Recent articles
August 6, 2026
ICE’s DNA Collection Increases, SpaceX’s Rocket Crashes Into the Moon, and the AI Backlash Grows
In today’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we discuss how ICE has been collecting DNA samples of people with no criminal convictions, including children, which end up in an FBI database indefinitely.
www.wired.com
August 6, 2026
Two Fossil Fuel Companies Are Betting Big on Data Centers
Chevron and Williams are big winners in the race to power artificial intelligence as they build out gas-fired power plants and pipelines.
www.wired.com
August 5, 2026
Cougars Lower the Risks of Car Crashes by Hunting Deer
A new study shows how the big cats cause deer to move away from roads and deeper into the forest, where they pose less of a hazard to motorists.
www.wired.com
August 4, 2026
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
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July 31, 2026
The World Is Too Hot. El Niño Is Partly to Blame
Heat waves are simultaneously hitting Europe, North America, and Asia, driven in part by the hot waters in the tropical Pacific—and climate change.
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July 29, 2026
How to Bring a Geothermal Well Back from the Dead
Startup Zanskar has created one of the most productive geothermal wells in the US at a power plant that had been in decline for years.
www.wired.com
July 24, 2026
AI firms want more data centers; Trump's EPA may give neighbors less say
Rule would allow states to decide how much—if any—public input there can be.
arstechnica.com
July 23, 2026
The Trump Administration Wants to Change Public Engagement Rules for Polluters
The EPA has proposed a rule change that would let states decide how much input the public has on air pollution permits. It would be a huge boon for data centers increasingly reliant on fossil fuels.
www.wired.com
July 21, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed Is an Epidemiologist Running for Senate. His State Is a Public Health Disaster
Michigan has been at the epicenter of the wildfire smoke and explosive diarrhea outbreaks. The progressive Democrat talks to WIRED about how he would tackle the forces behind them if he’s elected.
www.wired.com
July 15, 2026
The Northeast Is Being Blanketed in Canadian Wildfire Smoke
Roughly 100 wildfires are raging out of control in Ontario, sending smoke streaming more than 1,000 miles from their origin.
www.wired.com
July 14, 2026
New York Governor Signs First Statewide Data Center Moratorium
“We have no choice but to address the challenges created by these massive facilities,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. The executive order will pause construction for one year.
www.wired.com
July 10, 2026
Microsoft Reports a Massive 25 Percent Jump in Emissions
Data centers are driving up the company’s use of electricity—and carbon pollution.
www.wired.com
July 8, 2026
Dimming the Sun Would Help Lower the Risks of El Niño
As worries about a growing super El Niño mount, new findings suggest a radical solution to mitigating its impacts.
www.wired.com
July 3, 2026
3 Nuclear Startups Hit a Big Milestone. Why It Matters—and Why It Doesn’t
The companies’ Fourth of July plans include celebrating new reactor designs coming online. But there’s still a long way to go before they deliver energy at a meaningful scale.
www.wired.com
June 29, 2026
The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics
Climate activist Will Lawrence cofounded the Sunrise Movement. Now, he has shifted his focus in his attempt to compete for a swing-district seat by calling for a data center moratorium.
www.wired.com
June 23, 2026
Even the Internet’s Favorite Pool Guy Doesn’t Know How to Fix the Reflecting Pool
Algae blooms, peeling paint, and a host of fixes from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubblers have made it hard to diagnose what’s wrong with the Reflecting Pool—let alone how to clean up the mess.
www.wired.com
June 16, 2026
Why the Reflecting Pool Is Full of Algae After Trump's Renovation
Warm weather has fueled a bloom that National Park Service workers are trying to kill using everything from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubbles ahead of July 4 celebrations.
www.wired.com
June 16, 2026
DOJ Lawyers Argue xAI Is ‘Vital’ for National Security in NAACP Lawsuit
In a bid to dismiss a lawsuit over xAI's polluting gas turbines, the Justice Department claimed the company is integral to military operations—including the Iran War.
www.wired.com
June 15, 2026
The US Government Is Letting a Key Data Center Regulation Expire
The federal government is planning to let a rule regulating federal data center operations sunset in September with no replacement.
www.wired.com
June 12, 2026
China Didn't Make People Hate Data Centers
GOP lawmakers, tech investors, and even OpenAI have tied the anti-data center movement in the US to Chinese interference. Experts say it’s much more complicated than that.
www.wired.com
June 11, 2026
People Living Near xAI’s Dirty Data Centers Are Furious About the SpaceX IPO
Elon Musk is set to make hundreds of billions even as communities in Mississippi and Tennessee are fighting to stop the gas turbines powering xAI's supercomputers.
www.wired.com
June 4, 2026
How some data center operators are tackling their water use problems
Hyperscalers have come under scrutiny for their impact on water quality and availability.
arstechnica.com
June 3, 2026
Data Center Operators Are Trying to Fix Their Water Use Problems
Google, Microsoft, and other hyperscalers have come under scrutiny for their impact on water quality and availability.
www.wired.com
May 26, 2026
The Cookware Industry Has a Major Fight Brewing Over PFAS Claims
There’s a new front in the war over the safety of chemicals used to make nonstick pans.
www.wired.com
May 15, 2026
Trump's Federal Gas Tax Holiday Isn't Likely to Bring Down Prices
Reducing the fee will only have a marginal impact on prices while depriving the government of revenue to maintain roads.
www.wired.com
May 13, 2026
What It Will Take to Make AI Sustainable
Researcher Sasha Luccioni argues we need better emissions data and a better sense of how people are using AI in the first place.
www.wired.com