Culture
Dial Up
Saturday Night Live’s Alex English Wants You to Shut Up and Laugh
Saturday Night Live writer and veteran stand-up comedian Alex English believes platforms like TikTok have changed the relationship a comic has to their audience—in the worst ways possible.
Jason Parham
The 51 Best Shows on Disney+ Right Now
The Acolyte, X-Men ’97, and World Eats Bread are just a few of the shows you should be watching on Disney+ this month.
Jennifer M. Wood and WIRED Staff
The 19 Best Movies on Amazon Prime Right Now
The Idea of You, Road House, and American Fiction are just a few of the movies you should be watching on Amazon Prime Video this week.
Matt Kamen and WIRED Staff
The 21 Best Movies on Apple TV+ Right Now
Fancy Dance, Argylle, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Blade Runner 2049 are just a few of the movies you should be watching on Apple TV+ this month.
Angela Watercutter
Why Streaming Services Keep Screwing Up Binge-Watching
All 10 episodes of the new season of The Bear just hit Hulu. Maybe they shouldn’t have.
Marah Eakin
How the Developer of Among Us Is Helping Indie Studios Survive Gaming’s Current Tumult
As the video game industry contracts, indie developers are left with fewer options for funding. Innersloth has some ideas for how to provide a lifeline.
Megan Farokhmanesh
SimCity Isn’t a Model of Reality. It’s a Libertarian Toy Land
Beneath its playful exterior, the beloved game that inspired a generation of real-world urban designers betrays a partisan view of social planning.
Kelly Clancy
The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Every Kind of Player
From Hyrule to Hallownest, these are our absolute favorite escapes for the best portable console.
Gear Team
Metroid Prime 4 Gets a Release Date After Years of Troubled Development
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has a release date and a new gameplay trailer, both of which were announced at Tuesday's Nintendo Direct.
Megan Farokhmanesh
AI Is Rewriting Meme History
TikTok’s latest trend involves videos of people traveling back in time to interrupt the viral memes of yore. The results are uncanny.
Kristine Villarroel
The Genius Behind @OKWildlifeDept's Most Viral Tweets Is Signing Off
Sarah Southerland used the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's social media feeds to warn you about mountain lions and Halloween candy, leaving behind one of the internet’s great legacies.
Angela Watercutter
The Real Relationship Hustlers of TikTok
TikTok is host to one of the most influential, fastest-growing online industries: relationship misinformation.
Jason Parham
The Secret Telegram Channels Providing Refuge for LGBTQ+ People in Russia
In March, Russia named the "LGBT movement" an extremist organization. In response, activists, human rights groups, and others have used Telegram for support—and even to find resources to leave the country.
Sassafras Lowrey
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.
Laura Kipnis
The Secret to Living Past 120 Years Old? Nanobots
In The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge With AI, the spiritual sequel to his (in)famous first book, Ray Kurzweil doubles down on the promise of immortality.
Ray Kurzweil
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.
Jason Kehe
AI Killed Images. Legacy Russell Knows How We Can Revive Them
The author of Black Meme has ideas for how to protect digital culture from the rise of generative AI. It starts with embracing slow media.
Jason Parham
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Tooth and Nail
Interview With the Vampire Fans Say the Stakes Have Never Been Higher
Elizabeth Minkel
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Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords
Megan Farokhmanesh
Gaming Culture
The Indie Horror Game That Launched a Surprising Queer Hopepunk Revolution
Laurence Russell
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Meet the Photographer Behind the Social Media App for Everyone Sick of Meta’s AI
Kate Knibbs
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Behind That Viral LA Billboard That Trolled Microsoft and Other Game Companies
Megan Farokhmanesh