Ape Sh*t: The Zine for Primates is a new zine focused on the troubled relationship between humans and other primates. The first issue uncovers the bizarre history of the service monkey. For over 40 years, a Boston nonprofit promoted using capuchin monkeys as servants for people with quadriplegia. Helping Hands peddled a feel-good story that US media craved, but at what cost?

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Issue #1 also includes a brief history of organ grinder monkeys, wild capuchins and their natural behaviors, the crucial role of primate sanctuaries, and inspiring ways that capuchins have resisted and fought back against their captors.

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Available in digital and print editions in June 2026. You can follow us on Bluesky @monkeywire.bsky.social.

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Ape Sh*t is written/edited by Carrie McLaren, who published Stay Free! zine back in the day. She lives in Brooklyn, which only one nonhuman animal. Becky Ebenkamp writes our TV column, "Simians on Screens." She also hosts "Bubblegum OD" on WFMU.