Since its launch in 1993, WIRED magazine has solidified its place as an essential read for anyone fascinated by the intersection of technology, culture, politics, and innovation. With a name that’s become synonymous with digital futurism and intellectually curious content, WIRED offers a treasure trove of deeply reported features, insightful opinion pieces, and cutting-edge tech coverage. But where should a new reader begin? With decades of archives and a new issue every month, navigating the best of WIRED can feel overwhelming.

This guide is your personal GPS through the electrifying content WIRED has to offer. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a curious generalist, or someone trying to stay ahead of cultural and scientific shifts, there’s a place for you to dive in. Below, we explore what you should read first—depending on your interests—and recommend key features, columns, and recurring themes that showcase why WIRED remains essential reading in the digital age.

Start with the Front of the Book

The opening pages of each issue—often referred to in magazine publishing as the “front of the book”—provide quick hits of insight, humor, and cognitive snacks that preview WIRED’s editorial richness. Before diving into the lengthier essays and reports, flip through these sections:

  • Electric Word: This editorial note from the editor-in-chief sets the tone and vision for each issue. It’s a short piece but often contains powerful, thematic insight.
  • Mind Grenades: Page after page of short ideas, data points, and infographics that will energize your brain like a double shot of espresso.
  • Gadget Lab: Reviews and rankings of the latest phones, laptops, wearable tech, and smart devices. Excellent for those looking to sharpen their digital toolkit.

These sections are bite-sized and perfect for casual browsing—great for a morning commute read or a pre-lunch mental warmup.

Explore the Signature Features

The heart of any WIRED issue lies in its feature stories. These long-form articles dive deep into subjects ranging from artificial intelligence to the ethics of genome editing, and from the architects of cybersecurity to the futurists building alternate online realities.

Over the years, WIRED has published some truly iconic pieces. Here are a few that belong on any reader’s must-read list:

  • “The Great Escape” by Joshua Davis: A riveting narrative about an MIT student who went on the run after a hacking scandal. It’s part crime thriller, part sociotechnical critique.
  • “The AI That Wasn’t Meant to Be”: A sobering yet fascinating article on failed AI research that reveals as much about human ambition as it does about machine learning.
  • “Inside the Two Years That Shook Facebook—and the World”: A compelling investigative piece examining the crisis within the social media giant post-2016.

Even if you don’t read WIRED monthly, catching one of these features will reveal why the magazine has won so many journalism awards for tech reporting and storytelling.

Delve Into the Columns and Contributors

WIRED benefits greatly from its roster of brilliant regular columnists. These are voices that consistently deliver fresh, thought-provoking content. Depending on your preferences, you might find a new intellectual companion among them:

  • Virginia Heffernan: A cultural critic with a technophile’s mind, Heffernan’s columns often reframe how we think about the internet and media.
  • Clive Thompson: One of the clearest thinkers on the human side of technology, Thompson writes about how our tools change our brains, habits, and relationships.
  • Gideon Lichfield: Former editor-in-chief, Lichfield explores tech’s intersection with global political systems and social upheaval.

Getting hooked on a writer or two allows you to approach WIRED like a trusted conversation—one where you eagerly await the next exchange.

If You’re a Tech Addict…

Now, if your ideal coffee table reading involves semiconductors, cybersecurity breaches, or neural networks, WIRED has an endless supply of brainy features waiting for you. Here’s what to read first:

  • Backchannel essays: A digital-only feature, these are often more technically detailed and niche-focused pieces that rarely make the print edition but dig deep into hot topics like blockchain’s real-world applications or the future of decentralized internet protocols.
  • WIRED Explains: Understand the hard stuff—quantum computing, machine ethics, data bias—in direct, digestible formats.
  • Archives on cybersecurity: From Stuxnet to SolarWinds, WIRED has tracked the evolution of digital warfare like no other publication.

It’s the publication where tech isn’t just reported on—it’s interpreted and challenged.

For Culture Junkies and Sci-Fi Fans

WIRED also shines when it chronicles how culture is reshaped by tech. From AI poets to deepfakes in Hollywood, the magazine covers it all with unrivaled depth. If you like art, entertainment, and futuristic thought experiments, start here:

  • Fiction pieces: Often penned by acclaimed sci-fi authors, these short stories imagine where we might be headed—in terms of society, consciousness, and digital ethics.
  • Pop culture analyses: Pieces that unpack the sociotechnical significance of shows like Black Mirror or games like Cyberpunk 2077.
  • Profiles of creators: Readings that disappear into the minds of architects, game designers, musicians, or directors using new tools to shape their art.

Step Into the Future via Long-Form Investigations

True to its DNA, WIRED has some of the best long-form investigative journalism about the near and distant future. Many of its in-depth features read like time capsules sent from a decade ahead. Whether it’s AI safety, crypto collapses, or the ethics of bioengineering, these are pieces for the future-minded thinker.

Look out for pieces on:

  • Space exploration and privatization – Like Elon Musk’s Mars ambitions or NASA’s Moon return plans
  • Biohacking and transhumanism – Including real-life cyborgs and DIY body modification pioneers
  • Climate tech – Focused on carbon-capture startups, green urban planning, and grid decentralization

These stories bring not only the possibilities but also the perils of emerging trends into clear focus.

Don’t Miss the Visuals

Read WIRED not just for its words but for its design. The aesthetics—minimalist yet cutting-edge—are exceptional. The infographics, photographs, and layout composition work together to make dense material easily digestible. Even the typography evokes a sense of digital cool.

Know Where to Go Next

After you’ve become familiar with a couple of writers and dipped into topics that spark your interest, the WIRED website is your next go-to destination. The digital platform is updated daily with stories that more directly comment on the news or provide tech updates in real time. Here’s how to use it:

  • Bookmark WIRED’s “Most Popular” section: You’ll quickly see what’s catching fire each week.
  • Subscribe to newsletters: Whether it’s the daily digest or specialized topics like science or security, curated emails help you stay informed without doomscrolling.
  • Use the tagged archives: Search by tags like “AI,” “space,” or “Gadgets.” It’s a surprisingly intuitive way to navigate WIRED’s immense library.

Final Thoughts

Getting into WIRED is a bit like opening a map you didn’t know you needed. It helps you explore not only what technology is doing to the world—but what it’s doing to us. Whether you’re looking to geek out on solar tech, laugh at satirical tech trends, or uncover the real-life drama behind cybersecurity, starting your WIRED journey is less about catching up and more about leaning in.

So what should you read first? Start where your curiosity leads—and let WIRED