Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
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I Bike, You Bike, Ebike
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
07/09/21 • 36 min
Electric bikes are exploding. Not literally—most of the time, anyway—but ebikes are certainly in demand. Companies that operate bikeshare networks are upgrading their ebike fleets as they try to entice more riders to join up. And attracted by a combination of sleek looks and dead-simple operation, more riders than ever are investing in personal ebikes—for commutes, for recreation, or as a practical replacement for the family car.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED editors Adrienne So and Julian Chokkattu join us to talk about Lyft’s new ebike, urban mobility, and the ups and downs of owning your own electric bicycle.
Show Notes:
Read Julian’s story about Lyft’s new ebike here. Read some of Adrienne’s many, many, many ebike reviews. (And here’s a list of the best ebikes for every type of rider.) Also check out Parker Hall’s Ultimate Ears Fits review.
Recommendations:
Adrienne recommends Ultimate Ears Fits custom-fit earbuds for your one-of-a-kind ear holes. Julian recommends playing through your old video game backlog instead of just buying new games all the time. Lauren recommends podcasts by The Cut. Mike recommends The Ultimate Bicycle Owner’s Manual by Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob.
Adrienne So can be found on Twitter @adriennemso. Julian is @JulianChokkattu. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.
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07/09/21 • 36 min

1 Listener
Apple’s Photo-Scanning Tech Explained
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
08/13/21 • 31 min
Recently, Apple revealed some new technical measures in Messages, iCloud, Siri, and search that are meant to protect children from sexual abuse online. Apple says that its new blend of on-device and cloud-based processing will strike a balance between user safety and user privacy. But some cryptography experts aren't convinced, and worry that the measures could open the door to other privacy breaches and government surveillance.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior cybersecurity writer Andy Greenberg joins us to talk about how Apple's tech works, and the company's delicate balancing act between safety and privacy.
Show Notes:
Read Andy’s story about Apple’s new tech.
Recommendations:
Andy recommends the book Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe, and also the new Mortal Kombat movie. Lauren recommends Vauhini Vara’s story “Ghosts” in Believer Magazine. Mike recommends Brian Raftery’s “Gene and Roger” series of The Ringer’s The Big Picture podcast.
Andy Greenberg can be found on Twitter @a_greenberg. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.
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08/13/21 • 31 min

1 Listener
WTF Is Web3?
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
12/03/21 • 34 min
Web3! It's the latest internet buzzword which encompasses an egalitarian vision of the web that's more reliable, based on trust, and, inevitably, built on the blockchain. This plan for the future is being pushed by startups, venture capitalists, and Silicon Valley bigwigs, all of whom stand to make some sweet, sweet cryptocurrency from a new breed of web app that takes the power from the platforms and puts it back in the hands of the people.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Gilad Edelman joins us to talk about whether the reality of whatever Web3 becomes will ever live up to Silicon Valley's rosy vision of it.
Show Notes
Read Gilad’s story about Web3.
Recommendations
Gilad recommends the book Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money by Nathaniel Popper, and also Boone Ashworth’s story about Fire Twitter on WIRED.com. Mike also recommends the Fire Twitter story. Lauren recommends the show Broad City.
Gilad Edelman can be found on Twitter @GiladEdelman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/03/21 • 34 min

1 Listener
One Wheel, Zero Buttons
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
01/17/20 • 36 min
There’s an old joke about Steve Jobs, that he never wore a suit because he hated buttons. There’s some truth to that old trope about designers always trying to refine their creations to their absolute core. Minimize the clutter, clear the mind, purify the experience. That’s what consumer electronics manufacturers are still doing, and we explore this trend by pointing at two recent developments in our world: new smartphone designs totally devoid of buttons, and the rising numbers of one-wheeled vehicles on the streets and bike lanes designed for two- and four-wheelers.
This week on Gadget Lab, we first talk with show producer Boone Ashworth about why people are obsessed with single-wheeled devices. Then, a conversation with WIRED senior associate editor Julian Chokkattu about the coming wave of buttonless phones.
Show Notes:
Read Boone’s story about single-wheelers. Also read Julian on the buttonless smartphone trend. Go back to the 2018 scooterocalypse with Alex Davies’ story about the streets of San Francisco.
Recommendations:
Julian recommends SwitchPod. Boone recommends I’m Sorry on truTV. Mike recommends the Muji 2020 Monthly Weekly Planner. Lauren recommends the latest episode of the Scriptnotes podcast with guest Greta Gerwig.
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Julian is @JulianChokkattu. Boone is @BooneAshworth. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth. Our consulting executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
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01/17/20 • 36 min
Our Favorite Stuff from 2019, Plus Our 2020 Predictions
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
12/20/19 • 27 min
2019 was a tumultuous time for technology. While product engineers created hybrid franken-gadgets and software companies turned nearly everything into a subscription service, we also grappled with the increasingly chaotic ripple effects of social media and the realization that there are people listening to our private home recordings. (Not to mention Elon Musk's new murdertruck.)
On this episode of Gadget Lab, we're going to try to make sense of it all. We talk about the most important product developments of 2019 and look ahead to predict the trends that will matter in 2020.
Show Notes:
Read Lauren’s review of the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Speakers here. Read the story about the making of the California Consumer Privacy Act in the New York Times. Read more about this year’s wild phone design choices here.
Recommendations:
Lauren recommends the iPad Pro. Mike recommends the Google Pixel 3a. Arielle recommends getting an Amazon Kindle.
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our consulting executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/20/19 • 27 min
The Case for Cassava
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
12/13/19 • 35 min
The cassava plant is one of the most important food sources in the world. In Africa, it sustains 500 million people and provides a stable income for farmers. The crop is also susceptible to viruses transmitted by the common pest known as the whitefly, which can devastate farms. Biologist Laura Boykin has found a way to stop the spread of these diseases. Boykin founded the Cassava Virus Action Project, where she and other scientists use a pocket-sized device called a MinION to sequence the DNA of cassava strains and help farmers select plants that are resistant to the local pathogens.
On this episode of Gadget Lab, a conversation with Boykin about her work, the power of direct action, and the possibilities afforded by the technology we have today. The show was recorded with a live audience at the recent WIRED25 conference in San Francisco.
Show Notes:
Read more about the efforts of Boykin and her fellow scientists at the Cassava Virus Action Project website. Also learn more about Boykin and all of 2019’s WIRED 25 honorees.
Recommendations:
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our consulting executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/13/19 • 35 min
Sex Toys and Toothbrushes
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
01/03/20 • 34 min
Next week, we’ll be bound for the largest consumer electronics showcase of the season. CES starts on January 7 in Las Vegas, and we’ll be heading into the fray to touch, swipe, drive, cuddle, ride, and otherwise experience all of the latest gadgets the consumer tech industry wants to put in front of our eager eyeballs. On this week’s show, Michael Calore, Lauren Goode, and special guest Tom Simonite run through all the trends we expect to see at CES, from the practical (5G, smartphone tech, autonomous driving features) to the ludicrous (flying cars, AI refrigerators, internet-connected vibrators).
Show Notes
Read more about folding screens. Qualcomm’s 5G announcements came early this year. Read up on Honda’s augmented driving initiative. Mashable on the overabundance of men as CES 2019 keynote speakers, and the Verge report about 2018. Follow all of our CES coverage.
Recommendations
Tom recommends shopping offline whenever you can, especially for things like shoes. Lauren recommends The Morning Show on Apple TV+. Mike recommends the Oxo Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker.
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Tom Simonite is @TSimonite. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our consulting executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/03/20 • 34 min
Life After Facebook
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
11/22/19 • 27 min
Former Facebook bigwig Chris Cox has been busy. In March, Cox left his position as chief product officer of the social media giant, where he had overseen Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Since then, he’s taken on advising roles with an environmental data company and a political firm gearing up for a 2020 marketing campaign. He’s also gotten a lot more partisan in the process.
On this episode of the Gadget Lab podcast, a conversation with Cox about his post-Facebook activities, the merits of encryption, and how big tech companies affect climate change.
Show Notes:
Read more about Lauren’s talk with Cox here, and follow all the news about Facebook here.
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/22/19 • 27 min
Finally, We Can ‘Like’ Apple’s Keyboards Again
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
11/15/19 • 28 min
Tech companies say they want to serve their customers, but sometimes they’re curiously resistant to fixing problems with their products. Their solutions can be alternately welcome, or divisive. Last week, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced that the company would soon start testing a feature to hide likes on its platform. The limitation is meant to both decrease social pressures and to curb bullying, and maybe at the very least it will make us all a little less narcissistic on the internet. So far, Instagram users have regarded the move as controversial.
Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, Apple has been putting the same type of keyboard on its MacBooks for the past four years. There’s a problem, though: it’s awful. The so-called “butterfly switch” keys often got stuck or just stopped working entirely. But, at last, there is a solution! All you have to do is buy a brand new $2,400 MacBook Pro.
This week on the Gadget Lab, we talk about these recent changes in consumer tech and what they mean for the people who use the products.
Show Notes:
Read Adrienne So’s story about how Instagram is testing hiding likes here, and watch Arielle’s full conversation with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri here. Read Julian Chokkattu’s story about the new Macbook here. Read Sara Harrison’s story about how you probably need more sleep here.
Recommendations:
Lauren recommends the book How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. Mike recommends the One Eleven SWII solar watch made of planet-friendly materials. Arielle recommends the cover story of the December issue of The Atlantic called “How America Ends.”
Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @LaurenGoode. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
https://www.wired.com/feed/podcast/gadget-lab
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/15/19 • 28 min
Going Places
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
12/06/19 • 34 min
In May, Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer run by billionaire Elon Musk, filed a patent to put lasers on its cars. While this might sound like a step toward some kind of James Bond-mobile, the intent is actually to use the lasers to clean dirt and grime from windshields and the lenses of cameras used for self-driving features. It’s a high-tech ambition that hints at Tesla’s larger goals. The news also came the same week that Elon Musk takes the stand in a trial where he’s accused of defaming a British diver last year. It’s a tumultuous time for Tesla and Musk both.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED transportation writer Alex Davies comes on the show to chat about Tesla's latest automotive machinations and what they mean for the company. (Of course we also talk about the Cybertruck.) Then the gang shares their best travel tips, just in time for the holidays.
Show Notes:
Read more about Tesla’s laser-Windex here. You can also keep up with Musk’s notorious "Pedo guy" trial and all the latest Tesla news here. Find more of our travel news and advice here and check out our Gadget Lab team's favorite gear to accompany you on your trip.
Recommendations:
Alex recommends How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. (Also you should preorder Alex’s book Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car.) Mike recommends The War on Cars podcast, in particular the episode with legal scholar Sarah Seo about how private car ownership has created an “automotive police state.” Arielle recommends the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
Alex Davies can be found on Twitter @adavies47. Arielle Pardes is @pardesoteric. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Lauren is @LaurenGoode. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how:
If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Play Music app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. You can also download an app like Pocket Casts or Google Podcasts, and search for Gadget Lab. And in case you really need it, here's the RSS feed.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/06/19 • 34 min
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FAQ
How many episodes does Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED have?
Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED currently has 252 episodes available.
What topics does Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED cover?
The podcast is about News, Tech News, Podcasts and Technology.
What is the most popular episode on Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED?
The episode title 'I Bike, You Bike, Ebike' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED?
The average episode length on Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED is 39 minutes.
How often are episodes of Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED released?
Episodes of Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED?
The first episode of Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED was released on Dec 14, 2018.
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