Currents
1 season, 71 episodesAll the latest news in the world of science and technology.
Season 1
Science
When the disco clam, a bivalve with a flashing light display, is faced with the predatory power of the punching mantis shrimp, things get interesting. Marine biologist Lindsey Dougherty explains the bizarre behavior she’s been observing in her lab. CORRECTION: 3:31-3:41 the animals shown when Dr. Dougherty was talking about bioluminescence were not exhibiting the characteristic. WIRED regrets the error.
Design
To live on Mars humans may have to rely on robotically 3D printed homes like the structures designed by AI SpaceFactory. WIRED's Arielle Pardes talks with AI SpaceFactory CEO and architect David Mallot about how this new technology works and could be used here on Earth as well.
Science
Researcher Ying-Hui Fu has found two rare genes that allow some people to be "natural short sleepers" who feel rested after a mere 4 or 5 hours per night. WIRED's Arielle Pardes sat down with Dr. Fu to discuss her findings.
Science
This piece of metal is unsinkable. WIRED's Matt Simon spoke with the inventor, Chunlei Guo, about how the superhydrophobic material was created and how it could help prevent disasters at sea.
Science
Videos of a new product being called an invisibility cloak recently surfaced online. WIRED's Louise Matsakis spoke with its inventor and a physicist who studies optics to find out how it works and whether cloaking and invisibility are truly feasible.
Science
There's the rat race, and then there are these lab rats who learned to drive tiny cars. WIRED's Matt Simon talked with neuroscientist Kelly Lambert about what her driving rodent experiment can teach us about neuroplasticity and learning new skills.
Science
Physarum polycephalum is a single-celled, brainless organism that can make “decisions,” and solve mazes. Anne Pringle, who is a mycologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains everything you need to know about what these slime molds are and how they fit into our ecosystem.
Science
On Saturday, October 12, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours, a staggering achievement in athletics and human performance. Dr. Michael Joyner, an exercise physiologist at the Mayo Clinic, first predicted it might be possible in a paper he wrote in 1991. WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez has been following Kipchoge's attempts for years, and spoke with Joyner about how Kipchoge finally made it happen.
Science
Cats are famously temperamental and are generally considered to be less loyal and social than dogs. But recent research suggests that cats actually have similar levels of attachment to their human caregivers as dogs and infants. WIRED's Arielle Pardes spoke with Kristyn Vitale from Oregon State University's Human-Animal Interaction Lab to find out more.
Science
Sam Gregory, program director at the human rights nonprofit WITNESS, talks with WIRED senior writer Tom Simonite about the implications of Deepfake videos and how we can adjust to this new and improving technology.
Science
Bar-headed geese are the SR-71's of the avian world, soaring to 26,000 feet. To learn how their bodies function so well at altitude researchers raised a gaggle of geese, introduced them to a wind tunnel, strapped tiny masks to their beaks and sensor packs on their backs.
Science
NOAA meteorologist researcher Jason Dunion talks with WIRED reporter Matt Simon about what it's like to fly a plane into a hurricane, and how scientists track and predict storms.
Science
Fisheries researcher Alison Colotelo talks with WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez about the viral fish tube, and why fish transportation isn't as easy as you might think.
Science
Biohacker Michael Laufer recently had a 512GB drive implanted in his leg, which can store data, stream music or movies, and power a hot spot and mesh network. It's called the PegLeg, and WIRED's Daniel Oberhaus spoke with Laufer about the device and the field of biohacking.
Science
Don Swanson, a scientist with the United States Geological Survey, explains why researchers are so interested in a pool of water that's formed in the crater of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano.
Science
On June 25, the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 hitched a ride into orbit on board SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The solar sail is propelled only by sunlight, and its technology holds promise for early detection of major events in space, as well as travel across vast distances. To find out more, WIRED's Daniel Oberhaus spoke with Planetary Society CEO, Bill Nye.
Science
Researchers at Newcastle University, UK have been studying stereoscopic vision in praying mantises by having them wear tiny 3D glasses. WIRED's Matt Simon talks with Jenny Read, a vision scientist who led the research, about how their vision compares with humans and what that means for machine vision.
Business
A handful of US cities have banned government use of facial recognition technology due to concerns over its accuracy and privacy. WIRED's Tom Simonite talks with computer vision scientist and lawyer Gretchen Greene about the controversy surrounding the use of this technology.
Science
A new interactive map from researchers at the University of Maryland shows how cities might be transformed by climate change. WIRED's Matt Simon talks with environmental scientist Matt Fitzpatrick about the map and why San Francisco could feel like Los Angeles by 2080.
Science
WIRED speaks with Angel Abbud-Madrid, the Director of the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, to find out just how lunar mining would work.
Science
Dr. Edith Widder and a team of scientists captured the first footage of a live giant squid in U.S. waters. WIRED's Matt Simon spoke with Widder to learn the story behind the video.
Science
A recent F.D.A. study shows that certain chemicals in some sunscreens can seep into and remain in people's blood. To find out what that means for staying safe in the sun, WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez spoke with dermatologist Dr. Kanade Shinkai.
Culture
The 1980's nostalgia and sci-fi show Stranger Things returns for season three with a new setting: The Starcourt Mall. WIRED's Emily Dreyfuss talks with architecture professor Ellen Dunham-Jones about mall culture and the fate of dead malls. Hint, zombies.
Science
To find just how far the human body can be pushed researchers studied athletes who ran six marathons a week over months and compared their energy intake and expenditure data to those of other athletes, workers, and pregnant women. WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez talks with study author Herman Pontzer of Duke University about the findings.
Science
A team from the University of Southern California's Rocket Propulsion Laboratory became the first student team to launch a rocket into space. WIRED's Arielle Pardes spoke with Neil Tewksbury, the team's Lead Operations Officer, about what it took to make it happen. Read more of the team's story on WIRED.com: https://www.wired.com/story/a-rocket-built-by-students-reached-space-for-the-first-time/
Science
Dogs can smell explosives like landmines, and detect medical conditions including seizures, diabetes, and many forms of cancer -- with up to 98% accuracy. Inventor Andreas Mershin wants to replicate that -- and put a nose in every cell phone. WIRED's Emily Dreyfuss spoke with Mershin to find out why that's easier said than done, and to learn what building a robotic nose has taught us about smell.
Culture
SPOILER ALERT: This video contains spoilers about many of the MCU movies (although not about Avengers: Endgame) How do Iron Man and Captain America differ as leaders? What makes the Avengers different from the Guardians of the Galaxy? And what moral philosophy does Thanos embody? WIRED's Peter Rubin spoke with Chris Robichaud, Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, to find out about deontology, consequentialism and more.
Science
NASA's Scott Kelly spent a year on board the International Space Station to test the effects of space travel on his body, while his identical twin and fellow astronaut Mark Kelly remained on earth. WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez speaks with Dr. Francine Garrett-Bakelman, lead author of "The NASA Twins Study: A multidimensional analysis of a year-long human spaceflight," to hear about the groundbreaking results of their study and to find out what it means for the future of human spaceflight.
Science
Scientists captured and released the first-ever picture of a black hole. WIRED's Deputy Science Editor Adam Rogers spoke with Harvard's Michael Johnson and Andrew Chael, two of the members of the research team, to find out what the achievement means for science.
Science
Believe it or not, levitating objects aren't just the stuff of science fiction and magic shows. There are actually many different forms of levitation including something called acoustic levitation, which uses powerful sound waves to trap objects in mid-air. WIRED spoke with a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory to find out how acoustic levitation works and what it's used for.
Science
Artists and scientists are searching for ever more light-absorbing materials. To find out what's behind the quest for ultra-blacks, WIRED's Arielle Pardes talked with artist Stuart Semple and physicist John Lehman about these amazing materials.
Science
Whale research is difficult, but a conservation organization is trying to make it a bit easier with drones. WIRED's Matt Simon talks with Ocean Alliance CEO Iain Kerr about the benefits of flying the "SnotBot" into a whale's blow spout.
Science
Deepfakes may seem like an internet scourge, but so-called "hyperreal" masks have fooled people in real-life and have even been used in crimes. To learn more about these masks and our ability to spot them, WIRED's Matt Simon talked with researcher Rob Jenkins.
Science
Dr. Seema Yasmin breaks down everything you should know about the growing Coronavirus outbreak. Seema Yasmin is a professor at Stanford School of Medicine, director of the Stanford Center for Health Communication and an Emmy Award-wining journalist. She was a CDC disease detective and a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Dr. Yasmin trained in medicine at the University of Cambridge and in journalism at the University of Toronto.
Culture
Kevin Baillie, Creative Director & Sr. VFX Supervisor for Method Studios, talks through this year's Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects -- 1917, Avengers: Endgame, The Irishman, The Lion King, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Baillie began his career two decades ago as an 18-year-old pre-viz artist on Star Wars: Episode I. Since then, he has worked on Harry Potter, Star Trek and Transfomers movies, among many others. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Science
Let’s say you’re on an interplanetary mission to Mars, millions of miles from the nearest hospital, and something in your body goes awry. Say, a routine body scan reveals a potentially life-threatening blood clot. What on Earth, or in space I guess, do you do? Well now we have the answer to that question.
Science
Do cats really eat us after we die? It's a surprisingly common concern among cat owners but is there evidence to back it up? WIRED's Wendi Jonassen sits down with cat behavior specialist Dr. Mikel Delgado to discuss just why on Earth cats may eat their deceased owners.
Security
New technology is becoming a part of the 2020 election process and has the potential to create faster, more accessible voting around the country. But, as shown with the Iowa caucus, these untested technologies have the potential to do the complete opposite - delaying results and creating confusion. How can we ensure that the technology we are using gives us fast, reliable and accurate results?
Science
As more coronavirus cases appear outside of Asia, Dr. Seema Yasmin breaks down what you need to know about pandemics.
Science
Epidemic expert Dr. Seema Yasmin interviews emergency room physician Dr. Cedric Dark about COVID-19's effect on the city of Houston, Texas. Dr. Dark talks about how the city is handling the pandemic, and what measures they are beginning to take in preparation for the worst.
Science
We've all seen the famous "taste map," a diagram of the human tongue that separates different sections based on taste, with examples like sweet, sour, salty, and umami. Robert Margolskee, director and president at Monell Chemical Senses Center, explains why these taste maps are wrong, and provides some more accurate examples of how human taste functions.
Science
WIRED's Nick Thompson and Adam Rogers discuss the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic, from testing to vaccines to the ways our world is changing.
Culture
Netflix's "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" has opened up the world's eyes to big cat ownership in America. Outside all the headlines-generating drama, the documentary casts some light onto the big cat black market. Dr. John Goodrich, Chief Scientist and Tiger Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, sits down with WIRED to talk about these concerns. Can these captive animals ever be reintroduced into the wild?
Science
If you get Covid-19 and recover does that mean you are immune to the virus? If you become immune, how long does that immunity last? We are still looking for answers to many of these questions. In the meantime, Dr. Seema Yasmin takes a look at the human body's immunity to some other viral infections such as chickenpox, HIV and the common cold.
Science
As we look forward during the Covid-19 outbreak, some governors are already talking about opening some businesses back up. Is it too early? Rushing to open could lead to a deadly second wave of infections and could be a massive error. Dr. Seema Yasmin outlines some critical mistakes that we should try to avoid while fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Science
This ventilator may not look like an important piece of medical equipment but it may be one of the critical things keeping Covid-19 patients alive. MIT has designed an emergency ventilator that uses commonly found and easily sourced materials. FDA-approved ventilators are expensive and require hundreds of components, and in these trying times a cheaper alternative may be able to save lives as these machines become more scarce.
Science
It's not easy designing a new helicopter, especially if that new helicopter has to survive a ride on a rocket into space. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is the first machine aerial vehicle to fly on a planet outside Earth. Ingenuity was designed specifically to fly on Mars. So, why did NASA decide to design a helicopter specifically for Mars?
Science
In the Disney+ series, 'Loki,' the god of mischief is arrested for time crimes. This confirms there's a multiverse in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Are there real scientific theories behind this fictional multiverse? Professor Michio Kaku, a professor of theoretical physics, helps break down the MCU multiverse.
Science
Astronaut Mike Massimino attempts to explain what Jeff Bezos's space flight will be like, in just about the same amount of it will take for Jeff to take the flight. The Blue Origin flight lasts about 11 minutes, there's no pilots and it's totally automated. Mike breaks down all the steps of the flight and tires to best to explain what Jeff will experience while in space. Follow Mike on Social: twitter: @astro_mike instagram: @astromikemassimino facebook: AstroMikeMassimino linkedin: Michael Massimino
Culture
Emily Kuhn, a former gymnast and current physics PhD student at Yale University, explains all the math behind the amazing flips and turns we see during the Olympic gymnastics competitions. Emily explains why "The Biles" tumbling routine is so difficult as well as the types of forces acting on these gymnasts every time they use the uneven bars.
Science
A subway pole, a turnstile, a seat....what kinds of bacteria and microbes live on these surfaces? Dr. Christopher Mason and his team swabbed every subway station in New York City, and many around the globe, to come up with the answers. Dr. Mason is a Professor of Genomics Physiology and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine
Technology
Bitcoin hit 1 trillion market cap this year. This has inspired some bitcoin operations to expand. The ban on mining in China has caused a mass exodus, and some mining operations are moving their facilities to the United States. We go to Rockland, Texas to a look inside the largest bitcoin mine in North America. Operated by Whinstone U.S., is this large mine one of the first of many?
Culture
90% of the world's adults consume some form of caffeine everyday, making it the most widely used psychoactive drug on Earth. Michael Pollan, author of "This Is Your Mind On Plants," explains why. Michael goes into the history of coffee drinking, breaking down its origins and how it benefits humankind.
Science
Louie Schwartzberg is a pioneering artist who has filmed some stunning footage of mushrooms growing over the course of 15 years. WIRED goes behind-the-scenes with Louie to find out how these amazing time-lapses were made for Netflix's Fantastic Fungi. Louie Schawrtzberg would like to thank all the additional time-lapse cinematographers who worked on the film, including Stephen Axford, Eric Deren, Wim Van Egmond, Patrick Hickey, Tim Shephard, Taylor Lockwood and Upthink Labs. Experience the movement, the greatest mind in fungi unite this fall for the Fantastic Fungi Global Summit. The summit takes place October 15 – 17, register at http://www.FungiGlobalSummit.com Fantastic Fungi is currently streaming on Netflix and is distributed in partnership with Area 23a
Design
The goal of the "Milk Crate Challenge" is to make it from one side of the pyramid to the other. As you can see, well, it isn't so easy to pull off. We spoke with Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, an engineer, about why these milk crate structures are so unstable, and what can be done to fortify them. Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, P.E. appearance courtesy of STEMedia
Science
The debut of vegan cheese didn't inspire confidence, but in recent years vegan cheese had become a grocery store staple. But there's still one problem; vegan cheese won't melt, stretch, brown or bubble. So, what's the science behind why vegan cheese doesn't act like we expect?
Technology
Director Neill Blomkamp sits down with WIRED to talk about the innovative camera rig his team created for his video game-inspired horror film, Demonic.
Technology
Many classic memes were recently auctioned off for big bucks by their owners as NFTs. But how do you determine meme ownership? Don Caldwell and his team from Know Your Meme from been using their extensive knowledge of meme history to thwart NFT fraud. This is how they do it.
Culture
The stunts we love to watch in movies like 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' usually rely on a combination of green screen, stunt performers, and computer-generated models. Stunts like these can be dangerous, especially when performed live...over and over. At the new Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resorts, radical stunts are being performed everyday by a robotic acrobat. Disney Imagineers Tony Dohi and Morgan Pope sit down with WIRED to talk about how they designed this amazing stuntronic robot.
Culture
Dr. Janja Lalich, a sociologist who was formerly a part of a left-wing cult, talks about the cult-like nature of many online conspiracy theory groups. Dr. Lalich explains how people get caught up in groups like this, and what can be done to help those who have fallen further and further down the rabbit hole.
Culture
In 'Dune,' inhabitants of the desert planet wear full-body stillsuits for their survival. These stillsuits capture moisture and recycle it into drinking water. Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan, costume designers on 'Dune,' explain how they approached designing the suits for the film.
Movies & TV
The on-screen English translations of 'Squid Game' didn't always match up to the characters' dialogue. Korean English professor and director of the Korean Language Program at Columbia University, Joowon Suh, is here to explain the phrases English speakers might have missed out on while watching the hit Netflix show.
Science
Tardigrades are microscopic animals so adaptable they can survive in some of the most extreme environments in the universe. Because of their durability, scientists are experimenting with them, trying to figure out just HOW much they can endure and what we can learn from it.
Science
Since the early 2000s, private companies, governments, and research labs have been developing prosthesis that are a lot more advanced than previous designs. WIRED talked with Easton LaChapelle, founder and CEO of Unlimited Tomorrow, to understand how he designed, tested, and adopted his prosthetic arm.The movie GENERATION IMPACT: THE INVENTOR, follows 25-year old innovator Easton LaChappelle, who developed the world’s lightest weight and most affordable bionic limb. GENERATION IMPACT: THE INVENTOR, can be viewed on HP.com’s digital hub, the Garage (hp.com/generation-impact) and YouTube
Design
In the U.S. and other places, the waste water infrastructure is aging and not well suited for dealing with many of the challenges that lay ahead in the future. Chelsea Wald has spent over 8 years researching the toilet, and discovered it needs a BIG upgrade.
Science
Squids are shrinking, birds are migrating and lizards are getting blown away by hurricanes. The signs are everywhere; animals are changing because of climate change. We asked biologist Thor Hanson to walk us through three animal adaptation experiments.Read THOR HANSON’s book Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid
https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/thor-hanson/hurricane-lizards-and-plastic-squid/9781541672420/
Movies & TV
The new Netflix film, "Robin Robin," pushes the envelope of what's possible with stop-motion animation. The film's directors, Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, sit down with WIRED to go over the some of the techniques that went into the making of "Robin Robin."Robin Robin is available to watch now on Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/robinrobin
Science
It's the end of the world in "Don't Look Up," and it's all thanks to a comet heading straight towards Earth. Dr. Amy Mainzer, a science consultant on "Don't Look Up," breaks down a few scenes from the film and explores the science behind near-Earth objects.
Science
20 years ago, futurist Nick Bostrom published the first draft of his groundbreaking simulation argument, which asks, "Are you living in a computer simulation?" Public figures like Elon Musk and Neil deGrass Tyson have also broached this line of questioning. We asked Nick Bostrom to look at a few scenes from "The Matrix" films as he explains his simulation hypothesis.
Technology
The global pandemic triggered sky-high spending on manufactured goods. This increased spending created a huge bottleneck in the supply chain that could last for years. WIRED takes a look at the journey of a single shipping container; and with the help of supply chain analyst Lora Cecere, breaks down all the roadblocks a shipping container will encounter in 2021 and beyond.
Science
Aging is inevitable, but what if it wasn't? Let's take a look at the latest science and how it might be possible to slow our own aging. What's the difference between our chronological age, and our biological age? Dr. Morgan Levine, an expert on aging, sits down to explain.