Harper’s Magazine

[Letter from Washington] The Fight to Choose

The politics of abortion after Roe v. Wade

by Andrew Cockburn,

Current Issue August 2022

[Essay] One Manner of Law

The religious origins of American liberalism

by Marilynne Robinson,

[Report] Tree Sleuths

How DNA is transforming the fight against illegal logging

by Lauren Markham,

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which bestsellers about Donald Trump outsold those about Joe Biden in the first two years of their terms : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of copies of Jill Biden’s memoir sold in the United States in its first week of publication : 250

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Americans are more likely to believe that Republicans are better at controlling inflation than Democrats : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to carry a lucky charm at all times : 75

[Harper’s Index]

To include political language in their Twitter bios : 250

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. Twitter users who think no one else has ever seen their tweets : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in Google searches for “vasectomy” in the 36 hours after the leaked draft opinion about Roe v. Wade : 340

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which women are more likely than men to be interrupted in Senate committee hearings : 10

[Harper’s Index]

By which such interruptions are more likely when they are discussing women’s issues : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think their lives would make for good reality TV : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in U.S. prescriptions for amphetamine-based ADHD medications : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the global supply of these drugs that is used in the United States : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. counties that lack a psychiatrist specializing in children or adolescents : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2015 in the number of prescriptions for antidepressants given to U.S. teenagers : 69

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the use of “buy now, pay later” services by Gen Z-ers since January 2020 : 925

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Gen Z users who have missed at least one payment : 43

[Harper’s Index]

Who have missed at least two payments : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2019 in the average price of a U.S. Uber car ride : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2010 in the average cost of an electric vehicle battery : –89

[Harper’s Index]

In the average price of an electric vehicle : +80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. flights to the European Union have returned to their 2019 levels : 73

[Harper’s Index]

By which U.S. flights to China have : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which U.S. men are more likely than U.S. women to claim they have had sex on a plane : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in reports of U.S. planes being struck by the beam of a laser pointer : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Cost of a trip to space in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon : $50,000

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of aspiring first-time home buyers who will be unable to purchase one this year : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2020 in the portion of U.S. home purchases accounted for by real estate investment firms : 46

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they would feel “disgusted” if a homeless person lived in their community : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a Democrat has at some point experienced homelessness : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

That a Republican has : 1 in 6

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. employers with remote workers that use some form of monitoring software : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of those employers that terminated employees after implementing this software : 88

[Harper’s Index]

Average salary U.S. college students expect to make in their first job after graduation : $103,880

[Harper’s Index]

Average starting salary for a U.S. college graduate : $55,260

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 to 35 who don’t see any point in saving money until the pandemic ends : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which people with minor psychopathic tendencies are more likely to want to invest in cryptocurrency : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Cost, per week, to stay at a Swiss center that offers treatment for cryptocurrency addiction : $98,691

Weekly Review

Harper’s Podcast

Empire Burlesque

Living through the twilight of American global power

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Monday Gallery

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Washington Park with Liliana

Washington Park with Liliana, a painting by Shaun Ellison, whose work is on view through August 11 at Taymour Grahne Projects, in London.

Green Pineapple and Poppies

Green Pineapple and Poppies, 2019, a mixed-media artwork by Daniel Gordon, whose work is on view through August 12 as part of the exhibition RGB at Yossi Milo Gallery, in New York City.

Quorum

Quorum, 2022, an oil painting on sanyan by Nengi Omuku, whose work is on view through July 30 at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, in London.

“Untitled, Antella, Italy”

“Untitled, Antella, Italy,” 1977-1978, a photograph by Francesca Woodman, whose work is on view as part of the exhibition Intimacy at Victoria Miro, in London.

In the News

Factor by which bestsellers about Donald Trump outsold those about Joe Biden in the first two years of their terms : 10

Number of copies of Jill Biden’s memoir sold in the United States in its first week of publication : 250

Factor by which Americans are more likely to believe that Republicans are better at controlling inflation than Democrats : 2

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to carry a lucky charm at all times : 75

To include political language in their Twitter bios : 250

Portion of U.S. Twitter users who think no one else has ever seen their tweets : 1/5

Percentage increase in Google searches for “vasectomy” in the 36 hours after the leaked draft opinion about Roe v. Wade : 340

Percentage by which women are more likely than men to be interrupted in Senate committee hearings : 10

By which such interruptions are more likely when they are discussing women’s issues : 15

Portion of baby boomers who trust the U.S. electoral process : 1/2

Of millennials who do : 2/5

Of Gen Z-ers : 1/4

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think their lives would make for good reality TV : 32

Percentage increase last year in U.S. prescriptions for amphetamine-based ADHD medications : 10

Percentage of the global supply of these drugs that is used in the United States : 57

Portion of U.S. counties that lack a psychiatrist specializing in children or adolescents : 3/4

Percentage increase since 2015 in the number of prescriptions for antidepressants given to U.S. teenagers : 69

Percentage increase in the use of “buy now, pay later” services by Gen Z-ers since January 2020 : 925

Percentage of Gen Z users who have missed at least one payment : 43

Who have missed at least two payments : 30

Percentage increase since 2019 in the average price of a U.S. Uber car ride : 45

Percentage change since 2010 in the average cost of an electric vehicle battery : –89

In the average price of an electric vehicle : +80

Percentage by which U.S. flights to the European Union have returned to their 2019 levels : 73

By which U.S. flights to China have : 1

Factor by which U.S. men are more likely than U.S. women to claim they have had sex on a plane : 4

Percentage increase last year in reports of U.S. planes being struck by the beam of a laser pointer : 41

Cost of a trip to space in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon : $50,000

Portion of aspiring first-time home buyers who will be unable to purchase one this year : 1/5

Percentage increase since 2020 in the portion of U.S. home purchases accounted for by real estate investment firms : 46

Portion of Americans who say they would feel “disgusted” if a homeless person lived in their community : 1/10

Chance that a Democrat has at some point experienced homelessness : 1 in 5

That a Republican has : 1 in 6

Portion of U.S. employers with remote workers that use some form of monitoring software : 3/5

Percentage of those employers that terminated employees after implementing this software : 88

Average salary U.S. college students expect to make in their first job after graduation : $103,880

Average starting salary for a U.S. college graduate : $55,260

Percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 to 35 who don’t see any point in saving money until the pandemic ends : 45

Percentage by which people with minor psychopathic tendencies are more likely to want to invest in cryptocurrency : 12

Cost, per week, to stay at a Swiss center that offers treatment for cryptocurrency addiction : $98,691

August 10, 2022

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Empire Burlesque

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Guardians of Memory

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Green Pineapple and Poppies

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“Untitled, Antella, Italy”

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.