Shipping and Shopping
Uncanny Valley | WIRED5 Marras 2021

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)

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