WIRED Politics Lab

WIRED

Politics has never been stranger – or more online. Each week on WIRED Politics Lab, our reporters guide you through the exciting, challenging and sometimes entertaining vortex of internet extremism, conspiracies, and disinformation. Expect in-depth analysis and conversations based on facts and research. Plus, we’ll give you information you can actually use to lift the fog of disinformation we find ourselves in today.

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Our Editor's Take

What does the future have in store for science and technology? That's the question the Have A Nice Future | WIRED podcast tries to answer. WIRED journalists Lauren Goode and Gideon Lichfield inquire into what will happen in the future. They speak with writers, business owners, futurists, and academics. All have different opinions on where the future of humanity will go. The hosts ask what the future could hold and if the world wants that.

Have A Nice Future explores the climate crisis and how to save the planet. It also discusses a future where chatbots run the world. In another episode, the hosts explore the viruses that could cure cancer. Elsewhere, they discuss diet culture and appetite-suppressing drugs like Ozempic. The podcast discovers breakthroughs that could bring significant changes to the world. It inquires into the ethics and consequences of those breakthroughs. The discussion is fascinating and captivating. The podcast takes the latest scientific innovations and applies them to human life. Are all scientific breakthroughs good for humanity? Are some best left in the past?

Guests on the Have A Nice Future podcast include a wide range of experts. Among them are medical researchers, company founders, scientists, and scholars. WIRED senior editor Michael Calore joins the podcast for a Gadget Lab crossover episode. Gadget Lab is another podcast produced by WIRED. During these crossover episodes, the hosts discuss how the latest technologies affect people.

Each episode of Have A Nice Future | WIRED focuses on one topic and is around 40 minutes long.

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New Podcast: WIRED Politics Lab
Mar 20 2024
New Podcast: WIRED Politics Lab
Politics has never been stranger – or more online. Each week on WIRED Politics Lab, our reporters guide you through the exciting, challenging and sometimes entertaining vortex of internet extremism, conspiracies, and disinformation. Expect in-depth analysis and conversations based on facts and research. Plus, we’ll give you information you can actually use to lift the fog of disinformation we find ourselves in today.You can subscribe to the Wired Politics newsletter here.

Episodes

How Far-Right, Extremist Militias Organize On Facebook
Yesterday
How Far-Right, Extremist Militias Organize On Facebook
Far-right militia, extremist groups are using Facebook to organize ahead of the US presidential election. After laying low for several years after the Capitol riot on January 6, militia extremists have been quietly reorganizing, ramping up recruitment and rhetoric on Facebook—with apparently little concern that Meta will enforce its own ban against them, according to new research by the Tech Transparency Project shared exclusively with Wired. These groups, which are set up locally, encourage members to engage in combat training and recruitment.Today on WIRED Politics Lab, we discuss Facebook’s culpability, and what this means as we head into November.Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. David Gilbert is @DaithaiGilbert. Tess Owen is @misstessowen.  Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.
The TikTok Ultimatum Is Here
Apr 25 2024
The TikTok Ultimatum Is Here
This might be the end of TikTok. President Joe Biden signed a bill this week which allows the US government to ban the platform if TikTok doesn't divest from it's China-based owner, ByteDance, within a year.Today on the show, we’re going to talk about what happens to TikTok now and how this new law affects the politicians and influencers who use TikTok.Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. Tori Elliott is @Telliotter.  Makena Kelly is @kellymakena. Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.
RFK Jr.’s Very Online, Conspiracy-Filled Campaign
Apr 18 2024
RFK Jr.’s Very Online, Conspiracy-Filled Campaign
In the year since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially launched his presidential campaign, his extreme conspiracies and very online outreach tactics have added up to a pretty effective independent bid. Today on Wired Politics Lab, we look into how RFK Jr. continues to build a following. We talk about his recent VP pick, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, his media outreach, and the staff behind it all. And, of course, how his push for ballot access in the US might make him a spoiler candidate in the 2024 election.You can find more from Makena Kelly on RFK Jr. here, and from Anna Merlan here. Be sure to subscribe to WIRED Politics Lab here.
How Election Deniers Are Weaponizing Tech To Disrupt November
Apr 11 2024
How Election Deniers Are Weaponizing Tech To Disrupt November
Election deniers are mobilizing their supporters and rolling out new tech to disrupt the November election. These groups are already organizing on hyperlocal levels, and learning to monitor polling places, target election officials, and challenge voter rolls. And though their work was once fringe, it's become mainstreamed in the Republican Party. Today on WIRED Politics Lab, we focus on what these groups are doing, and what this means for voters and the election workers already facing threats and harassment.Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here
WIRED Politics Lab Trailer
Apr 4 2024
WIRED Politics Lab Trailer
Politics has never been stranger – or more online. Each week on WIRED Politics Lab, our reporters guide you through the exciting, challenging and sometimes entertaining vortex of internet extremism, conspiracies, and disinformation. Expect in-depth analysis and conversations based on facts and research. Plus, we’ll give you information you can actually use to lift the fog of disinformation we find ourselves in today.
New Podcast: WIRED Politics Lab
Mar 20 2024
New Podcast: WIRED Politics Lab
Politics has never been stranger – or more online. Each week on WIRED Politics Lab, our reporters guide you through the exciting, challenging and sometimes entertaining vortex of internet extremism, conspiracies, and disinformation. Expect in-depth analysis and conversations based on facts and research. Plus, we’ll give you information you can actually use to lift the fog of disinformation we find ourselves in today.You can subscribe to the Wired Politics newsletter here.