PLUS: Federal Workers Are Barely Making It Through the Government Shutdown, and more. View in browser | Your newsletter preferences10.31.25 POLITICS Federal Workers Are Barely Making It Through the Government ShutdownBY VITTORIA ELLIOTT AND MAKENA KELLY | 5-MINUTE READ The US government shut down 30 days ago. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen federal workers who have struggled to pay bills, worked side gigs, and relied on free food programs to get by. SECURITY ICE Wants to Build a Shadow Deportation Network in TexasBY DELL CAMERON | 3-MINUTE READ A new ICE proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine. POLITICS No, SNAP Benefits Aren’t Mostly Used by ImmigrantsBY DAVID GILBERT | 3-MINUTE READ SNAP benefits are set to run out on Saturday. Far-right influencers and extremists are incorrectly claiming that immigrants are the main recipients of food stamps. THE BIG STORY Ed Zitron Gets Paid to Love AI. He Also Gets Paid to Hate AIBY TOMMY CRAGGS | 16-MINUTE READ He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.✚ Read more from the furthest reaches of the AI age ADVERTISEMENT BUSINESS“I Sweated So Much I Never Needed to Pee”: Life in China’s Relentless Gig Economy BY XIAOWEI R. WANG | 6-MINUTE READIn his newly translated memoir I Deliver Parcels in Beijing, Hu Anyan captures the brutal labor and quiet grace of life at the edge of China’s booming ecommerce industry. GEARInside the Star-Studded, Mob-Run Poker Games That Allegedly Steal Millions From Players BY BEN DOWSETT | 7-MINUTE READNBA stars, mobsters, and marks with fat wallets are all part of an alleged ring of rigged poker games. Here’s how these games are assembled, who attends, and how the purported cheating happens. CULTUREIf You Hated A House of Dynamite, Watch This Classic Nuclear Thriller Instead BY CHRIS BARANIUK | 4-MINUTE READAt a time when nuclear threats feel more alarming than ever, Netflix’s doomsday film falls frustratingly flat. A 1964 masterpiece tells a much better cautionary tale. CULTUREElon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien BY JOHN SEMLEY | 5-MINUTE READMusk and the DHS have used The Lord of the Rings references to push anti-immigration messaging, seemingly positioning themselves as underdogs to justify oppression. CULTUREGuillermo del Toro Hopes He’s Dead Before AI Art Goes Mainstream BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER | 8-MINUTE READThe Frankenstein director tells WIRED the real Victor Frankensteins are tyrannical politicians and Silicon Valley tech bros. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for reading. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. Plus, browse more newsletters from WIRED. You’re receiving this email because you signed up for the Daily newsletter from WIRED. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Have questions or comments? Send us a message. Need help? Contact us. Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.
