Uncanny Valley | WIRED

Peloton's been weathering a rough year. The home workout company soared high in the early days of the pandemic, when demand for its stationary bikes and treadmills exploded. Then people started to ease back out into the world, and a number of high-profile accidents on Peloton equipment caused demand for the machines to plummet. But Peloton is still at it, hoping that one of its new products will lure people back to its brand of prestige workout tech. The latest is Peloton's new rowing machine.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED's outgoing executive editor of news Brian Barrett joins us one last time to talk about the new Peloton Row, and whether it could prove to be a lifeboat for the sinking company.Show NotesRead Lauren’s story about Peloton’s new rower. Also read Lauren on the camera-bedecked Peloton Guide, and Adrienne So’s review of the Guide.RecommendationsBrian recommends that you subscribe to WIRED. Lauren recommends the fifth season of the podcast Fiasco, which is all about the AIDS crisis. Mike recommends Rachel Levin’s story in Bon Appetit called “I Eat Meat. Why Was Killing My Own Food So Hard?”Brian Barrett can be found on Twitter @brbarrett. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Virtual reality has long been hailed as the next big thing in tech. It's pure escapism; strap on a headset and immerse yourself in a different world. At least, it would be easy to truly immerse yourself if the headsets were comfier to wear, less awkward to use, and a little more cool-looking. As unwieldy as the headsets are, the technology inside them is actually getting pretty good. The latest headset to make news is Sony’s PlayStation VR2. It’s the first update to the PSVR in six years, and Sony gave us a preview of the device as it nears an official release next year. We are also expecting to hear details soon about Meta's newly beefed Oculus headset meant to better hook you into the company’s weird metaverse.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED staff writer Boone Ashworth joins us to talk about his experience trying the PSVR2, what's next for Meta and Oculus, and whether if you die in VR that means you die in real life.Show NotesRead Boone’s impressions of the day he spent trying out PSVR2. Read Lauren on the recent Oculus price hike. Read all of our virtual reality coverage.RecommendationsBoone recommends Paradise by Lizzy Johnson. Mike recommends the game Johann Sebastian Joust. Lauren recommends breakfast salads for some reason. Boone Ashworth can be found on Twitter @BooneAshworth. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth. Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

At a splashy media event this week, Apple announced four configurations of the new iPhone 14, as well as some new Apple Watches and an update to the wireless AirPod Pro. Many of the changes were iterative—some tweaks to phone design here, a new software feature there—but the biggest surprise was the new Apple Watch Ultra, a big, rugged, and expensive version of the wearable that's aimed at adventurous types like climbers, distance runners, and scuba divers.This week on Gadget Lab, we dig into everything Apple announced this week, including new iPhones 14, AirPods, and that new Apple Watch Ultra.Show NotesCheck out our roundup of everything Apple announced during Wednesday’s event. Read Adrienne So on the Apple Watch Ultra competing with Garmin and other premium smartwatch brands. Matt Burgess digs into passkeys replacing passwords in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Follow WIRED’s coverage of all the Apple news.RecommendationsJulian recommends portable monitors like those from Espresso, Innocn, or the ones recommended in our Work From Home buying guide. Mike recommends maybe doing the planet a solid by not buying a new iPhone this year unless you absolutely need to upgrade.Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @julianchokkattu. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode and will be back next week. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Collectively, people stream more than a billion hours of video on YouTube every single day. That's a lot of eyeballs, and it means the platform has enormous influence. In its twisty-turny path from dwarfish startup to internet colossus, YouTube has launched the careers of creatives, and hosted a host of misinformation and conspiracy theories. It has been a source of joy and entertainment, and also sparked real-world tragedies.This week on Gadget Lab, we talk with journalist and author Mark Bergen about his new book, which is all about the video-streaming platform and its path to cultural domination.Show NotesMark Bergen’s new book, Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination is out September 6.RecommendationsMark recommends the YouTube channel of Bill Wurtz. Lauren recommends the book Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton. Mike recommends the climate newsletter “One5C” by Joe Brown.Mark Bergen can be found on Twitter @mhbergen. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The United States government just passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that allocates nearly $400 billion dollars to fund clean energy and climate efforts. A big chunk of that amount is earmarked for tax credits for consumers. So if you want to install solar panels, buy better windows, purchase a heat pump, or start driving an electric vehicle, there's a good chance you could get some money to offset the cost.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED writers Aarian Marshall and Matt Simon join us to talk about the ins and outs of the Inflation Reduction Act and how you can score some of those sweet, sweet tax credits. They also tell us what some of the changes mean for the automobile and construction industries.Show NotesRead Matt’s story about how the Inflation Reduction Act could save you money. Read Aarian’s story about how it will lead to more electric delivery vehicles. Here’s their story about where people in cities will charge their EVs. Follow all of WIRED’s climate coverage here.RecommendationsAarian recommends going to a baseball game, preferably on the days when dogs are allowed. Matt recommends Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Mike recommends playing Wordle, which is now (finally) in The New York Times’ mobile app. Lauren recommends NPR’s Life Kit podcast series about personal finance.Aarian Marshall can be found on Twitter @aarianmarshall. Matt Simon is @mrmattsimon. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Farming has gotten quite tech-savvy. These days, there are all sorts of Wi-Fi-enabled, app-controlled, and autonomously piloted machines out there doing the tilling and harvesting. The biggest player in the high-tech farming field is John Deere, a company which keeps very tight control over who can modify or repair its tractors and other farm equipment. The company’s policies have drawn ire from advocates in the right-to-repair movement, who think that if you buy something, you should be able to fix it, upgrade it, or modify it without having to jump through the company's hoops. Recently, a white-hat hacker discovered a way to jailbreak John Deere tractors, allowing all sorts of non-company sanctioned access to the devices. It’s a big move that has implications for the security of the food supply and for the repairability of devices across the world.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Lily Hay Newman joins us to discuss the latest John Deere hack and what it means for the broader right-to-repair movement.Show NotesRead Lily’s story about the jailbreak of John Deere tractors. Read Andy Greenberg’s story about getting hacked while driving a Jeep at 70 mph. Here’s Lily on what happened when a ransomware attack hit JBS meat processing facilities. Follow all of WIRED’s security and right-to-repair coverage.RecommendationsLily recommends wearing N95 masks, in particular the very stylish Kimberly Clark duckbill mask. Lauren recommends the New Yorker interview with Ocean Vuong, author of poetry collection Night Sky with Wounds and the novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Mike recommends the music of Patrice Rushen.Lily Newman can be found on Twitter @lilyhnewman. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Samsung's mobile phone design philosophy could best be described as "if it ain't broke, bend it." The company—one of the top smartphone manufacturers in the world—announced some new foldable devices this week, and they don't exactly break the mold. Even the Galaxy Z Fold, once Samsung's flagship showcase of wacky innovation, looks and bends more or less the same as last year’s model. But while the designs may not be the most exciting, they do mean interesting things for Android, the mobile software that powers them.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu joins us to talk about everything Samsung announced this week, plus what it all means for the next versions of Android.Show NotesHere’s everything Samsung announced at its Unpacked event this week. Here’s Julian’s review of last year’s Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3.RecommendationsJulian recommends the Ampere Shower Power Pro, a speaker for your shower. Lauren recommends oatmeal and not watching The Northman. Mike recommends the book The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman.Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Maybe you’re intrigued by NFTs. (They can often be pretty fun.) Maybe you’ve even felt the urge to buy a piece of digital art, only to give up once all the talk of wallets, blockchain transactions, gas fees, and digital ownership restrictions made the experience feel too daunting. And the NFT world is daunting! Especially for non-technical folks. Some companies are trying to make the acquisition process less onerous by selling NFT videos pre-installed in digital photo frames that you can buy, have shipped to you, and then display on your desk or wall next to your photos and other artworks.This week, Lauren Goode takes us into this world of pre-framed NFTs and the marketplaces that power them. She also tells us about the looping Steph Curry video currently brightening her kitchen counter.Show NotesRead Lauren’s story about framed NFT art. Listen to our episode last year about WTF is an NFT. Here’s that Infinite Objects Elon Musk NFT if your stomach can take it.RecommendationsLauren recommends mineral sunscreen. Mike recommends the casual mobile game Holedown.Lauren Goode can be found on Twitter @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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you've opened Instagram recently, you've certainly seen Reels. The photo-sharing app has started aggressively pushing the TikTok-like video feeds onto its users, a move that has sparked a heated response. Longtime users, and even celebrities like Kylie Jenner, have been urging Instagram to ditch the feature, which in addition to showing you more viral videos also shows you fewer updates from your friends and loved ones. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has defended the move, saying that Instagram is sticking with Reels and showing more videos in general, no matter how you or the Kardashians feel about that.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs joins us to rant about Reels and why all the social media platforms are copying TikTok now.Show NotesWatch Mosseri’s recent video about Reels (on Twitter, of course). Read Kate’s story about how Instagram keeps showing her sick kids.RecommendationsKate recommends the book The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism by Adrienne Buller. Lauren recommends the Jordan Peele movie Nope and also Jason Parham’s WIRED review of the film. Mike recommends the Netflix show How to Change Your Mind and John Semley’s WIRED story about the companies racing to engineer new psychedelic drugs.Kate Knibbs can be found on Twitter @Knibbs. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Facebook has nearly three billion users, which means that when it makes a change to its business, it affects nearly half the planet. Facebook's ambitions have often manifested in chaotic, unpredictable ways and had profound societal impacts for years after they've been implemented. So when the company decided to rebrand to Meta and funnel billions of dollars toward building its own virtual alternate reality, it's a move that's bound to come with some big consequences—if nothing else, for Meta itself.This week on Gadget Lab, we're joined by Shirin Ghaffary from Recode and Alex Heath from The Verge. The new season of their podcast, Land of the Giants, is all about Facebook's transformation into Meta and what it means for the billions of people on Facebook, and in the world at large.Show NotesListen to the Land of the Giants podcast here or wherever you listen to podcasts. Read Alex’s interview with Mark Zuckerburg about Facebook rebranding as Meta.RecommendationsShirin recommends the book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Alex recommends the show The Bear on Hulu. Lauren recommends Taylor Blake’s TikTok channel and the viral videos of her emu, Emmanuel. Mike recommends the book Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand, by John Markoff.Shirin Ghaffary can be found on Twitter @shiringhaffary. Alex Heath is @alexeheath. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices