WIRED Radio

Hollywood is busily trying to figure out the best way to present big-budget films in VR. The platform is great for games and short-form entertainment, but if you want to tell an epic story and really draw the viewer in emotionally, the limits of VR present barriers to that type experience. At the forefront of this great figuring-out is filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. He has previously written and directed visually adventurous films like Mother, Black Swan, Pi, and Requiem for a Dream. Next, Aronofsky is serving as the executive producer of Spheres, a VR series about the cosmos written and directed by Eliza McNitt. Earlier this year, Spheres screened at the Telluride Film Festival, making it the first VR film ever to play at the fest. On this episode, Aronofsky talks with WIRED senior writer Lauren Goode about VR’s future in filmmaking. They also talked about the ways in which artificial intelligence is changing the way we tell, consume, and think about visual stories. Their conversation took place Monday at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Before their talk, Arielle and Mike go over the news of the week. And of course, we’ll end the show with our latest tech recommendations. Recommendations this week: Demetricator for Twitter, and Jaybird Tarah Pro headphones. Send the Gadget Lab hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes can be found at @pardesoteric. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode. Michael Calore can be found at @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

Hey watch this YouTube video I just sent you. When it’s over, maybe watch another one. Oh, wow, that one looks interesting too—click on it. Oh never mind, it just plays. Maybe watch this one too? How long have we been here? Only an hour? Surely there’s time for one more … And so it goes. Every day, as we watch videos, consume social media, and decide what to buy, we’re being expertly manipulated. Or, to use the words of historian and author Yuval Noah Harari, we’ve been hacked. Harari is the author of the new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. On this week’s show, WIRED editor in chief Nick Thompson sits down with Harari and Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris to discuss this phenomenon. At the top of the show, we bring you the tech news of the week, and as always, we’ll close with our recommendations. Some notes: Watch the full video interview with Harari and Harris. Read Garrett Graff on the long, strange history of the Presidential alert. Also, what does it mean if you didn’t get it? Microsoft’s new Surface hardware. The Bloomberg report about tainted servers, and Lily Hay Newman’s analysis of the impact. Also! Come to WIRED 25 next week. Recommendations this week: Sans Forgetica and Quincy on Netflix. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric, Michael Calore is @snackfight, and Nick Thompson is @nxthompson. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

By all accounts, sleep plays a critical role in a person’s overall health and well-being. But modern technology makes it way too easy to stay up later than you should, scrolling through Twitter, watching YouTube or Netflix, and responding to “urgent” messages. And for a lot of people, our smartphones are the first things we pick up when we wake up in the morning. So how plausible is it that technology – wrist wearables, mattress sensors, and apps – could also help us get more sleep? Or better quality sleep? Is the trick to better sleep just removing technology from the bedroom altogether? On this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, Mike, Arielle, and Lauren discuss their sleep habits and offer tips for creating a better sleep environment. Recommendations this week: Lauren recommends this article by WIRED reporting fellow Pia Ceres: How to Get the Most Out of Gmail’s New Features. (If your first instinct is to freak out when an oft-used app gets a redesign, this article will help with that). Arielle recommends the HBO series “Sharp Objects,” starring Amy Adams and based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn. Mike, in keeping with the sleep theme, recommends Max Richter’s “Sleep” song, an eight-hour lullaby that was composed with the stages and rhythms of sleep in mind.

Silicon Valley is awash in hype about quantum computers. But these new machines—which perform calculations not only with bits (ones and zeros) but also with mysterious things called qubits—are still in their infancy. They are very large, very expensive, and must be kept very cold. Their applications are limited, and it will be likely a decade before they can be put to practical use. Tom Simonite, WIRED’s reporter who covers the esoteric end of computing, joins the show to explain what quantum computing is, how it works, and why it’s going to change our future. And we’re pretty sure we understand it now. Kinda. Some notes: Read Tom’s WIRED Guide on quantum computing. Recommendations this week: Philips Wake-Up Light for a different way to start the day. Read Motherboard‘s investigative piece on Facebook, and turn on Android’s “swipe up on home button” gesture. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric, Tom Simonite is @tsimonite, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

When Samsung first launched its line of Galaxy Note smartphones, they were differentiated by their large size, their high performance, and their stylus pens. Now, as high-end smartphones all start to look, well, kind of the same, it’s harder for the Note to stand out. But Samsung has managed to do it again with the new Galaxy Note 9: think Fortnite, a selfie-snapping Pen, a massive battery, and more storage than you might ever need. The company also just launched a sleek-looking new Galaxy-branded smartwatch. The question we still have, though, is: Why does Samsung’s upcoming smart speaker look like some kind of alien overlord? Show notes: You can find the Galaxy Note 9 story here. Also read our review of the last one, the Galaxy Note 8, which received a high rating. Recommendations this week: Mike recommends Alto’s Odyssey. Arielle recommends Jessi Hempel’s story on Magic Leap. Lauren recommends using your smartphone to actually make a phone call: call your mom and say hi, or call a mom-like figure; and if you don’t have that, just call someone who you like and care about. She says happy birthday to her mom! Send this week’s hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Co-host Arielle Pardes is (@pardesoteric). Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

Apple’s newest pro-grade laptop is out, and over the last week or so, our own Brendan Nystedt has had a chance to test it thoroughly. Brendan’s review of the 2018 MacBook Pro was published on WIRED on Friday morning, and he joins this week’s show as our special guest to run down the particulars. From the processor to the screen to the reparability to that divisive keyboard, he has opinions. Mac nerds, this one’s for you. Some notes: Brendan’s review awards the MacBook Pro a cautious “buy” recommendation. Last week’s software update seems to have solved the early issues with the processor. iFixit tore down the new keyboard. Apple’s own MacBook Pro page lets you see the price of your desired configuration. Recommendations this week: Get a Nintendo Switch, go see the film Eighth Grade, and read Emily Dreyfuss’s argument in favor of deleting all your precious little tweets. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric, Brendan Nystedt is @bnystedt, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

Interesting things come out of teens’ mouths all the time, but one of the most controversial things to emerge recently is the wispy tendril of nicotine vapor from a Juul, a compact and discrete vaping device. Legislators and the FDA have been slow to move on the vaping craze, which has left the door open for companies like Juul to advertise and position themselves without the oversight many feel is necessary for products that have been proven to be physically addictive. Juul’s platform in particular has taken root in our youth culture thanks to its popularity among influential internet celebs. All of this has led to a chaotic marketplace that’s benefitted the vaping startups but made things rather sticky for everyone else. Nitasha Tiku joins the show to walk us through the weeds. Some notes: Read Nitasha’s latest story about Juul’s relationship with regulators and legislators. She also recommends the New Yorker article on vaping from May, and Recode‘s story from July about the scrutiny faced by Juul’s investors. Nitasha’s first story about Juul from 2015, published at The Verge. David Pierce wrote about Juul for WIRED at the same time. Recommendations this week: Killing Eve on BBC America, “Cult of the Machine” at the de Young, and the Hario ceramic coffee mill. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric, Nitasha Tiku is @nitashatiku, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

When Google first showed off its robot phone-calling technology, Duplex, back at its annual software conference in May, it not only riveted the crowd at the event but raised the eyebrows of privacy advocates who wanted to know more about robot disclosure and Google’s plans to record phone calls. So this week, Google tried for a do-over: it gave media outlets (including WIRED) a closer look at the Duplex technology, how it works, and how the company believes it will help small businesses. Turns out, Mike has some strong feelings about Duplex. Lauren also got to try duping the Duplex robot; results were mixed. And if you’re not into using phone-calling robots to handle your awkward conversations for you, but you do love the idea of hiding behind emoji, you’re in luck: On this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, Arielle talks about how researchers are looking at the deeper meaning behind our usage of emoji. Some notes: You can read WIRED’s latest story on Google Duplex here, which is a dispatch from a hummus shop right in the heart of the Uncanny Valley, er, Silicon Valley. Also, check out Arielle’s report from the International Workshop on Emoji Understanding. It was [fire emoji]. Recommendations this week: Arielle recommends this riveting New York Times interactive on how to survive in Venezuela when your money is worthless. Mike recommends Dronecast, a podcast that is not about drones – well, not the unmanned aerial vehicle kind. It’s a podcast that consists of hour-long, monotonous sounds, like “blank cassette played at half speeds.” Lauren recommends “This Week in Nope”, a smart, funny, and irreverent podcast about the news each week. Send the Gadget Lab hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can

In recent years, women have increasingly turned to personal technology to provide insight into their own fertility. The women’s health market is awash with wristbands, sleep tracking devices, and sensor-laden wearables that can track the myriad factors that indicate imminent ovulation. These technological solutions can not only help women trying to get pregnant, but also those who may want to get pregnant later in life and want to measure their ovarian reserve. Of course, there’s still a great deal of guesswork involved in all of these tests, devices, and apps. But that hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from diving into fertility tech with gusto. Arielle Pardes charts Silicon Valley’s infatuation with fertility, including a startup that now offers an at-home testing kit that makes checking one’s reproductive health as simple as submitting a 23andMe gene sample. Some notes: Read Arielle’s story on Silicon Valley’s dive into fertility tech. Here’s the test kit from Modern Fertility. Lauren is out this week, but will be back next week to talk about Apple. Recommendations this week: Arielle wants you to hear the latest episode of This American Life. Mike wants you to hear PSB’s new M4U 8 headphones. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric, Lauren Goode is @laurengoode, and Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys. How to Listen You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how: If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Radio Public, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed. We’re also on Soundcloud, and every episode gets posted to wired.com as soon as it’s released. If you still can’t figure it out, or there’s another platform you use that we’re not on, let us know.

"Bikes" Calore makes a case for why everyone should bike more-and tells you the gear you need to do it right.