Manisha Krishnan

Combating Domestic Violent Extremism Is No Longer a FEMA Priority Documents obtained by WIRED show FEMA plans to direct states and tribes to halt activities intended to combat domestic violent extremism so as to align with "current administration priorities."

SCOOP from me: FEMA is planning to order states to immediately stop activities intended to combat domestic violent extremism - the latest in a broad federal move to downplay the threat:

The US Military Is Raking in Millions From On-Base Slot Machines The Defense Department operates slot machines on US military bases overseas, raising tens of millions of dollars to fund recreation for troops—and creating risks for soldiers prone to gambling addiction.

The Defense Department operates slot machines on US military bases overseas, raising tens of millions of dollars to fund recreation for troops—and creating risks for soldiers prone to gambling addiction. www.wired.com/story/us-mil...

The FBI Redacted Trump’s Name in the Epstein Files The bureau’s FOIA team tasked with conducting a final review of the records blacked out the names before higher-ups said last month that releasing the documents ‘would not be appropriate or warranted....

NEW FOIA Files SCOOP: The FBI redacted Trump’s name—and the names of other prominent public figures—from the Epstein files under two privacy exemptions before DOJ & FBI concluded “no further disclosure” of the files “would be appropriate or warranted.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

What JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Sam Altman Can’t Stop Listening To, According to the ‘Panama Playlists’ A new website claims to know the Spotify listening habits of Trump officials, tech leaders—and even journalists. Attorney General Pam Bondi allegedly jams out to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre."

“Even gay Republicans couldn’t resist the gravitational pull of Brat summer, it seems, with… Jacob Helberg listening to Charli XCX’s ‘Apple’ over 50 times in the past year.” @thiccreese.bsky.social listened to the “Panama Playlists” and ngl he found some bangers:
www.wired.com/story/i-list...

Scientists Say New Government Climate Report Twists Their Work A new Department of Energy report “fundamentally misrepresents” climate research and leaves out key context, multiple scientists cited in the report tell WIRED.

NEW: i spoke to nine (!) scientists across several disciplines whose work was cited in the new Department of Energy report that downplays the severity of climate change. all of them say their work was misrepresented, cherry picked, and/or lacked context —

What JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Sam Altman Can’t Stop Listening To, According to the ‘Panama Playlists’ A new website claims to know the Spotify listening habits of Trump officials, tech leaders—and even journalists. Attorney General Pam Bondi allegedly jams out to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre."

A new website claims to know the Spotify listening habits of Trump officials, tech leaders—and even journalists. Attorney General Pam Bondi allegedly jams out to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre." www.wired.com/story/i-list...

hi there, I am using this rare footage capturing the moment of a journalist being born as a ploy to get you to read a thread about what I do at WIRED as director of multiplatform video ↓↓↓↓↓

Big Tech Asked for Looser Clean Water Act Permitting. Trump Wants to Give It to Them New AI regulations suggested by the White House mirror changes to environmental permitting suggested by Meta and a lobbying group representing firms like Google and Amazon Web Services.

SCOOP from me: Trump's AI action plan released last week makes a specific set of recommendations around loosening Clean Water Act permits for data centers — recommendations mirrored in letters sent to the administration by Big Tech lobbyists earlier this year:

Psychedelic Therapy Crashed and Burned. MAHA Might Bring It Back Abuse allegations and infighting helped kill a campaign to legalize MDMA for medical use. Trumpworld is giving the therapy’s advocates hope for a second shot.

NEW @wired.com: A look into the roller coaster ride that MDMA has had as a government approved therapy. Will MAHA save it (again)? www.wired.com/story/psyche...

Over the last year, WIRED has gained … something of a reputation. A good one. One that involved offering more scoops than a Ben & Jerry’s. On top of all that excellent reporting we’ve served up fantastic editorial packages. As their curator, here are my faves of 2025.
www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

Reading my colleagues has honestly made me smarter and we have SO much more in the works. The new sub comes with access to newsletters covering Trump's inner circle, China, AI, and Silicon Valley. Most importantly, it will help WIRED keep holding power to account:
www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

Thanks to Zillow, Your Friends Know How Much Your House Costs—or if You’re Secretly Rich A quick search of your friends’ addresses can yield one of the most private details of their financial lives. Some people say their wealthy acquaintances aren’t happy about it.

I love gossip. I think any journalist should. So I ate up this story from @elanaklein.bsky.social about people snooping on Zillow to assess their friends' socioeconomic status, in some cases finding out they're secretly a lot wealthier than they let on: www.wired.com/story/people...

Snake Venom, Urine, and a Quest to Live Forever: Inside a Biohacking Conference Emboldened by MAHA WIRED attended a biohacking conference filled with unorthodox and often unproven anti-aging treatments. Adherents revealed how the Make America Healthy Again movement has given them a renewed fervor.

We attended a longevity conference, where the promise of living "beyond 180" is being sold via (largely) untested treatments involving urine, snake venom, and more. The community is feeling emboldened by RFK Jr. and the advent of MAHA: www.wired.com/story/biohac...

A Trans Pilot Was Falsely Blamed for a Plane Crash. Now She’s Fighting the Right-Wing Disinfo Machine National Guard pilot Jo Ellis is suing a right-wing influencer for falsely blaming her for a DC crash that killed 67 people. A WIRED review reveals 12 similar incidents of scapegoating trans people.

We profiled the trans National Guard pilot who was falsely blamed for the DC air crash—and tracked how the right-wing media ecosystem regularly engages in disinfo campaigns that blame trans people for violent crimes and tragedies: www.wired.com/story/a-tran...

Your Favorite Porn Stars Are Sick of Being Censored. But They’re Not Going Away We spent the Pornhub Awards with some of the site’s biggest stars to talk censorship, making money, and the popularity of trans porn—all while the site is blocked in more than a third of US states.

I spent a day in West Hollywood with some of PornHub's biggest stars ahead of their awards show to find out how they're coping with the right-wing war on porn, which is only poised to get worse with the Supreme Court's recent age-verification ruling: www.wired.com/story/pornhu...

Is He Really Mad at Me? Maybe ChatGPT Knows People are turning to generative AI to sort out their interpersonal conflicts, but some say it’s heightening their anxiety.

@megannicolett.bsky.social is known for gaming coverage, but she also wrote this bonkers story on people litigating their breakups and situationships by dumping their entire text histories into ChatGPT—and using it as a life coach: www.wired.com/story/using-...

A $17 Hotdog and a Humanoid Robot Serving Popcorn: WIRED’s Day at the Tesla Diner WIRED stopped by the new Tesla Diner in Hollywood to talk to people who still stan Elon Musk. “I want to go to Mars, and he is going to take us,” one visitor told us.

Just last week, @jasooooon.bsky.social went to the opening of LA's new Tesla Diner for a scene report on Elon Musk heads, one is still hoping he'll take her to Mars; another has worked at Tesla for 13 years hoping to meet him: www.wired.com/story/search...

I joined @wired.com's culture desk in March. From the eye-opening ways people are using AI, to modern dating conundrums, to MAGA's expanding influence on pop culture and wellness, here are some of my fav recent stories. If you're into it, please consider subscribing! www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

Steam and Itch.io Are Pulling ‘Porn’ Games. Critics Say It’s a Slippery Slope to More Censorship A conservative group is targeting payment processors as “a weapon” to get adult games deindexed in storefronts. Even games that have nothing to do with sex or abuse have been caught in the dragnet.

On Wednesday evening, developers began to notice their games were being unceremoniously delisted or outright removed from Itch.io. Itch's founder says it's the direct result of a financial censorship campaign from Collective Shout, an org with ties to anti-porn groups www.wired.com/story/steam-...

When I tell people I work at @wired.com, one thing I hear over and over is "Oh, you guys are killing it!" That's true, we have been killing it, and I'm proud to say that! 2025 has been a crazy ride, and so much more is on the way.

Here’s what coming to subscribers: www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

Anime Girl VTubers Are Selling Out Concerts, but Are They ‘Real?’ Depends on Who You Ask Virtual anime streamers are selling out live venues, singing at pro sports games, and launching record labels, with fans showering them with presents and suspending disbelief in service of the bit.

Virtual anime streamers are selling out live venues, singing at pro sports games, and launching record labels, with fans showering them with presents and suspending disbelief in service of the bit.

Americans Are Obsessed With Watching Short Video Dramas From China How did steamy, short soap operas that originated in China become the hottest thing in Hollywood, seemingly overnight?

Thrilled about the launch of Made in China, an indispensable weekly newsletter from @zeyiyang.bsky.social and @lmatsakis.bsky.social. Sign up and learn a little something! www.wired.com/story/china-...

Paramount Has a $1.5 Billion ‘South Park’ Problem The White House says the show is “fourth-rate” after it showed Trump with “tiny” genitals. The controversy comes just as the FCC has greenlit Paramount’s merger with Skydance and promised to end DEI.

Gotta read @manishakrishnan.bsky.social on the Trump South Park episode www.wired.com/story/paramo...

Paramount Has a $1.5 Billion ‘South Park’ Problem The White House says the show is “fourth-rate” after it showed Trump with “tiny” genitals. The controversy comes just as the FCC has greenlit Paramount’s merger with Skydance and promised to end DEI.

When I asked the White House about the episode, spokesperson Taylor Rogers derided "The Left" for being hypocrites and said "no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.” A lot more in here: www.wired.com/story/paramo...

They reincarinated him as Saddam, made fun of his genitals in animation and deep fake, and portrayed him a petulant, litigious child. Meanwhile Paramount just got FCC approval to merge with Skydance, and "make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network."

Paramount Has a $1.5 Billion ‘South Park’ Problem The White House says the show is “fourth-rate” after it showed Trump with “tiny” genitals. The controversy comes just as the FCC has greenlit Paramount’s merger with Skydance and promised to end DEI.

My jaw repeatedly dropped watching South Park's brutal roast of Trump AND Paramount, the company that just forked over $1.5 billion to stream it—and that canceled Colbert after he accused them of bribing Trump. Here's me making sense of it all: www.wired.com/story/paramo...

this story has everything from

- a “realtor and dj” who says he’ll be there for after parties
- a guy who called it a good date spot
- a person who says she wants musk to take her to mars
- and a $17 (rubbery) hot dog

also petition to get elon musk to stop thinking 4:20 is a joke my culture is not your costume

One person told @jasooooon.bsky.social that this would be a great date spot and exactly what LA needed. "It’s just cool overall.”

Chat, would you take someone on a date at the Tesla diner?
www.wired.com/story/search...

Musk first announced his plans for a diner in 2018. Seven years later, that vision came to life at exactly 4:20 pm Monday, a cherished stoner reference of Musk’s and one that probably peaked when he was still in college.

The hot dog (rubbery texture and taste): $17
www.wired.com/story/search...