Gadget 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.

Technology
Tech News
1
Taylor Swift’s Pro-Russia Doppelganger
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.
34 min
2
Blue Bubbles Versus Green Bubbles
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?
43 min
3
Journalists in Studio Getting Coffee
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.
39 min
4
Geoffrey Hinton: ‘It’s Far Too Late’ to Stop Ar...
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.
35 min
5
How Three Teens Broke the Internet
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.
37 min
6
Oh, the Humaneity
This week, we talk about the new Humane wearable and the future of phone alternatives.
33 min
7
Happy 1-Year Muskiversary
This week, we analyze all the changes at X during its first year under new ownership.
41 min
8
23andMe and You
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.
32 min
9
Misinformation Is Soaring Online. Don’t Fall fo...
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.
41 min
10
Business Wars: Living in an Artificial World
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.
48 min
11
Searching for a Better Google
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.
38 min
12
Meta’s Sound and Vision
This week, we cover the latest news from Meta: AI-enabled smart glasses, a VR headset, and an army of fresh chatbots.
36 min
13
Alexa Gets an AI Makeover
This week, we learn how Amazon is teaching Alexa more skills to help it better compete in a landscape lousy with chatbots.
30 min
14
Your Life, Your iPhone
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.
38 min
15
We Robloxed So You Don’t Have To
This week, we discuss how adding animated chats to Roblox will advance the company’s plan to enrich its virtual world.
37 min
16
I Love You, I Hate You, Don’t Call Me
This week, we ask ourselves what our reliance on our smartphones tells us about our wants and fears.
46 min
17
The Case of the Not-Stolen AirPods
This week, we discuss a recent court case in Illinois that illustrates how police overreach into school discipline has affected students and their families.
31 min
18
The Cruelest Summer
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.
40 min
19
Nobody’s Driving That Car!
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.
34 min
20
Farm-to-Table Internet
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.
32 min
21
The Future of Hollywood
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.
36 min
22
Elon Musk’s Grand xAI Plans
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.
35 min
23
Stop Trying to Make New Twitter Happen
This week, we talk about the instant popularity of Threads, poor little Bluesky, and why Twitter likely isn’t going anywhere.
38 min
24
Have a Nice Future: Don't Worry, It Gets Worse
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.
33 min
25
Our Clothes Are Making Us Sick
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.
32 min