BRANDED CONTENT | Produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Jim Beam Black | Comedian Chris Redd tests whether high-tech bar tools help make a tastier cocktail. #sponsored by Jim Beam Black®

Researcher Ying-Hui Fu has found two rare genes that allow some people to be "natural short sleepers" who feel rested after a mere 4 or 5 hours per night. WIRED's Arielle Pardes sat down with Dr. Fu to discuss her findings.

Chris Bensch, chief curator at the Strong Museum of Play, delves into the backstories of each and every über-popular toy released over the last 50 years. In 1977 Star Wars action figures hit the market and revolutionized the toy industry. 1979's Atari 2600 popularized home video game consoles and 1995's Beanie Babies started one of the biggest collecting phenomenons we'd ever seen.

Ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto explains the art of sculpting ice in 10 levels of difficulty. The angelfish is one of the most historical designs in the ice sculpting community, so it's the perfect place to start. Shintaro explains how you can create an angelfish design in increasing levels of complexity, from using simple hand tools to CNC machining the piece. 3D ice printing footage courtesy of McGill University.

Jeremy Telford built the world's largest balloon sculpture. But that's only one of the impressive things he has done with balloons.

BRANDED CONTENT | Produced by WIRED Brand Lab with Comcast Business | Company headquarters have historically been the “mission control” of business operations but as companies become decentralized and operations migrate to the cloud, a new distributed business model is emerging. So, what does that mean for the HQ of the future?

Lucasfilms' Doug Chiang and Madlyn Burkert delve into the backstories of each and every type of stormtrooper from the Star Wars franchise. Madlyn and Doug explain not only each stormtroopers' origin, but what went into the production of all of their costumes. From the inspiration behind the clone troopers helmets to Captain Phasma's chrome armor, learn everything there is to know about Star Wars' iconic foot soldiers. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20th

BRANDED CONTENT | Produced by WIRED Brand Lab with Comcast Business | It’s proven that workplace flexibility boosts morale, productivity and retention but there may be a surprising added benefit to a remote work policy shift: improved cybersecurity.

Lucasfilms' Doug Chiang and Amy Beth Christenson explain each and every type of starfighter from the Star Wars movie franchise. These small, combat-focused spacecrafts have become a canvas for some of the most iconic designs in all of cinema. Ever wondered why the "snout" of the X-Wing is so pronounced, or why the Y-Wing's paneling is so bare? Amy Beth and Doug offer all these insights and much more! Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20th

Astrophysicist Janna Levin, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of gravity to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. Levin is the Claire Tow Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University and author of "Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space." She is also the Chair and Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works, where this video was filmed. To learn more, visit https://pioneerworks.org/

Jon-Paul Dyson and Shannon Symonds from the Strong Museum of Play dive into the last 40 years of video game history and come up with a list of some of the greatest games of all time. With memorable titles like Halo, Super Mario Bros., The Last of Us, DOOM, The Sims and more, see which games were chosen as the most memorable and iconic of the year they were released.

As 2019 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the most interesting questions asked on WIRED Tech Support. Ken Jeong, Nicole Stott, Amanda "Malware Unicorn" Rousseau, Anil Seth, Bill Nye and Jill Tarter, answer a wide variety of questions ranging from extraterrestrials to flu shots.

Sleight of Hand Pizza owner and chef Justin Wadstein is a 13-time world pizza champion. Here's how he takes the simple act of tossing dough to the next level with flips, spins, shoulder rolls, and other moves.

Deepfakes may seem like an internet scourge, but so-called "hyperreal" masks have fooled people in real-life and have even been used in crimes. To learn more about these masks and our ability to spot them, WIRED's Matt Simon talked with researcher Rob Jenkins.

In Copenhagen, Denmark lies Amager Bakke, a unique power plant. Not only is it the world's cleanest waste-to-energy facility, it's also home to a man-made mountain called CopenHill with its own ski slope, the world's tallest climbing wall and challenging hiking trails up the building where you'll find the best views of Copenhagen. Opened in October 2019, the building was designed Bjarke Ingels Group (aka BIG) with an aim to create a building that can "contribute positively to the city, become part of the city, and even to be a landmark of the capital". The plant serves 680,000 people and takes waste from up to 300 lorries each day. Its steam turbine produces 63MWh of energy, while its heat exchangers are used in a district heating system. This video was produced as part of Digital Society, a publishing partnership between WIRED and Vontobel where all content is editorially independent. Visit Vontobel Impact for more stories on how technology is shaping the future of society: https://www.vontobel.com/en-int/about-vontobel/impact/ #copenhill #copenhagen #cleanenergy

Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow explains how the Service keeps counterfeit currency out of circulation. The Secret Service was installed to combat counterfeit money during the Civil War, and the Service still to this day works tirelessly to suppress counterfeits. Wackrow served in the Presidential Protection Division in Washington, DC, and managed numerous high-level security operations in the U.S. and abroad.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey uses the power of his own website to answer frequently asked questions about one of the world's most popular social media platforms, Twitter! Is the Twitter bird's name really Larry? How can you identify a Twitter bot? Why does Twitter have a character limit? How do you get verified on Twitter? Jack answers ALL these Twitter-based questions and much, much more!

Artists and scientists are searching for ever more light-absorbing materials. To find out what's behind the quest for ultra-blacks, WIRED's Arielle Pardes talked with artist Stuart Semple and physicist John Lehman about these amazing materials.

Medical doctor Seema Yasmin helps debunk (and confirm!) some common myths about medicine and health. Does your heart really skip a beat when you sneeze? Is it safe to eat genetically modified foods? Is hand sanitizer the best way to clean your hands? Dr. Seema Yasmin is the Director at the Stanford Center for Health Communication and a clinical assistant professor at Stanford Medical School. Her forthcoming books include Debunked! and Muslim Women Are Everything, out April 2020.

Former prosecutor Lucy Lang is back to take a look at more courtroom scenes from television shows and movies and breaks down how accurate they are. Lucy Lang is an executive director at the Institute For Innovation In Prosecution at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Learn more about Lucy Lang and the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at http://www.prosecution.org and follow their work on Instagram and Twitter @LucyLangNYC and @iip_johnjay

Crime scene analyst Matthew Steiner teaches the techniques forensics experts use to investigate bloodstain patterns, ranging from easy to difficult. Matthew explains how different types of forces create different bloodstain patterns in the crime scenes, and demonstrates how they can analyze these patterns to figure out how a crime was committed.

Dr. Seema Yasmin breaks down everything you should know about the growing Coronavirus outbreak. Seema Yasmin is a professor at Stanford School of Medicine, director of the Stanford Center for Health Communication and an Emmy Award-wining journalist. She was a CDC disease detective and a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Dr. Yasmin trained in medicine at the University of Cambridge and in journalism at the University of Toronto.

Len Solomon has been making instruments out of random objects for over 30 years. He's performed as a one-man-band all over the world, and The Majestic Bellowphone is perhaps his DIY novelty masterpiece. Check out Len Solomon's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/bellowphone.

Kevin Baillie, Creative Director & Sr. VFX Supervisor for Method Studios, talks through this year's Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects -- 1917, Avengers: Endgame, The Irishman, The Lion King, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Baillie began his career two decades ago as an 18-year-old pre-viz artist on Star Wars: Episode I. Since then, he has worked on Harry Potter, Star Trek and Transfomers movies, among many others. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Crime scene analyst Matthew Steiner teaches the techniques forensics experts use to determine bullet trajectory in a crime scene, ranging from easy to difficult. Matthew shows how forensic analysts use protractors, string, lasers and 3D laser scanners to investigate crime scenes.

A self-taught artist with a background in physics, David C. Roy has been creating mesmerizing wooden kinetic sculptures for nearly 40 years. Powered solely through mechanical wind-up mechanisms, pieces can run up to 48 hours on a single wind.

Mariana Mazzucato is a Professor of Innovation and Public Value at UCL, and a Director of the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose. She advises policy-makers on how to better create inclusive growth at a large scale, and was named one of the 3 most important thinkers about innovation by the New Republic. In this video, Mazzucato explains how many of the ideas and developments which we see as being an offshoot of private innovation are actually a function of public funding and investment. For more information on WIRED Smarter: http://wired.uk/smarter ABOUT WIRED EVENTS WIRED events shine a spotlight on the innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs who are changing our world for the better. Explore this channel for videos showing on-stage talks, behind-the-scenes action, exclusive interviews and performances from our roster of events. Join us as we uncover the most relevant, up-and-coming trends and meet the people building the future. ABOUT WIRED WIRED brings you the future as it happens - the people, the trends, the big ideas that will change our lives. An award-winning printed monthly and online publication. WIRED is an agenda-setting magazine offering brain food on a wide range of topics, from science, technology and business to pop-culture and politics. CONNECT WITH WIRED Events: http://wired.uk/events Subscribe for Events Information: http://wired.uk/signup Web: http://bit.ly/VideoWired Twitter: http://bit.ly/TwitterWired Facebook: http://bit.ly/FacebookWired Instagram: http://bit.ly/InstagramWired Magazine: http://bit.ly/MagazineWired Newsletter: http://bit.ly/NewslettersWired

"Fantasy Island" star Lucy Hale takes the WIRED Autocomplete Interview and answers the internet's most searched questions about herself. When is Lucy Hale's birthday? What does Lucy's tattoo say? Is she related to Tony Hale? How did she meet Ashley Benson? Lucy answers all these questions and much, much more! Lucy Hale stars in FANTASY ISLAND, in theaters now!

Do cats really eat us after we die? It's a surprisingly common concern among cat owners but is there evidence to back it up? WIRED's Wendi Jonassen sits down with cat behavior specialist Dr. Mikel Delgado to discuss just why on Earth cats may eat their deceased owners.

Dr. Bill Schindler, a professor of archeology and anthropology at Washington College, demonstrates a couple of the most effective methods for starting a fire in the wilderness. "Even though you may never find yourself in a survival situation, I firmly believe that learning and practicing these primitive skills are an essential part of connecting to your past, your environment, and everything it means to be human," says Bill, explaining why it's important to have basic survival skills knowledge.

New technology is becoming a part of the 2020 election process and has the potential to create faster, more accessible voting around the country. But, as shown with the Iowa caucus, these untested technologies have the potential to do the complete opposite - delaying results and creating confusion. How can we ensure that the technology we are using gives us fast, reliable and accurate results?

Quantum computing could change the world. It could transform medicine, break encryption and revolutionise communications and artificial intelligence. Companies like IBM, Microsoft and Google are racing to build reliable quantum computers. China has invested billions. Recently, Google claimed that it had achieved quantum supremacy – the first time a quantum computer has outperformed a traditional one. But what is quantum computing and how do quantum computers work? This video was produced as part of Digital Society, a publishing partnership between WIRED and Vontobel where all content is editorially independent. Visit Vontobel Impact for more stories on how technology is shaping the future of society: https://www.vontobel.com/en-int/about-vontobel/impact/ #quantumcomputing #quantumsupremacy #wiredexplains

As more coronavirus cases appear outside of Asia, Dr. Seema Yasmin breaks down what you need to know about pandemics.

HOK's Peter Ruggiero redesigns airports for a living. As an airport architect, Peter helped put together the plan to improve New York's most notorious airport, LaGuardia Airport. So what actually goes into optimizing the design of an airport terminal? Peter guides us through all the aspects of design that are incorporated into modern airports. https://www.hok.com/projects/market/airport-aviation-transportation/

Michael Grab's mind-bending rock formations aren't held together by glue or steel rods. Shockingly, his rock piles are stacked using only the laws of gravity. His rock formations have taken the internet by storm, and brought an even greater attention to rock balancing.

Professor Lawrence Gostin on what you should know about COVID-19 quarantines.

2005 Female World Beatbox Champion Butterscotch explains the art of beatboxing in 13 levels of difficulty. Starting with just the bass drum, Butterscotch layers more and more vocal drums and instruments on top of each other until she starts adding real, live instruments as well.

Dr. Seema Yasmin is back to help answer 50 of the most popular coronavirus questions being searched right now. Do coronavirus symptoms come and go? Why is it called coronavirus? Has this virus been around before? #stayhome Learn #withme

Star Trek: Picard's Michael Chabon and Akiva Goldsman reveal some of the show's greatest secrets and easter eggs. Akiva and Michael break down the return of the Captain Picard Day sign, the numerous references to The Gorn, and the newest implementation of Vasquez Rocks. You can watch Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access.

Epidemic expert Dr. Seema Yasmin interviews emergency room physician Dr. Cedric Dark about COVID-19's effect on the city of Houston, Texas. Dr. Dark talks about how the city is handling the pandemic, and what measures they are beginning to take in preparation for the worst.

BRANDED CONTENT | Produced by WIRED Brand Lab with ExtraHop | Data is the most valuable enterprise asset. Encryption keeps it secure but can hide malicious traffic from security teams. With personal data and corporate reputations at stake, security experts Jesse Rothstein (ExtraHop) and Mikko Hyppönen (F-Secure) spoke with WIRED's Digital Director Brian Barrett to answer the key question: how can enterprise security and data privacy co-exist?

We've all seen the famous "taste map," a diagram of the human tongue that separates different sections based on taste, with examples like sweet, sour, salty, and umami. Robert Margolskee, director and president at Monell Chemical Senses Center, explains why these taste maps are wrong, and provides some more accurate examples of how human taste functions.

What is Universal Basic Income (UBI) and how could it help us deal with the coronavirus outbreak? What if... we gave people free money? The idea of a basic income is that everybody would receive a modest amount paid each week or each month without conditions, paid equally to every man and every woman with a smaller amount to pay for every child. Advocates for Universal Basic such as Guy Standing, co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network, argue that it would be the ideal response to the crisis, but that it would also bring huge long term benefits, which he explains in this video. This video was produced as part of Digital Society, a publishing partnership between WIRED and Vontobel where all content is editorially independent. Visit Vontobel Impact for more stories on how technology is shaping the future of society: https://www.vontobel.com/en-int/about-vontobel/impact/

Anthony Daniels, who most famously portrays C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films, sits down with WIRED to discuss, in detail, the variety of costumes he has worn while filming Star Wars. Anthony explains just how he was able to fit into the costume and what his thoughts were when he first saw Ralph McQuarrie's designs. Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker is now available on Blu-Ray and Digital Download.

Have you ever played a card game then decided to see how high you could stack the cards? Bryan Berg has made card stacking an art form. He holds numerous Guinness World Records (so many he's lost count), and keeps upping the ante on the difficulty. Stacking a house of cards on a running dryer? Why not!

Epidemic expert Dr. Seema Yasmin helps debunk some common medical myths surrounding Covid-19. Will drinking water flush the virus out? Can you take ibuprofen? Will garlic prevent infection? Can you hold your breath to test if you have coronavirus?

Gail Miller Bisher, best known as the voice of the Westminster Kennel Club, sits down with WIRED to talk about every single dog breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. Gail goes over the seven major groups of dogs (hound, toy, sporting, non-sporting, herding, working, and terrier) and what makes each and every dog breed so special and unique.

There's a lot of conflicting information when it comes to wearing masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Seema Yasmin explains everything we need to know about wearing masks. Should we be wearing masks? What kinds of masks should we wear? Can we make our own?

Guinness World Record-holding cardstacker Bryan Berg has made a living stacking playing cards, and now he's here to help all of us learn some of the foundational tricks of the trade. Bryan explains why the traditional "V" stacking formation is flawed and shows how, when done properly, a house of cards can even support blocks of concrete.

Netflix's "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" has opened up the world's eyes to big cat ownership in America. Outside all the headlines-generating drama, the documentary casts some light onto the big cat black market. Dr. John Goodrich, Chief Scientist and Tiger Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, sits down with WIRED to talk about these concerns. Can these captive animals ever be reintroduced into the wild?