Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
WIREDGadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
WIRED’s Gadget Lab podcast breaks down which gadgets, apps, and services you need to know about, and which ones you can move to the virtual trash bin. Learn how today’s tech shapes our lives—plus get your hosts’ personal recommendations at the end of each episode.
© Condé Nast. All rights reserved. 783607
WIRED’s Gadget Lab podcast breaks down which gadgets, apps, and services you need to know about, and which ones you can move to the virtual trash bin. Learn how today’s tech shapes our lives—plus get your hosts’ personal recommendations at the end of each episode.
© Condé Nast. All rights reserved. 783607
This week, we talk about disinformation campaigns online that use doctored images of celebrities to sow confusion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other world events.
This week, we talk about the quest to make texting between mobile platforms more seamless. Will it make things better, or will it further erode our humanity?
This week, we talk with our resident kitchen expert about coffee: The best ways to make it, what gear to buy, and what to avoid.
This week, we talk about the leadership shakeups at OpenAI and bring you an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour with the godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton.
This week, we talk about the Mirai cyberattack that caused a massive internet blackout, the three friends who wrote the calamitous code, and the FBI manhunt that followed.
This week, we talk about the new Humane wearable and the future of phone alternatives.
This week, we analyze all the changes at X during its first year under new ownership.
This week, we talk about how the data of millions of 23andMe customers was stolen and put up for sale on the web. Pro tip: Don’t use the same password on multiple websites.
This week, we talk about how fake, doctored, and false media is so easily spread, how the social platforms are dealing with it, and how generative AI is making things worse.
This week on Gadget Lab, we're sharing an episode of Wondery's Business Wars podcast where we talk about the rise of AI over the past few years.
This week, we recap all the hardware and GenAI announcements from Google, and square them with the company’s ongoing antitrust woes over its search products.
This week, we cover the latest news from Meta: AI-enabled smart glasses, a VR headset, and an army of fresh chatbots.
This week, we learn how Amazon is teaching Alexa more skills to help it better compete in a landscape lousy with chatbots.
This week, we wrap up all the news from Apple’s launch event: the iPhone's USB-C port, iCloud+ inflation, and of course, the Double Tap control on Apple Watch.
This week, we discuss how adding animated chats to Roblox will advance the company’s plan to enrich its virtual world.
This week, we ask ourselves what our reliance on our smartphones tells us about our wants and fears.
This week, we discuss a recent court case in Illinois that illustrates how police overreach into school discipline has affected students and their families.
This week, we talk about what’s causing the heat waves, storms, fires, and other extreme atmospheric events we’ve been living through this summer, and how humanity can prepare for a very hot future.
This week, we talk about pending changes to how driverless taxis can operate on city streets, and how a loosening of the rules would impact road safety, rideshare drivers, and your commute.
This week, we discuss the local-first computing movement and its push to reduce our reliance on the corporate-owned, cloud-based software tools we use every day.
This week, we talk about how the changes in Hollywood that are fuelling the writers’ and actors’ strikes will affect not just TV and movies, but also podcasts, video games, and TikTok.
This week, Steven Levy joins us to talk about Musk’s new generative artificial intelligence startup, xAI. We also ask him whether that absurd cage match is actually going to happen.
This week, we talk about the instant popularity of Threads, poor little Bluesky, and why Twitter likely isn’t going anywhere.
This week, we're sharing an episode of WIRED's Have a Nice Future podcast. It's a conversation with futurist Noah Raford about how to prepare for the uncomfortable challenges of the world to come.
This week, we talk to the author of To Dye For, a new book about toxic fashion and the abundance of harmful chemicals in our clothing.
This week, we talk about how the two giants changed the digital—and IRL—retail landscape over the course of their decades-long rivalry.
This week, we sift through the details revealed in the leaked Cybertruck report, and talk about what happens next for Tesla.
This week, we learn what it's like to wear and use Apple's Vision Pro headset. Also, we round up the rest of the news from WWDC.
This week, we discuss the real and imagined dangers of generative artificial intelligence, which experts are eager to see regulated and contained.
This week, we cover the basics of cycling for fun and transportation, including selecting, maintaining, and accessorizing your two-wheeler.
This week, we talk to fitness writer Casey Johnston about getting strong, eating right, and feeling great.
This week, we recap all the news from Google I/O and discuss how the company is reshaping its core business with generative AI.
This week, we discuss the still-in-beta social platform the internet elite are buzzing—and skeeting—about.
This week, we dive into the market for male grooming products, scrotum deodorizers, and scented salves that target the nether regions.
This week, we talk to Tracers in the Dark author Andy Greenberg about how authorities are catching crypto criminals by following the money.
This week, we use a set of software tools to create robo versions of our real voices and see how they stack up.
This week, we learn how automakers adopted the subscription model where drivers pay to unlock features, and why the used car market will see it next.
This week, we trace how Amazon was able to build a massive public wireless network, and how it will change the future of connected devices.
This week, we learn how semiconductors are made. It’s easy! You just need light, water, a few billion transistors, and total geopolitical stability.
This week, we ask ourselves what our reliance on our smartphones tells us about our wants and fears.
This week, WIRED and NPR team up to cover the debate about students and teachers using generative AI in the classroom.
This week, we talk about the recommendation engines on platforms like YouTube and Spotify, and how a pair of US Supreme Court cases is putting them under renewed scrutiny.
This week, we talk about how streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu are growing in uncomfortable ways—and charging users more.
This week, we discuss all the ways generative AI is upending journalism, marketing, shopping, and search.
This week, we talk to Tracers in the Dark author Andy Greenberg about how authorities are catching crypto criminals by following the money.
This week, we ask if there's anything else our phones should be doing for us. Also, we break down the Samsung Galaxy announcements.
This week, we talk about why search engine companies, US lawmakers, and parents are all concerned about TikTok eating our brains.
This week, we get honest about our attachments to our gas stoves, and debate whether to replace them or just continue breathing their fumes.
This week, we talk about how US farmers’ fight to fix their own equipment could impact the repairability of phones, appliances, and other gadgets.
This week, our hosts report from consumer tech’s biggest show of the year in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This week, we look back at 2022’s biggest consumer tech stories. Then, we offer our predictions for what the next 12 months will bring.
This week, we list all the ways plastic is ruining our planet and making us sick, then come up with some ideas for reversing the damage.
This week, we talk about the development of the Ledger Stax, a cryptocurrency wallet designed by Tony Fadell.
This week, we discuss the advancements in generative AI tools like ChatGPT that make computer-enabled conversations seem more human than ever.
This week, we chart the rise of services that let you pay for purchases in interest-free installments, and what they mean for the future of shopping.
This week, a show from the archives where we discuss guided cooking apps, connected appliances, and all things smart (and not so smart) on our kitchen countertops.
This week, we discuss the implications Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter—and his high profile firings—could have for security and data privacy on the platform.
This week, we do our best to break down the social media platform many Twitter users are flocking to.
This week, we discuss possible consequences of Elon Musk's shakeup at the social media platform he now owns.
This week, we list all the ways plastic is ruining our planet and making us sick, then come up with some ideas for reversing the damage.
This week, we discuss how the increased use of sensors, chips, and software in cars is changing how we buy, drive, and maintain our vehicles.
This week, we discuss Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitions for growing virtual reality as a platform, and how the new Quest Pro headset fits into that vision.
This week, we talk about the latest Pixel hardware, and why Google’s new smartwatch puts it on even footing with its rivals.
This week, we discuss guided cooking apps, connected appliances, and all things smart (and not so smart) on our kitchen countertops.
This week, we talk about Peloton’s growing product lineup, and whether our days of sweating along to streamed exercise classes at home are over.
This week, we talk about the Sony PSVR2, the still-secret Meta headset, and how virtual reality technology needs to improve to earn mainstream acceptance.
This week, we round up all the biggest announcements from Apple’s iPhone (and Watch) launch event.
This week, we examine YouTube's history and its role in shaping internet culture. Mark Bergen, author of a new book about the platform, joins us.
This week, we tell you how to claim tax discounts by upgrading your home, switching to an EV, and decarbonizing your life.
This week, we discuss the latest John Deere tractor hack and its broader implications for the right-to-repair movement.
This week, we look at Samsung’s latest folding phones and discuss what their release means for the mobile industry—and for Android.
This week, we wade into the marketplace of NFT videos that are sold pre-installed in digital photo frames.
This week, we examine Instagram’s move to prioritize Reels—a feature copied from TikTok—and whether that will help or hinder the platform’s growth.
This week, we interview the hosts of Land of the Giants. The podcast’s new season traces Facebook’s explosion from a tiny startup to the colossus known as Meta.
This week, we look at how regulatory pressure might deflate—or even kill—the nicotine vaping industry in the US.
This week, we talk with author and venture capitalist Matthew Ball about the metaverse and whether this next generation of the internet will ever really materialize.
This week, we talk about Slack’s new video huddle feature and what it means for how we talk online.
This week, we reckon with streaming’s growing pains and think ahead to what watching TV will be like in five to 10 years.
This week, we run down all of the announcements from the developer conference, which two of us got to witness in the flesh. Kinda.
This week, we think of ways to fix the anxiety-inducing mess known as mobile messaging.
This week, we imagine a new version of the web that takes the power from the platforms and puts it back into the hands of the people.
This week, we cover the basics of cycling for fun and transportation, including selecting, maintaining, and accessorizing your two-wheeler.
This week, we discuss all the news from Google I/O, including Android 13, translation glasses, and that fancy new wearable.
This week, the journalist and entrepreneur joins us to talk about the possible changes Elon Musk could bring to his new social network.
What Snap’s Liftoff Means for the Social Media Company
This week, we discuss Elon Musk's bid to buy the platform, and we debate whether an edit button would be a sensible addition.
This week, we learn about the new browser from DuckDuckGo and share some of our web privacy tips.
This week, we discuss the Peloton Guide, and debate the role the company’s cameras and computer vision tech could play in the coming years.
This week we discuss Lapsus$, the group claiming to have pulled the recent hack on Okta.
This week, we walk through what it takes to make your own Web3 decentralized autonomous organization. (Yes, there are tokens.)
This week, we talk about the limitations of using facial recognition technology to identify suspected criminals.
This week, we recap Apple's hardware announcement and ask where all the humanity went.
This week, we discuss how the economic fallout from the invasion of Ukraine is affecting consumer goods sales, mobile payments, crypto, and the gig economy.
This week, we talk about iOS 15.4 and the big features coming soon to iPhones, including the changes to the way AirTags work.
This week, we recap all the devices Samsung showed off at Unpacked, including three new phones and a trio of tablets.
This week, we decide whether to switch music streaming services, and we offer some tips for those choosing to get their groove on elsewhere.
This week, we talk about differing visions for the metaverse and whether it’s a good place to bring your kids.
This week, we ask two autonomous vehicle experts what’s next for the tech.
This week, we discuss the techniques used to create alcohol free liquor, beer, and wine.
This week, we round up the news from consumer tech’s big show, including ebikes, webcams, health trackers, and AI-powered everything.
This week, we look back at how technology affected us in 2021—in mostly positive ways.
This week, we imagine a new version of the web that takes the power from the platforms and puts it back into the hands of the people.
This week, we hear from the acclaimed novelist Neal Stephenson about climate change, the metaverse, and the role fictional stories can play in shaping our future.
This week, we look at Niantic and Snap, whose augmented reality plans are quite different than what’s being hyped elsewhere.
This week, we break down what’s happening with the global supply chain and we offer some tips on how to fulfil your holiday shopping needs anyway.
This week, we discuss the company formerly known as Facebook’s vision for the VR-powered hyperreality of the future.
This week, we critique—and praise!—the new MacBook Pro models and the Pixel 6, both of which just landed in our laps.
This week, we talked about revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony—and whether this reckoning will finally change the social media giant.
This week, Lauren talks to the politician about his new political party, and how the US can get more bikes, scooters, and pedestrians on the streets.
This week, we talk about Amazon’s domestic robot strategy, and what privacy questions you should ask yourself before you buy in.
This week, we look at the new Surface hardware and try to determine how much experimentation your workflow can withstand.
This week, we go deep on the photographic and cinematic capabilities of the iPhone 13. Kik: Gadget Lab Podcast
This week, we talk about the latest public health directives from the White House.
This week, we look at what happened to New Orleans' electrical grid in Ida's wake, and we learn how a major solar eruption could knock out the internet.
This week, we step into Facebook’s vision of the metaverse, where reality and the simulated world become one. Kinda.
This week, we talk about the Google Pixel 5A and how it’s changing our expectations of sub-$500 phones.
This week, we dissect the technology Apple is using to protect children from sexual abuse on its messaging and photo-storage platforms.
This week, we talk about the history of memes, where they originate, and how they became weapons in the culture wars
This week, Jason Parham takes us inside one of the most influential communities on the internet.
This week, Steven Levy fills us in on the Blue Origin launch, its implications, and why so many billionaires are obsessed with space travel.
We talk to the authors of a new book about the notorious coworking startup and its charismatic cofounder, Adam Neumann.
This week, we discuss the proliferation of ebikes within bikeshare networks like those owned by Lyft, as well as the explosive growth of private ebike ownership.
Medical AI is changing healthcare—but it can’t catch everything.
With Covid-19 travel restrictions relaxing, citizens are boarding planes, trains, buses, and rideshares in increasing numbers. This week, we look at how that’s going.
This week, we talk about all things WWDC and Apple’s quest for worldwide gadget domination.
This week, we unpack the behavioral science behind vaccine lotteries, and why a life-changing amount of cash will motivate humans to get their shots.
This week, we talk about how the technology we’ve invented to more accurately recreate colors has driven whole civilizations.
This week, we recap the news out of Google IO, including Android’s new look and Project Starline’s holographic video booth.
This week, we talk to author and journalist Brad Stone about his new book on Amazon and its famous boss.
This week, we go deep on the law that shaped the modern internet with our resident legal eagle, Gilad Edelman.
This week, we look at how the latest iPhone software update ties into the debate about regulating big tech.
This week, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, the head of Facebook Reality Labs, joins us to talk about how his team is thinking about the future of mixed reality.
This week, we mark a major milestone by inviting our podcast’s past co-hosts to share their memories of working on the show. It’s equal parts lulz and tears.
This week, we look at how living online makes it harder to forget a love that's been lost, and easier to find love once again.
This week, we discuss the Ever Given incident and its lasting implications on the shipping industry. Also, we pick our favorite boat memes.
This week, we discuss how our bodies and minds will deal with the anxiety of reentering society after a year in lockdown.
This week, we discuss Facebook’s wrist-worn concept, and what it says about the company’s plan for new human-computer interactions.
This week we talk about non-fungible token, digital art collectors, and what it's like to sell one of your tweets.
Even with breakthroughs like HoloLens and Pokemon Go, we are still a few years away from fulfilling AR’s biggest promises.
The Perseverance rover is positively packed with tech. We talk about the cameras, mics, and sensors doing science millions of miles away.
This week, we share our horror stories about trying to procure Sony’s elusive new gaming console. We also share tips for testing your own luck.
This week, we discuss crypto’s role in the future of shopping. When can we use it to buy everything from Nikes to Teslas?
This week, we discuss the boost Clubhouse got from a drop-in by Elon Musk, and how the platform is weathering its growing pains.
This week, we field listener queries about the vaccine’s rollout, how state and local governments are handling distribution, and when you’ll get your shot.
This week, we round up tips for staying organized, energized, and mostly sane as we all ride out the rest of the pandemic.
This week, we recap the news, trends, and stand-out gadgets from the first-ever virtual CES.
This week, we analyze how the social media platforms reacted to the events of January 6. We also offer our preview of what to expect next week at CES.
This week, we try to guess what the year ahead has in store. We also look back in shock at how wrong we were about 2020. Can't win 'em all.
This week, we discuss how holiday gift-giving has been influenced by the pandemic. Also, we list the things we’ll be giving, and offer some gift suggestions.
How The Tumult of 2020 Will Shape the Future of Ride Sharing
This week, we talk about the recent growth in ebikes, and we offer tips for those curious about riding one.
This week, we discuss the implications of Apple’s switch to using custom silicon in its Mac laptops and desktops.
This week, we discuss the impending arrival of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, and how they’ll change the video game landscape.
This week, we discuss the issue on the ballot in Massachusetts that would open up access to the data stored on a car’s internal computer.
This week, we examine the possible implications of the US government’s complaint against Google, and how it could impact consumer technology.
This week, we discuss the new iPhones, from the inclusion of 5G in all four handsets, to the super-cute Mini model.
This week, we gather survival tips from the author of a book about how the always-on lifestyle has driven many of us to the breaking point.
This week, we talk about everything Google announced this week, plus Amazon's crazy flying surveillance drone.
This week, we discuss how the fight over the app might shape US tech policy and US-China relations for years to come.
This week, we break down Apple’s latest announcements, from the new hardware to its push into bundles and home workouts.
This week, we look at the latest gear from Peloton and discuss whether we’re ever going back to the gym.
This week, we discuss the security of mail-in voting (very good) and future of online ballots in the US (very unlikely).
This week, we discuss the growing trend of data from smart speakers and other connected devices being used to solve crimes.
This week, we discuss the ins and outs of encrypted messaging apps and videochat services.
This week, we look at the Microsoft Surface Duo and wonder if an expensive, dual-screen device like this one feels relevant, or just needlessly extravagant.
This week, we discuss the growing trend of mid-range smartphones, why they’re good, and why they’re bad.
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.
This week, we discuss whether the Chinese-owned app is as much of a security risk as some claim, and where folks would go if the platform went dark.
A new podcast from WIRED about how the future is realized.
A new podcast from WIRED about how the future is realized.
This week, Recode’s Peter Kafka joins us to talk about Netflix’s dominance over the entertainment industry and how the streaming landscape continues to change.
This week, Angela Watercutter joins us to talk about why it's hard to unglue your eyes from bad news on social media. Plus, we share our tips for putting down the phone.
As the necessary shelter in place restrictions continue, we’re joined by WIRED’s Alan Henry and Adrienne So to talk about the technologies helping us pass the time.
This week, we discuss Apple’s big news, and we admit why we’re hoping tech conferences happen in real life (and not just online) sooner rather than later.
This week, we discuss the harassment campaign allegedly carried out by six former eBay employees against the owners of a news website critical of the ecommerce industry.
In some ways things are getting harder, not easier, as shelter-in-place orders lift worldwide. On this week's episode, we tackle tough new corona-questions.
This week, we discuss how tools developed in Silicon Valley are being used to erode the privacy and safety of citizens protesting police brutality.
This week, Gilad Edelman joins us to discuss the White House’s move against tech platforms, and how talk of the November election led us to this moment.
This week, we measure the impact of Silicon Valley’s shift to remote work. Also, we crash the Clubhouse.
This week, Andy Greenberg talks about his profile of hacker Marcus Hutchins, and we get an update on contact tracing programs helping to slow the pandemic.
How Will We Dine and Uber in the Post-Pandemic City?
This week, Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan tell us why they are planning their own critical care decisions now, well before Covid-19 forces them to do so under pressure.
This week, WIRED senior correspondent Adam Rogers talks about how we could go about reopening the country.
Some players in the tech industry are pivoting hard to address the global health crisis. But in many ways, business continues as usual.
On this week's podcast, we talk with staff writer Megan Molteni about the efforts to eradicate the virus. We also discuss Covid-19 testing in the US.
This week, we discuss the nationwide shortage of ventilators and protective equipment, and how we’re going to deal with it amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This week on Gadget Lab, we discuss how misinformation about the pandemic is being handled by the government, the media, and social platforms.
This week, we discuss why Italy has been hit so hard by the coronavirus, and we have tips for how parents can keep kids entertained as schools close.
This week's episode explores what happens when schools, conferences, and even offices shut down. Also: tips for working from home.
Steven Levy joins the show to discuss his new book, “Facebook: The Inside Story.”
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Textio CEO Kieran Snyder talks to WIRED about training computers to make human language more inclusive.
This week, Samsung hosted an event to show off Galaxy S20 phones, "Space Zoom" cameras and a new fold-y Flip. How seriously should we take these extravaganzas?
On this week's podcast, we discuss the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the economy, and the scary state of mobile voting security in the US.
On this week’s show, we talk about the Vine reboot Byte, and the Razr smartphone reboot, which now comes with a folding screen.
On this week’s podcast: hacking our oral hygiene with technology, and hacking espresso with science.
This week, the hosts debate whether one wheel is better than two, and whether a few buttons on a smartphone is better than none at all.
The Gadget Lab hosts look back at a show filled with fake-meat sliders, AI everything, and an ocean of electric scooters.
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast looks forward to CES 2020, where we expect to encounter facial-recognition tech in everything, the promise of 5G everywhere, and sex toys for everyone.
The Gadget Lab crew highlights their favorite things from this year, and then points ahead.
Computational biologist Laura Boykin collects cassava DNA with a pocket-sized gadget, then uses the data to fight the pathogens that threaten the vital staple crop.
Alex Davies helps us unpack the latest Tesla developments, and we share our favorite travel trips.
Former Facebook executive Chris Cox talks about his 13 years at Facebook and who he’s working with now.
Instagram and Apple made small changes to their products this week that could affect customers in a major way.
On this week’s podcast, we talk about Facebook rebranding, Google buying Fitbit, and what happens when big brands take over small, disparate products.
This week, we talk about Apple’s new AirPods, and the privacy challenges of smart speakers.
Independent video creators are seeking to unionize in a play for more transparency from YouTube. Emma Grey Ellis has the story on this week’s Gadget Lab.
WIRED Editor in Chief Nicholas Thompson joins us for a special edition of this week’s podcast, to discuss Facebook, Google, and facial recognition technology.
Webby founder and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain joins us to talk about her weekly tech Shabbat, a day in which her family abstains from any modern technology.
The company’s hardware chief discusses the state of mobile productivity, dual-screen devices, and why the Surface phone isn’t a phone.
Matt Simon tells us how the famous robot's deployment into the workplace could alter the future of human-robot relations.
Megan Molteni tells us about the gene-sequencing startup Nebula, and how its privacy practices could have a positive impact on the way we share personal information on the web.
We ask WIRED senior writer Lauren Goode to give her impressions of the iPhone launch in Cupertino this week.
New York Times reporter Mike Isaac charts the rise and fall of the ride-hailing company in his new book, Super Pumped. He joins us on the podcast to tell us everything that went wrong.
WIRED’s Paris Martineau joins the show to explain all the ways Facebook tracks your activity across Instagram and the rest of its mobile apps—even if your accounts aren’t linked to Facebook.
WIRED’s Matt Simon joins the show to talk about microplastics—what they are, why they’re a nightmare, and whether you should fret about eating them.
WIRED senior staff writer Nitasha Tiku takes us behind the scenes of her September cover story about inner turmoil at Google, the so-called happiest company in tech.
Jason Del Rey, host of Land of the Giants, a new podcast all about Amazon, joins the Gadget Lab to talk about the company’s quest for world domination.
WIRED writer Alex Davies joins us to discuss the challenges companies are facing as they race to get self-driving shuttles and delivery vehicles onto our streets.
The state of New York finally signed into law a bill criminalizing the spread of nonconsensual pornography, but Wired’s Emma Grey Ellis tells the Gadget Lab team that this new law is only a partial victory.
Twitter has launched its first major redesign in several years. The question is whether it’s enough to make a dent in the hate and harassment.
WIRED writer Gregory Barber explains the intricacies of Facebook’s ambitious plan to and how Libra is poised to rattle the future of crypto.
A conversation with Aza Raskin of the Center for Humane Technology. Also, we discuss Jony Ive’s departure from Apple.
Emily Dreyfuss joins us this week to discuss the larger implications of Genius’s fight with Google over song lyrics. Also, we get all tingly with ASMR.
Peter Rubin joins the show this week to tell us about the major announcements made at the videogame industry’s big conference.
The Gadget Lab team breaks down Apple’s annual software shindig, and tells you all you need to know about forthcoming updates for iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
An interview with Firewire Surfboards CEO Mark Price about how to make a surfboard without ruining the ocean.
David Eun, president of Samsung’s innovation arm NEXT, says younger consumers are shifting towards experiences, not things. What does that mean for a company that makes devices?
WIRED’s Emma Grey Ellis joins this week’s Gadget Lab podcast to explain the latest YouTube drama and discuss the implications of “cancel culture.”
It’s software conference season! In the latest Gadget Lab podcast, the team shares their takeaways from Facebook F8, Microsoft Build, and Google I/O.
The host of the new Discovery show "Savage Builds" and author of the new book "Every Tool’s a Hammer" joins us to talk about the joy and agony of making things.
We talk with right-to-repair advocate Nathan Proctor. Also: Samsung’s Galaxy Fold woes, and a preview of the next Sony PlayStation.
WIRED Transportation reporter Aarian Marshall joins us to talk about the Uber IPO and what it means for the future of ride-sharing ... and everything else Uber does
Game of Thrones is back––and so is the Citadel Dropouts podcast. Listen to Laura Hudson and Spencer Ackerman preview GoT season 8 in this new podcast on Wired.
An interview with war correspondent Kenneth R. Rosen, who is reporting from Syria for WIRED this month.
Contraceptives for men have been explored in some way since at least the 1950’s, but there haven’t been many viable options. A new sperm-reducing gel could change that.
Google’s just-announced cloud gaming service, Stadia, holds the promise of seamless, multi-device gaming. Is it too good to be true?
Caterina Fake says it’s time to ask whether tech should exist, rather than asking if it can exist or if funds are available for it.
Former Google communications exec Jessica Powell joins this weeks Gadget Lab podcast to talk about Facebooks manifestos, quitting Google, and why she absolutely refuses to get a brand-new phone.
Microsofts second-generation mixed reality headset has made a significant leap. But youre probably not going to buy one.
Samsung revealed not one, not two, but five new smartphones this week - including a folding phone. Axioss Ina Fried joins on this weeks Gadget Lab podcast.
Product designer Chris Messina snagged @chris as his Instagram name. Its been awesome -- and terrible. Plus: Amazon splits with NYC, on the Gadget Lab podcast.
Apple temporarily booted Facebook (and Google!) from its enterprise app program this week. You werent really surprised, were you? Plus: Details on Teslas new Model Y.
When it comes to delivery robots, design is almost as important as function. Matt Simon and Arielle Pardes discuss Amazons new robot, Scout, on this weeks podcast.
WIREDs Peter Rubin joins the Gadget Lab podcast to talk about his experience wearing Nikes newest self-adjusting sneakers. Plus: Nitasha Tiku weighs in on mandatory arbitration at tech companies.
WIREDs Gadget Lab team kicks off the new year with a wrap-up of the years biggest electronics show. Plus, an interview with Reddits Jen Wong.
Wireds Gadget Lab team sums up this year in tech. Plus: An interview with the CEO of a futuristic fitness company.
Climate change is real, and its impacting us right now. How much of it can be fixed by personal responsibility versus policy?
Everyone's Pumped About Heat Pumps
May 23, 202437min 43sec
People everywhere are hot for heat pumps. These electric appliances—which perform the same heating and cooling tasks as traditional HVAC systems, just much more efficiently—have been outselling gas furnaces over the past couple of years. Their proliferation seems to be pointing more towards an energy-conscious electric future in people’s homes. And, four months ago, nine states in the US signed a memorandum of understanding that says that heat pumps should make up at least 65 percent of residential heating, air conditioning, and water-heating shipments by 2030.
But, what exactly is a heat pump? How does it work? How much does it cost to replace your furnace with one, and how much money does making the switch actually save you in the long run? Let’s also consider the same question we’re asking about AI: how much will this change or displace existing jobs for the people who have been trained to install and service traditional HVAC systems?
WIRED staff writer Matt Simon is our in-house heat pump expert. He joins us this week to tell us everything we need to know about these appliances he calls “climate superheroes.”
Show Notes:
Read all of our heat pump coverage. Don’t miss Matt’s story about the heat pump technician shortage. Matt also took a look at the in-window heat pumps now hitting the market that look and operate like in-window AC units. WIRED’s Rhett Alain digs into the physics of heat pumps.
Recommendations:
Matt recommends the book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilizationby Edward Slingerland. Mike recommends the book Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna. Lauren recommends taking a staycation.
Matt Simon can be found on social media @mrmattsimon. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.