March 2020

by Andrew J. Bacevich,

[Letter from Saluda]

Waiting for the End of the World

Apocalypse camp at the dawn of the Great Extinction

by Lauren Groff,

[Story]

The Fifth Step

by Stephen King,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of sexually active Americans who say that their “skills in the bedroom” have improved over the past year : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which the average age of a North or South American nation’s leader has increased since 1950 : 10.5

[Harper’s Index]

By which the average age of a European nation’s leader has decreased since then : 2.5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of European nations whose leader is 45 years old or younger : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. Protestants who have “a lot” of confidence in their clergy’s ability to provide useful parenting advice : 49

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the median length of U.S. black Protestant sermons exceeds that of U.S. Catholic homilies : 286

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which evangelical Christian sermons are likelier than those of other Christian traditions to include the phrase “eternal hell” : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage of their fortunes that the twenty richest Americans gave to charity in 2018 : 0.8

[Harper’s Index]

Median amount owed by U.S. renters evicted between 2014 and 2016 for failing to pay rent : $1,253

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. manufacturing jobs that required a bachelor’s degree in 1983 : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Projected percentage growth over the next year in the office-chair market : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 19 to 34 is prediabetic : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which an obese person contributes more carbon emissions than someone in the “normal-weight” range : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of SUVs among contributors to the increase in carbon emissions over the past decade : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of total retail sales made in 2018 that were returned : 10.6

[Harper’s Index]

Amount, in tons, of annual carbon emissions that can be attributed to retail returns : 16,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American travelers who say they cut back on flying in 2019 for environmental reasons : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the world’s cities with populations over 500,000 that experience periodic water shortages : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people injured in a volcanic eruption in New Zealand in December : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of human skin, in square footage, subsequently ordered by New Zealand from the United States : 516

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the portion of Americans dying at home has increased since 1972 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. school districts in which the portion of Latino teachers equals or exceeds that of Latino students : 0.1

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which the NFL first required teams to interview candidates of color for every available head coaching job : 2003

[Harper’s Index]

Number of head coaches of color employed by the NFL at the time : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to frame research findings in top scientific journals with positive adjectives : 21

[Harper’s Index]

By which the use of a positive adjective in a paper title or abstract increases subsequent citations in those journals : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think that the Chinese government is sometimes or very often a source of disinformation : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Number of fact-checking organizations that were active in 2014 : 103

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of Donald Trump among the most admired men in America : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of sexually active Americans who say that their “skills in the bedroom” have improved over the past year : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which the average age of a North or South American nation’s leader has increased since 1950 : 10.5

[Harper’s Index]

By which the average age of a European nation’s leader has decreased since then : 2.5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of European nations whose leader is 45 years old or younger : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. Protestants who have “a lot” of confidence in their clergy’s ability to provide useful parenting advice : 49

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the median length of U.S. black Protestant sermons exceeds that of U.S. Catholic homilies : 286

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which evangelical Christian sermons are likelier than those of other Christian traditions to include the phrase “eternal hell” : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage of their fortunes that the twenty richest Americans gave to charity in 2018 : 0.8

[Harper’s Index]

Median amount owed by U.S. renters evicted between 2014 and 2016 for failing to pay rent : $1,253

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. manufacturing jobs that required a bachelor’s degree in 1983 : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Projected percentage growth over the next year in the office-chair market : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 19 to 34 is prediabetic : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which an obese person contributes more carbon emissions than someone in the “normal-weight” range : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of SUVs among contributors to the increase in carbon emissions over the past decade : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of total retail sales made in 2018 that were returned : 10.6

[Harper’s Index]

Amount, in tons, of annual carbon emissions that can be attributed to retail returns : 16,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American travelers who say they cut back on flying in 2019 for environmental reasons : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the world’s cities with populations over 500,000 that experience periodic water shortages : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people injured in a volcanic eruption in New Zealand in December : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of human skin, in square footage, subsequently ordered by New Zealand from the United States : 516

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the portion of Americans dying at home has increased since 1972 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. school districts in which the portion of Latino teachers equals or exceeds that of Latino students : 0.1

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which the NFL first required teams to interview candidates of color for every available head coaching job : 2003

[Harper’s Index]

Number of head coaches of color employed by the NFL at the time : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to frame research findings in top scientific journals with positive adjectives : 21

[Harper’s Index]

By which the use of a positive adjective in a paper title or abstract increases subsequent citations in those journals : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think that the Chinese government is sometimes or very often a source of disinformation : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Number of fact-checking organizations that were active in 2014 : 103

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of Donald Trump among the most admired men in America : 1

Readings

Download PDF

[Essay]

Ring of Fire

by Jordan Kisner,

[Patient History]

Mammary Lapse

[Recollection]

Koftaesque

by Witold Szabłowski,Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones,

[Account]

At the Mind’s Limits

by David Stavrou,

[Lyrics]

Mr. Me Too

[Vision]

A Walk to Remember

by Fenton Johnson,

[Vocab]

Troys and Girls

by Anne Carson,

[Profiles]

Nighthawks at the Dunkin’

by Jeff Sharlet,

[Poem]

Electric

by Emily Skillings,

[Trash]

Moby Sick

Heaven Is a Place, a painting by Arghavan Khosravi, whose work was on view last month at Stems Gallery, in Brussels.

The Occult Enthusiast, a painting by Hernan Bas, whose work was on view in January at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong/New York City/Seoul. Photo: Silvia Ros

Untitled, pencil and bleach on paper mounted on canvas from the series Les dessouvenus, by Tatiana Trouvé, whose work was on view in January at Gagosian, in Beverly Hills, California.

“A Little Piece of My Heart,” a photograph by Giovanni Ozzola, whose work is on view this month at Galleria Continua, in Boissy-le-Châtel, France.

Courtesy the artist and Galleria Continua, Beijing/Boissy-Le-Châtel, France/Havana/San Gimignano, Italy

Heaven Is a Place, a painting by Arghavan Khosravi, whose work was on view last month at Stems Gallery, in Brussels.

The Occult Enthusiast, a painting by Hernan Bas, whose work was on view in January at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong/New York City/Seoul. Photo: Silvia Ros

Untitled, pencil and bleach on paper mounted on canvas from the series Les dessouvenus, by Tatiana Trouvé, whose work was on view in January at Gagosian, in Beverly Hills, California.