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Will America recover under Biden?

By Andrew Cockburn,

Current Issue February 2021

By Charles Yu, Mike Jaccarino, A. S. Hamrah, Eileen Myles, Judith Martin, Olivia Laing, Yinka Elujoba, Lauren Oyler, Jane Hu, Liane Carlson, David Owen, Christian Lorentzen, Christopher Beha,

[Letter from Antananarivo] Stowaways

Madagascar reckons with an invasive crayfish

By Rowan Moore Gerety,

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount spent on 2020 campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House : $14,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this exceeds the previous record for an election year : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of global tax revenue lost each year to companies that incorporate in tax havens : $245,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

To individuals who store their assets in tax havens : $182,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Who plan to use them less often : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that were covered by a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system last year : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Area, in square kilometers, of the hole in the ozone layer produced by the Australian wildfires last year : 800,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the smoke plumes from those fires decreased the amount of sunlight reaching Australia : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans in a relationship who keep some of their money secret from their partner : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of money those Americans keep secret : $2,006

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated total value of federal COVID-19 loans that were paid out to fraudulent or ineligible applicants : $71,400,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries that have placed restrictions on news organizations during the pandemic : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Of countries where activists have reported police violence as a component of the pandemic response : 59

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American knew someone who died of COVID-19 last year : 1 in 2

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum percentage by which the U.S. birth rate is expected to fall this year : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American travelers who do not support opening their own communities to visitors : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Who hesitate to travel for fear that they would not be welcome at their destinations : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who plan to use their cars more often after the pandemic ends than they did before it began : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of carbon, in metric tons, produced each year by the sending and receiving of emails : 12,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

By the sending and receiving of text messages : 7,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that are caused by the health care industry : 4.6

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those emissions for which the United States is responsible : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. health care facilities that regularly test their employees for COVID-19 : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of U.S. companies overall that do : 1/6

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which U.S. health care workers have requested leave more often since the onset of the pandemic : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. doctors who have closed their practices since then : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. doctors and nurse clinicians who have retired early or plan to do so because of the pandemic : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. workers over 55 who plan to delay their retirement because of the pandemic : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of senior White House jobs that turned over during the Trump presidency : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of those jobs that did so more than once : 39

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an outgoing senior White House employee was fired or pressured into resigning : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. remote employees who say they have been working harder than ever : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they have not felt as appreciated by their employer since they began working remotely : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease, in the first half of 2020, in direct foreign investment in the United States : 61

[Harper’s Index]

In China : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the American economy is expected to contract this year : 4.3

[Harper’s Index]

By which the Chinese economy is expected to expand : 1.9

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of documentaries that the Chinese government has produced about Wuhan’s response to the coronavirus : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Of animated shorts : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Of operas : 1

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Monday Gallery

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Don’t the Sun Look Angry Through the Trees (Don’t the Trees Look Like Crucified Thieves)

Don’t the Sun Look Angry Through the Trees (Don’t the Trees Look Like Crucified Thieves), a painting by Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, whose work was on view this month at Galerie Max Hetzler, in Berlin.

Courtesy the artist and Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin

Two photographs by Lora Webb Nichols from Encampment, Wyoming: Selections from the Lora Webb Nichols Archive, 1899–1948, which was published last year by Fw:Books.

What Was Lost

What Was Lost, an oil painting on sanyan by Nengi Omuku, whose work is on view through January 9 at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, in London.

Courtesy the artist and Kristin Hjellegjerde, London

Estimated amount spent on 2020 campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House : $14,000,000,000

Factor by which this exceeds the previous record for an election year : 2

Estimated amount of global tax revenue lost each year to companies that incorporate in tax havens : $245,000,000,000

To individuals who store their assets in tax havens : $182,000,000,000

Who plan to use them less often : 10

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that were covered by a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system last year : 22

Area, in square kilometers, of the hole in the ozone layer produced by the Australian wildfires last year : 800,000

Percentage by which the smoke plumes from those fires decreased the amount of sunlight reaching Australia : 90

Percentage of Americans in a relationship who keep some of their money secret from their partner : 37

Average amount of money those Americans keep secret : $2,006

Estimated total value of federal COVID-19 loans that were paid out to fraudulent or ineligible applicants : $71,400,000,000

Minimum number of countries that have placed restrictions on news organizations during the pandemic : 91

Of countries where activists have reported police violence as a component of the pandemic response : 59

Chance that an American knew someone who died of COVID-19 last year : 1 in 2

Minimum percentage by which the U.S. birth rate is expected to fall this year : 8

Percentage of American travelers who do not support opening their own communities to visitors : 37

Who hesitate to travel for fear that they would not be welcome at their destinations : 25

Percentage of Americans who plan to use their cars more often after the pandemic ends than they did before it began : 41

Estimated amount of carbon, in metric tons, produced each year by the sending and receiving of emails : 12,000,000

By the sending and receiving of text messages : 7,000,000

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that are caused by the health care industry : 4.6

Portion of those emissions for which the United States is responsible : 1/4

Portion of U.S. health care facilities that regularly test their employees for COVID-19 : 1/2

Of U.S. companies overall that do : 1/6

Factor by which U.S. health care workers have requested leave more often since the onset of the pandemic : 4

Percentage of U.S. doctors who have closed their practices since then : 8

Portion of U.S. doctors and nurse clinicians who have retired early or plan to do so because of the pandemic : 1/5

Percentage of U.S. workers over 55 who plan to delay their retirement because of the pandemic : 13

Percentage of senior White House jobs that turned over during the Trump presidency : 91

Percentage of those jobs that did so more than once : 39

Chance that an outgoing senior White House employee was fired or pressured into resigning : 1 in 4

Portion of U.S. remote employees who say they have been working harder than ever : 7/10

Who say they have not felt as appreciated by their employer since they began working remotely : 1/2

Percentage decrease, in the first half of 2020, in direct foreign investment in the United States : 61

In China : 4

Percentage by which the American economy is expected to contract this year : 4.3

By which the Chinese economy is expected to expand : 1.9

Minimum number of documentaries that the Chinese government has produced about Wuhan’s response to the coronavirus : 21

Of animated shorts : 1

Of operas : 1

January 19, 2021

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Complexity

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The Very Beneficial Changeling Society

Signs of the Covenant

Parable of the Butler

Don’t the Sun Look Angry Through the Trees (Don’t the Trees Look Like Crucified Thieves)

What Was Lost

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.