And Now: 31 Notable WIRED Long-Form Stories of 2021

If 2020 was a weird, exhausting year, 2021 was the strange year that came after. But for writers of long-form narratives, weirdness brings opportunity. Strangeness brings stories to the surface—some of them about the ever-present pandemic, some of them bubbling up through the fissures the pandemic opened. This year’s list of standout WIRED features is drawn from readers, who voted with their clicks, and editors, who generally refuse to admit loving any one of their children more than another. Through weird times and not, one thing remains true: We define ourselves by the stories we tell. Herewith, for your holiday-reading delectation, a list of 31 notable long-form pieces from 2021. (Yes, 31. We know: perfectly weird.)
- Illustration: Aaron Marin
A People’s History of Black Twitter, Part I
From #UKnowUrBlackWhen to #BlackLivesMatter, how a loose online network became a pop culture juggernaut, an engine of social justice, and a lens into the future.
The “People's History of Black Twitter” has three parts. There's also Part II, Rising Up (2012-2016) and Part III, Getting Through (2016-present). You can also dig deeper with this episode of WIRED's Gadget Lab podcast, “Why the History of Black Twitter Needed to be Written.”
- Illustration: Sam Whitney; Getty Images
The Unsettling Truth About the ‘Mostly Harmless’ Hiker
- Photograph: Gabriela Hasbun
They Hacked McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines—and Started a Cold War
Secret codes. Legal threats. Betrayal. How one couple built a device to fix McDonald’s notoriously broken soft-serve machines—and how the fast-food giant froze them out.
- ILLUSTRATION: HELENA HAUSS
Sex Tapes, Hush Money, and Hollywood’s Economy of Secrets
Meet Kevin Blatt, the celebrity fixer who’s a master at shepherding compromising material off the internet—or into the hands of the highest bidder.
- Photograph: Elizabeth Renstrom
One Man’s Amazing Journey to the Center of the Bowling Ball
Mo Pinel spent a career reshaping the ball’s inner core to harness the power of physics. He revolutionized the sport—and spared no critics along the way.
- Illustrations: MATEUSZ KOŁEK
Blood, Lies, and a Drug Trials Lab Gone Bad
The system for testing pharmaceuticals in the US relies on contractors adhering to strict guidelines. But one of them chose profits over protocols.