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[Essay] Il Maestro

Federico Fellini and the lost magic of cinema

By Martin Scorsese,

Current Issue March 2021

[Story] Detour

By Joyce Carol Oates,

[Portfolio] Town of C

By Richard Rothman, Lyle Rexer,

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the use of the phrase “technical difficulties” during corporate earnings calls : 310

[Harper’s Index]

In the use of the phrase “you’re on mute” : 1,000

[Harper’s Index]

Of the phrase “unprecedented times” : 70,830

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of new users who registered with the stock-trading app Robinhood between January and April last year : 3,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of these users who were first-time investors : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Amount contractors on the TaskRabbit service earned last year by waiting in line for other people : $81,963

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the amount of money raised on GoFundMe for rent, utilities, and groceries : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the fifty largest U.S. companies that have turned a profit since the onset of the pandemic : 45

[Harper’s Index]

That have made layoffs : 27

[Harper’s Index]

Net change in December in the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry : -498,000

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of employees Amazon hired each day from January to October last year : 1,333

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a consumer in Southeast Asia bought products online for the first time during the pandemic : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of countries that will be poorer per capita in 2100 than they would have been without climate change : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Projected percentage change in average income by 2100 in the poorest 20 percent of countries : -75

[Harper’s Index]

In the richest 20 percent of countries

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated ratio of the mass of man-made materials to the planet’s total biomass in 1900 : 3:100

[Harper’s Index]

In 2020 : 1:1

[Harper’s Index]

By 2040 : 2:1

[Harper’s Index]

Degrees Celsius by which the COVID-19 lockdowns are projected to lower the average global temperature in 2050 : 0.01

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of parents aged 27 to 45 and concerned about climate change who have a “negative vision of the future” : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Who regret having children : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people worldwide who have lost weight during the pandemic : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Who have gained weight : 27

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in U.S. belt sales last year : -31

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in China’s obesity rate since 2002 : 131

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum amount that China has proposed fining social-media influencers who post evidence of overeating : $15,300

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the frequency of “arrests with force” made by NYPD officers when they are equipped with body cameras : +1.9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the mortality rate in large U.S. jails over the past decade : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of inmates who died during that period who were awaiting trial : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which elderly patients are more likely to die during or after emergency surgery performed on the surgeon’s birthday : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage increase in the number of U.S. deaths last year : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which the United States last saw so great an increase : 1918

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which U.S. life expectancy declined in 2020 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that 2021 will be better than 2020 for them personally : 44

[Harper’s Index]

Who believe that 2021 will be better for the world : 37

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“July 20, 2020, 8:26 am, Night Blooming Cactus (Cereus) II”

“July 20, 2020, 8:26 am, Night Blooming Cactus (Cereus) II” and “June 9, 2020, 7:18 pm, Scissors and String,” photographs by Luciano Perna, whose work is on view at Librairie Marian Goodman, in Paris.

Jamal

Jamal, a mixed-media collage by Deborah Roberts, whose work is on view through August 15 at The Contemporary Austin, in Texas.

“Minty, Kayla, Leyah, Layla, Cambridge, Massachusetts”

“Minty, Kayla, Leyah, Layla, Cambridge, Massachusetts,” a photograph by Rania Matar, from the exhibition On Either Side of the Window: Portraits During COVID-19, which is on view through May 9 at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida.

Courtesy the artist

Percentage increase last year in the use of the phrase “technical difficulties” during corporate earnings calls : 310

In the use of the phrase “you’re on mute” : 1,000

Of the phrase “unprecedented times” : 70,830

Minimum number of new users who registered with the stock-trading app Robinhood between January and April last year : 3,000,000

Estimated portion of these users who were first-time investors : 1/2

Amount contractors on the TaskRabbit service earned last year by waiting in line for other people : $81,963

Percentage increase last year in the amount of money raised on GoFundMe for rent, utilities, and groceries : 150

Number of the fifty largest U.S. companies that have turned a profit since the onset of the pandemic : 45

That have made layoffs : 27

Net change in December in the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry : -498,000

In the trucking industry : +7,300

In the warehousing and storage industry : +8,200

In the courier and messenger industry : +37,400

Average number of employees Amazon hired each day from January to October last year : 1,333

Chance that a consumer in Southeast Asia bought products online for the first time during the pandemic : 1 in 3

Estimated portion of countries that will be poorer per capita in 2100 than they would have been without climate change : 3/4

Projected percentage change in average income by 2100 in the poorest 20 percent of countries : -75

In the richest 20 percent of countries

Estimated ratio of the mass of man-made materials to the planet’s total biomass in 1900 : 3:100

In 2020 : 1:1

By 2040 : 2:1

Degrees Celsius by which the COVID-19 lockdowns are projected to lower the average global temperature in 2050 : 0.01

Percentage of parents aged 27 to 45 and concerned about climate change who have a “negative vision of the future” : 92

Who regret having children : 6

Percentage of people worldwide who have lost weight during the pandemic : 17

Who have gained weight : 27

Percentage change in U.S. belt sales last year : -31

Percentage increase in China’s obesity rate since 2002 : 131

Maximum amount that China has proposed fining social-media influencers who post evidence of overeating : $15,300

Percentage change in the frequency of “arrests with force” made by NYPD officers when they are equipped with body cameras : +1.9

Percentage increase in the mortality rate in large U.S. jails over the past decade : 35

Portion of inmates who died during that period who were awaiting trial : 2/3

Percentage by which elderly patients are more likely to die during or after emergency surgery performed on the surgeon’s birthday : 23

Estimated percentage increase in the number of U.S. deaths last year : 15

Year in which the United States last saw so great an increase : 1918

Number of years by which U.S. life expectancy declined in 2020 : 2

Percentage of Americans who believe that 2021 will be better than 2020 for them personally : 44

Who believe that 2021 will be better for the world : 37

March 2, 2021

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Complexity

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The Possessed

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Another World Is Possible

“July 20, 2020, 8:26 am, Night Blooming Cactus (Cereus) II”

Jamal

“Minty, Kayla, Leyah, Layla, Cambridge, Massachusetts”

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.