TBT: MacKenzie Bezos and the myth of the lone genius founder

PLUS: The best WIRED stories from this month a year ago. View this email in your browser  01.16.20 When MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos divorced last year, there was all kinds of speculation about how much of Jeff's Amazon empire MacKenzie should inherit. But what is often ignored is the fact that MacKenzie Bezos helped her husband start his historic company, and worked at Amazon with him for years. Glossing over the role MacKenzie Bezos played in starting Amazon is part of a wider pattern of how the stories of tech companies get told, which erases the many individuals who help to build them in favor of highlighting the "lone genius" at the helm. Read more about the myth of the lone genius founder, plus the best WIRED stories from this month a year ago below.   MacKenzie Bezos and the Myth of the Lone Genius Founder Even juicy divorce speculation represents a chance to acknowledge how myriad factors—and people—contribute to the success of a company like Amazon. The Best Stories From This Month, Last Year How to Find Your Netflix Freeloaders—and Kick Them Out Sharing is caring. But it's worth checking if your streaming accounts have picked up any suspicious stragglers along the way Private Messages Are the New (Old) Social Network The sudden fall of Facebook sharing has led to the rise of something else: private messaging. Meth, Murder, and Pirates: The Coder Who Became a Crime Boss Along the way, he contributed to America's painkiller epidemic and got involved with North Korean methamphetamine manufacturing, Somali pirates, and murder-for-hire. Switch Your Devices to Dark Mode to Give Your Eyes a Break For many users, white-on-black displays offer relief from the eyestrain of reading dark text on a light background all day. The Mundane Horror of Dairy Farming in Germany Photographer Nikita Teryoshin visited factory farms, insemination stations, and more for his series 'Hornless Heritage.' The Invisible Reality of Brand-New Motherhood on Instagram Instagram is full of serene, beautiful, caftan-clad mothers. But nothing on the platform really focuses on the visceral ravages experienced by a postpartum body. GET WIRED Get 1 year of WIRED access for less than $1 a month.   Tech news and analysis you won't find anywhere else.   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 or manage your newsletter subscriptions