WIRED Politics Issue: A Real-World Treasure Hunt for Our New Cover

At WIRED, our core work has always centered on journalism. We love talking about what we do anywhere we get the chance—on podcasts, across social media, even over dinner with our politely patient friends who humour our rants—but we almost always limit our excitement to celebrating our exclusive scoops and the stories we publish. For our brand-new politics issue, though, we’re trying something completely different: we’re bringing WIRED directly to you, out in the real world.

Over the past week, we’ve installed our latest issue’s cover across five major U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, and Washington, DC. It appears in multiple forms, from hand-pasted wheatpaste posters and digital billboards to a custom full-size mural. If you’re local to any of these spots, it should be easy to spot—if not completely impossible to miss.

That’s where you come in. We won’t be spoiling the fun by revealing every exact location of our installations. Instead, we’re inviting you to join our real-world treasure hunt. If you live in or near any of the five cities listed, keep your eyes peeled as you go about your day. If you spot WIRED’s new cover out in public, snap a photo and share the find with your friends.

Every cover also has a scannable QR code that lets you read stories from the politics issue instantly. Standout pieces include editor-at-large Steven Levy’s deeply reported feature tracking Silicon Valley’s dramatic transformation: from a countercultural tech utopia to a mainstream business sector that now actively curries favor with President-elect Donald Trump. We also have an exclusive investigation into how much unprecedented geopolitical power Elon Musk has accumulated through SpaceX’s rocket launches and the global Starlink satellite network.

One quick final note: if you track down one of our covers, please let us know! Tag us on Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, or X, or leave a comment below this post. We can’t wait to see your finds out there.

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Want WIRED’s Politics Issue Cover Art for Yourself?

If you can’t make it out to hunt for a cover in one of our five host cities, that doesn’t mean you can’t bring this artwork home for yourself—and we’re not just talking about subscribing to get the print issue. Right now, you can buy our cover design on everything from coffee mugs and T-shirts to stickers and gallery-quality wall art. Just head to our official store here to shop the collection.