The 25 Most-Read WIRED Stories of 2018

The stories that captivated WIRED readers in 2018 run the gamut from inspirational science and technology to crime and punishment. Looking through the list, you can discern some themes.

For one: Silicon Valley lost more of its luster this year. Readers were eager to learn more about the mess at Theranos and the inside scoop on Elon Musk's struggles at Tesla. And topping the list of most-read articles was our look at Facebook, which by any measure had another annus horribilis as it struggled with fresh data breaches, government pushback, and angry users. (Legendary Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walt Mossberg even deleted his account.)

The Mueller probe proved as irresistible as an eight-car pileup. Our coverage of this quintessentially WIRED story—cyberattacks, spycraft, social media manipulation, data breaches—was led by the indefatiguable Garrett Graff, who not only traced the ebb and flow of the investigation with unmatched lucidity but also delved into Mueller's past to tell the story of the young Marine whose character was forged in combat during the Vietnam War.

Crime and punishment have always been journalistic staples. Yes, such stories have a lurid appeal, but they can also reveal deeper truths about the human condition—about greed, hubris, evil, and innocent intentions that spiral out of control. Contributing editor Brendan Koerner authored two epic articles in that vein, evoking the kids-gone-wrong pathos of the XBox Underground and revealing the nihilism behind the nation's first deadly swatting incident. Another fine example in this genre was May Jeong's gripping account of the murder of the young journalist Kim Wall.

It wasn't all darkness, conspiracy, and selfishness, though. Readers also flocked to stories about scientific and technological breakthroughs. Charles Graeber's riveting portrait of Jim Allison—the harmonica-playing bioresearcher who helped bring about a revolution in cancer immunotherapy—stayed on the most-read list for weeks. And Shaun Raviv's impeccable profile of genius AI polymath Karl Friston lit up the internet.

The list of our most-read pieces also tells us something about attention spans in 2018: They are long. Not that this should surprise us in an era of weekend-long prestige-TV binges and 20-hour gaming marathons. Compelling content commands sustained attention, and the majority of top articles this year were longreads.

Except when they weren't. Sometimes the internet's attention is galvanized by the weird and wonderful. Once upon a time (2015) it was the mystery of the blue—or was it gold?—dress. This year we were treated to an equally compelling question: Yanny or Laurel.

In short: Vive la différence!