Uber’s Crime Report Is ‘Highly Alarming,’ Says a Criminologist

More than 3,000 people reported sexual assaults related to Uber rides in the US last year, the ride-hail company said Thursday in a long-awaited report on violence and safety—an average of eight per day. Drivers reported sexual assaults to Uber at roughly the same rate that riders did. The company also said that nine people…

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Republican Politicians Really Like Their Videogames Too

Happy Friday and welcome to Replay, WIRED's collection of all the week's big videogame news. What's happening this week? The biggest deal, most likely, is that a fake-news-slamming, deep-state-truthing member of Congress pleaded guilty to stealing campaign funds for, among many other things, videogames. Destiny 2 and Snoop Dogg are also making the gaming news…

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200 Researchers, 5 Hypotheses, No Consistent Answers

If science is an objective means of seeking truth, it’s also one that requires human judgments. Let’s say you’re a psychologist with a hypothesis: People understand that they may be biased in unconscious ways against stigmatized groups; they will admit this if you ask them. That might seem like a pretty straightforward idea—one that’s either…

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Physics Explains Why You Can’t Open a Plane Door in the Air

It’s the nightmare of travelers sitting near the emergency exit and the inevitable fate of bad guys tussling on a plane with James Bond—the door erupting open mid-flight, sucking them into the cold blue and white.This scenario was no doubt running through the minds of the passengers of a BA flight to Riyadh this week,…

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How Rocket Wrecks the Ravagers With Physics

I've watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 multiple times, but I never noticed this awesome physics scene before. Rocket, the cyborg raccoon, is being chased through a forest at night by Ravagers, and he sets a bunch of traps, including some sort of antigravity mine or repulsor device. When the pursuers approach, he hits…

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What’s an Influencer? The Complete WIRED Guide

Much like trolls or the blockchain, the term influencer is one of those words that ubiquity has rendered meaningless. It is simultaneously an insult and an aspiration, the scourge of small business owners and the future of marketing, and a moniker for kids with middling social followings and megacelebrities alike. It’s how the Pope describes…

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If You Use Venmo the Good Way, Your Life Will Improve

Perhaps the most bewildering quality of adulthood is that even when you’re feeling like the most godawful sad piece of shit, you’re still expected to work. Meeting invites demand your immediate confirmation, bloated email threads require your input, deadlines aren’t pushed back. All the while, your existential crises and personal issues thrum on, the sound…

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