Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i WIRED

RE: “STAR, DESTROYER” Prevent the end of civilization for the cost of a postage stamp? Sounds good to me!—Gabriel Austin Henton, via Twitter RE: “STAR, DESTROYER” We know the source and the damage a coronal mass ejection can inflict. We also know how to protect ourselves from catastrophe. But as the recent winter power failure in Texas shows, the utility companies are not ready for it. I’m glad to keep extra packages of grits and buckwheat around to soak in water. I just hope I can get some water! —M. Barkan This is a Covid-like scenario. With modest up-front cost and responsible planning, we can avoid a disaster. However, do you trust the patchwork of utilities across the country to do anything about it, besides ensuring you pay your electric…

IN THE BEGINNING, there was AOL Instant Messenger. OK, not really. Talkomatic, CompuServe’s CB Simulator, and Internet Relay Chat all preceded it. But AIM was the beginning of something, a gateway to real-time internet communication for the normies. You didn’t need to be a computer nerd to ride the AIM train. You popped the CD in the Gateway 2000, plugged your corded phone into a modem, and you were off. Actually, on. Very online, and very unaware at the time that the portal would disappear behind you, that you would never again live a wholly offline life. AIM, which launched 25 years ago, represented that moment for me. It propelled me into a universe of limitless pixels and endless distractions. It was also a live social network. A digital door…

Poppin Organizer Caddy If you’re hot-desking, WeWorking, or art-studioing, Poppin’s handy organizer lets you tote your stash of essentials from desk to desk while keeping your shared workspace tidy. The 12 compartments have ample room for pens, notebooks, markers, paint brushes, and hand sanitizer. The caddy is only about 12 inches long and 7 inches tall, so it’s easy to slip into a drawer or cabinet for storage. $28 REI Co-Op Rainwall Kids Rain Jacket We are continually surprised by the value of REI’s in-house line of rain jackets. The quality of this children’s option is exceptional given its sub-$100 price. The Rainwall has plenty of premium features like zippered pockets, sealed seams, a lined collar, and a multilayer construction that blocks the wind and rain while retaining a fair…

—@KuraFire, via Twitter Honorable Mentions 42 was definitely not the answer. —Simona Riva, via Facebook Dear humans, nobody wants unsolicited nudes. —@OhCooley44, via Twitter Humans! There goes the dang neighborhood. —S.V. Mosaic, via Facebook Is this DC’s or Marvel’s Universe? —Thomas Davis, via email “The robots are BLEEDING!” she screamed. —@Vince_Freeman, via Twitter Directions to transdimensional left luggage office? —Max Thoursie, via email Want to submit a six-word story for us to consider? At the beginning of each month, we ask for new ideas on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and wired.com/six-word, where you can also see how we’ve illustrated past favorites. Disclaimer: All #WIREDSIXWORD submissions become the property of wired. Submissions will not be acknowledged or returned. Submissions and any other materials, including your name or social media handle, may be…

I USED TO co-run a software company. My cofounder is Lebanese, so we built a team in Beirut with an office right on the Levantine Sea. Great software engineers over there, excellent front-end talent. But Lebanon has been going through it. And not just in the normal “wedged between factions in an eternal global crisis zone” way. First the financial system collapsed (no problem, the team said), then the pandemic hit hard (we’re doing OK), then Beirut was partially destroyed in a port explosion (a terrible day, but we’ll get through it). Then we learned that people were powering their houses with DIY solar or diesel generators (don’t mention it) and getting internet through mobile hot spots (almost always works fine). We rented spare apartments for folks having trouble getting…

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY— OR EVERY DECADE— THAT A BOOK COMES ALONG AND PUNCHES A HOLE IN HISTORY. THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING DID, AND I HAD TO MEET ONE OF THE MINDS BEHIND ITS WORLD-TILTING REVELATIONS. THE PHRASE “the dawn of everything” first struck David Wengrow, one of the authors of The Dawn of Everything, as marvelously absurd. Everything. Everything! It was too gigantic, too rich, too loonily sublime. Penguin, the book’s august publisher, would hate it. But Wengrow, a sly, convivial British archaeologist at University College London, and his coauthor, the notorious American anthropologist and anarchist David Graeber, whose sudden death in Venice two years ago shocked a world of admirers, couldn’t let it go. Twitter users, after all, dug the title—Graeber had asked—and it suited the pair’s cosmic undertaking. Their book…

WHAT DO A REAL HOUSEWIFE, AN OLYMPIC ATHLETE, A PHYSICAL THERAPIST, A DOULA, AND A NASCAR DRIVER HAVE IN COMMON? THEY’RE ALL BEING PAID BY A NEW BELTWAY AD-TECH STARTUP AS INFLUENCERS——PEDDLING NOT PRODUCTS BUT IDEOLOGIES. AT FIRST GLANCE, the posts appeared to have nothing in common. A Philadelphia-area attorney who proffers financial advice urged her 1,700 Twitter followers to sign up for a credit union. A 23-year-old climate activist in Texas rallied her 49,000 fans on TikTok and Instagram to join a mailing list promoting Democrats in statewide offices. A physical therapist for the elderly in Florida proddedher3,900Instagram followers to sign a petition demanding that Congress pass paid medical leave, sharing the story of her grandmother’s battle with dementia. Each of these posts was funded by a well-heeled advocacy…

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MOUSE TRIPS OUT: IT BECOMES MORE curious about other mice and more likely to socialize with them for long periods of time. It becomes less likely to glug massive amounts of alcohol. It wriggles, quavering, like a wet dog shaking off rain. And its head twitches, rapidly, side to side. Because a mouse on LSD cannot tell you that colors seem brighter or the walls are melting or a guitar solo somehow sounds purple, these head twitches are of tremendous importance to chemist Jason Wallach. “If you want to know if a compound is likely to cause a psychedelic effect in humans,” says Wallach, speaking from his tiny office in the Discovery Center at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, “you look to the mice,…