TBT: How companies make millions charging prisoners to send an email

PLUS: The best WIRED stories from this month a year ago. View this email in your browser  08.29.19 Inside prisons, e-messaging companies are quietly building a money-making machine virtually unhindered by competition—a monopoly that would be intolerable in the outside world. The business model is simple: Whatever it costs to send a message, inmates and their families will find a way to pay it. Read all about the companies making millions charging prisoners for email, plus the best WIRED stories from this month a year ago below.   Captive Audience: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send An Email For companies like JPay, the business model is simple: Whatever it costs to send a message, inmates and their families will find a way to pay it. The Best Stories From This Month, Last Year The Physics of Falling Into a Black Hole This week, newspapers reported that a man had fallen into an art installation consisting of an 8-foot-deep circular hole painted black. It's kinda not his fault. A Polar Bear Frolics on Sea Ice, and 13 Other Gorgeous Drone Photos Florian Ledoux was named this year's Drone Photographer of the Year for his winning wildlife photo captured in Nunavut, Canada. How to Protect Yourself Against a SIM Swap Attack Your phone number is increasingly tied to your online identity. You need to do everything possible to protect it. Simple Steps to Protect Yourself on Public Wi-Fi Connecting to a public Wi-Fi network can put you at risk. Here's how to minimize the damage. Germany Has Proven the Modern Automobile Must Die If we want to solve climate change, there's no other option. AI Is the Future—But Where Are the Women? Just 12 percent of machine learning researchers are women—a worrying statistic for a field supposedly reshaping society. GET WIRED Insider access to our Labor Day Sale   For a limited time, get a full year of print + digital access to wired.com for just $5.   Subscribe now     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe