February 2021 Issue | Harper's Magazine

Life After Trump

By Charles Yu, Mike Jaccarino, A. S. Hamrah, Eileen Myles, Judith Martin, Olivia Laing, Yinka Elujoba, Lauren Oyler, Jane Hu, Liane Carlson, David Owen, Christian Lorentzen, Christopher Beha,

[Letter from Washington]

Hard Times

Will America recover under Biden?

By Andrew Cockburn,

[Annotation]

Signs of the Covenant

The old media of the ultra-Orthodox

By Jamie Levin, Sarah Treleaven,

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount spent on 2020 campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House : $14,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this exceeds the previous record for an election year : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of global tax revenue lost each year to companies that incorporate in tax havens : $245,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

To individuals who store their assets in tax havens : $182,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Who plan to use them less often : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that were covered by a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system last year : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Area, in square kilometers, of the hole in the ozone layer produced by the Australian wildfires last year : 800,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the smoke plumes from those fires decreased the amount of sunlight reaching Australia : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans in a relationship who keep some of their money secret from their partner : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of money those Americans keep secret : $2,006

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated total value of federal COVID-19 loans that were paid out to fraudulent or ineligible applicants : $71,400,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries that have placed restrictions on news organizations during the pandemic : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Of countries where activists have reported police violence as a component of the pandemic response : 59

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American knew someone who died of COVID-19 last year : 1 in 2

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum percentage by which the U.S. birth rate is expected to fall this year : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American travelers who do not support opening their own communities to visitors : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Who hesitate to travel for fear that they would not be welcome at their destinations : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who plan to use their cars more often after the pandemic ends than they did before it began : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of carbon, in metric tons, produced each year by the sending and receiving of emails : 12,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

By the sending and receiving of text messages : 7,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that are caused by the health care industry : 4.6

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those emissions for which the United States is responsible : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. health care facilities that regularly test their employees for COVID-19 : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of U.S. companies overall that do : 1/6

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which U.S. health care workers have requested leave more often since the onset of the pandemic : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. doctors who have closed their practices since then : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. doctors and nurse clinicians who have retired early or plan to do so because of the pandemic : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. workers over 55 who plan to delay their retirement because of the pandemic : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of senior White House jobs that turned over during the Trump presidency : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of those jobs that did so more than once : 39

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an outgoing senior White House employee was fired or pressured into resigning : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. remote employees who say they have been working harder than ever : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they have not felt as appreciated by their employer since they began working remotely : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease, in the first half of 2020, in direct foreign investment in the United States : 61

[Harper’s Index]

In China : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the American economy is expected to contract this year : 4.3

[Harper’s Index]

By which the Chinese economy is expected to expand : 1.9

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of documentaries that the Chinese government has produced about Wuhan’s response to the coronavirus : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Of animated shorts : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Of operas : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of Amazon employees worldwide exceeds the population of Wyoming : 2

Readings

[Essay]

The Left Behind

By Rachel Kushner,

[Harassment]

My Scummy Valentine

[Screenplay]

The Rival

By Terry Southern,

[Press Release]

Grand Slam

[Poem]

Red Wall

By Yi Lei, Translated by Tracy K. Smith, Changtai Bi,

[Personal Ads]

American Dreamers

[Letter]

A Unified Theory

By Thomas Brennan,

[Negotiation]

MAGA Carta

[Memoir]

An Honest Living

By Billy Wilder, Edited by Noah Isenberg, Translated by Shelley Frisch,

[Responses]

Immodest Proposal

[Methodology]

Head Over Heels

[Author’s Note]

The Double Role

By Maria Stepanova, Sasha Dugdale,

[Fiction]

Last Cigarette

By Roberto Bolaño, Translated by Natasha Wimmer,

[Rules]

New World Orders

[Evaluation]

Infertility Clinic

By Dawn Wooten,

Pharaoh’s Dance

Pharaoh’s Dance, a painting by Sanam Khatibi, whose work was on view last month at Rodolphe Janssen, in Brussels.

Courtesy the artist and Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels

Photograph by Carolyn Drake from her monograph Knit Club, which was published last year by TBW Books.

La Casa del Mar Menor

La Casa del Mar Menor, a mixed-media artwork by Mar Hernández, whose work was on view in September at White Noise, in Rome.

Tom, His Family, and His Friends

Tom, His Family, and His Friends, a painting by Liu Xiaodong, whose work is on view through May at Dallas Contemporary.

“A New Life”

“A New Life,” a photograph by Diana Markosian from her monograph Santa Barbara, which was published last year by Aperture. Markosian’s work is on view through June at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Departure (After El Lissitzky)

Departure (After El Lissitzky), a mixed-media artwork by Mernet Larsen, whose work was on view last month at James Cohan, in New York City.

[Letters]

February 2021

Life After Trump

Hard Times

Will America recover under Biden?

Signs of the Covenant

The old media of the ultra-Orthodox

Estimated amount spent on 2020 campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House : $14,000,000,000

Factor by which this exceeds the previous record for an election year : 2

Estimated amount of global tax revenue lost each year to companies that incorporate in tax havens : $245,000,000,000

To individuals who store their assets in tax havens : $182,000,000,000

Who plan to use them less often : 10

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that were covered by a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system last year : 22

Area, in square kilometers, of the hole in the ozone layer produced by the Australian wildfires last year : 800,000

Percentage by which the smoke plumes from those fires decreased the amount of sunlight reaching Australia : 90

Percentage of Americans in a relationship who keep some of their money secret from their partner : 37

Average amount of money those Americans keep secret : $2,006

Estimated total value of federal COVID-19 loans that were paid out to fraudulent or ineligible applicants : $71,400,000,000

Minimum number of countries that have placed restrictions on news organizations during the pandemic : 91

Of countries where activists have reported police violence as a component of the pandemic response : 59

Chance that an American knew someone who died of COVID-19 last year : 1 in 2

Minimum percentage by which the U.S. birth rate is expected to fall this year : 8

Percentage of American travelers who do not support opening their own communities to visitors : 37

Who hesitate to travel for fear that they would not be welcome at their destinations : 25

Percentage of Americans who plan to use their cars more often after the pandemic ends than they did before it began : 41

Estimated amount of carbon, in metric tons, produced each year by the sending and receiving of emails : 12,000,000

By the sending and receiving of text messages : 7,000,000

Estimated percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions that are caused by the health care industry : 4.6

Portion of those emissions for which the United States is responsible : 1/4

Portion of U.S. health care facilities that regularly test their employees for COVID-19 : 1/2

Of U.S. companies overall that do : 1/6

Factor by which U.S. health care workers have requested leave more often since the onset of the pandemic : 4

Percentage of U.S. doctors who have closed their practices since then : 8

Portion of U.S. doctors and nurse clinicians who have retired early or plan to do so because of the pandemic : 1/5

Percentage of U.S. workers over 55 who plan to delay their retirement because of the pandemic : 13

Percentage of senior White House jobs that turned over during the Trump presidency : 91

Percentage of those jobs that did so more than once : 39

Chance that an outgoing senior White House employee was fired or pressured into resigning : 1 in 4

Portion of U.S. remote employees who say they have been working harder than ever : 7/10

Who say they have not felt as appreciated by their employer since they began working remotely : 1/2

Percentage decrease, in the first half of 2020, in direct foreign investment in the United States : 61

In China : 4

Percentage by which the American economy is expected to contract this year : 4.3

By which the Chinese economy is expected to expand : 1.9

Minimum number of documentaries that the Chinese government has produced about Wuhan’s response to the coronavirus : 21

Of animated shorts : 1

Of operas : 1

Factor by which the number of Amazon employees worldwide exceeds the population of Wyoming : 2

Readings

The Left Behind

My Scummy Valentine

The Rival

Grand Slam

Red Wall

American Dreamers

A Unified Theory

MAGA Carta

An Honest Living

Immodest Proposal

Head Over Heels

The Double Role

Last Cigarette

New World Orders

Infertility Clinic

Pharaoh’s Dance

La Casa del Mar Menor

Tom, His Family, and His Friends

“A New Life”

Departure (After El Lissitzky)

Letters

Shades of Blue

Harper’s Index

Hard Times

Will America recover under Biden?

The Adversary

Life After Trump

Stowaways

Madagascar reckons with an invasive crayfish

Signs of the Covenant

The old media of the ultra-Orthodox

Detail of the Rice Chest

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.