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Uncanny Valley | WIRED

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

By: WIRED
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Welcome to Uncanny Valley—an insider look at the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley—where each week, WIRED’s writers and editors bring you original reporting and analysis about some of the biggest stories in tech.

On Tuesdays, WIRED’s Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond sits down with influential figures in culture, politics, business, science, and beyond for a discussion captured through the WIRED lens.

On Thursdays, WIRED writers and editors Zoë Schiffer, Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger add you to the Slack group thread to let you into what they’re hearing from sources in Silicon Valley and D.C, read you into what trends you should be watching for and how WIRED is thinking about it all.


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Episodes
  • AI Researchers Resignations; Bots Hiring Humans; Evie Magazine’s Party
    Feb 19 2026

    This week, Zoë dives into why some researchers at top AI companies have been resigning and publicly voicing their concerns around AI safety. Then, Brian tells us about Rent-A-Human — a website where AI agents hire humans to perform real life tasks — and why it has gathered attention and controversy. Finally, Leah shares her experience attending a party for the conservative magazine Evie, and how the culture around it could shape the upcoming election cycle.

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    31 mins
  • ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans; Palantir Employees’ Ethical Concerns; AI Assistants
    Feb 12 2026

    This week, Brian, Leah, and Zoë discuss WIRED’s big scoop on ICE’s startling plans to expand to nearly every state in the US. Then, they unpack Alex Karp’s nearly-hour-long non-response to Palantir employees with ethical concerns about collaborating with ICE. Plus, a WIRED writer lets the viral AI assistant OpenClaw run his life for a week to give listeners a peek into what AI agents can and can’t actually do.


    Articles mentioned in this episode:

    • The Shoes and Brooms Transforming Curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics
    • I Loved My OpenClaw AI Agent—Until It Turned on Me
    • Palantir CEO Alex Karp Recorded a Video About ICE for His Employees
    • ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next
    • The ICE Expansion Won’t Happen in the Dark
    • James Holzhauer's Jeopardy! Greatness, in Charts
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    37 mins
  • Tech Elites in the Epstein Files; Musk’s Mega Merger; Crypto Scam Compound
    Feb 5 2026

    This week, Brian and Leah dive into the key tech industry figures who show up in the final batch of the Epstein Files. Then, they discuss SpaceX and xAI’s blockbuster merger, and what it says about the future of Elon Musk’s companies. Plus, we share the story of how a whistleblower revealed — and fled — the inner operations of a crypto scam compound in Laos.

    Articles mentioned in this episode:

    • The Tech Elites in the Epstein Files
    • Elon Musk Is Rolling xAI Into SpaceX—Creating the World’s Most Valuable Private Company
    • Inside the ICE Forum Where Agents Complain About Their Jobs
    • He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive


    Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests.

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    35 mins
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