Welcome to today's Lunch Break Reads.
Three stories about institutions collapsing under the weight of their own contradictions.
First, how a monkey left in a cage during a power wash triggered the discovery that Harvard's primate research center had been covering up systematic animal care failures for years, leading to the only federal primate center closure in history. Then, an essay arguing that Americans want political violence to make sense like it did in the 1960s, but our shooters are just gamers and drifters, not Weather Underground militants with coherent manifestos.
And we're closing with Seth Rogen, whose wrists are sore from holding four Emmy statuettes, explaining how his show about Hollywood's paranoia has gotten so meta that real directors' agents are pitching their clients for fake movies he has to turn down.
Enjoy!
In 2010, veterinary technicians at Harvard's primate research center put a cage into a 170-degree power washer without realizing a cotton-top tamarin was still inside. A whistleblower alerted the USDA, triggering an investigation that uncovered years of systematic breakdowns: 14 squirrel monkeys dead from dehydration that were never reported, blood samples collected without authorization, primates inoculated off-protocol. Three more public monkey deaths made national headlines. In 2013, despite a panel concluding the center should be "renewed and refreshed," Harvard shut it down, citing financial constraints. This Harvard Crimson investigation reveals Harvard became the only one of eight federal primate centers to close, losing 50 years of pioneering HIV research.
House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed the left for creating an "assassination culture" at a press conference about a January 6 rioter who allegedly threatened to kill Hakeem Jeffries. This essay argues that amid cascading political violence, Americans play a perverted game of hot potato blaming each other, but our recent would-be assassins aren't legible ideologues. They're drug-addicted drifters, gamers, and loners with ambiguous politics closer to school shooters than the Weather Underground. The piece examines Paul Thomas Anderson's new film about leftist terrorists and asks: are we wishing our violence were more politically coherent rather than senseless? Meanwhile, we ignore 125 gun deaths per day as acceptable background noise. The real American fantasy is that purgative violence can restore our innocence, a delusion the world has paid for as America fondles the planet "like Lennie with his mouse."
Seth Rogen won four Emmys for The Studio two days ago and his wrists are sore from holding the statuettes. The show, about a studio head navigating an increasingly ridiculous industry, is based on Rogen's own fears: letting down people he's a fan of, making wrong choices about which movies to support, being too business-minded instead of nurturing creativity. This GQ interview covers how he regularly feels like the villain in those interactions, why he thinks making great comedy is harder than making great drama, and whether North Korea actually hacked Sony over The Interview (his theory: "probably North Korea, but maybe with people in America"). The show has gotten so meta that real directors' agents are calling to pitch their clients for fake movies, and Rogen is turning down directors he's a big fan of because they're not right for the fake package he has in his head.
From the Archives
2018: The California Sunday Magazine: “Whatever’s your darkest question, you can ask me.”
2021: Longreads: Mormonism’s Sci-Fi Swan Song
That’s it for this today.
Really hope you enjoyed the selection of stories today. I am always interested in hearing from you. If you have thoughts on how I can make this email even better, do not hesitate to reach out.
Brett
P.S.
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