October 2020 Issue | Harper's Magazine

By Don DeLillo,

[Letter from Minneapolis]

On Justice and Open Debate

By Harper’s Magazine,

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of registered U.S. voters who said in 2016 they would consider moving to Canada if Donald Trump were elected : 28

[Harper’s Index]

Number of Americans who have done so since then : 33,965

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of recording artists who have sent cease-and-desist letters to the Trump campaign for using their music at rallies : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the win rate of professional soccer teams playing at home when the stadium is empty : -23

[Harper’s Index]

In the penalty rate : +21

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which white players are more likely than black players to be praised for their hard work on European soccer broadcasts : 1.5

[Harper’s Index]

By which black players are more likely to be praised for their strength : 6.6

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of Americans who have participated in Black Lives Matter protests this year : 15,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the annual number of people killed by U.S. police officers has fallen in rural areas since 2013 : 29

[Harper’s Index]

By which it has increased in urban areas : 33

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of trademark applications for Black Lives Matter that were filed following George Floyd’s death : 26

[Harper’s Index]

That had been filed over the previous five years : 18

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of white Americans who say the benefits of experimental medical treatments outweigh the risks : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Of black Americans who say the risks outweigh the benefits : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Date on which the FDA approved the first prescription video game, for the treatment of ADHD : 6/15/2020

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the portion of Americans who believe that polygamy is morally acceptable has increased since 2005 : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans aged 20 to 31 who violated stay-at-home orders in April to have sex : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Number of countries whose governments have released contact-tracing apps : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Amount that Qataris are fined for failing to download their government’s app : $55,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Qataris who have downloaded it : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of Colombians killed by drug cartels or paramilitary groups for failing to observe social distancing : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Amount Uzbekistan is offering to compensate foreigners who contract COVID-19 while visiting the country : $3,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount the United States has received in coronavirus-related humanitarian aid from Lithuania : $113,690

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the U.S. Mint has increased coin production since June in response to shortages : 65

[Harper’s Index]

Number of additional coins it is producing each month : 650,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a packaged food, beverage, or household good is out of stock in a U.S. supermarket : 1 in 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Dollar General’s stock price has increased since the start of the pandemic : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a U.S. household missed a rent or mortgage payment in July : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage decrease in the money that migrant workers from low- and middle-income countries will send home this year : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of fossil-fuel companies that have received COVID-19 relief aid from the U.S. government : 7,283

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum value of stimulus checks sent to deceased Americans this spring : $1,600,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of those payments that the federal government has yet to recover : $600,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American households that have spent their stimulus checks : 70

[Harper’s Index]

That have used the money to pay off debt : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who have delayed or are considering delaying retirement because of the pandemic : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Of U.S. women aged 18 to 49 who plan to postpone or forgo pregnancy : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of British smokers who have quit since the pandemic began : 1,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which someone with Neanderthal genes is more likely to suffer severe respiratory illness from COVID-19 : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which unprovoked shark attacks on humans outnumbered provoked attacks last year : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum number of hours by which the irrational behavior of animals has been observed to predict a major earthquake : 20

Readings

[Essay]

A photograph of thermal blankets insulating an ice grotto tourist attraction in the Rhône Glacier, in Switzerland, by Simon Norfolk and Klaus Thymann. Their work is on view this month at BredaPhoto, in Breda, the Netherlands.

Roma, Testaccio

Roma, Testaccio, a painting by Los Bravú (the artists Dea Gómez and Diego Omil), whose work was on view in March at Volta New York.

“Valinda, Los Angeles 7/18/1981”

“Valinda, Los Angeles 7/18/1981,” a photograph by Simone Kappeler, from her monograph Simone Kappeler–America 1981, which was published in August by Scheidegger and Spiess.

Area code

Area code, a painting by Ena Swansea, whose work was on view in January at Robilant + Voena Gallery, in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

[Editor’s Desk]

October 2020

Time to Destination

From the novel The Silence

The Sanctuary

Life in a cop-free zone

On Justice and Open Debate

Percentage of registered U.S. voters who said in 2016 they would consider moving to Canada if Donald Trump were elected : 28

Number of Americans who have done so since then : 33,965

Minimum number of recording artists who have sent cease-and-desist letters to the Trump campaign for using their music at rallies : 9

Percentage change in the win rate of professional soccer teams playing at home when the stadium is empty : -23

In the penalty rate : +21

Factor by which white players are more likely than black players to be praised for their hard work on European soccer broadcasts : 1.5

By which black players are more likely to be praised for their strength : 6.6

Estimated number of Americans who have participated in Black Lives Matter protests this year : 15,000,000

Percentage by which the annual number of people killed by U.S. police officers has fallen in rural areas since 2013 : 29

By which it has increased in urban areas : 33

Minimum number of trademark applications for Black Lives Matter that were filed following George Floyd’s death : 26

That had been filed over the previous five years : 18

Portion of white Americans who say the benefits of experimental medical treatments outweigh the risks : 2/3

Of black Americans who say the risks outweigh the benefits : 2/3

Date on which the FDA approved the first prescription video game, for the treatment of ADHD : 6/15/2020

Factor by which the portion of Americans who believe that polygamy is morally acceptable has increased since 2005 : 4

Portion of Americans aged 20 to 31 who violated stay-at-home orders in April to have sex : 1/4

Number of countries whose governments have released contact-tracing apps : 47

Amount that Qataris are fined for failing to download their government’s app : $55,000

Percentage of Qataris who have downloaded it : 92

Minimum number of Colombians killed by drug cartels or paramilitary groups for failing to observe social distancing : 8

Amount Uzbekistan is offering to compensate foreigners who contract COVID-19 while visiting the country : $3,000

Amount the United States has received in coronavirus-related humanitarian aid from Lithuania : $113,690

Percentage by which the U.S. Mint has increased coin production since June in response to shortages : 65

Number of additional coins it is producing each month : 650,000,000

Chance that a packaged food, beverage, or household good is out of stock in a U.S. supermarket : 1 in 10

Percentage by which Dollar General’s stock price has increased since the start of the pandemic : 23

Chance that a U.S. household missed a rent or mortgage payment in July : 1 in 3

Estimated percentage decrease in the money that migrant workers from low- and middle-income countries will send home this year : 20

Minimum number of fossil-fuel companies that have received COVID-19 relief aid from the U.S. government : 7,283

Minimum value of stimulus checks sent to deceased Americans this spring : $1,600,000,000

Amount of those payments that the federal government has yet to recover : $600,000,000

Percentage of American households that have spent their stimulus checks : 70

That have used the money to pay off debt : 16

Portion of U.S. adults who have delayed or are considering delaying retirement because of the pandemic : 2/5

Of U.S. women aged 18 to 49 who plan to postpone or forgo pregnancy : 1/3

Estimated number of British smokers who have quit since the pandemic began : 1,000,000

Percentage by which someone with Neanderthal genes is more likely to suffer severe respiratory illness from COVID-19 : 70

Percentage by which unprovoked shark attacks on humans outnumbered provoked attacks last year : 56

Maximum number of hours by which the irrational behavior of animals has been observed to predict a major earthquake : 20

Readings

No Time But the Present

Save the Whales

The Trouble with Angels

Motherboard Issues

Not Throwing Away My Yacht

Brute Force

Mortgage-backed Insecurities

Hawthorne

Le Nozze

B-Sighs

Roma, Testaccio

“Valinda, Los Angeles 7/18/1981”

Area code

The Letter and Its Discontents

On Justice and Open Debate

A Game of Chance

Harper’s Index

The Sanctuary

Life in a cop-free zone

Life During Wartime

On Defense

Twenty-five years of fighting mass incarceration in court

If I’m to Go

How to fight a deportation

Perfect Storm

When is it time to abandon a place to climate change?

I Imitate You

America’s Game

The reprise and demise of the XFL

Reason Not the Need

Self-storage and the dream of infinite space

Time to Destination

From the novel The Silence

Recent toilet-paper hoarding was more prevalent among Americans than Europeans and more prevalent among the old than the young.

Ostrich-shell beads indicating the onset of the Initial Upper Paleolithic were found to have reached Shuidonggou by 39000 bc, and strontium isotope levels revealed the social exchange of ostrich-shell beads during the Late Quaternary in the Karoo Supergroup.

Hemotoxic snakebite may be treatable with a heavy-metal chelator.

The mating calls of male Panama cross-banded tree frogs are synchronized to confuse bats and midges.

Peatlands, which now store roughly as much carbon as Earth’s forests or its atmosphere, can hold more carbon if exposed to low-intensity fires.

Terrestrial bacteria can grow on extraterrestrial nutrients; the black hole nearest Earth was discovered in the constellation Telescopium; and X-ray experiments conducted at the European Synchrotron indicated that moisture is destroying The Scream.

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.