What's New

Electric vehicle charging stations are still scarce in many parts of the US. The White House announced grants totaling $623 million to top up electric cars, bikes, and scooters. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wildfire smoke and exhaust fumes are triggering spikes in eczema and other skin conditions. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​​Chatbots’ habit of spewing untruths is a big problem—but we should also celebrate these hallucinations as prompts for human creativity and a barrier to machines taking over. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of scientists taught an algorithm to spot beaver ponds in satellite imagery, which has the potential to help drought-ridden areas like California bounce back. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ibogaine, a plant-based psychoactive drug, drastically reduced symptoms of depression and PTSD in veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molecular farming company Moolec has inserted pig genes into soy beans to generate meaty-tasting proteins that can be grown in plants. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inspired by her aunt’s battle with cancer, Canan Dağdeviren developed a wearable ultrasound monitor that can screen women between regular checkups. She says it could save 12 million lives a year. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Menstrual regulation—sometimes referred to as “missed period pills"—is a new front in women's battle for bodily autonomy. Here's how it works and what you need to know. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Banks use your deposits to make loans to carbon-intensive industries. A new analysis finds that $1,000 in your account creates emissions equal to a flight from NYC to Seattle. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI designed its governance structure to protect humanity—and it imploded. The company could take pointers from Mozilla and other projects combining lofty goals with for-profit ventures. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As part of a settlement with a horse welfare nonprofit, Amazon will no longer sell products containing “ejiao,” which is made with donkey skin. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Tech data centers are not only being used to power the internet but also to heat people’s homes. But who’s really winning when Facebook keeps you warm at night? Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A jury in San Francisco unanimously found that Google stifled competition for its app store. A judge will now decide on what fixes to require at the company, but appeals could delay the impact of the case for years. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some Elon Musk fans are concerned that Grok, xAI's answer to ChatGPT, is too politically liberal. The nature of the underlying AI technology will make “fixing” its outlook difficult. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

B cells are prolific producers of antibodies, but for the first time, scientists have modified them to make other proteins to counteract a serious genetic disease. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The “superalignment” team led by OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever has devised a way to guide the behavior of AI models as they get ever smarter. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ecologist Thomas Crowther’s research inspired countless tree-planting campaigns, greenwashing, and attacks from scientists. Now he’s back with a new plan for nature restoration. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YouTube removed a snippet of code that publicly disclosed whether a channel receives ad and subscription payouts, obscuring which creators benefit most from the platform. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The idea that sprinkling rock dust on farmland can soak up atmospheric carbon will be tested at large scale thanks to a $57 million purchase from corporations including Stripe and Alphabet. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Zuckerberg personally promised that the privacy feature would launch by default on Messenger and Instagram chat. WIRED goes behind the scenes of the company’s colossal effort to get it right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Videos featuring Elijah Wood, Mike Tyson, and Priscilla Presley have been edited to push anti-Ukraine disinformation, according to Microsoft researchers. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google says Gemini, launching today inside the Bard chatbot, is its “most capable” AI model ever. It was trained on video, images, and audio as well as text. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spotify is the world’s biggest music streamer, but rarely turns a profit and just cut 17 percent of its workforce. Its business model looks increasingly precarious. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Documents show that OpenAI signed a letter of intent to spend $51 million on brain-inspired chips developed by startup Rain. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously made a personal investment in Rain. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hundreds of dogs across multiple states have been struck down with a severe respiratory illness. Veterinarians suspect a mystery bacteria but are still grasping for clues. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices