Anthony Lydgate

A New Era for WIRED—That Starts With You As of today, there are even more ways to enjoy WIRED’s journalism, including premium newsletters and livestream Q&As. Join us.

I’m incredibly excited for you to see what we’re working on for this month and the months after

Read @katie-drummond.bsky.social’s note on where we’re going and why we want you with us

www.wired.com/story/a-new-...

Your Favorite New Coworker Is an AI-Enhanced Operative From North Korea For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever.

“He’d unwittingly made contact with an army of seemingly unassuming IT workers, deployed to work remotely for American and European companies under false identities, all to bankroll the government of North Korea.”

By @bobbie.net

www.wired.com/story/north-...

Inside Google’s Two-Year Frenzy to Catch Up With OpenAI The search giant should’ve been first to the chatbot revolution. It wasn’t. So it punched back with late nights, layoffs—and lowering some guardrails.

For their inside account of “the most frenzied and culture-reshaping period” in Google’s history, @peard33.bsky.social and @arielle.bsky.social spoke with more than 50 current and former employees

www.wired.com/story/google...

The Big Story

I could, and will, go on, but honestly, just scroll through: www.wired.com/category/big...

Here Comes the Sun—to End Civilization Every so often, our star fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? Capacitors.

Cheating a bit, but another great harrowing one from a few years ago, by @mattribel.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/sun-st...

The Quantum Apocalypse Is Coming. Be Very Afraid What happens when quantum computers can finally crack encryption and break into the world’s best-kept secrets? It’s called Q-Day—the worst holiday maybe ever.

OK last harrowing one from this year: @amitkatwala.bsky.social adding Q-Day to the growing list of apocalypses to think about

www.wired.com/story/q-day-...

The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians A handful of gifted young tech people set out to save the world. For years, WIRED has been tracking each twist and turn of their alleged descent into mayhem and death.

Another harrowing one: “A handful of gifted young tech people set out to save the world. For years, WIRED has been tracking each twist and turn of their alleged descent into mayhem and death.”

by @evrat.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/deliri...

To support us, hit the link here: www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

That last one was from a package we put together called Beyond Wellness, which includes the aforementioned moldy citrus in Bryan Johnson’s kitchen and many other goodies

bsky.app/profile/wire...

Where Are All the AI Drugs? In an industry where 90 percent of drug candidates fail before reaching the market, a handful of startups are betting everything on AI to beat the odds.

More than 90 percent of drug candidates fail to reach the market. Is AI about to change all that?

(LOOK AT THIS ART)

By Veronique Greenwood:

www.wired.com/story/artifi...

not going to comment on an active investigation

3 Teens Almost Got Away With Murder. Then Police Found Their Google Searches An arson attack in Colorado had detectives stumped. The way they solved the case could put everyone at risk.

The harrowing story of how homicide detectives found the arsonists behind a fire that killed a family—and why their approach has some saying it infringes on the online privacy of millions.

By Raksha Vasudevan:

www.wired.com/story/find-m...

The Epic Rise and Fall of a Dark-Web Psychedelics Kingpin Interdimensional travel, sex with aliens, communion with God. Anything is possible with just a sprinkle of DMT. Akasha Song’s secret labs made millions of doses—and dollars—until the feds showed up.

How did a Texas door-to-door vacuum salesman become “the Pablo Escobar of psychedelics”? Long story. @agreenberg.bsky.social tells it all, from the “hyperintelligent 3-foot-tall Gumby” to the “14-foot-tall pillar of flame.”

www.wired.com/story/rise-f...

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’ Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out tens of thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data. The next step: Unleash the AI.

That was “Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup,’” by @makenakelly.bsky.social, @davidgilbert.bsky.social, @telliotter.bsky.social, @knibbs.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, @dell.bsky.social, @timmarchman.bsky.social, @leahfeiger.bsky.social, and @zoeschiffer.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’ Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out tens of thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data. The next step: Unleash the AI.

“WIRED spoke with more than 150 current and former federal employees, experts, and Musk supporters across more than 20 agencies to expose the inner workings of DOGE.”

So many incredible reporters worked on this story that a separate skeet is required to list them all.

www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Now, here are some of this year’s stories from the @wired.com features team that I’ll remember for years to come.

The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

It’s been a news-breaking year for @WIRED.com

The DOGE boys! www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

The missing minutes from the Epstein prison video! www.wired.com/story/the-fb...

Bryan Johnson’s moldy citrus! www.wired.com/story/big-in...

$2/month for more of this

I edit features @WIRED.com and work with some of Earth’s best journalists. Right now a subscription to our journalism costs TWO DOLLARS PER MONTH.

Yes, there is a limited-edition tote.

And yes, we do hyphenate certain compound modifiers such as “limited edition.”

www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

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.

Could the psychedelic world’s new Trumpworld allies be the ones who finally help it achieve its goal?

www.wired.com/story/psyche...

The GOP's Message for Tech Billionaires: Be Like Peter Thiel One lesson Republican insiders took away from Elon Musk's spectacular flameout? Be wary of billionaires who love the spotlight.

Introducing my new premium newsletter for
@wired.com, Inner Loop.

This inaugural edition is right in the wheelhouse of what you can expect — the intersection of Trumpworld and Silicon Valley billionaires — but if you'll indulge me in a thread on our new subscription.. www.wired.com/story/peter-...

so you’re telling me that for the price of one subway ride per month you can get gorgeous print magazines sent to your doorstep, digital access to EVERY SINGLE WIRED STORY & all of our new subscriber-exclusive features, AND A TOTE BAG 👜📖💻👾✨ ????

HERE’S THE LINK:

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...

A New Era for WIRED—That Starts With You As of today, there are even more ways to enjoy WIRED’s journalism, including premium newsletters and livestream Q&As. Join us.

This is a big day for WIRED. We enhancing and relaunching our subscription offerings. Think -- amazing newsletters, more live q&as, a TOTE BAG!!! And daily doses of the amazing reporting that my colleagues do. www.wired.com/story/a-new-...

Get WIRED, delivered straight to you. WIRED newsletters are an essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation.

What’s coming next? More great reporting. More must-read features. And a set of subscriber-only newsletters that will break news every week across AI, politics, and more.

If you’re thinking about subscribing to WIRED, I hope this handful of stories and our new offerings convinced you to join our community.

If you already subscribe – thank you. Now please send this subscription sign-up link to everyone you know:

Beyond Wellness The line between science and wellness has been blurred beyond recognition. WIRED is here to help.

Finally, we're going bigger and more ambitious than ever with online and print packages.

This week's "Beyond Wellness" edition is a tour-de-force, covering everything from Trump's war on cancer research to the future of brain-computer interfaces. A week's worth of reading, all in one place.

The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians A handful of gifted young tech people set out to save the world. For years, WIRED has been tracking each twist and turn of their alleged descent into mayhem and death.

WIRED also kills it with ambitious narrative storytelling. Pieces you can lean back and spend time with (in the mag, on your phone, wherever)!

Take, for example, Evan Ratliff’s dive into the world’s first AI-inflected death cult, the Zizians, and their staggering cross-country murder spree.

The Wild True Story Behind Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show From the start, Kendrick Lamar wanted to turn his life into a video game for his big Super Bowl halftime show. The team tasked with doing that knew what to do—right down to sourcing a vintage GNX.

We are, of course, very good at having fun—and at showing people how stuff works. Take the BTS story of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl show, from concept to construction to lighting and choreography.

One of our top-performing stories and videos of 2025—and great counterprogramming to the dystopia.

DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

Our DOGE coverage was unparalleled. For months, WIRED broke news on the beat multiple times a day, lapping our competitors and publishing revelation after revelation about DOGE’s exploits. My personal favorite? Introducing readers to “Big Balls” and his various shenanigans:

Today, we're launching a new, improved subscription to give our fans more of the @wired.com they love. It includes:

- Five exclusive, subscriber-only newsletters

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It's been a remarkable year so far. A look back: 🧵