The future, read out loud. Handpicked WIRED stories, professionally narrated.
For more of the most ambitious, future-defining stories from our favorite human writers, subscribe to The Big Story newsletter: https://www.wired.com/newsletter/the-big-story
How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran
Sneaking six Americans out of Iran in 1979 would take an audacious plan, false identities, and an epic Hollywood cover story.
Written by Joshuah Bearman. Originally published on April 24th, 2007.
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25 Oct 2026
She Was the DEA’s Premier Crypto Detective. The Clues Led Straight to Her Own Family
To escape the chaos of her Russian childhood, Lili Infante became an American law enforcement prodigy. She pioneered the DEA’s investigations of the dark web—never suspecting who she’d find hiding there.
Written by Joshuah Bearman and Owen Long. Originally published on October 21st, 2026.
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23 Oct 2026
Inside the Bitcoin Bust That Took Down the Web's Biggest Child Abuse Site
They thought their payments were untraceable. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The untold story of the case that shredded the myth of Bitcoin’s anonymity.
Written by Andy Greenberg. Originally published on April 7th, 2022.
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21 Oct 2026
Evan Ratliff Tried to Vanish: Here's What Happened
He shed his identity with the goal of disappearing for one month. Then the manhunt began.
Written by Evan Ratliff. Originally published on November 20th, 2009.
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19 Oct 2026
Nathan Fielder Tells Us Everything
Including what Elizabeth Holmes said to him last week. A WIRED exclusive interview with the comic auteur, as his first feature film hits theaters.
The conversation between Katie Drummond and Nathan Fielder is performed by voice actors. These are not their actual voices.
Written by Katie Drummond. Originally published on October 19th, 2026.
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18 Oct 2026
A College Girl Was Exploited on Camera. A Network of Anonymous Men Got to Work
Maddie Kowalski is one of countless young women who’ve had their lives destroyed by the burnerverse, a loosely connected online community of sports fans. Now she’s fighting back.
Written by EJ Dickson. Originally published on September 14th, 2026.
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16 Oct 2026
The Accidental Zillionaire
Microsoft spawned two billionaires. Paul Allen is the other one.
Written by Paulina Borsook. Originally published on August 1st, 1994.
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14 Oct 2026
In Search of the Heart of the Online-Cat Industrial Complex
A cat wearing a short tie plays music on a cat-shaped keyboard (“Pancake Meowsic Video,” 185,459 views). A woman performs sun salutations with a cat on her back (“Cat Loves Yoga,” 1,539 views). A man slaps two cats on an ironing board to the beat of “Atmosphere” (“Cat Slap Joy Division,” 357,605 views).
Written by Gideon Lewis-Kraus. Originally published on August 31st, 2012.
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11 Oct 2026
The Internet Runs on Cats and Porn. It’s About to Get Cattier and Pornier
Soon, hundreds of new top-level domains, including .meow and .fart, could be added to the internet. WIRED goes inside the backroom shenanigans of ICANN, the organization at the helm.
Written by Pete Millspaugh. Originally published on October 6th, 2026.
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9 Oct 2026
Billions Registered
Right now, there are no rules to keep you from owning a bitchin’ corporate name as your own internet address.
Written by Joshua Quittner. Originally published on October 1st, 1994.
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7 Oct 2026
Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
Our most powerful 21st-century technologies—robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech—are threatening to make humans an endangered species.
Written by Bill Joy. Originally published on April 1st, 2000.
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4 Oct 2026
Choke Points
Lost time. Lost jobs. Lost friends. Lost family.
Lost Lives.
How Israeli checkpoints suffocate Palestinian life in the occupied West Bank.
Written by Lama Rabah, Sabrina Slipchenko, Charles Boutaud, Firas Tawil and Elena DeBre. Originally published on September 30th 2026.
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2 Oct 2026
How a Research Blog Took on Big Surveillance in China—and Won
Digging through manuals for security cameras, a group of gearheads found sinister details and ignited a new battle in the US-China tech war.
Written by Amos Zeeberg. Originally published on April 4th, 2023.
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30 Sept 2026
Greetings From Burning Man!
Dispatches from the New American Holiday: Writer Bruce Sterling takes the kids to the Temporary Autonomous Zone, where survival is a personal choice.
Written by Bruce Sterling. Originally published in WIRED on November 1st, 1996.
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27 Sept 2026
She's 28, Loves God and Her Family, and Might Be the Reason You Can't Have Kids
No IVF. No surrogacy. No polygenic tests. Emma Waters is leading a national fight against fertility tech—with her hot husband’s permission, of course.For more of the most ambitious, future-defining stories from our favorite human writers, subscribe to The Big Story newsletter: https://www.wired.com/newsletter/the-big-story
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25 Sept 2026
Sayaka Murata Inhabits a Planet of Her Own
The novelist makes the Earthly rituals of sex, marriage, childbirth—and all of human life—appear delightfully outlandish.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
6 ratings
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