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Rogue Nation

HOW TO WIN FOLLOWERS AND SCAMFLUENCE PEOPLE • When West Africa’s notorious Yahoo Boys need to freshen up their repertoire of online scams, there’s one man they turn to.

SHARED SECRETS • Psst is building a digital safe to protect tech whistleblowers from recrimination.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE CONVICTED • A WIRED Guide to work in the future.

GHOST GUNS OF PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE • It’s never been easier to print an unregulated, untraceable deadly weapon.

TRIVIAL PURSUITS • If the robots take over, we should at least speak their language.

The Sky-High Ambitions of Jay Graber • Bluesky is where all the lefties went in the wake of Musk’s Twitter takeover. But its CEO says the app is for everyone—and could revolutionize the social internet.

OBJETS D’EVIL • Villainous characters often have devilishly good taste. Put these tools to better use in your own lair.

DEAD OR ALIVE

THE GOD OF DMT • With just a sprinkle of the drug, anything can happen: trips to other dimensions, sex with aliens, communion with your creator. Akasha Song made it by the kilo in secret labs, sold it for millions on the dark web, and—for a while—lived a literal dream.

FIND MY MURDERERS • Three teens almost got away with a shocking crime. Then police decided to test the limits of Google.

A BILLION STREAMS AND NO FANS • A chart-topping jazz album! Loads of streams! Just one problem: The success might not be real.

TWO VIOLENT YEARS ON THE TRAIL OF THE ZIZIANS • WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WHEN A GROUP OF TECHNICALLY GIFTED YOUNG PEOPLE SET OUT TO SAVE THE WORLD—AND THEN WENT WAY TOO FAR.

THE PRETENOERS • Rem ote colleague? Keeps the camera off in meetings? Might be a North Korean operative who sneaked into your company with a stolen identity and a heavy dose of ChatGPT.

COLOPHON • Hustles that helped get this issue out:

MURDERERS’ ROWS • We mapped the characters in this issue using Dungeons & Dragons rules: law vs. chaos, good vs. evil. Tag yourself. —THE EDITORS