talks about medicine, metaphor, and how literature can even improve patient outcomes.

On the latest episode of the Get WIRED podcast, we attend the Virtual Beings Summit and contemplate Lucy, Lil Miquela, and what it means to be human.

The notorious subreddit trafficked in violent rhetoric, growing a prodigious following over five years. Here’s how—and why—Reddit finally shut it down.

That’s a wrap on SpaceX’s crewed demo mission, which clears the way for the company to regularly launch astronauts for NASA.

Modern scholars have only been able to speculate about where the huge stones came from—until now.

I use it to pack pillows on a paddleboard. But you can also use it to pack guns. In space.

A new model of photosynthesis points to an evolutionary principle governing light-harvesting organisms that might apply throughout the universe.

Every browser has a private mode—but the privacy it offers has a limit.

Natural light is your friend. Audio feedback is your worst enemy.

The fate of the platform remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: Banning it would upturn fundamental principles of democracy.

A SubStack email mess, a Nintendo leak, and more of the week's top security news.

Social insects cooperate to curb the spread of pathogens. Maybe their systems of behavior can help human societies battling pandemics of our own.

Planning a socially-distanced camping trip? Now is the time to stock up on things like backpacks and tents.

Whatever the distance, these ideas will help you feel closer in these trying times.

As ransomware groups turn their attention to bigger game, expect more high-profile targets to fall.

This week, Twitch streamer Pokimane demonstrated how to expertly handle the internet drama industrial complex.

Bitcoin payments and IP addresses led investigators to two of the alleged perpetrators in just over two weeks.

The short-video app is wildly popular with teens, but officials fear it could be a conduit for data to China, or for Beijing’s propaganda.

Accountability is coming—not just because Congress had an impressive hearing this week, but because the confluence of crises now demand action.

Sci-fi author Arkady Martine's novel is set in an advanced, galaxy-spinning futuristic empire. But that doesn't mean it's a utopia.

Plus: Microsoft’s monopolistic days, life without a Covid vaccine, and bogus hand sanitizer.

This year, some worthy contenders got nods—Watchmen! Zendaya!—but quite a few essential performances were overlooked.

This electric toothbrush uses Bluetooth to keep your teeth happy and clean, but they'll start chattering when you see the price tag.

A centuries-old anti-Semitic myth is spreading freely on far-right corners of social media—suggesting a new digital Dark Age has arrived.

This week, we list the Amazon Prime benefits you don’t know about, and tell you how to take advantage of them while you shelter in place.

Underwater “sexual parasitism” between male and female allows two bodies to become one. Now we know the reason why.

Synthetic video and audio seemed pretty bad. Synthetic writing—ubiquitous and undetectable—will be far worse.

The movement of demonstrators echoes the fluid collective responses of the animal world, as groups respond to threats and signal across large spaces.

The former Google engineer, who pleaded guilty to stealing the company's self-driving car technology, says he'd be at heightened risk for Covid-19.

Republican Will Hurd and Democrat Robin Kelly want more Pentagon spending, a Cold War-style “hotline,” and a curb on chip exports to China.

A WIRED investigation found dozens of channels belong to children apparently under 13 and anonymous chat participants sending inappropriate messages their way.

During Wednesday's antitrust hearing, tech CEOs leaned into the same pernicious argument to distract from the fact that US tech companies do bad things too.

With Hollywood productions largely shut down, more filmmakers are making use of computer screens—something genre films have been doing for years.

The Polish crime flick represents a shift in how filmmakers imagine the role of the internet in the stories they tell.

The new rover is its biggest, most autonomous yet and may lead us to the first signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.

Looking for a great pair of noise-canceling cans or workout earbuds? A ton of audio devices from the brand are discounted right now.

DNA tests are cheap and ubiquitous. For some donor-conceived people, they can unearth long-buried truths about their ancestry—and lead to unorthodox reunions.

Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, and Mark Zuckerberg are all testifying about their companies today.

Revisiting William Gibson’s 1993 essay on the city-state took me back to my home, where future is past.