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.

ELECTRIC WORD

TOTALLY WIRED • NOTES FROM OUR STAFF

RANTS AND RAVES

CLEAN CONSCIENCE • The Buddha in my Roomba.

CHARTGEIST

YOUR COURSE CATALOG • It’s time to pick classes for the 2073-74 school year!

SURVEILLANCE U • AI is spying on college kids to make sure they don’t cheat on online exams. What is this teaching our students?

ANGRY NERD

Power UP • Thanks to Covid, you’ll probably have more downtime than ever this winter. Our recommendation: Play tons of video games. Whatever your poison—console, PC, or mobile—we’ve got tips for your next hardware upgrade.

Double PLAY • The reigning kings of high-end console gaming are both unleashing new hardware. With 8K support, ray tracing, and blazing performance, you can’t go wrong with either.

Will My Old Stuff Work?

Thrones OF GAME • With high backrests and generous adjustability, these gaming chairs ease the physical strain of epic Doom Eternal sessions while also improving your WFH setup.

Sound UNBOUND • Turn down the volume on the outside world and crank up the exoplanet action with one of our favorite wireless gaming headphones.

Twitch PERFECT • You don’t have to be an esports pro to go live on the streaming platform. Here’s how to dial in your setup to play games in front of your adoring fans.

FORTNITE: DAD INVASION • I started playing the video game to keep tabs on my fifth-grader. What I got was a window into her world—and a joyful lesson in 21st-century parenting.

FEATURES

THE FIRES NEXT TIME • WILDFIRES IN THE WEST ARE BECOMING HELL ON EARTH. THEY ARE ALSO MELTING AWAY OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW FIRE WORKS—AND SCIENTISTS ARE RACING TO KEEP UP.

“They Look Sketchy as Shit”

O, ROBOT! • Lora Haddock DiCarlo’s high-tech vibrator was supposed to redefine the sex-toy industry. But the hype itself would be her master stroke.

CIPHER IN CHIEF • Meet General Paul Nakasone. He has reined in years of chaos at America’s most powerful spy agency and taught the US military how to launch pervasive cyberattacks. And he did it all without you noticing.

COLOPHON • Good Vibrations That Helped Get This Issue Out:

YOUR GENES ARE MY GENES NOW.