Shipping and Shopping

Shipping and Shopping

Hey, how's that holiday shopping coming along? It's still a little early to start panicking in earnest, but right now is the best time to start buying stuff if you want it to arrive in time for the holidays. You might have noticed how you'll go to order something online, but it's either completely unavailable or it won’t ship for weeks or months. That's because the global supply chain has been a little screwy lately, set off kilter by a combination of logistical problems, resource shortages, and manufacturing woes. It's a weird time for buying things, and even weirder time for shipping them.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior reviews editor Adrienne So joins us to talk about supply chain woes and why now is the time to start your holiday shopping.

Show Notes:

Read Adreinne’s story about timing your holiday shopping properly. Read Amanda Mull’s story in The Atlantic about the nasty logistics of returning all that stuff you buy. Here’s Lauren’s Verge story about how everything is connected and there’s no going back.

Recommendations:

Adrienne recommends the books in the Wheel of Time series, which comes to Amazon Prime Video as a streaming TV program later this month. Lauren recommends the six-part CNN documentary, Lincoln: Divided We Stand. Mike recommends watching Re:Wired, our annual big ideas conference, which streams for free November 9 and 10.

Adrienne So can be found on Twitter @adriennemso. 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)

Disney Just Threw a Punch in a Major AI Fight

Disney Just Threw a Punch in a Major AI Fight

Disney and Universal recently filed suit against Midjourney, an AI image generation startup, alleging the company has become a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” and that it freely reproduces the studio'...

26 Kesä 202539min

Seriously, What Is 'Superintelligence'?

Seriously, What Is 'Superintelligence'?

Meta just announced a major move in its AI efforts – investing in Scale AI and building a superintelligence AI research lab. While Meta has been trying to keep up with big names in the AI race, such a...

19 Kesä 202537min

The Chatbot Disinfo Inflaming the L.A. Protests

The Chatbot Disinfo Inflaming the L.A. Protests

In recent days, Los Angeles residents have taken to the streets to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the increasingly frequent ICE raids. WIRED’s Senior Politics Editor Leah ...

13 Kesä 202518min

Unpacking AI Agents

Unpacking AI Agents

In the past six months, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others have released web-browsing agents that are designed to complete tasks independently, with only minimal input from humans. OpenAI CEO Sam A...

12 Kesä 202535min

One, Big, Beautiful Breakup

One, Big, Beautiful Breakup

WIRED's Senior Politics Editor Leah Feiger joins Zoë Schiffer, WIRED's Director of Business & Industry to discuss the ongoing fallout between President Trump and Elon Musk, and the future of DOGE.Arti...

6 Kesä 202522min

Why Silicon Valley Needs Immigration

Why Silicon Valley Needs Immigration

Expanded deportations, a virtually shutdown asylum process, increased scrutiny of H1-B visa applicants—immigration policy has been overhauled under the latest Trump administration. And, just last week...

5 Kesä 202534min

Let's Talk About ChatGPT and Cheating In The Classroom

Let's Talk About ChatGPT and Cheating In The Classroom

There’s been a lot of talk about how AI tools like ChatGPT are changing education. Students are using AI to do research, write papers, and get better grades. So today on the show, we debate whether us...

22 Touko 202549min

Why 3D Printing an Untraceable ‘Ghost Gun’ is Easier Than Ever

Why 3D Printing an Untraceable ‘Ghost Gun’ is Easier Than Ever

WIRED’s Senior Writer, Andy Greenberg, has been reporting on ghost guns for years. He first used a 3D printer to assemble a gun more than a decade ago, and says that today’s process is not only faster...

20 Touko 202518min