Coming up today: how China took control of the world’s lithium supply and we explain why your next car could be a threat to national security. Western automakers built their fortunes on the internal combustion engine. Now China has ambitions to define the electric vehicle age.

The stories we talked about this week (and more!):

China Built Your iPhone. Will It Build Your Next Car?

https://www.wired.com/story/foxconn-apple-car-china/

The Rise and Precarious Reign of China’s Battery King

https://www.wired.com/story/catl-china-battery-production-evs/

Is Your New Car a Threat to National Security?

https://www.wired.com/story/china-cars-surveillance-national-security/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

After a brief pause last week, the WIRED podcast returns.

Coming up today: Natasha on what it’s like working at Twitter amid Elon Musk chaos, and Matt Reynolds on a mad plan to grow plants without sunlight.

The stories we talked about this week:

As Elon Musk Walks, Twitter Workers Say No One’s in Charge

https://www.wired.com/story/plants-growing-in-darkness/

Scientists Are Trying to Grow Crops in the Dark

https://www.wired.com/story/plants-growing-in-darkness/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: how Covid tracking apps are pivoting for commercial profit and we talk about the future of genome sequencing.

The stories we talked about this week:

How Covid Tracking Apps Are Pivoting for Commercial Profit

https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-data-switch/

How Genome Sequencing Will Change Our Lives

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/112/1120653/genomics--wired-guides-/9781847943408.html

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: we speak to the people picking up the slack after their colleagues quit and get stuck into a messy argument about microbe names.

The stories we talked about this week:

The Almighty Squabble Over Who Gets to Name Microbes

https://www.wired.com/story/microbe-names-fight/

They Quit. Now You're Picking Up the Slack

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/they-quit-now-youre-picking-up-the-slack

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: how Russia is remaking Ukraine’s internet in its own image and the pros and cons of Canada’s bold new drug law.

The stories we talked about this week:

Canada Moves to Decriminalize Possession of ‘Hard’ Drugs

https://www.wired.com/story/canada-moves-to-decriminalize-possession-of-hard-drugs/

Russia Is Taking Over Ukraine’s Internet

https://www.wired.com/story/ukraine-russia-internet-takeover/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: Morgan explores the problems facing Google in Russia, and Grace tells us all about the Great Reinfection

The stories we talked about this week:

Welcome to the Great Reinfection

https://www.wired.com/story/welcome-to-the-great-reinfection/

Google's Russian Empire Faces an Uncertain Future

https://www.wired.com/story/google-russia-exit/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: Natasha reveals the latest trick to lure people back to the office and Amit unmasks the many problems with the lie detector.

The stories we talked about this week:

Employers Are Luring Workers Back to the Office—With Plants

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/office-plants-hybrid-working

Murder, Obsession and the Birth of the Lie Detector

https://twitter.com/amitkatwala/status/1513498832344174598

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: the fallout from the impending fall of Roe v Wade and we look back at four years of Europe’s landmark data privacy law.

The stories we talked about this week:

Patients May Not Receive Miscarriage Care in a Post-Roe America

https://www.wired.com/story/miscarriage-care-roe-versus-wade/

The Ramifications of Roe v. Wade’s Fall Won’t Stop at Abortion Bans

https://www.wired.com/story/ramifications-of-post-roe-world/

All of WIRED's coverage on a Post-Roe America

https://www.wired.com/tag/reproductive-rights/

How GDPR Is Failing

https://www.wired.com/story/gdpr-2022/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: a potential roadblock on the route to nuclear fusion and how the Kremlin infiltrated Russia’s biggest social media network.

The stories we talked about this week:

Nuclear Fusion Is Already Facing a Fuel Crisis

https://www.wired.com/story/nuclear-fusion-is-already-facing-a-fuel-crisis/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess

Coming up today: we explain why the crypto world may be crumbling and look at the flaws in the European Union’s new plan to crack down on child sexual abuse images. 

The stories we talked about this week:

The EU Wants Big Tech to Scan Your Private Chats for Child Abuse

https://www.wired.com/story/europe-csam-scanning-law-chat-encryption/

Music by Filip Hnizdo

Produced and edited by Matt Burgess