Culture

It’s Movie Night

My Favorite Home Theater Projectors for Movie Night

Home theater projectors are getting better and better, and have quickly become my favorite way to enjoy movies.

John Brandon

Boiling Point

The Patrick Clancy Conspiracy Theories Are Rooted in the Harsh Realities of Motherhood

Ej Dickson

Slim Pickings

Bumble Tried to Change Dating, but the Dating Market Forced It to Change Instead

Jason Parham

Digital Culture

‘Your Excel Skills Suck’: The Power Users Turning Spreadsheets Into a Spectator Sport

Data and finance professionals are competing in Excel obstacle courses—amassing huge followings and keeping the Microsoft program relevant.

Miles Klee

Hot or Not Built the Internet We’re Still Swiping Through

The early website Hot or Not taught its users to rank people at scale. Twenty-six years later, dating apps are trying to escape the culture the site helped create.

Megan Tomos

Viral Disneyland Content Creator Defends Her ‘Special Friendship’ With Peter Pan

Disney superfan Toni Kulusich has been accused of stalking her favorite character, sparking discourse about boundaries with park actors. She tells WIRED the backlash is unfair.

Ej Dickson

These ‘Masturbation Consultants’ Were Hired to Pleasure Themselves With AI

Joi AI hired 10 people to masturbate using AI companions as part of a monthlong “wellness” study. The company claims the practice could help “solve male loneliness.”

Mattha Busby

Movies and TV

Why Is It Absolute Hell to Buy a Movie Ticket Now?

Overwhelmed theater apps and a scarcity mindset around exclusive big-screen formats for blockbusters like Dune: Part Three and The Odyssey have led to the “concertification” of movies.

Miles Klee

This R-Rated Film Studio Wants to Be the HBO of AI

Rogue Studios, a new cinematic adult AI-generator, is betting big on the future of “sophisticated” spicy content.

Jason Parham

Zyzz Was the Original Looksmaxxer. His Rise and Untimely Death Feel More Relevant Than Ever

A new Apple documentary explores the life of Aziz “Zyzz” Shavershian, who rocketed to internet fame in an age before influencers, then died at age 22 in 2011.

Miles Klee