It took almost a year to arrange to interview and photograph Edward Snowden in Moscow, where he has sought asylum. Author James Bamford and photographer Platon reflect back on their encounters with the elusive whistleblower.

Dispatched to Moscow, famed portrait photographer Platon captured a never-before-seen side of Edward Snowden for WIRED. In this riveting montage, the elusive whistleblower explains the thinking behind his decision to reveal the extent of domestic surveillance being conducted by US intelligence services.

How do you make a 2,000-pound creature move with fluidity and ease? Find out, as we break down the animatronics and mechanics that control the mobility of the giant beast, including nostril flares, mouth movements, and more.

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.

Watch WIRED editor in chief Scott Dadich take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge—while doing the math behind how long it would take for every person in the world to have completed the challenge. (Want to check our work? Go to http://wrd.cm/icebucketmath.) Scott's donated to help put an end to ALS. Go to alsa.org to learn how you can help too. Thanks to GQ’s Michael Hainey for the nomination. Scott’s paying it forward: Consider yourselves challenged, Chris Hardwick, Cindi Leive, and Carlton Cuse!

The Indie Machines’ Erik Beck and Justin Johnson are here to destroy your electronics—all in the name of science. Watch as they put each gadget through a 3-part destruction test, like taking a sledgehammer to a Nintendo Game Boy and dropping a cinder block on an iPad.

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

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.

Based on the hit YA novel of the same name, the upcoming flick The Maze Runner takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. To create the vast maze and relentless mechanical creatures called Grievers, FX experts Method Studios used technical and complicated special FX. Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind the film.

The new Denzel Washington crime thriller, The Equalizer, is based on the 1980s show of the same name. And while Angry Nerd doesn't really remember much about the show, he does remember the killer opening title sequence.

Apple recently announced its new timepiece, but the tech giant was hardly the first to make a foray into smartwatches. In the early '80s Casio debuted a dual watch-calculator, paving the way for multipurpose, wearable gadgets.

Steve Aoki talks with famed futurist Ray Kurzweil about how technology will shape our future, in terms of creativity, consciousness, and the coming singularity.

Star Wars Rebels is Disney’s latest foray into the Star Wars universe, but will this animated installment use the power of the force for good, or take a trip to the dark side? Angry Nerd Chris Baker reviews all of the animated renditions of Star Wars to uncover what worked, and what was a steaming pile of Sith.

The latest victim in the movie studios' quest to take stories we know and love and destroy them with tedious pre-history? Dracula: Untold, which provides us with the unnecessary origin story on how the original vampire became a thirsty bloodsucker, long before the days of Twilight.

It’s the most requested gadget we’ve received by far and we’ve finally put it to the test. See what happens when the Nokia “Brick” phone goes swimming in a vat of liquid nitrogen.

The British are coming. Can the new crime drama Gracepoint (based on the U.K. hit Broadchurch) find success stateside and join the shortlist of Brit expats that found their footing on red, white, and blue T.V.s, like The Office, House of Cards, and Shameless?

A new company called LIM is radically rethinking the way prosthetics fit the human body, so that wearers of artificial legs can walk farther than ever before.

Signet, created by the design firm Ziba, is a visionary concept for changing the way we send mail.

The Array of Things project in Chicago, led by the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, the Computation Institute, and the School of the Art Institute Chicago, is installing hundreds of sensors across the city, in hopes of providing a new breed of data-fueled urban planning.

Dinosaur. Treasure Planet. Home on the Range. For years, Disney Animation churned out duds. Then Pixar's masterminds took over and we got blockbusters like Wreck-it-Ralph and Frozen. In the November issue, WIRED senior editor Caitlin Roper talks to Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios' Ed Catmull and John Lasseter about their latest film, Big Hero 6, which proves the magic is here to stay. Also this month: what's inside a flu shot; the NBA's money ball moment; the future of AI.

It’s the only deep-diving research submersible in the United States, and nearly 50 years after its first expedition it’s getting an upgrade. Take an exclusive tour of the Alvin submarine, and see how the updated vessel is continuing to push the boundaries of deep-water exploration

The technological upgrades on the U.S. Navy-owned Alvin submersible allow the deep-sea diving vessel to go to new depths. Reaching 98 percent of the sea floor, the submarine is able to explore complex hydrothermal vents and ecosystems.

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

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

The technological advances in remotely operated vehicles (R.O.V.) have allowed researchers to uncover new ocean depths, like the 1986 footage of the Titanic by the Alvin submersible. Find out what lies ahead for the future of deep-sea exploration from the scientists who are taking the plunge.

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

It’s been called the worst video game in history, but could E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial really be the cause of Atari’s downfall? In the new documentary “Atari: Game Over” director Zak Penn follows the rise and fall of the trailblazing video game company, including the game that caused Atari’s demise. Watch as Penn takes us behind the scenes of the documentary and shows us exclusive footage ahead of the November 20 release.

Why turn one book into one movie, when you can turn it into two? Despite “Mockingjay” being the weakest book in “The Hunger Games” series, movie execs have decided to translate it into a two-part film. Angry Nerd explains why the stretch from one to two is a terrible trend that needs to end.

From what shots are the most efficient to how defenders alter offense in the post to placing a value on every action on the court, they’re helping bring hoops into the big data era. See here how they do it.

“Please leave a message after the ….” It’s a phrase we all know, but in 1971 the PhoneMate 400 took voicemail to the next level. Find out why the hi-tech machine changed the answering machine game.

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

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.

From the incredible helicarrier crash in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” to the realistic motion-capture-driven apes in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," this year brought us some unbelievable special effects. Mike Seymour from fxguide counts down the top 10 design FX from 2014.

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.

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

LED screens were once the way of the future, and now OLEDs are ushering in a new wave of television viewing. Featuring organic molecules that illuminate in response to electric currents, OLEDs allow for a thin screen that produces deeper, more detailed images.

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

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

“Alphas” co-creator Michael Karnow is behind the new series "Jeff 1000,” which stars Summer Glau and David Arquette. Go behind the scenes and see what it’s really like to work with a robot-turned actor.

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

2014 was the year comic book movies got a little bit more comic book-y. Angry Nerd counts down the top five happenings, from the return of the super heroines to DC's TV domination.

Weta Digital was behind the striking effects in two of this year's big-franchise films: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”—which picked up an Oscar nomination for best visual effects—and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” Mike Seymour takes an exclusive look at the impressive, large-scale battle sequences that Weta designed for the final installment in The Hobbit trilogy.

The 1995 sci-fi flick “12 Monkeys” is about to become a TV show. This worries Angry Nerd—movies-turned-TV-shows don’t have the best track record. Sure, “Fargo” turned out fine, but let’s not forget the short-lived tragedy “Ferris Bueller”…

Working for Facebook comes with a lot more than a cool job title. Check out what this Silicon Valley social media giant has to offer its employees in terms of crazy perks.

Comic-book legend Stan Lee sits down with Steve Aoki to talk about the future, science, the origins of Marvel, and why the world just might blow itself up one day.

Restart. In the February issue, Jessi Hempel profiles Satya Nadella and his warm, fuzzy, and slightly bonkers plan to make you care about Microsoft. Plus: How skateboard legend Rodney Mullen became a superstar on the Silicon Valley lecture circuit, where drones are actually delivering stuff—from rescue supplies to pepperoni pizza, Lyft’s new mustache, dumpster diving for fun and profit (lots of profit), and more. Music By Esbe – Float (https://switchy.bandcamp.com/album/bloomsday )

SpongeBob Squarepants is about to upgrade from a television cartoon to a movie cartoon—alongside real, non-cartoon people. It’s a tough combo to pull off. For every “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” there’s a “Space Jam.” Or “Chipmunks.” Or “Smurfs.” Actually there’s more in the red column. Anyway, Angry Nerd is cautiously optimistic—for now.