Innehållsförteckning för October 2016 från WIRED

THE SECONDS before a SpaceX launch are tense. The ground shakes, plumes of smoke engulf the Falcon 9, and you can’t help holding your breath and crossing your fingers. Will it work? Will something blow up? And will SpaceX once again manage to land the rocket’s reusable first-stage booster back on Earth? ¶ When I was at Cape Canaveral last December, things were not looking up: SpaceX had suffered through a year of crash landings and one major explosion. Hoping to witness a success, I ventured to the beach to find a spot close to Landing Zone 1, along Florida’s famous Space Coast. I nestled my computer in the sand to track the mission’s progress and awaited the countdown with a group of nervous bystanders. ¶ The roar of the…

THE NBA’S COLLECTIVE bargaining rules— which mainly govern contracts for players and team-building protocols—are messy and complicated, even for some league staffers. So when they needed extra lessons on the finer points, they enrolled in a summer class with Nate Duncan. He’s not an executive or a former player, though. He’s a podcaster. ¶ In the year since launching Dunc’d On, Duncan has become king of, as he puts it, “the NBA nerds.” While fellow pundits often parrot the hot takes of the moment— such-and-such team is having an awful offseason, say—Duncan backs up his claims with a bevy of observations and research you can’t find anywhere else. He knows listeners crave in-depth analysis, whether the topic is LeBron James’ shooting or the number of future draft picks the Memphis…

THE VOORHES Citric Acid Tangy fruits, like lemon and lime, are loaded with citric acid. So are Warheads, where it provides the initial blast of so-badit’s-good sour. Like all acids, citric acid yields hydrogen ions that activate the tongue’s sour taste receptors. Microencapsulated Malic Acid There’s a persistence to the sour in Warheads. To prolong the pucker, malic acid (the stuff that gives apples their natural tartness) is coated with hydrogenated palm oil, which likely acts as an invisible time- release mechanism. As the oil melts, it releases hits of malic acid. Like citric acid, large quantities of malic acid can cause dental erosion and canker sores, thus the product warning: “Eating multiple pieces within a short time period may cause a temporary irritation to sensitive tongues and mouths.” Corn…

SHELF LIFE FOR BLOOD PRODUCTS 5 days Platelets Up to 35 days Whole blood Up to 42 days Red blood cells 365 days Plasma ALTHOUGH WE’RE IN the midst of a critical blood shortage, fewer than 10 percent of eligible donors roll up their sleeves to give blood. But it’s a logistics problem as well as a supply problem: There is no central nationwide database to track the availability and cost of blood products, so getting a pint to a patient in need is akin to calling multiple airlines to compare flight schedules and prices. “It’s a massively fragmented patchwork,” says health care entrepreneur Christopher Godfrey. To address these inefficiencies, Godfrey founded Bloodbuy, a Dallas startup whose cloud-based platform allows hospitals and acute-care facilities to shop for blood at the…

Cable TV is expensive, unnavigable, and overrun by loud, angry pundits. But at least when you turn it on, you get TV. Not true of our media players—the Rokus, Amazon Fires, and Apple TVs. When you boot those up, you get … menus. Terrible, messy, slow-loading menus. Menus that require scrolling, swiping, spinning in place, and clicking your heels together. And don’t even bother searching. (Jesus, when will someone figure out search?) So you waste the length of a TV show browsing, or you just give up and watch Always Sunny for the 36th time. It’s annoying and sad, because there’s so much good stuff out there. This is Peak TV, people! And these services have scary amounts of data about their content and your interests. They should be able…

1 Budnitz Model E BEST FOR: 9-to-5 style mavens Budnitz’s newest whip takes the company’s signature titanium frame and carbon belt drive and adds a 250-watt rear hub motor. Hit the wall halfway up the hill? Indulge in a spot o’ pedal assist. When the going gets less tough, just use it like a regular single-speed steed. The bike has a 20- to 100-mile range, depending on how much help you need. Regenerative braking adds electrons to the tank as you obey all stop signs. $7,450 and up 2 Stromer ST2 S BEST FOR: Longrange adventurers Just like your Tesla, the new Stromer receives over-theair software updates for its touchscreen. It has GPS tracking too, good for logging rides and foiling thieves. The 11-speed model comes with a 500-watt drive…

IT FEELS INEVITABLE that Oliver Stone would make a movie about Edward Snowden. The exiled whistle-blower, as Stone told me, embodies traits and themes the director has been drawn to in more than a few of his films: Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July,Wall Street,JFK. Movies about idealistic (possibly naive) young men who see their principles tested and their sense of self transformed inside the belly of a beast—where the beast is one of the big institutions of American power. ¶ Snowden, Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden and Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, is the 20th feature film Stone has directed. True to his almost compulsive record of courting controversy, Snowden takes on one of the most divisive Americans of the 21st century. “At first, I didn’t…

MEET THE DESIGNERS OF DESIRE ON A WALL in Glossier’s conference room hangs a framed white napkin with the beauty brand’s guiding principles scrawled in red lipstick: Inclusive, Innovative, Clever, Fun, Thoughtful. Not the most radical words, per se, but they begin to explain how this completely digital company has built an online following so rabid that, for a period of time last year, its eyebrow product had a 10,000-person wait list. Glossier (a play on the word dossier) doesn’t rely on celebrity ads or high-profile department store placements. Employees talk to customers directly—via email, social media, the company’s site—in a casual voice that young people understand. If there’s such a thing as designing a millennial approach for selling a product, this gets pretty close: real and unmediated, the antibrand…

IF YOU’VE EVER tried to snap a photo of a perfect cocktail, chances are the result was not at all perfect. Photography is an art form most of us iPhone-wielding amateurs do not understand. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn. Here, three professionals reveal how they transform everyday objects—a glass of whiskey, an elegant shoe— into images that make you want what you see. You may not be able to replicate the exact shots, but you can use these strategies to significantly up your Instagram game. —Emma Grey Ellis BOOZE ADAM VOORHES & ROBIN FINLAY Known professionally as The Voorhes, this duo is a (married) photographer/stylist team who specialize in still lifes. They shoot WIRED’s monthly What’s Inside column. Keep Your Whites White FINLAY: “You know when you shoot…

WHAT KIND OF JOB DO YOU HAVE? ENGINEER A REAL ENGINEER OR A PROGRAMMER? PROGRAMMERS ARE REAL ENGINEERS! FINE. WHAT DO YOU SNACK ON AT WORK? CHEETOS AND MOUNTAIN DEW LACED-TOO-TIGHT SAUCONY CLIF BARS AND KOMBUCHA TEVA SANDALS SALES THE REAL KIND WHICH TYPE? ELECTRICAL TIMBERLANDS BULLETPROOF COFFEE AND MEDITATION VIBRAM FIVEFINGERS HOW DO YOU GET YOURSELF PUMPED UP FOR A COLD CALL? RED BULL AND METALLICA REEBOK PUMPS ESPRESSO SHOTS AND POWER POSES JIMMY CHOO PUMPS MECHANICAL CIVIL WINGTIPS MEDIA ONLINE OR THE DYING KIND? ONLINE CONVERSE ALL STARS THE DYING KIND PRISTINE WHITE NEW BALANCE CROSS TRAINERS UGG BOOTS I DON’T REALLY PAY ATTENTION. I’M ALWAYS ON INSTAGRAM. NIKE HYPERADAPT 1.0 I DON’T CARE ABOUT FOLLOWERS. I HAVE 12 50-DAY-PLUS SNAPSTREAKS GOING! YEEZY BOOST 350 MILLIONS DO YOU…

If all you think about is your next meal, we totally supportthat—as long as you really think about it: about what you’re keating, what went into it, if it’s good for you, how sustain-able it is, and whether there’s a better alternative. We tack-led these questions in our August cover story (“What to EatToday”), preparing everything from drought-friendly reci-pes to a periodic table of proteins. Plus, celebrity chef DavidChang wrote about his secret to crafting insanely great dishes (“The Theory of Deliciousness”). Sometimes that means dunking a fried chicken leg in caviar. Re: “What to Eat Today” “FEW MAGAZINES DO THEMED PACKAGES BETTER THAN WIRED.” Jake Bullinger (@jakebullinger) on Twitter “Am I the only one who sees the Alien chest-burster in the shadow of the cover of the latest issue?”Alex…

IN POP CULTURE, CYBORGS can fly, throw cars, and blow up buildings. Nobody will be doing any of those things at the world’s first-ever cyborg Olympics—the Cybathlon in Zurich, Switzerland, this October—but the action promises to be miraculous for a different reason. Using the latest bionic technology, disabled competitors will pair up with prosthetics developers to accomplish tasks ranging from bread slicing to bike racing. We don’t know which of the 59 teams will triumph, but here are some of the top contenders. 1. Many Small Steps In 2012, NASA teamed up with roboticist Peter Neuhaus to build an exoskeleton for space exploration. Out of that project grew Mina v2, a robotic suit that moves paraplegic competitor Mark Daniel across the floor. By operating a joystick and a button on…

VENTURE CAPITAL investments aren’t based on whimsy (mostly). Perhaps a young company’s management team is experienced, or lax regulations in the sector bode well for unbridled growth. Or, you know, maybe canny investors are just making a lot of small bets to see what sticks. In recent years, VCs had been more willing to give up-and-coming startups a chance; fledgling companies were responsible for half of all funding rounds by mid-2015. But over the next year, the number of seed and angel rounds dropped by a third. “I think a jump in seed and series A funding follows a major technology innovation, such as social media in the late 2000s,” says David Wessels, a finance professor at Wharton. But when that flurry of deals subsides, VC money still needs a…

TO THE CASUAL observer, the asteroid Bennu is just a huge rock tumbling through space. But to NASA, it’s scientific gold. Bennu could tell researchers the source of the organic compounds necessary for life … but not until OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s recently launched asteroid-sampling mission, has pulled off an unprecedented touch-and-go maneuver.…

Space buffs and watch obsessives have been moon-eyed for Omega’s Speedmaster since 1969. That was the year Buzz Aldrin wore one in space; and though Aldrin earned “only” the second step on the lunar podium, his Speedmaster was the first watch to walk on the moon. Now the iconic timepiece is getting an out-of-this-world update, and it’s a pretty giant step for watchkind: This year’s design shows the moon with incredible accuracy, from a proper 29.5-day cycle of waning and waxing to a photo-real representation of the cheesy orb itself. Boot Print Examine the moon’s Mare Tranquillitatis and you’ll spot an exact replica of Buzz Aldrin’s famous boot print, at the exact coordinates of the landing site. Of course, Omega wants you to see it without a microscope, so it’s…

1 Bell Pro Star Carbon Helmet All helmets protect your skull. This one protects your brain. It uses three materials of different densities to shield your noggin during low-, medium-, and high-speed impacts, and it buffers the rotational forces that can scramble your egg. The carbon shell keeps things extra light as well. $1,300 2 Velomacchi Speedway Gloves Protective gloves limit dexterity, while comfy ones often feel too thin to save your skin. But these Velomacchi mitts strike a nice balance. Kitten-soft leather, brass rivets, and rubber knuckle guards coddle your paws in safety, even if you aren’t whipping sideways around a turn. $99 3 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT This Austrian chariot is fast enough to get you into trouble and smart enough to keep you out of it.…

How Creative Geniuses Make Us Want Their Work FEATURES | 24.10 Plus: Google’s Plan to Protect the Digital Universe 110 | The Weird World of Competitive Punning 118 SCOTT EDEN is the author of Touchdown Jesus: Faith and Fandom at Notre Dame. THE SNEAKER SHOULD COME ALIVE. ¶ Tinker Hatfield was sitting at a drafting table in his office in Beaverton, Oregon. He and another young designer at Nike named Mark Parker had just returned from a brainstorming session in Hollywood with film director Robert Zemeckis, who was storyboarding the sequel to his sci-ficomedy hit of three years earlier, Back to the Future. It was 1988, and Zemeckis and his creative team were on the hunt for futuristic sight gags for the film, set in 2015. They had tasked Hatfield and…

IN THE FOUR YEARS since Tinder’s launch, the right swipe has become the prevailing signifier of our generation—shorthand for like, lust, and (possibly, hopefully, finally) love. It was no accident of design. Tinder’s creators knew they had to make online dating fast, delightful, intuitive—and a little physical. Fans of celebrated UX designer Loren Brichter, who created the pleasingly tactile pull-to-refresh feature now used by most apps, the team eventually stumbled on an iconic gesture of their own. Of course, the origin story includes the requisite happenstance and serendipity, plus a touch of controversy. But everyone agrees on one thing: Without the swipe, there would be no Tinder. And we might all be going home alone tonight. I. INCUBATION DINESH MOORJANI (FORMER HATCH LABS CEO): Tinder began at one of our…

CAIT OPPERMANN THE DESIGNERS at Mercedes-Benz start every project with two questions, says Gorden Wagener, head of design for parent company Daimler: “Is it cool? And is it hot?” Cool as in high tech; hot as in sensual. His customers might love the features born of the one- upmanship among carmakers, from infrared cameras to gestural controls. But the experience needs to be immersive, and plasticky buttons or crummy leather would break the spell of opulence. Wagener has been running design for Daimler for nearly a decade, overseeing everything from Freightliner trucks to the Smart car. He has designed a yacht, a helicopter, a private jet interior, even a golf cart. But he always comes back to his work at Mercedes, which blends engineering, emotion, and art. ¶ The culmination…

atomic memory n. /-'tä-mik 'mem-rē / A storage technology that uses a single atom to encode a bit of data. It’s still (really) slow, but researchers have built a 2-D device that works. Extended into three dimensions, it would shrink the Library of Congress to the size of a pollen grain. stomach tap n. / 'st-m k 'tap / A surgically implanted tube and belly valve that let you pump food out of your body after a meal. The FDA has approved it for weight loss, but one physician calls it “mechanized bulimia.” Spidey n. / 'spī-dē / A gene that controls the stickiness of flies. Ordinarily it causes them to grow a protective waxy coating. Switch it off and gunk accumulates on the fly’s skinny legs until it gets…

JONATHAN NOLAN and Lisa Joy might have created Westworld, HBO’s new series about an android-populated Western-themed park, but this isn’t their first rodeo. Nolan cowrote five of older brother Christopher’s movies, including Interstellar. Joy is a TV veteran who’s writing the new big-screen Battlestar Galactica. However, Westworld— based on the 1973 cult-classic film—is the first project that Nolan and Joy, married since 2009, have collaborated on. Here, they discuss Westworld’s heady sci-fithemes and their domestic pardnership. The original Westworld came out in 1973. What made you want to revisit this world? Jonathan (Jonah) Nolan: I’ve been working for several years now with [show executive producer] J.J. Abrams on Person of Interest. Twenty-three years ago he sat down with Michael Crichton, who had directed the original film, to talk about remaking…

THERE’S A FISH that makes its home in the butt of a sea cucumber. Why? Because it worked for one crazy ancestor, and winning strategies, however unseemly, get perpetuated by natural selection. (That goes for humans too: Our mating rituals seem normal to us, but they must be hilarious to our pets.) Ultimately, life is pretty simple: Eat, don’t get eaten, and perpetuate the species—all the rest is optional. While researching my new book, The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar (coming out in October), I got familiar with a wild assortment of evolution-approved survival tactics. Here are some of my favorites. EAT Mantis Shrimp PROBLEM: Crabs and sea snails are delicious and plentiful but heavily armored. SOLUTION: This crustacean has little spring-loaded punching arms that strike with over 200 pounds…

VIRTUAL-REALITY HEADSETS like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have hit the market, but premium pricing has kept VR from becoming a living-room staple. That changes in October with Sony’s Play-Station VR, which costs just $399 and works with the 40 million PS4 consoles already in homes. Its intriguing initial slate of games might just help VR cross into the mainstream. Thumper In this intense rhythm game, you’re a chrome space beetle hurtling down a track. Tap along to the EDM soundtrack— or else when the bass drops, so do you. SuperHyperCube Rotate a cluster of blocks so they fit through a hole in a steadily approaching wall. As the shapes grow bigger and more complex, this psychedelic puzzler turns into a high-adrenaline brain-buster. Playroom VR This indispensable free collection…

THE LAST TIME Alfa Romeo offered a four-door in the US was more than two decades ago. That long drought ends with the iconic Italian carmaker’s stateside launch of the stunning Giulia sedan. Designed in-house by Marco Tencone, the Giulia comes in three flavors—this one is the most arrabiata. Powered by a Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V-6 that sounds like the devil’s Uber and produces a brutal 505 horsepower, the Quadrifoglio accelerates from 0 to 60 in a neck-snapping 3.8 seconds and tops out at a widow-making 191 mph. To keep all that oomph from hitting the guardrail, a carbon-fiber front aero splitter auto-adjusts to produce up to 220 pounds of downforce. Add to that an elegant, driver-focused interior and you’ve got a ride that’s equally at home at Trader Joe’s…

WHEN FREDRIK EKLUND walks the streets of Manhattan, he sees his handiwork everywhere. As one of the city’s more influential real estate agents and the breakout star—eccentric, dramatic, superbly dressed—of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York, the 39-year-old Swede not only sells existing apartments but also works with architects and designers on developing the homes of the future. And he’s very good at it: In Eklund’s 13-year career, he and his team have sold out 50 new buildings to the tune of $2.5 billion. From drone photography and strategic lighting to his clients’ own futureself aspirations, there’s nothing he won’t use to create desire and make a sale. At what point do you become involved in the design process? Obviously I’m a real estate agent, but I also work on…

Curry Two dad shoes; my Nike Tier 0 Liberty Dunks; forget shoes, I use my miniPRO Segway to get around; the gorgeously embossed and foiled Marlboro cigarette packages in the UK; my motorcycle’s kickstand punching a hole through my kicks; watching my favorite horse kick up his heels when he plays; Data’s Nike high-tops in The Goonies; Magnus Walker spray-painting the white soles of his black sneakers black because he couldn’t buy them that way; Fredrik Eklund’s high kicks; working on my heel clicks at the office; pho at Yummy Yummy (thanks for blowing its cover, New York Times); kicking asses that need kicking; four rides on the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; having coffee with a blue damselfly at camp. WIRED is a registered trademark of…