Your First Mid-Week Experiment for 2026
Let's see what the Year of Oh Lord 2026 has in store for us
Welcome to your always free, reader-supported edition of The Experiment where we share great things to read, cook, listen to, and watch. As always, this bugga free.
Let’s get right to it:
“The Nuremberg trials showed us that normal people can commit war crimes for normal reasons, such as wanting to make a profit and to keep their jobs. What hasn’t been normal is to see them held accountable.” —M. Gessen, covering a trial in Sweden to do exactly that (gift link)
“If society is riddled with aggression, don’t blame testosterone; blame us for being too prone to dole out status for aggression.” —Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky, with the fascinating news that testosterone correlates with status, not aggression (gift link)
h/t to Walker Lukens for this one:
“One study of elementary and middle schoolers found that in 96 percent of classrooms, kids who displayed narcissistic qualities were more likely to be nominated for leadership roles.”—Dr. Adam Grant (gift link) h/t Elie Jacobs
“Serious foreigners are welcome. TikTokers are not.” Writer Oliver Smith climbs a men’s only mountain that’s central to an ancient Japanese religion (free link) again, h/t Elie
“There are two questions I’m tired of hearing, and I’m certain you’ll recognize them.”—Carlos Lozada, forcing me to up my moderator game (gift link)
“As midterm elections get underway, those in the political arena could learn lessons from the unique retailer with the buck-fifty hotdogs and piles of paper products.” —Rex Smith, on Costco (free link)
“Even if you don’t know exactly where liberalism goes from here, you sit down and you think and you read and you talk to smart people until you figure out a new direction. You try again.” —Noah Smith (free link) h/t Sam Gwynne
What if the end of the world was sweet?
Honestly, I always wondered why the end to Home Alone wasn’t more like this.
I’ve never been so angry at Oscar Isaac. Such a sad movie.
We set up a merch table in the back where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even tote bags now. Show the world that you’re part of The Experiment.
Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House.