Podcasts

‘3 Body Problem’ Is a Tech-Heavy Head Trip

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Michael Calore: OK Kate, as our guest, what’s your recommendation this week? Kate Knibbs: Actually, I’m going to recommend another sci-fi series that’s a book adaptation and I wrote about it when I came out last year, which is Silo on Apple+. It’s adapted from Hugh Howey’s Wool book series. One of them is called … Read more

How a TikTok Ban Would Play Out

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You may only know TikTok as the massively popular social video app for phone-obsessed teens, but lately the app has been caught in the political fray. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives approved a bipartisan bill that, should it become law, would require TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese firm ByteDance, to sell the app … Read more

Apple Podcasts now includes transcripts

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Apple Podcasts will auto-generate transcripts for podcasts beginning today, thanks to the 17.4 update for iPhones and iPads. Transcripts will automatically appear for new podcast episodes shortly after their publication, while Apple will transcribe podcast back catalogs over time. The podcast transcripts are searchable, allowing users to type in a specific word or phrase and … Read more

Here Comes the Flood of AI-Generated Clickbait

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Michael Calore: When is the last time you visited the website The Hairpin? Lauren Goode: It’s been a while. Why do you ask? Michael Calore: You should go check it out right now. Lauren Goode: Right now? Michael Calore: Yeah, right now. Lauren Goode: OK, hold on. I’m going to do this. OK, wow. “Talking … Read more

Slack Is Turning 10 Years Old, and Wow Has It Changed Everything

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Lauren Goode: When you first started at WIRED back in the last century, there was no Slack. Michael Calore: You mean we weren’t given any slack? Lauren Goode: No. I mean, well, yes, but, I mean, you were not using real-time, nonstop chat apps to talk to people across the newsroom. You had to email … Read more

The Apple Vision Pro Lives Deep in the Uncanny Valley

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Apple’s first ever mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, arrives tomorrow. Apple has a knack for revitalizing and legitimizing a product category—something that the face computer market really needs right now. But there are some hangups that could limit its initial success: the Vision Pro’s exorbitant $3,499 price tag, the tethered battery pack, and the … Read more

The George Carlin ‘AI’ Stand-Up Creators Now Say a Human Wrote the Jokes

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The estate of George Carlin has filed a federal lawsuit against the comedy podcast Dudesy for an hour-long comedy special sold as an AI-generated impression of the late comedian. But a representative for one of the podcast hosts behind the special now admits that it was actually written by a human. In the lawsuit, filed … Read more

Amy Robach Confronts T.J. Holmes About Being ‘Emotionally Removed’ From Their Relationship

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Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes “ain’t right” — or at least they weren’t when they recorded the most recent episode of their iHeart podcast, Amy & T.J. “We weren’t expecting to record one today,” Holmes revealed. “It’s going to be a surprise to our iHeart team that even we have this podcast and it’s even a surprise … Read more

Google Podcasts is going away after March — but there are alternatives

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And another one bites the dust — this time, it’s Google Podcasts, which is being discontinued in favor of YouTube Music. Back in 2018, Google moved its Play Music service over to YouTube, and while some people felt it was an improvement, others weren’t so thrilled. I have to say that I count myself among … Read more

AI Hits the Campaign Trail

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It’s an election year in the US, which means you can expect a fresh tsunami of campaign ads in your feeds, in your inbox, and jammed in front of YouTube videos. This is also the first election of the AI era, where anyone can generate just about anything—an image, a Twitter bot, a speech—by typing … Read more