January 2021

by Ann Patchett,

[Letter from Kyiv]

The Armies of the Right

Inside Ukraine’s extremist militias

by Aris Roussinos,

[Story]

The Souvenir Museum

by Elizabeth McCracken,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of single Americans who have had sex since the coronavirus pandemic began : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those single Americans whose sexual partner was a roommate with whom they were not in a relationship : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of users on Hinge, a dating app, who would enter an exclusive relationship with someone they had only met virtually : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of weddings planned for a date between March and August last year that were rescheduled : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated value of loans taken out by U.S. couples for canceled 2020 weddings : $3,700,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of money that Singapore is offering couples who have a baby during the pandemic : $2,200

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of pregnant women with COVID-19 whose symptoms last for more than two months : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Number of children the Trump Administration separated from their parents at the border whose parents have yet to be located : 666

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of those parents who have been deported without their children : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the word “hate” is said more often on Fox News than on MSNBC : 5.5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who consume news on YouTube : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of YouTube news channels that are oriented around a single person : 44

[Harper’s Index]

That are oriented around someone who achieved fame through YouTube : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. international relations scholars are less likely than the public to view terrorism as a major threat : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Number of countries to which the International Monetary Fund has granted pandemic loans : 81

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of these loan agreements that strongly encourage austerity measures once the crisis has ended : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of Americans with federal student debt who have made progress repaying their loans during the pandemic : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which U.S. lending for home-mortgage refinancing has increased this year : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of celebrities offering to record personalized video messages for a fee on the website Cameo : 40,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of participating celebrities has increased since March : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of hours that U.S. workers saved each day in commuting time from March to September last year : 60,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of this saved time that was spent working : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. employers with remote workers who say that productivity has remained the same or improved : 94

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated global losses in lifetime earnings for students as a result of pandemic school closures : $10,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of white students who live in U.S. school districts whose reopening plans included in-person learning : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 18 to 24 has sought mental-health counseling during the pandemic : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. teenagers who say the events of 2020 have caused them to reconsider what they want to study in college : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Number of masks sold on Etsy between January and September last year : 53,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Etsy’s total sales accounted for by masks during that period : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount, in years, of life that has been lost as a result of COVID-19-related deaths in the United States : 2,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which sales on Minibar, an alcohol e-commerce site, exceeded the average on the day Biden was declared president : 76

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of single Americans who have had sex since the coronavirus pandemic began : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those single Americans whose sexual partner was a roommate with whom they were not in a relationship : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of users on Hinge, a dating app, who would enter an exclusive relationship with someone they had only met virtually : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of weddings planned for a date between March and August last year that were rescheduled : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated value of loans taken out by U.S. couples for canceled 2020 weddings : $3,700,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of money that Singapore is offering couples who have a baby during the pandemic : $2,200

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of pregnant women with COVID-19 whose symptoms last for more than two months : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Number of children the Trump Administration separated from their parents at the border whose parents have yet to be located : 666

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of those parents who have been deported without their children : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the word “hate” is said more often on Fox News than on MSNBC : 5.5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who consume news on YouTube : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of YouTube news channels that are oriented around a single person : 44

[Harper’s Index]

That are oriented around someone who achieved fame through YouTube : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. international relations scholars are less likely than the public to view terrorism as a major threat : 80

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are less likely to view Russia as a major threat : 43

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to view climate change as a major threat : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Number of climate-related disasters worldwide between 1980 and 1999 : 3,656

[Harper’s Index]

Number of countries to which the International Monetary Fund has granted pandemic loans : 81

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of these loan agreements that strongly encourage austerity measures once the crisis has ended : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of Americans with federal student debt who have made progress repaying their loans during the pandemic : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which U.S. lending for home-mortgage refinancing has increased this year : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of celebrities offering to record personalized video messages for a fee on the website Cameo : 40,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of participating celebrities has increased since March : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of hours that U.S. workers saved each day in commuting time from March to September last year : 60,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of this saved time that was spent working : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. employers with remote workers who say that productivity has remained the same or improved : 94

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated global losses in lifetime earnings for students as a result of pandemic school closures : $10,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of white students who live in U.S. school districts whose reopening plans included in-person learning : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 18 to 24 has sought mental-health counseling during the pandemic : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. teenagers who say the events of 2020 have caused them to reconsider what they want to study in college : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Number of masks sold on Etsy between January and September last year : 53,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Etsy’s total sales accounted for by masks during that period : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount, in years, of life that has been lost as a result of COVID-19-related deaths in the United States : 2,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which sales on Minibar, an alcohol e-commerce site, exceeded the average on the day Biden was declared president : 76

Readings

Download PDF

[Essay]

A Mutable Feast

by Karl Ove Knausgaard,Translated by Martin Aitken,

[Priorities]

A Zoom with a View

[Hearing]

Catcher Gone Awry

[Account]

Pour Decisions

by Keith McNally,

[Q&A]

Prize Fighter

[Fiction]

Feel and Hold

by Diane Williams,

[Fossils]

Anals of History

[Prix Fixe]

Hell’s Kitchen

by Steve Thomas,

[Self-Improvement]

Inhale, Execute

[Interrogation]

The Puppet Master

[Revelation]

Fresca and Brimstone

by John MacArthur,

[Poem]

Fr**dom

by Erica Hunt,

[Solutions]

Scorched Earth Policies

[Fiction]

The Fairground

by Dorthe Nors,Translated by Misha Hoekstra,

[Food Criticism]

Sutra Scroll Tie Noodles

by Ryozui Ryosen,Translated by Hajime Yoshizawa, Robert Chapeskie,

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from his cab while working as a taxi driver in New York City in the Seventies and Eighties. From Taxi, which was published last month by powerHouse Books.

Infantile War, a painting by Valerie Chua Sai, whose work was on view in August at La Lanta Fine Art, in Bangkok.

Luminograms from the Birdsong series by Mike Jackson, whose work was on view in November at Foley Gallery, in New York City.

The Mischievous, a painting by Hulda Guzmán, whose work was on view last month at Alexander Berggruen, in New York City.

Still Life with Breast Pump, a mixed-media artwork by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, whose work will be on view in September at James Cohan, in New York City.

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from his cab while working as a taxi driver in New York City in the Seventies and Eighties. From Taxi, which was published last month by powerHouse Books.

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from his cab while working as a taxi driver in New York City in the Seventies and Eighties. From Taxi, which was published last month by powerHouse Books.

Infantile War, a painting by Valerie Chua Sai, whose work was on view in August at La Lanta Fine Art, in Bangkok.

Luminograms from the Birdsong series by Mike Jackson, whose work was on view in November at Foley Gallery, in New York City.

The Mischievous, a painting by Hulda Guzmán, whose work was on view last month at Alexander Berggruen, in New York City.

Still Life with Breast Pump, a mixed-media artwork by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, whose work will be on view in September at James Cohan, in New York City.

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from his cab while working as a taxi driver in New York City in the Seventies and Eighties. From Taxi, which was published last month by powerHouse Books.

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from his cab while working as a taxi driver in New York City in the Seventies and Eighties. From Taxi, which was published last month by powerHouse Books.