*People need diversions in troubled times.
*If you buy fiction on paper and read it, you'll be less tempted to websurf over and check out the financial and political news.
Paramount Refused to Air an Ad Criticizing Its Merger With Warner Bros.
The commercial was submitted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation to run during Donald Trump’s UFC event. It criticized the $111 billion merger as a threat to the First Amendment.
Miles Klee
Even the Internet’s Favorite Pool Guy Doesn’t Know How to Fix the Reflecting Pool
Algae blooms, peeling paint, and a host of fixes from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubblers have made it hard to diagnose what’s wrong with the Reflecting Pool—let alone how to clean up the mess.
Molly Taft
Submit Your Questions: Inside The World of Online Romance Scams
The Yahoo Boys author Carlos Barragán will join Kate Knibbs to answer your questions about Nigeria's romance scammers.
Kate Knibbs
Sony’s PlayStation Puts a Nail in Physical Media’s Coffin
Is PlayStation about to make the same mistake Microsoft made with Xbox One?
Matt Kamen
Spotify Confirms Streaming Fraud After Kalshi Trader Cries Foul
One of Kalshi’s most prominent traders tells WIRED he’s swearing off Spotify-related markets until the issue is resolved.
Kate Knibbs
The Onion’s Infowars Parody Is Here. Alex Jones Is Going to Hate It
The satirical site is fighting to officially take over Infowars. In the meantime, CEO Ben Collins says the new show will mock “how fucking stupid” conspiratorial brain rot has become.
Miles Klee
Universal Is Skipping Influencer Screenings for The Odyssey. Film Critics Are Thrilled
With discourse about Christopher Nolan’s epic already raging, first viewer reactions will come from mainstream press, not content creators. Some critics are gloating over this break from the norm.
Miles Klee
Real-Life Disclosure Day Will Look Nothing Like Steven Spielberg’s New Movie
Previous landmark scientific discoveries like the Higgs boson provide a better template for what it will take to confirm whether aliens have made contact with Earth.
Nathaniel Janowitz
The New Odyssey Movie Is Sparking a Right-Wing Backlash. This Female Scholar Knows It Well
Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of Homer’s epic—the first by a woman—was called a woke “abomination” by online reactionaries. Christopher Nolan’s film is facing similar critiques.
John Semley
Hollywood Thrives on ‘Rabid’ Fans. For Publicists, They’re a Nightmare
A scuffle between stan account Club Chalamet and another Heated Rivalry die-hard shines a light on how parasocial fans are a publicist’s greatest asset—and liability.
Ej Dickson
What if the Universe Isn’t as Uniform as Scientists Think?
A study based on 47 million galaxies found that the cosmic web retains patterns on enormous scales, which could force a reevaluation of a pillar of cosmology.
Jorge Garay
ICE’s Internal Watchdog Is Now Investigating Online Critics
The Office of Professional Responsibility has opened more than 100 cases over what ICE officials call “incidents of doxing and threats” against ICE employees.
Maddy Varner