December 2020

by Lena Dunham,

[Report]

Skin in the Game

Wall Street’s answer to the student-debt crisis

by Avi Asher-Schapiro,

[Essay]

The Silenced Majority

Can America still afford democracy?

by Rana Dasgupta,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Americans are more likely to say that this summer was the worst of their lives than the best : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Hypothetical median income of full-time U.S. workers if income were distributed as evenly as it was in 1975 : $92,000

[Harper’s Index]

Actual median income of full-time U.S. workers : $50,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since last year in the number of U.S. homes for sale : -35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 who live with one or both of their parents : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of this percentage among the highest ever recorded in the United States : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who believe that someone will become a trillionaire during their lifetime : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of unpaid taxes that are owed by the richest one percent of Americans : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the richest one percent of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 50 percent : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Metric tons by which Donald Trump’s deregulatory policies will increase greenhouse-gas concentrations by 2035 : 1,800,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this exceeds Germany’s annual emissions output : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of utility companies worldwide that are expanding the production of gas or coal more quickly than renewables : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who have been exposed to unhealthy air this year as a result of wildfires : 1/7

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the twenty largest wildfires in California’s history that occurred this year : 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think climate change poses a risk to people living in the United States : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of coronavirus deaths that the average American believes occur among those aged 44 and younger : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of coronavirus deaths that have occurred among those aged 44 and younger : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans with symptomatic COVID-19 who deny having symptoms when asked by others : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely to try to conceal their symptoms than women : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which someone who trusts Fox News more than CNN was more likely in May to visit someone else’s home : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Democratic or Democratic-leaning Americans who are trying to “tune out” coronavirus news : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Of Republican or Republican-leaning Americans who are : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of immigrant television characters last year who were portrayed as victims or perpetrators of a crime : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Who were portrayed as undocumented or seeking asylum : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of U.S. immigrants who are undocumented or seeking asylum : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people arrested by the NYPD before the department implemented racial-bias training who were black : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage after the department implemented racial-bias training who were : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who think integrating the suburbs would “very likely” lead to more crime and lower property values : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Who consider those outcomes “not at all likely” : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. Black Lives Matter protests in which no people were harmed and no property was damaged : 93

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that protests by athletes make them less likely to watch games : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Number of hours it takes for the average American to “unwind” after work on Fridays : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Time on Sundays at which the average American begins to feel anxiety about work : 3:58 pm

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Americans are more likely to say that this summer was the worst of their lives than the best : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Hypothetical median income of full-time U.S. workers if income were distributed as evenly as it was in 1975 : $92,000

[Harper’s Index]

Actual median income of full-time U.S. workers : $50,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since last year in the number of U.S. homes for sale : -35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 who live with one or both of their parents : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of this percentage among the highest ever recorded in the United States : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who believe that someone will become a trillionaire during their lifetime : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of unpaid taxes that are owed by the richest one percent of Americans : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the richest one percent of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 50 percent : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Metric tons by which Donald Trump’s deregulatory policies will increase greenhouse-gas concentrations by 2035 : 1,800,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this exceeds Germany’s annual emissions output : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of utility companies worldwide that are expanding the production of gas or coal more quickly than renewables : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who have been exposed to unhealthy air this year as a result of wildfires : 1/7

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the twenty largest wildfires in California’s history that occurred this year : 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think climate change poses a risk to people living in the United States : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of coronavirus deaths that the average American believes occur among those aged 44 and younger : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of coronavirus deaths that have occurred among those aged 44 and younger : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans with symptomatic COVID-19 who deny having symptoms when asked by others : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely to try to conceal their symptoms than women : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which someone who trusts Fox News more than CNN was more likely in May to visit someone else’s home : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Democratic or Democratic-leaning Americans who are trying to “tune out” coronavirus news : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Of Republican or Republican-leaning Americans who are : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of immigrant television characters last year who were portrayed as victims or perpetrators of a crime : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Who were portrayed as undocumented or seeking asylum : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of U.S. immigrants who are undocumented or seeking asylum : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people arrested by the NYPD before the department implemented racial-bias training who were black : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage after the department implemented racial-bias training who were : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who think integrating the suburbs would “very likely” lead to more crime and lower property values : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Who consider those outcomes “not at all likely” : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. Black Lives Matter protests in which no people were harmed and no property was damaged : 93

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that protests by athletes make them less likely to watch games : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Number of hours it takes for the average American to “unwind” after work on Fridays : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Time on Sundays at which the average American begins to feel anxiety about work : 3:58 pm

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which Americans are more likely to say that this summer was the worst of their lives than the best : 8

Readings

[Essay]

Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles

by Joan Didion,

[Illustrations]

Lowellcats

by Robert Lowell,

[Debate]

A Case of Mistaken Identity

[Correction]

Grounded in Truth

by Jang Un-gyong,Translated by Soyo Hong,

[Housewares]

Gilded by Reason of Insanity

[Request]

Essential Miracle Workers

by Ric Erwin,

[Advertisement]

Friend Zone of Conflict

Edited by Gidi Weitz,

[Gospel]

The New New Testament

[Statements]

The Umpire Strikes Back

[Orders]

Some Like It Scott

[Ruling]

Sleep No More

[Definitions]

Scotched Efforts

by AmaryllisGardener,

[Fiction]

Christmas in Cochinchina

by Joseph Roth,Translated by Michael Z. Wise,

[Rules]

Parental Guidance Suggested

by Edith Pride,

[Poem]

Penelope Waits for Odysseus

by Edmund White,

Lights, a painting by Ben Reeves, whose work was on view in October at Nicholas Metivier Gallery, in Toronto.

Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, a seventeenth-century painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, whose work is on view through January at the National Gallery, in London.

A collage by Ricardo Miguel Hernández from the series When the Memory Turns to Dust. Hernández’s work was on view last month at Isolo17 Gallery, in Verona, Italy.

Domino Hunters, a painting by Denzil Forrester, whose work is on view through January at Spike Island, in Bristol, England.

A photograph by Alessandra Sanguinetti from her monograph The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Illusion of an Everlasting Summer, which was published in September by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK

Lights, a painting by Ben Reeves, whose work was on view in October at Nicholas Metivier Gallery, in Toronto.

Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, a seventeenth-century painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, whose work is on view through January at the National Gallery, in London.

A collage by Ricardo Miguel Hernández from the series When the Memory Turns to Dust. Hernández’s work was on view last month at Isolo17 Gallery, in Verona, Italy.

Domino Hunters, a painting by Denzil Forrester, whose work is on view through January at Spike Island, in Bristol, England.

A photograph by Alessandra Sanguinetti from her monograph The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Illusion of an Everlasting Summer, which was published in September by MACK.

Courtesy the artist and MACK