Hi 👋 

We’re back again with another reading list of the best longform writing across the Internet!

And right off the bat, I just want to be transparent that we have a sort of science-y theme going on this week. It wasn’t intentional or anything, just that The Algo™, for whatever reason, fed me these stories.

But not to worry! Our recos this week are no less gripping than usual. I know science stories have a bad rep for being boring, needlessly droning on and on over something so inconsequential. Not these stories! 🙅‍♂️

Our spotlight, for example, will be interesting to you if you’ve ever found yourself obsessively weighing your food, trying to figure out how much exercise you need to put yourself through to burn it all off. Or if you’ve ever gone on a diet and failed and felt bad about it.

Speaking of dieting, we’re also looking at the bleeding edge of the entire weight-loss culture—and the millions of pharma dollars powering it and pushing these new drugs into the mainstream.

We’re also following a doctor into the surgery room and go deep inside his head as he stares down a dead body, trying to wrestle with the true meaning of death and life—and how AI is poised to change everything.

Not everything on this week’s list is about science, though. We’re going to pay tribute to another death, this time of one of the biggest cultural markers of digital art.

Strap in! 🚀

In any case, as with last week, please let me know what you think of the list this week by voting in the poll below. 🙏

And we’re still trying to grow the newsletter! If you like what you read, please consider helping us grow by sharing it to your friends, colleagues and family! 🫶

Happy reading and see you again next Monday!

One long read…

Pardon me while I get a bit personal: My weight has been all over the scale in the last decade. I’ve gone from morbidly obese, to concerningly underweight. I’ve never really settled on a healthy middle-ground. I always just oscillate back and forth.

I’ve been told by doctors and nutritionists—as well as fitness experts and influencers—that I need to be mindful of how much I put into my body, and how heavy I need to lift, or how long I need to run, to burn it off. Calorie in, calorie out, as they say.

And now my relationship with food is, for lack of a better word, f*cked.

So it doesn’t surprise me that after reading this story, I was seething. And if you’ve gone through the ringer that is modern-day dieting, you might be, too.

The writer does an incredible job of tracing back the history of the calorie and, more importantly, the history of how it’s been used to make women feel wrong about their bodies—and shape the diet culture we know today

This one is very history-heavy, has a lot of archival sources, and isn’t exactly gripping in the way a crime story is. But it still read very easily for me. The writer has such a comfortable, flowy prose, and her tone is very light and fun, that it doesn’t feel like a slog to read the story.

🕓 Pretty long, but the paragraphs really pull you along. Might take 1 hour if you stay focused; much longer if you’re easily distracted.

… and then some

🪦Last Hours of an Organ Donor | Aeon, Free

I was this 🤏 close to making this the spotlight read of the week, which is saying something because I’m not a big essay guy (which might be changing, I think). But it just felt a bit too contrived at some point, like the writer was forcing some deep insight out of something pedestrian. But I might be mistaken. After all, I’ve never been that close to a dead body.

Pretty compelling for an essay, making it a relatively quick read. I’d say 45 minutes.

🤑 Maker of Wegovy, Ozempic Showers Money on U.S. Obesity Doctors | Reuters, Free

Speaking of an unhealthy diet culture, the pharma machinery is now trying to pathologize being heavy and is pushing very expensive drugs to treat it. And I understand: Obesity is a health condition, and there shouldn’t be any stigma attached to seeking treatment for it. I just don’t think that medication should be our first go-to. But with all the money companies are investing to push their drugs (as this story uncovers), that’s pretty much where we’re headed.

This investigation goes deep, so it may lose you in all the details and numbers. But I swear: If you have an hour or so, this is definitely worth the time investment.

☣️ Toxic Gaslighting: How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe | ProPublica, Free

ProPublica has an incredible knack of running some of the most infuriating investigations, and this one fits the bill nearly perfectly. I have to say, though, this one made me reflect a bit more than their usual story. What is the moral responsibility of the scientists in this story? And is their years-long silence complicity?

A pretty long story. Might take you more than 1 hour.

🚢 Are Asia’s Shipowners Doing Enough to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions? | Eco-Business, Free 

Remember how I said last week that I really like longform stories from niche industry pubs? Well this is one of those. It looks at the carbon emissions of a relatively unseen but definitely crucial industry: shipping. The writer does a great job of tallying the big players across Asia, though I wish she dug a bit more, confronted CEOs, tried some simulations. I wanted it to be longer, is what I’m trying to get at.

Not a particularly long story, unfortunately. Maybe 30 minutes tops.

💊 When Dying Patients Want Unproven Drugs | The New Yorker, $

This was a very enjoyable read for me because I work in biotech media and regularly cover Amylyx and Relyvrio (these both play prominent roles in the story)—and I know a lot the subject. I know, for instance, that Relyvrio has been pulled from the market because it failed a crucial trial. And it’s really interesting to see where patient advocacy is going now. And how it could affect other drugs and other disease areas.

This is a very long story, but it flowed very easily for me. That might not be the case for you, though, especially if you’re not familiar with the subject. Could easily take more than 1 hour.

🐦‍⬛ The Disease Detectives Trying to Keep the World Safe From Bird Flu | The New York Times, $

It’s rare for me that The NYT does a really good job on a science story that isn’t set mainly in the U.S. This was one of those rare cases. Really impressive legwork from the writer, who was able to get first-hand interviews with doctors, patients, and families in Cambodia. I really felt the local pulse and frustrations and sentiments thrumming through the story.

Relatively short, especially for its subject. Maybe 30 minutes if you're a fast reader and stay focused. Could reach an hour if you’re distracted.

🐳 The Mad Scientist and the Killer Whales | Rolling Stone, Free

I’m of the belief that environment, climate, and animal stories are some of the most difficult science stories to tell because it’s so easy to make them boring. That’s why this one is so impressive to me. The writer does some great legwork by trying to put himself in the path of these whales—and of the Mad Scientist—but he also digs into some unorthodox and possibly fringe research about whale sociology. And that makes for incredible turns toward the end. This one will stick with me for a while.

I’m a science sucker, so this one was really easy for me to read. But if that’s not your cup of tea, then maybe allot more than 1 hour for this.

🎨 The Tragic Downfall of the Internet’s Art Gallery | Slate, Free

This one was a bit painful for me—and it might be for you, too. I used to have an account on DeviantArt, when I was still a wayward teen trying to be the edgy, artsy one in high school. I loved it, so to read that it’s met such a disappointing end stings. But this story isn’t just about DeviantArt. It’s more about what the Internet is going to look like in the age of AI, and which of our beloved old websites will survive.

This is pretty light reading. Might take you 40 minutes at most, distractions included.

📦 Will Americans Ever Get Sick of Cheap Junk? | The Atlantic, $

I think we all know the answer to this. But the writer nevertheless dives deep into the question and probes the different underlying philosophies behind our consumerism. Importantly for me, she also looks at how the market has evolved into a sophisticated machine that makes it so easy to buy… well… anything. But it’s still evolving—and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

Not a particularly long story, but also not too gripping. Might take 45 minutes, distractions included.

Around the world

Here are some of the most important/interesting/infuriating news bits from around the world last week:

1 - The ICC is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas officials.
+ I’d say this is a big win for the peace-loving slice of humanity, but the U.S. doesn’t seem to agree (surprise, surprise 😒).
+ Never been a big fan of the so-called “international order,” but the ICC’s warrant on Israel will be a big test for it.
+ For what it’s worth, other countries seem to be taking a stand. Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognized Palestine as a state.

2 - Musk’s Neuralink is unraveling. Just like the wires in its brain implant.

3 - Some of the genes that affect our propensity for psychiatric illnesses—think depression, anxiety, etc—could have come from ancient virus infections.

4 - Scarlett Johansson takes legal action against OpenAI for using her voice in ChatGPT.
+ Meanwhile, News Corp., which publishes The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, has signed a multi-year contract with OpenAI, giving the tech firm access to its library. Can’t help but feel that that’s not the right decision.

5 - More AI news: Google’s AI-assisted search is telling users to smear glue on their pizza.
+ And it’s been saying that Obama is Muslim. Which he’s not.
+ Really challenges the “intelligence” in “artifical intelligence,” don’t you think? Definitely a great idea for media outfits to partner with something as trustworthy as this. 😒 😒 😒 

6 - Another big thing in world politics: Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. Authorities haven’t found signs of foul play

Thanks for reading! Please, please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, or questions. I know some of the stories I recommend might be behind paywalls, and maybe I can help you with access to those, too!

Also, I’d appreciate it so much if you help me grow by sharing The Lazy Reader with friends or family who you think might also enjoy a good longform story 🫶

Until next Monday! 👋