Harper’s Magazine

[Report] At Random

The business of books and the merger that wasn’t

by Christian Lorentzen,

Current Issue March 2023

[Letter from Washington] Alternative Facts

How the media failed Julian Assange

by Andrew Cockburn,

[Memoir] Frog

What happens to the pets that happen to you

by Anne Fadiman,

[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]

Who seriously considered it : 1/5

[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]

By which it actually changed : +32,777

[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]

In Atlanta : 7

[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

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On the state of publishing and the failed merger of Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House

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Triumph of the Willing (Part I)

Triumph of the Willing (Part I), a painting by Hydeon, whose work was on view last weekend with Ricco/Maresca at the Outsider Art Fair in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Ricco/Maresca, New York City

Tailoring Freedom – Renty and Delia

Tailoring Freedom – Renty and Delia, 2021, a mixed-media artwork (metal staples on photograph on wood), by Sasha Huber, whose work is on view through March 25 at Autograph, in London.

Vacation I

Vacation I, a painting by Dawit Adnew, whose work is on view through April 15 at Addis Fine Art, in London.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Percentage of college seniors who are prioritizing job stability : 74

Who are prioritizing working for a recognizable brand : 41

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

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

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

Who seriously considered it : 1/5

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

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

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

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

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

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

In households earning less than $40,000 : 49

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

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

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

Portion of those novels written by one author : 1/3

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

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

Factor by which the average American underestimates the total : 4

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

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

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

By which it actually changed : +32,777

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

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

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

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

In Atlanta : 7

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

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

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

February 28, 2023

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Knights-Errant

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Triptych

Triumph of the Willing (Part I)

Tailoring Freedom – Renty and Delia

Vacation I

Past Issues

Harper’s Finest

From the Archive

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SARS was found in tears.

A psycholinguistic analysis of posts on Twitter and Weibo during COVID-19 lockdowns found that residents of Lombardy grew increasingly focused on leisure and residents of Wuhan grew increasingly focused on religion.

Convalescent plasma helps Syrian hamsters fight SARS-CoV-2.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-­19-­infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.

The World Health Organization warned that SARS will probably return this winter.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-19-infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.