Category: Culture

Users frustrated with Elon Musk’s handling of X and closeness to president-elect Donald Trump are fleeing to Bluesky—an easier migration than leaving the US.

Silicon Valley keeps promising a “healthier” online experience and failing to deliver. After the election, one CEO thinks he has the answer.

As Hollywood studios, actors, and writers wrangle over the use of AI in films, a major new release has fully embraced it.

After 17 years, a group of Redditors have identified “The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet.” It’s just the beginning.

What’s really behind these return-to-office mandates?

The 4B movement, from South Korea, calls for women to not date, marry, sleep with, or have children with men. Women are calling for the […]

Spending many hours daily looking at screens feels like a foregone conclusion. The new challenge is paring down what fills them.

TV brands are taking prices down a notch ahead of Black Friday for some of the best deals of the year.

Swifties say they’re leaving X over Elon Musk’s support of Donald Trump—and the rhetoric that has erupted on the platform following Trump’s win.

One of TikTok’s defining subcultures is arguing over whether books are political, “red-listing” authors, and looking for guidance in speculative fiction.

As the industry looks to AI and robotics for the next big thing, Our Erotic Journey’s James Guo just wants to build you the perfect […]

In April, House of the Dragon star Abubakar Salim released Tales of Kenzera: Zau. He already has an idea for an Afro-cyberpunk follow-up, he just […]

In a twist befitting its pages, the satirical, anti-establishment publication that delivered laughs and hijinks to generations of young readers gets the respect it always […]

A new book charts the history of pet cemeteries and honors the universal experience of grieving an animal companion

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

A cohort of content creators say it’s possible to make money on OnlyFans without stripping. I put that claim to the test.

It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan’s immense collection of […]

A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights

Absolution, the latest book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series, begins with a mysterious alligator experiment that seems to have gone wrong. Read the first […]

Nintendo’s alarm clock does less than we want it to for more than we want to pay. You might want to buy one anyway.

Chronically online millennials turning memes into costumes used to be all the rage. Now, the TikTok generation has a new challenge to bring back some […]

Tony Tulathimutte, author of Rejection, peers into the soul of millennial disorder in the way that no one else does.

From imported gore to found footage frights, these movies are sure to get you into the spirit of the season.

With HotWired, we introduced the world to the internet. Hyperlinks! Verticals! Banner ads! Cookies! Thirty years later, the hangover is real.

Is Mark Zuckerberg’s style transformation just a matter of a change in personal taste? Or is the infamous tech mogul trying to tell us something […]

Will AI actually change the world? Will work and socialization be constrained to the metaverse? Uncanny Valley provides an insider look at the people, power, […]

Tourists often visit sites marked by death, tragedy, and disaster out of macabre curiosity. What they typically find there is enlightenment, empathy, and a connection […]

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show how communities in Mexico and beyond mark Día de los Muertos.

Whether you seek spooky chills, jump scares, or creeping dread, we have horror show recommendations to sate your thirst.

Less than five days from Election Day in the US, most people can’t help but check the news—or TikTok or X—but what they see can […]

After eight years of development, Sony pulled the plug on Concord today after just two weeks. Fans loved it, but seemingly not enough. Is the […]

Despite its limitations, the makers of MarioVGG think AI video could one day replace game engines.

James Earl Jones died Monday at the age of 93. But long before he did, he gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his iconic Darth Vader […]

“It’s gonna sound wild,” he confesses, “but I’ve probably been on close to 200 dates in the last year and a half.”

Following months of rumors, the company just announced its powerful yet pricey PlayStation 5 upgrade.

Yes, it means we’re moving into Demure Autumn or even PSL Time, but it also indicates seasons themselves are getting warped by meme culture.

Red Rooms is about things that happen in the dark corners of the internet. Naturally it found an audience of fans who pirated it there.

Colorful, intricate drawings on view at the American Folk Art Museum are anything but simple

After playing Nintendo’s highly-anticipated Switch game, we can confidently say it supplies Hyrule’s new hero Zelda with more than a sword.

The Chinese studio granted early access on the condition that topics like “feminist propaganda” and “Covid-19” go unmentioned. What followed is the Streisand effect in […]

The Big Bad Film Fest, now in its second year, is like a big, muscle-bound hug for Very Online action-movie obsessives who brought it to […]

The phrase has become a convenient descriptor for an increasingly inconvenient future.

The Chinese American artist left a breathtaking legacy that ranged from fine art to Disney movies to Christmas cards

Completed more than a century ago, these artworks reveal the Impressionist’s triumphs—and struggles

Going back to the days of “on fleek,” creators have had a hard time benefiting from their memes. TikTokker Jools Lebron is poised to change […]

Climate change, corporate money, soaring demand—can Mexico’s local agave growers find a viable path for a beloved beverage?

The one-of-a-kind album is apparently now anything but.

From the sports to the mascots and venues, here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

The HBO drama about the Machiavellian world of high finance is an undeniable hit—and cocreators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay say “coke and boats” is […]

The plucky design behind the legendary instrument that forever changed the look of rock ‘n’ roll

The filmmakers behind Seeking Mavis Beacon wanted to know what happened to the Black woman who was paid only a couple hundred dollars to be […]

The online ticketing “fiasco” for the band’s upcoming reunion tour has led to pushback against dynamic pricing models and calls for more consumer protections.

Musical instruments have existed for eons, and humans continue to create and enjoy them

This week, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz cemented their bid for the White House with some camouflage caps. The headgear is […]

With the advice column ¡Hola Papi!, JP Brammer tackles life’s most eccentric and heart-wrenching issues—like what to do after realizing your fiance is catfishing you.

No official details exist yet for Deadlock, the rumored 6v6 team shooter from Valve. That hasn’t stopped people from playing it on Steam.

Mike Rianda’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a sci-fi comedy about a family fighting back against Silicon Valley tech. As animators gear up to […]

In an attempt to lure in younger viewers, NBCUniversal sent dozens of social media influencers to the 2024 Paris Olympics. But the athletes and entertainers […]

A decade after Gamergate launched a new, toxic era of online communication, the tactics developed and honed in 2014 are now in full view in […]

Allan “dwangoAC” has made it his mission to expose speedrunning phonies. At the Defcon hacker conference, he’ll challenge one record that’s stood for 15 years.

At a regional chess tournament earlier this month, one competitor was allegedly caught on film lacing her opponent’s board with liquid mercury.

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will see a symbolic handover from Paris to Los Angeles that also features a performance by […]

The “thirst person shooter” puts a dark spin on reality TV.

The forthcoming game’s inclusion of a Black samurai named Yasuke has caused a controversy in the gaming world, one that has a familiar ring to […]

Ten years ago, much of the frustrations gamers were expressing came from anger over no longer being the target audience. Now those feelings are everywhere, […]

The Nintendo Museum, which opens in Kyoto in October, lets visitors play decades-old games using new controllers, smartphone cameras, and image recognition tech.

It’s been a week since Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, competed in the breaking competition at the Paris Olympics. The memes—and the controversy—haven’t stopped since.

On TikTok and X, the “fruity” boyfriend has become a hot topic. But the trend exposes the real issues that arise when dating apps reduce […]

In a report shared exclusively with WIRED, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism says it found more than a dozen user-generated games on Fortnite […]

A boxing tournament in Spain didn’t need the Fresh Prince’s help to become the most popular stream in the platform’s history.

The ornate series of woodcuts that transformed an art form

These 15 images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest offer a taste of the season

TikTok is host to one of the most influential, fastest-growing online industries: relationship misinformation.

The gaudy top went from practical necessity to vintage treasure

Sarah Southerland used the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s social media feeds to warn you about mountain lions and Halloween candy, leaving behind one of […]

As breaking makes its debut at this summer’s Olympics, take a look back more than a century when another dance rocked the City of Lights

TikTok’s latest trend involves videos of people traveling back in time to interrupt the viral memes of yore. The results are uncanny.

The Beach Boys, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), and Fantastic Mr. Fox are just a few of the movies you should be watching […]

Saturday Night Live writer and veteran stand-up comedian Alex English believes platforms like TikTok have changed the relationship a comic has to their audience—in the […]

The app’s algorithm is so powerful that ordinary TikTok users can’t get their favorite videos into the record books. Homegrown viral campaigns like the egg […]

Prepare yourself for the Paris Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration

Big video game makers like Epic Games and EA have gone through substantial layoffs in the past year. Amid the turmoil, many indie studios are […]

The parent company of Redbox, the outfit that put DVD-rental kiosks in retail locations, is liquidating—another sign of the death of physical media.

Here’s this month’s prompt, how to submit, and an illustrated archive of past favorites.

Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is unsentimental about what’s at stake if we don’t curb the spread of disinformation: the […]

Online quizzes became ubiquitous in a media landscape where engagement was king. But now they play a new role: deepening our understanding of current events.

These 15 Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest images give top billing to the beautiful blooms

This Mother’s Day, these shots from around the world remind us why they’re so special

A new exhibition in Massachusetts illuminates the success of Guillaume Lethière

A full 82 copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio will go on view as the renovated Washington, D.C. institution makes its debut

A food history writer and an influential podcast host tell us how our thinking about health and body weight has—and hasn’t—evolved ever since Dr. Lulu […]

This heady, exquisitely delightful new book reveals the power behind the sequins

More Americans are eating and learning about dishes such as fufu and curried goat in establishments recognized by the highest echelon of the culinary world

The James Beard Award-winning Dakar NOLA is at the forefront of a generation of fine-dining establishments determined to educate foodies about the true origins of […]

You can compete against anyone on Strava, anytime, anywhere—even in an international airport at 2 am. Which is better than doomscrolling.

Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Lena Dunham, Garth Greenwell, Roxane Gay: We’ve all agreed to be turned into chatbots by a mysterious startup called Rebind. I […]

Princess Zelda is getting her own adventure on September 26.