For our very first WIRED Book Club livestream, Kate Knibbs will be joined by the author of, Carlos Barragán. Barragán, a journalist and researcher at, flew to Lagos to embed himself with a group of young, desperate grifters. The account he brings back is a funny, sad, enraging read about how the internet can fuel heartbreak. She also leads WIRED Book Club . He was formerly a reporter at El Confidencial before receiving his MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University. is his first book.

I ripped open $892 worth of Pokémon packs on my phone in under 15 minutes and walked away with 62 cents. My adrenaline rush felt like the future of gambling. After I tripled my money by pulling pricey Pokémon cards out of digital packs on the Rips app, I immediately knew what I had to do next: keep on ripping. It was time to lock in, boost my volatility settings, and start spending real money opening even more expensive packs. These digital card packs, primed for fast ripping and even faster rewards, are rising in popularity.

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is a cheap way to stream content and is especially tailored for Prime Video devotees. The Fire TV stick still looks the same but has new capabilities. And, if you have a newer TV, it probably has a built-in streaming interface. You may be just fine with that, but if you're still rocking an older and dumber TV, or want to better tailor your experience, a stand-alone streaming device is the way to go. If your home is already using Alexa devices, an Amazon Fire Stick streamer will fit perfectly into that system.

Power companies are pushing aggressive time-based use pricing. Here's how a regular consumer can benefit. I like to keep my home at a cool and comfortable 68 degrees year-round. This preference would be fine if I lived near the Pacific Ocean, or in a small home, or in a newer home that's insulated with modern mineral wool instead of tissue paper and horsehair. I, however, live in a 2,000-plus-square-foot home built in 1906.

Whether you're looking for a Whoop free trial, student discount, or military savings, our guide to Whoop promo codes will help you maximize your membership benefits. Whoop's bracelet-style trackers deliver exhaustive activity tracking and biometric data compared to standard fitness trackers . The Whoop band is also an excellent tool for monitoring sleep and overall health. Our WIRED testers have been reviewing Whoop trackers since the Whoop 3.0, and have watched as the product has evolved into an AI-enabled personalized service . But for most people, the Whoop may feel like an overinvestment, which is why Whoop is particularly popular among elite athletes.

The software engineers filed a complaint with Seattle's civil rights office accusing Amazon of illegally retaliating against them for expressing their personal political beliefs. Earlier this month, five current Amazon employees publicly urged Seattle City Council to regulate data centers . It was an unprecedented act of advocacy by tech workers, and now three of the staffers say they are under internal investigation for what they understand to be allegedly representing themselves as spokespeople for the company without prior approval. "It's a totally ridiculous claim," says one of the affected employees, Patrick Schloesser. The three software engineers, who work in different divisions of Amazon and all live in Seattle, believe they are being unfairly targeted for expressing their political beliefs.

Arriving six years after Google's last smart speaker, the new HomePod-style device was redesigned to play host to Gemini's chatbot. The last time Google released a smart speaker, the world was in the throes of a pandemic . Yes, it's been six years since the company trotted out a dedicated speaker. However, this newest Google Home Speaker brings a big change with it: The device has been redesigned to showcase the new Gemini assistant instead of the Google Assistant that powered all previous speakers and smart displays. Google announced the speaker last fall alongside new Nest smart home cameras and video doorbells, promising a spring 2026 launch.

In an internal memo seen by WIRED, Bosworth promised employees more stability, better communication, and the return of workplace perks as the company seeks to improve morale. Meta did an "atrocious" job of rolling out a new artificial intelligence division and will aim to "rekindle" a more cheerful internal culture through better communication, career growth, and even snacks, a top executive told employees on Monday in an internal post seen by WIRED. The comments made by Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer, follow reporting by WIRED last week that revealed widespread dissatisfaction within the Applied AI engineering unit. Meta formed the division of about 6,500 engineers and product managers in March to work on projects aimed at improving the company's generative AI models. But what workers described as the menial nature of the work prompted one to describe it as "a gulag."

I played the ultimate game of strategy on a variety of smart chess boards to find the best for online and in-person matches. Playing chess can be challenging, fun, and at times frustrating. Garry Kasparov called the game "mental torture." With virtually limitless possibilities, chess offers unparalleled depth, and you could easily fill a library with books on how to play it. The internet has opened up a wealth of potential competitors, and smart chess boards enable you to play anyone online or off, not to mention dabble in a variety of chess programs.

The automaker today is turning on vehicle-to-grid charging for its GM Energy customers. Will people actually use it? Some 250,000 electric vehicles manufactured by General Motors are driving around the US today--right now!--with an oft-secret capability: Their big, powerful batteries can charge other things. Potentially appliances, homes, and now, thanks to a software update pushed by the automaker this week, an electrical grid . Twelve of GM's EVs have this "bidirectional charging" capability, way more than US competitors' battery-electrics.