Power Problems
Uncanny Valley | WIRED3 Syys 2021

Power Problems

This week, Hurricane Ida swept through the southern US, hitting Louisiana and parts of Mississippi especially hard. The storm disabled the power grid across Louisiana, including heavily populated areas like New Orleans, and officials say it could be weeks before power is fully restored. It's not the first disaster to reveal how woefully unprepared our infrastructure is for weathering disasters—and it won't be the last.

This week on Gadget Lab, we talk with WIRED senior writer Lily Hay Newman about what caused the power problems in New Orleans, and how humanity can prepare for unexpected disasters (like solar flares) that might come in the near future.

Show Notes:

Read Lily’s story about the power outages in New Orleans. Also read her story about how solar storms could cause an internet apocalypse.

Recommendations:

Lily recommends upgrading from your iPhone 6S (or earlier), since Apple is about to stop supporting security updates on older phones. Lauren recommends the August 31 episode of The New York Times’ podcast The Daily, about America’s final hours in Afghanistan. Mike recommends the show Justified, which you can watch on Hulu.

Lily Newman can be found on Twitter @lilyhnewman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). 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(428)

What's Lost When the Human Drivers Are Gone?

What's Lost When the Human Drivers Are Gone?

If you’ve spent time in San Francisco or Phoenix in the last couple years, chances are you’ve probably seen a self-driving car making its way around. This week, we’re joined by WIRED’s Aarian Marshall...

13 Maalis 202539min

Why Elon Musk Has Wanted the Government Shutdown

Why Elon Musk Has Wanted the Government Shutdown

WIRED Senior Editor Leah Feiger joins Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond to discuss some breaking news about why Elon Musk would want a government shutdown. Plus, WIRED’s Emily Mullin joins for ...

12 Maalis 202523min

Do We Need To Have More Babies?

Do We Need To Have More Babies?

Silicon Valley is obsessed with solutionism. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that when it comes to a declining birth rate some of the valley’s elite have a clear answer: more babies at all costs. ...

6 Maalis 202531min

Elon’s Twitter Playbook at DOGE

Elon’s Twitter Playbook at DOGE

WIRED’s Director of Business & Industry Zoë Schiffer and Katie Drummond, Global Editorial Director, talk about credit card freezes and AI technology at DOGE, and how each is a move from the Twitter pl...

4 Maalis 202520min

Deepfakes, Tesla Backlash and Chips Chips Chips

Deepfakes, Tesla Backlash and Chips Chips Chips

We’ve been so busy at WIRED, covering politics, science, culture, security, gear and so much more, that this week we decided to do something a little different – we’re talking through three stories fr...

27 Helmi 202536min

WIRED News Update: DOGE’s Many Conflicts of Interest & Elon’s Weekend Email Chaos

WIRED News Update: DOGE’s Many Conflicts of Interest & Elon’s Weekend Email Chaos

WIRED’s Deputy Editor Brian Barrett joins Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond to talk about the many conflicts of interests within DOGE which are popping up across the federal government, includi...

26 Helmi 202522min

The Showdown Between Elon Musk and Sam Altman

The Showdown Between Elon Musk and Sam Altman

The relationship between Sam Altman and Elon Musk goes back to the early days of OpenAI– then, a non-profit research lab. But now, the two men find themselves in a very public feud over the billion do...

20 Helmi 202536min

WIRED News Update: The Watergate-inspired Law That’s Fighting DOGE

WIRED News Update: The Watergate-inspired Law That’s Fighting DOGE

Andrew Couts, WIRED’s Senior Editor of Security and Investigations, joins Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond to talk about how The 1974 Privacy Act is being leveraged as Elon Musk’s so-called De...

19 Helmi 202521min