In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers’ sidekick-turned-nemesis undergoes drastic brainwashing to become The Winter Soldier. But is it really possible to completely change someone’s attitudes and beliefs? In this special WIRED edition of Science Friction, host Rusty Ward dives into the science behind brainwashing. Click here to check out more Science Friction.

Industrial Light & Magic was tasked with updating the helicarriers in the new film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. FXguide’s Mike Seymour talks to the visual effects company to find out what new details were added to the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircrafts, and how the effects team created a digital modeling environment for the epic helicarrier crash scene.

With optogenetics, the ability to restore and enhance brain function is becoming a reality. In this World Economic Forum discussion, Nature magazine neuroscience editor I-han Chou explains how the radical method works and the ethical issues it could cause.

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jamie Foxx stars as Electro, the glowing antagonist to Andrew Garfield’s Spidey. In this video, learn how Sony Pictures Imageworks used a combination of makeup and CGI to turn the Academy Award winner into a blue, electrically-charged villain--with inspiration from lightning, neurological networks, and nebulas.

Creating a memorial from the ruins of 2,983 lives: that's the difficult task faced by the creators of the 9/11 Museum. On the eve of its opening, we speak with director Alice Greenwald and designer Jake Barton about how to commemorate a tragic experience without recreating it. Music: "Sun Will Set" written performed by Zoe Keating From the album - One Cello x 16: Natoma (c) 2005 020202 Music (ASCAP). All rights reserved

After Roland Emmerich missed the mark with Godzilla in 1998, we had reason to be skeptical of Gareth Edwards’ new remake. Fxguide’s Mike Seymour goes inside the special effects behind the latest incarnation, in which effects company MPC designed the largest Godzilla yet, featuring an animalistic appearance with anthropomorphized traits.

The House of Mouse might be onto something: Forget the hero and make the villain the star. Disney’s new film Maleficent does just that and it actually…kind of…works. Angry Nerd explains the pros of putting the evil queens and wicked witches front and center.

Chris Dixon, general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, thinks you should reconsider the power of bitcoin. In conversation with WIRED’s Steven Levy, the tech entrepreneur and investor explains why the digital payment system has the potential to enable new behaviors and innovations.

Back in San Francisco, fellows Shantanu Bala and Kaushik Tiwari visit the community workshop and prototyping studio TechShop. As they tour the space and check out equipment, Shantanu develops new ideas that he can apply to his project of building new computer interfaces that use a sense of touch to get information.

It’s more than just a prop. Vic Mignogna, who stars as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek Continues,” shows us the famous Captain’s chair and explains how the set designer re-created a replica of the original version, down to the hand-poured control buttons.

Founder and COO of Unruly Media, Sarah Wood, explains the myths, value, and impact of video content in an evolving digital landscape.

On location at #SDCC2014, Angry Nerd talks about the new comic-book films he supports (Mad Max: Fury Road) and those he opposes (Ben Affleck's Batman).

Chris Nolan showed up to #SDCC2014 to promote his new sci-fi flick Interstellar and Angry Nerd has a few choice words for him. Watch as he gives Nolan a piece of his mind, talks to a few cosplay fans, and gives advice to the Marvel world.

When it comes to film adaptations of comic-books, the source material should always be treated as gospel, right? Wrong. Angry Nerd explains why, and shares his concerns for Frank Miller's upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For—which could end up being too faithful for its own good.

What inspires a 17-year-old to go into cancer research or a 19-year-old to develop an obsession with astrophysics? Find out, as the 2014 Thiel Fellows explain how they first discovered their passions and why they've decided to turn them into careers.

Award-winning author James Bamford spent three days interviewing Edward Snowden in Moscow. He emerged with an indelible portrait of the elusive whistleblower, one that sheds new light on exactly what led Snowden to decide to leak tens of thousands of top-secret documents. Also in this month's issue: A new scientific effort to understand nutrition and health plus a riveting profile of Sin City auteur Frank Miller.

From the final moldings to the last paint job, find out how the design team added character and life to the giant creature in under two weeks.

We go inside the latest addition to a fleet of lighter-than-air vehicles—the most advanced blimp in the air.

Architect Michelle Kaufmann explains the convergence of technology and building design, and the importance of using software and data to create green, affordable homes for the global population.

Find out how the tech, aviation, and design of Goodyear's new airship stack up to its predecessors.

Blimps have come along way from the Zeppelin days; find out what's in store for the future of Goodyear's new airships.

Apple’s MacBook Air is light and easy to transport, but can it withstand a blow from our stunt performer who holds a black belt in karate? YouTuber @Jackson challenged us to find out—see what happened.

The original came out nearly 20 years ago, yet now is when we’re finally getting the follow up to “Dumb and Dumber.” Angry Nerd explains why the new Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels release has already missed the mark in terms of historical relevancy, and why it’s destined to fall victim to the curse of the long-delayed movie sequel.

Our friend Jake over at Vsauce3 dared us to put the two biggest gaming consoles up against each other for our first-ever knockout episode. Find out whether the Xbox One or PS4 ends up being the toughest and which one gets the chainsaw in our season finale.

On ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” Disney characters like Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, and Peter Pan are set against a modern backdrop. Realistic visual effects bring to life the magic and mystery of Storybrooke—the town they now inhabit. Mike Seymour from fxguide goes behind the stunning FX and animation that are needed to create the fairytale mashup.

Ian Bogost at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Publicly traded U.S. tech companies have stashed as much as $530 billion in offshore tax havens. How’d they do it? Find out what magic tricks companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft have up their sleeves.

Twenty-three states have decriminalized marijuana to some degree. And with privateer holdings investing nearly $82 million in weed startups, the industry is poised to pull in a lucrative—and legal—profit.

The male orgasm is an explosive affair, but the female orgasm? Now, that’s a different story. Find out what’s really going down when a woman gets off.

With more than 100,000,000 players and 54,000,000 units sold, Minecraft is one of the biggest video games on the planet. Just how big? We break down the numbers behind the wildly popular game.

Fly over Pluto's beautiful mountains and the plains of its "heart" in this amazing NASA animation built with some of the first close-up images from the New Horizons probe.

Hackers released the names of millions of users of the infidelity website Ashley Madison. Here's why the hackers say they dumped the data online.

Hippos are tough animals with tough hides. So tough that there's a species of leech that has evolved to live and feed in the only part of the hippo where the sun don't shine. Ladies and gentlemen, the life and times of the hippo butt leech.

NASA dropped a 1974 Cessna 172 airplane tail-first from 100 feet up to test emergency locator transmitters, or ELTs. Data from the drop, including high-speed video, will help researchers test ELT performance and robustness.

Scientists are looking to an unlikely source for new ways to fight bacteria. Could the skin of a Galapagos shark hold the key to warding off hospital-born bacteria and superbugs?

Range Rover is developing a safety concept connecting a camera on the back of trailers with a driver's rearview mirror eliminating the blindspots of towing.

What did we really find out from the Ashley Madison hack? For starters, there were only three zip codes in the U.S. with no registered users, plus the company netted $1.7 million from a full-delete feature (that didn’t actually delete). Find out what else was revealed in the hack, as told by bad stock footage.

Following Cabin Fever and Hostel, The Green Inferno is the latest film in Eli Roth’s travel trilogy. The director explains what inspired his new cannibalistic horror movie, and how he achieved a realistic look and feel while shooting on set in the Amazon.

For years we've been promised flying cars and for years we've been disappointed. The ICON A5, with its folding wings, may be the closest thing yet, and it's a boat, too! WIRED writer Tim Moynihan goes for a ride in the A5 over New York City.

“The Martian” director Ridley Scott explains how NASA’s latest discovery on Mars would have affected the film’s plot and why he has zero interest in traveling to the far-off planet himself.

Don’t call Guillermo del Toro’s new film “Crimson Peak” a horror film. The director explains why his new movie classifies as a gothic romance, and he talks about how they built a real version of the castle that’s featured in the flick.

Sous vide machines can make tasty fare but the technique often leaves meat gray and unappetizing. WIRED's Adam Rogers fires up the $159 Sansaire Sear home blowtorch to add a little sizzle to a steak.

OpenBCI is an open-source hardware that allows a D.I.Y. community of artists, designers, and engineers to innovate, while serving as a tool for research and innovation. From using brain activity to control a toy spider to engaging a group in collective mind control, the open-source brain computer interface aims to change the way people interact with machines.

Ekso Bionics has a simple premise: create robotics that help people. And the company is doing just that with its wearable exoskeleton. Using a combination of weight-activated sensors and battery-powered motors, the bionic suit is helping wheelchair-bound users learn how to walk again.

Find out how Pixar raised the CGI bar for ultra-realistic environments and landscapes in “The Good Dinosaur.”

What's Darth Vader's death count? How many Lego sets has the franchise sold? Which nation accepts Star Wars collectable coins as real currency? Find out everything you didn’t know about the epic franchise, as told by Star Wars action figures.

Love white sand beaches? Thank the bizarre parrotfish which eats coral and poops out sand. Oh, it also sleeps in a pile of snot.

Music wars, television scandals, movie masterpieces and major disappointments, 2015 had it all. Have a look at our biggest entertainment stories from the last year.

It's not all twinkly lights, wrapped presents, and Yule logs. Uncover the darker side of Christmas from the 83 million trees that get chopped down to the $616.9 billion spent in November and December.

From inside the Oculus Rift headset, players get a 3-D look at the field while headphones provide realistic sound. Teams capture the footage by filming their practices with 360-degree cameras, so the experience inside the VR headset looks and sounds like the real thing rather than a video game.