July 2020

by Barrett Swanson,

[Letter from Ireland]

Bogland

Climate change and the peat industry’s dying days

by William Atkins,

[Report]

We Shall Not Be Moved

Collective ownership gives power back to poor farmers

by Audrea Lim,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Who want “everything to go back to how it was” when the lockdown is over : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. college enrollment is expected to decline this fall : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which a 2020 college graduate is projected to earn less in their first postgraduate year than a 2019 graduate : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new jobs created in the United States since the end of the Great Recession : 21,275,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new unemployment claims filed in the four weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency : 22,026,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. small-business owners who say their business won’t survive if the COVID-19 crisis lasts six months : 62

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults working from home who would prefer to work in the office after the crisis as often as they did before : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of white workers in the United States who can work from home : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. households earning at least $90,000 per year are more likely to have groceries delivered : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of U.S. restaurants that closed for good in March : 20,000

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American worker stockpiled alcohol in anticipation of having to self-isolate : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of American workers who say they sometimes drink while working from home : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this year in calls to U.S. poison-control centers : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since January in the price of fentanyl in San Diego : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Miles per hour by which the average speed of Los Angeles drivers has increased since February : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they would report social-distancing violations in their neighborhood to law enforcement : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they will still shake hands after COVID-19 has disappeared : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this March in New York City 3-1-1 complaints about “loud talking” : 43

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of unexpected pregnancies attributable to the COVID-19 crisis if lockdowns last through October : 7,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which social isolation increases the mortality rate for men : 62

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of undiscovered viruses infecting wildlife : 1,670,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of children who are at risk of missing the measles vaccine this year because of the pandemic : 117,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated minimum portion of these viruses that could also infect humans : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of state and local health-department jobs that have been eliminated since 2008 because of funding cuts : 56,360

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase during the coronavirus outbreak in the staff assigned to the New York State unemployment call center : 775

[Harper’s Index]

Number of times the average person taps, types, swipes, or clicks on a smartphone each day : 2,617

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since January in the total volume of calls on Verizon’s wireless network : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of British adults under lockdown who have spent more time catching up with friends and family than usual : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Who want “everything to go back to how it was” when the lockdown is over : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. college enrollment is expected to decline this fall : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which a 2020 college graduate is projected to earn less in their first postgraduate year than a 2019 graduate : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new jobs created in the United States since the end of the Great Recession : 21,275,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new unemployment claims filed in the four weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency : 22,026,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. small-business owners who say their business won’t survive if the COVID-19 crisis lasts six months : 62

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults working from home who would prefer to work in the office after the crisis as often as they did before : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of white workers in the United States who can work from home : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. households earning at least $90,000 per year are more likely to have groceries delivered : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of U.S. restaurants that closed for good in March : 20,000

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American worker stockpiled alcohol in anticipation of having to self-isolate : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of American workers who say they sometimes drink while working from home : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this year in calls to U.S. poison-control centers : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since January in the price of fentanyl in San Diego : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Miles per hour by which the average speed of Los Angeles drivers has increased since February : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they would report social-distancing violations in their neighborhood to law enforcement : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they will still shake hands after COVID-19 has disappeared : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this March in New York City 3-1-1 complaints about “loud talking” : 43

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of unexpected pregnancies attributable to the COVID-19 crisis if lockdowns last through October : 7,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which social isolation increases the mortality rate for men : 62

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of undiscovered viruses infecting wildlife : 1,670,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of children who are at risk of missing the measles vaccine this year because of the pandemic : 117,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated minimum portion of these viruses that could also infect humans : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of state and local health-department jobs that have been eliminated since 2008 because of funding cuts : 56,360

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase during the coronavirus outbreak in the staff assigned to the New York State unemployment call center : 775

[Harper’s Index]

Number of times the average person taps, types, swipes, or clicks on a smartphone each day : 2,617

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since January in the total volume of calls on Verizon’s wireless network : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of British adults under lockdown who have spent more time catching up with friends and family than usual : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Who want “everything to go back to how it was” when the lockdown is over : 1/10

Readings

Download PDF

[Essay]

Melancholy Science

by Martin Jay,

[Abstract]

Cat Ladies

[Interview]

Soul Proprietor

[Annals]

Fever Dreams

by Erin Gravley, Grace Gravley,

[Poem]

Night Trees

by Martha Ronk,

[Directives]

Rally of the Dolls

Translated by Syazween Zainal Ariffin,

[Local Customs]

Near-Death Experience

by Judith Schlansky,Translated by Jackie Smith,

[Cartography]

The Hills Have Eyes

[Oral History]

Old Ways

Edited by T. J. Smith,

[Map]

States of Care

[Fiction]

The Gamblers

by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky,Translated by Joanne Turnbull,

[Box Office]

The Last Picture Show

[State Secrets]

Burn After Eating

The Smokers, a painting by Salman Toor, whose work is on view through September at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

“Helen and Camy, Cumberland, Kentucky, 1987,” a photograph by Bertien van Manen, whose work is on view through August at the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam.

Veduta (Sargent), a mixed-media painting by Whitney Bedford, whose work was on view in February at Vielmetter Los Angeles.

Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles

“Satellite Antenna Test Zone,” a photograph by Henrik Spohler, from his monograph Hypothesis, which was published in March by Hartmann Books.

The Smokers, a painting by Salman Toor, whose work is on view through September at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

A photograph by Jason Fulford from his monograph Picture Summer on Kodak Film, which was published in March by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

“Helen and Camy, Cumberland, Kentucky, 1987,” a photograph by Bertien van Manen, whose work is on view through August at the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam.