March 2023

by Christian Lorentzen,

[Letter from Washington]

Frog

What happens to the pets that happen to you

by Anne Fadiman,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Cost of a baby stroller powered by artificial intelligence : $3,800

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. workers willing to take a pay cut in exchange for the option to work from home : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of college seniors who hope to find a job that is hybrid or fully remote : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which allowing for hybrid work decreases worker attrition : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of supervisors who say they sometimes forget about remote workers when assigning tasks : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who say their career ambitions have waned over the past three years : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which a man’s being extremely competitive increases his future income : 0

[Harper’s Index]

By which a man’s wife being extremely competitive increases his future income : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of college seniors who are prioritizing job stability : 74

[Harper’s Index]

Who are prioritizing working for a recognizable brand : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that because of economic anxiety they are open to industries they hadn’t previously considered : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of high school students who were too sad or hopeless in 2021 to participate in regular activities : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of high school students who attempted suicide : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. colleges that no longer require standardized test scores : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the median debt for borrowers earning master’s degrees has increased since 2000 : 69

[Harper’s Index]

Chances that a millennial who moved in with their parents last year was charged rent : 2 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who consider themselves “middle class” : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of Britons who consider themselves “working class” : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults in households earning $100,000 or more who drink alcohol : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of single Americans who say that someone has wanted to date them for their household amenities : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who are unaware of how much they spend on subscription services each month : 100

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average American underestimates the total : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of Disney+ subscribers who are adults without children : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of toy sales that can be attributed to adults buying toys for themselves : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Amount by which the number of U.S. births was expected to change in 2021 because of the pandemic : –300,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the 2020 U.S. Census expanded the population threshold for areas defined as urban : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people whose homes were reclassified by the 2020 Census as rural rather than urban : 4,200,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount a circus paid last year to purchase a town in California : $2,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of cryptocurrency ATMs, per square mile, in Los Angeles : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Google searches for cryptocurrency last year exceeded those for artificial intelligence : 3

[Harper’s Index]

By which searches for artificial intelligence this year have exceeded those for cryptocurrency : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Cost of a baby stroller powered by artificial intelligence : $3,800

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. workers willing to take a pay cut in exchange for the option to work from home : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of college seniors who hope to find a job that is hybrid or fully remote : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which allowing for hybrid work decreases worker attrition : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of supervisors who say they sometimes forget about remote workers when assigning tasks : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who say their career ambitions have waned over the past three years : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which a man’s being extremely competitive increases his future income : 0

[Harper’s Index]

By which a man’s wife being extremely competitive increases his future income : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of college seniors who are prioritizing job stability : 74

[Harper’s Index]

Who are prioritizing working for a recognizable brand : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that because of economic anxiety they are open to industries they hadn’t previously considered : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of high school students who were too sad or hopeless in 2021 to participate in regular activities : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of high school students who attempted suicide : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. colleges that no longer require standardized test scores : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the median debt for borrowers earning master’s degrees has increased since 2000 : 69

[Harper’s Index]

Chances that a millennial who moved in with their parents last year was charged rent : 2 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who consider themselves “middle class” : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of Britons who consider themselves “working class” : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults in households earning $100,000 or more who drink alcohol : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2013 in average household spending on pets : 67

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change last year in sales of digital albums : –20

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change last year in sales of romance novels : +52

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of single Americans who say that someone has wanted to date them for their household amenities : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who are unaware of how much they spend on subscription services each month : 100

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average American underestimates the total : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of Disney+ subscribers who are adults without children : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of toy sales that can be attributed to adults buying toys for themselves : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Amount by which the number of U.S. births was expected to change in 2021 because of the pandemic : –300,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the 2020 U.S. Census expanded the population threshold for areas defined as urban : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people whose homes were reclassified by the 2020 Census as rural rather than urban : 4,200,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount a circus paid last year to purchase a town in California : $2,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of cryptocurrency ATMs, per square mile, in Los Angeles : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Google searches for cryptocurrency last year exceeded those for artificial intelligence : 3

[Harper’s Index]

By which searches for artificial intelligence this year have exceeded those for cryptocurrency : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Cost of a baby stroller powered by artificial intelligence : $3,800

Readings

[Essay]

Writing Wrongs

by Rachel Zucker,

[Sponsored Content]

At Eloise’s Night Light Lounge

by Leon Forrest,

[Investigation]

What Songs Do

by Lim Solah,Translated by Olan Munson, Oh Eunkyung,

The Photographer, 2000, a mixed-media artwork by Kimowan Metchewais, whose monograph A Kind of Prayer was published in January by Aperture. Metchewais’s work is on view this month as part of the exhibition Native America: In Translation at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Courtesy Laena Wilder

Les Règles De L’art, a drawing by Lucile Gauvain, whose work is on view this month at HOFA Gallery (House of Fine Art), in London.

“185 West Main Street, Webster, NY,” a photograph by Eric T. Kunsman, from his series Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics in Rochester, NY. Kunsman’s work is on view this month at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, in Providence.

“RJC Sudsville Laundry,” a photograph by Eric T. Kunsman, from his series Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics in Rochester, NY. Kunsman’s work is on view this month at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, in Providence.

“AB Convenient Market,” a photograph by Eric T. Kunsman, from his series Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics in Rochester, NY. Kunsman’s work is on view this month at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, in Providence.

“Hamlin Beach State Park,” a photograph by Eric T. Kunsman, from his series Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics in Rochester, NY. Kunsman’s work is on view this month at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, in Providence.

Conceptual Artist #7 (A Warhol enthusiast, his 26th studio mate completes the story), a mixed-media diptych by Hernan Bas, whose book The Conceptualists was published last year by Victoria Miro. Bas’s work will be on view in May at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City.