On the Road Again
Uncanny Valley | WIRED8 Touko 2020

On the Road Again

While every economic sector in America has been upended by the coronavirus, few have been hit as hard as the transit and food service industries. It's not so easy to hop on a bus or train when there's a need for increased sanitation and social distancing. It’s equally as difficult to imagine sitting down in a cafe next to some strangers and ordering a nice salade niçoise as servers buzz around the dining room. As the country grows more desperate to return to something approaching normalcy, experiences like riding a bus, hailing an Uber, and dining out will soon look very different, with restaurant tables spilling into the roads, and the roads themselves closed to cars.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED transportation writer Aarian Marshall joins us to talk about how the coronavirus is poised to change the design of city life.

Show Notes:

Read Aarian’s story about how cities are embracing outdoor spaces here. Catch up with Elon Musk’s Tesla tweetstorm here. Read more from WIRED about the state of transportation here. Follow all of our coronavirus coverage here.

Recommendations:

Aaarian recommends buying subscriptions to some print magazines so you’re not just staring at a screen all the time. Lauren recommends Billions on Showtime. Mike recommends Questlove Quarantine Live From the Qibbutz on YouTube.

Aarian Marshall can be found on Twitter @AarianMarshall. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(425)

BIG INTV: Melinda French Gates on Secrets: ‘Live a Truthful Life, Then You Don’t Have Any’ (Re-Run)

BIG INTV: Melinda French Gates on Secrets: ‘Live a Truthful Life, Then You Don’t Have Any’ (Re-Run)

On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist sits down with Katie to offer her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s healthcare.Join ...

24 Helmi 47min

AI Researcher Resignations; Bots Hiring Humans; Evie Magazine’s Party

AI Researcher Resignations; Bots Hiring Humans; Evie Magazine’s Party

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 A...

19 Helmi 30min

ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans; Palantir Employees’ Ethical Concerns; AI Assistants

ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans; Palantir Employees’ Ethical Concerns; AI Assistants

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 em...

12 Helmi 37min

Tech Elites in the Epstein Files; Musk’s Mega Merger; Crypto Scam Compound

Tech Elites in the Epstein Files; Musk’s Mega Merger; Crypto Scam Compound

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 th...

5 Helmi 35min

BIG INTV: Fallout Director Jonathan Nolan Says He's Still a Techno-Optimist

BIG INTV: Fallout Director Jonathan Nolan Says He's Still a Techno-Optimist

Katie sits down with the Westworld showrunner, Jonah Nolan for a wide ranging conversation about what keeps him coming back to sci-fi storytelling about technology and human nature. After decades of w...

3 Helmi 48min

BIG INTV: Silicon Valley Tech Workers’ Campaign to Get ICE Out of US Cities

BIG INTV: Silicon Valley Tech Workers’ Campaign to Get ICE Out of US Cities

In the wake of the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis, several prominent tech executives attended a private White House screening of Melania, a documentary being released ...

30 Tammi 31min

Minneapolis Misinformation; TikTok’s New Owners; Moltbot Hype

Minneapolis Misinformation; TikTok’s New Owners; Moltbot Hype

In today’s episode, Brian and Zoë are joined by WIRED’s Tim Marchman to discuss the news of the week — including how far-right influencers spread misinformation in Minneapolis, and why TikTok’s US ver...

29 Tammi 35min

Trump Davos Drama; AI Midterms; ChatGPT's Last Resort

Trump Davos Drama; AI Midterms; ChatGPT's Last Resort

Welcome back to Uncanny Valley! This week, WIRED’s Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger are joining the show as the new co-hosts, alongside Zoë Schiffer. And our attention has been on the drama going down in...

22 Tammi 36min