Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of The Monitor, WIRED's culture news roundup. What did you miss last weekend? Well, It Chapter Two made a lot of money. Also, audiences seem to really like Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and Kristen Stewart would like to play a gay superhero. Let's go!It Chapter Two Rules the Box…

On the one hand, autonomous vehicles offer an excellent opportunity to rethink how American cities operate, down to each lane line, crosswalk, and curb. Two years ago, the National Association of City Transportation Officials, representing 81 North American cities, published its first planning guide to self-driving vehicles, highlighting the possibilities. If everyone moves around on…

After 31 people were murdered in back-to-back shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last month, President Donald Trump declared, "Mental illness and hatred pulled the trigger. Not the gun." His claim, a twist on the gun-rights adage that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” is a popular refrain, with little evidentiary basis.WIRED…

Over the past year, tech workers across the country have walked out to protest a wide range of issues. Google employees objected to the handling of sexual harassment claims. Riot Games workers demonstrated against forced arbitration. And WayFair staff left their desks after learning that the retailer profited from migrant detention centers run by US…

Recovered from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker footage from D23 yet? If you have, go back and watch it some more. If you haven't, frankly we here at Cantina Talk haven't either. Either way, if you need something to distract you—and you happen to have a Nintendo Switch—here's our suggestion: Star Wars Jedi…

Li Suzhi scrolls through the front page of Chinese ecommerce app Pinduoduo, browsing T-shirts, electronics, and fruit, all priced at a fraction of the cost of similar products on other platforms. “I have to be careful not to use this app too much. It has so many deals that I want to spend all my…

When not confined to a container, liquids will splatter, dribble, and ooze. They shape-shift into their surroundings as puddles and streams, largely beyond human control.Lauren Zarzar is trying to make more obedient liquids. Zarzar, a materials scientist at Pennsylvania State University, designs liquids that she can tame—fluids that move or change shape on command. That…

You are you and I am me because of processed foods, because our ancestors learned how to cook meat and make bread and, perhaps more importantly, beer. Accordingly, our brains grew and our guts transformed. But those two words smashed together, processed foods, take on new terror in this era of organic, locally sourced, artisanal,…

Malcolm Gladwell loves to love things. This is especially true of things underloved by the rest of the world. He loves Catholics. He loves law review articles with "epic footnotes." He loves Naked Chicken Chalupas. The word itself he stresses and lets linger: a shameless verbal fart. "I love"—then a savoring pause—"Dick Cavett," he says…

In 2001, Naspers, a media company that launched in 1915 and later evolved into a media holding company with pay TV interests, agreed to invest $32 million for a 46.5%…