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CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPH BY AKILAH TOWNSEND 30.07
P. 6 6
Features
The Unwritten p.52 Call of Duty p.90 wired Q&A: p.104 The Things
Laws of Physics Volodymyr Zelensky They Carried
He tried to save his wife
I never meant to be a trail- through a video game they In a one-on-one interview, During Hong Kong’s protests,
blazer. But in my field, nearly both loved—and nearly lost Ukraine’s president weighs in youths toted laser pointers,
every Black woman is an himself. Then he signed on on war, technology, and the umbrellas, and zip ties—
anomaly who faces constant to coach an esports team future of his country. objects that sometimes led to
scrutiny. at a Wyoming junior college. by Geoffrey Cain arrest and years in legal limbo.
by Katrina Miller by Brendan I. Koerner by Suzanne Sataline
p.42 The Multifarious p.80 Star, p.96 Strange p.116 The Provincetown
Multiplexity of Taika Destroyer New World Breakthrough
Waititi
Every so often, the sun fires In the footsteps of When Delta hit a queer
He makes big movies and little a plasma bomb into space. Alexander von Humboldt. tourist hot spot, an ad hoc
movies, funny movies and sad Our best hope the next time Photo portfolio by response team proved that
movies—but mostly big-little human civilization is in the Christopher Edward Americans can stifle large
funny-sad movies. Why Waititi crosshairs? Capacitors. Rodriguez Covid outbreaks.
is a bundle of contradictions. by Matt Ribel by Maryn McKenna
by Jennifer Kahn
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CONTENTS
Issue 30.07
p.14
On the Cover
p.28 p.32
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“I just want everyone to be R,
p.22 Space Superpowers p.30 Cloud Support: ZE
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happy,” Taika Waititi says in E
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Make an Orbital Mess Should I Share My N
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Joenn pnaifgeer 4K2a.h Itn w’s oprrkosf.i lDeu orfi nhgim p.09 On True Crime by James O’Malley Personal Netflix Profile RIA LO, B
With My Partner? D
and Objectivity N
the photo shoot, everyone Y, A
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had a blast. “One minute we’re by Virginia Heffernan p.24 Curing the Urban by Meghan O’Gieblyn A LA
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making monster shadows, Heat Island Effect LE
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Gear P:
next minute we’re dancing,” p.14 The Age of by Matt Simon M TO
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says photographer Jessica No Secrets E, FR
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Chou. “Anything was possible.” WI
by Paul Ford p.26 Electric Skin, the p.32 Summer Fun and CK
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Including striking a Sinatra- L
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Ultimate Wearable Adventure S.
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style pose—Waititi nailed it!—for M
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the black-and-white image we p.16 Dogfights in the by Sabrina Weiss by the wired Reviews Team BY HE
Military Metaverse RT
eventually picked for the cover. HI
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by Will Knight p.28 It’s Time to p.128 Six-Word WN
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Styling by Jeanne Yang and Rethink Time Sci-Fi M B
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Chloe Takayanagi. Styling p.20 The EV Charger by Eleanor Cummins Very Short Stories BY T
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assistance by Ella Harrington. Problem by wired readers HOE
Grooming by April Bautista using ND S
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by Aarian Marshall T
Oribe at Dew Beauty Agency. R: SUI
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Prop styling by Chloe Kirk. OV
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AbbVie
Here.
Now.
Jennifer
Chronic lymphocytic
leukemia patient
RANTS AND RAVES 3O.O7
Readers share
their recovery
stories and
crypto ire.
In our May issue, Andy Greenberg traced
the federal takedown of a child abuse
website hiding behind the blockchain. And
Susie Cagle visited a California farmer
who wants to help solve the Central
Valley’s drought crisis by flooding the
land. In June, Virginia Heffernan explored
the New Sobriety as a trend among the
young, and the forgotten merits of AA.
RE: “THE CRYPTO TRAP” RE: “WHO OWNS THE RE: “THE END OF ALCOHOL”
FLOOD?”
It’s horrifying to read about One major omission in the
this type of evil among us, but Having lived in the Sacramento article is in regards to AA
I am thankful for the miracu- Valley for 46 years, I’m cynical programs and atheists. There
lous occurrences—Jonathan about most water “manage- is a large organization called
Levin memorizing the charac- ment.” I don’t want to hear the SMART Recovery that has
ters of the address and shar- whining of almond growers AA-style meetings but with
ing them with Janczewski and who expanded their orchards a scientific and data-driven
Gambaryan—and the massive after 2017. Who owns these approach, and with totally
work that went into arrest- orchards? Not Mom and Pop. different goals and tools
ing these predators and saving And where do those almonds for sobriety. It has helped
victims. Some things just can’t go once they’re processed? me in my life tremendously.
be unseen. I wish all the best Not to the food-insecure —Chris Todd
for the mental health of those population in the US. Almonds
who worked on this case. are a huge export crop that As a recovering alcoholic
—Tony Leung enriches owners and share- (40 years next August) from a
holders only, thanks to essen- Christian conservative family
I can’t help but feel even more tially subsidized water. Good of varying recovering addicts
disillusioned about the block- on Don Cameron, but he may (Overeaters Anonymous, Pot
chain. The web was supposed be swimming upstream. Smokers Anonymous, Adult
to be about information, and —Tom Amott Children of Alcoholics, and
the blockchain started as Gamblers Anonymous, in
nothing more than an insanely My grandfather, Paul S. Taylor, addition to AA), I was so put
inefficient way to laund ... err, was a UC Berkeley economist off by the Sweet! Bleeding!
conduct “secure” financial who fought for the rights of Jesus! aura of 12-step pro-
transactions without banks. A small farmers in California. grams that I kept drinking for
lot of smart people have been He tried in vain to retain the another couple years after I
duped into the idea that a 160-acre water limit, but knew I needed to stop. After
concept that was never meant industrial farming won the a 10-day hangover, I finally
to scale (bitcoins are finite) day. Now there are no more quit on my own. My support
can somehow become a larger small farms, the land is over- group was my then girlfriend
solution to, well, anything. used and saturated with and my best friend. They
—Alex Hannagan chemicals, and there’s not reminded me why I wanted
enough water. Thank you for to be sober. If more peo-
RE: “THE END OF ALCOHOL”
publishing Don Cameron’s ple drink “mindfully” or quit
work. With ideas like his, we because it’s “hip,” it’s a net
may yet make it out of the gain overall to society.
Sobriety as a
water/farming crisis, espe- —D. R. Darke
cially with the added pressure
service (and a vibe) of human-created climate
change. —Dyanna Taylor
is creating some …
complicated issues.
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