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[Report] Ad Astra

The coming battle over space

By Rachel Riederer,

Current Issue November 2021

[Letter from California] The Enumerator

Dispatches from a broken census count

By Jeremy Miller,

[Memoir] Portrait of the Coyote as a Young Man

Coming of age in Bemidji

By David Treuer,

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2010 in the portion of Americans who identify as exclusively white : –9

[Harper’s Index]

Who identify as white in combination with another race : +316

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Republican-leaning Americans who say the declining share of white people is bad for society : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of new U.S. hires who are in occupations that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who do not have a bachelor’s degree : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Of black U.S. adults who do not : 4/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults working remotely who would take a pay cut to continue doing so indefinitely : 65

[Harper’s Index]

Who would give up social media for a year to do so : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Who would give up their right to vote : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a U.S. worker feels their job does not make a meaningful contribution to the world : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American office workers who have cried on the job : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. remote workers who admit to regularly streaming video while on the job : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of total U.S. TV-watching time accounted for by Netflix : 7

[Harper’s Index]

By cable or broadcast television : 62

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2019 in the number of Republicans who say that large corporations benefit the country : –15

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Democrats who say so : +22

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Republicans who say that financial institutions benefit the country : –44

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Democrats who say so : +30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which more Americans are “very concerned” about domestic extremist groups than international ones : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this is more likely to be true of a Democrat than a Republican : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which more Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons than believe Israel does : 17

[Harper’s Index]

By which more Republicans believe this : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2018 in the number of U.S. adults who say the government should restrict false information online : +23

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of time spent on smartphones in the United States that can be attributed to “self-control problems” : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of hours per week that children in China are legally allowed to spend playing video games : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 1990 in the number of Americans who say they have a best friend : –21

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Americans who say they have ten or more close friends : –61

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who lost touch with at least a few friends in the past year : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Who lost touch with most of their friends : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of August 2021 among months with the largest number of active dating-app users ever recorded : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who, on an average day between May and December 2020, did not spend any time on grooming : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum percentage by which carbon emissions of the average single man exceed those of the average single woman : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have noticed an increase in extreme local weather events : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Date on which forest fire smoke was first detected at the North Pole : 8/2/2021

[Harper’s Index]

On which rain was first detected at the highest point of Greenland’s ice cap : 8/14/2021

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which the first known insect species was driven extinct in the United States by humans : 1941

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of New Zealand among countries best suited to survive a global societal collapse : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Of the United States : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of potentially habitable planets from which aliens could detect life on Earth : 29

Weekly Review

Harper’s Podcast

“Put on the Diamonds”

On the act of eating one’s words (and worse): Vivian Gornick and Sigrid Nunez discuss the experience of humiliation

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Monday Gallery

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“El Trabajador en la Ventana”

“El Trabajador en la Ventana,” a photograph by Max Aguilera-Hellweg, whose work is on view through October 30 in the exhibition All This Happened, at ROSEGALLERY, in Santa Monica, California.

Courtesy the artist and ROSEGALLERY, Santa Monica, California

Provisions

Provisions, a painting by Caroline Walker, whose work is on view through November 28 at KM21, Kunstmuseum, in The Hague, Netherlands.

Courtesy the artist and Grimm Gallery

“Wenzeni I, City Lodge Hotel, OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg”

“Wenzeni I, City Lodge Hotel, OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg,” a photograph by Zanele Muholi, whose work is on view through October 16 at Yancey Richardson, in New York City. Muholi’s work is included in African Artists: From 1882 to Now, which will be published next month by Phaidon.

Courtesy the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York City

Get the Duck

Get the Duck, a painting by Oona Brangam-Snell, whose work is on view through October 30 at Mrs . Gallery, in Queens, New York.

Courtesy the artist and Mrs. Gallery, Queens, New York

Percentage change since 2010 in the portion of Americans who identify as exclusively white : –9

Who identify as white in combination with another race : +316

Percentage of Republican-leaning Americans who say the declining share of white people is bad for society : 34

Portion of new U.S. hires who are in occupations that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree : 3/4

Portion of U.S. adults who do not have a bachelor’s degree : 2/3

Of black U.S. adults who do not : 4/5

Percentage of U.S. adults working remotely who would take a pay cut to continue doing so indefinitely : 65

Who would give up social media for a year to do so : 55

Who would give up their right to vote : 34

Chance that a U.S. worker feels their job does not make a meaningful contribution to the world : 1 in 5

Percentage of American office workers who have cried on the job : 45

Portion of U.S. remote workers who admit to regularly streaming video while on the job : 3/10

Percentage of total U.S. TV-watching time accounted for by Netflix : 7

By cable or broadcast television : 62

Percentage change since 2019 in the number of Republicans who say that large corporations benefit the country : –15

In the number of Democrats who say so : +22

In the number of Republicans who say that financial institutions benefit the country : –44

In the number of Democrats who say so : +30

Percentage by which more Americans are “very concerned” about domestic extremist groups than international ones : 30

Factor by which this is more likely to be true of a Democrat than a Republican : 9

Percentage by which more Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons than believe Israel does : 17

By which more Republicans believe this : 37

Percentage change since 2018 in the number of U.S. adults who say the government should restrict false information online : +23

Portion of time spent on smartphones in the United States that can be attributed to “self-control problems” : 3/10

Number of hours per week that children in China are legally allowed to spend playing video games : 3

Percentage change since 1990 in the number of Americans who say they have a best friend : –21

In the number of Americans who say they have ten or more close friends : –61

Portion of Americans who lost touch with at least a few friends in the past year : 1/2

Who lost touch with most of their friends : 1/10

Rank of August 2021 among months with the largest number of active dating-app users ever recorded : 1

Portion of Americans who, on an average day between May and December 2020, did not spend any time on grooming : 1/4

Minimum percentage by which carbon emissions of the average single man exceed those of the average single woman : 16

Factor by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have noticed an increase in extreme local weather events : 2

Date on which forest fire smoke was first detected at the North Pole : 8/2/2021

On which rain was first detected at the highest point of Greenland’s ice cap : 8/14/2021

Year in which the first known insect species was driven extinct in the United States by humans : 1941

Rank of New Zealand among countries best suited to survive a global societal collapse : 1

Of the United States : 6

Estimated number of potentially habitable planets from which aliens could detect life on Earth : 29

October 19, 2021

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“Put on the Diamonds”

Subscribe to the Podcast

Keeping Up with the Johnsons

Forbidding Planet

I Multiplied Myself

“El Trabajador en la Ventana”

Provisions

“Wenzeni I, City Lodge Hotel, OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg”

Get the Duck

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.