March 2021

by Martin Scorsese,

[Story]

False Prophets

How to forge a Dead Sea Scroll

by Madeleine Schwartz,

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[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the use of the phrase “technical difficulties” during corporate earnings calls : 310

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of new users who registered with the stock-trading app Robinhood between January and April last year : 3,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of these users who were first-time investors : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Amount contractors on the TaskRabbit service earned last year by waiting in line for other people : $81,963

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the amount of money raised on GoFundMe for rent, utilities, and groceries : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the fifty largest U.S. companies that have turned a profit since the onset of the pandemic : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Net change in December in the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry : -498,000

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of employees Amazon hired each day from January to October last year : 1,333

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a consumer in Southeast Asia bought products online for the first time during the pandemic : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of countries that will be poorer per capita in 2100 than they would have been without climate change : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Projected percentage change in average income by 2100 in the poorest 20 percent of countries : -75

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated ratio of the mass of man-made materials to the planet’s total biomass in 1900 : 3:100

[Harper’s Index]

Degrees Celsius by which the COVID-19 lockdowns are projected to lower the average global temperature in 2050 : 0.01

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of parents aged 27 to 45 and concerned about climate change who have a “negative vision of the future” : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people worldwide who have lost weight during the pandemic : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in China’s obesity rate since 2002 : 131

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum amount that China has proposed fining social-media influencers who post evidence of overeating : $15,300

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the frequency of “arrests with force” made by NYPD officers when they are equipped with body cameras : +1.9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the mortality rate in large U.S. jails over the past decade : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of inmates who died during that period who were awaiting trial : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which elderly patients are more likely to die during or after emergency surgery performed on the surgeon’s birthday : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that 2021 will be better than 2020 for them personally : 44

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the use of the phrase “technical difficulties” during corporate earnings calls : 310

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of new users who registered with the stock-trading app Robinhood between January and April last year : 3,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of these users who were first-time investors : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Amount contractors on the TaskRabbit service earned last year by waiting in line for other people : $81,963

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the amount of money raised on GoFundMe for rent, utilities, and groceries : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the fifty largest U.S. companies that have turned a profit since the onset of the pandemic : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Net change in December in the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry : -498,000

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of employees Amazon hired each day from January to October last year : 1,333

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a consumer in Southeast Asia bought products online for the first time during the pandemic : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of countries that will be poorer per capita in 2100 than they would have been without climate change : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Projected percentage change in average income by 2100 in the poorest 20 percent of countries : -75

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated ratio of the mass of man-made materials to the planet’s total biomass in 1900 : 3:100

[Harper’s Index]

Degrees Celsius by which the COVID-19 lockdowns are projected to lower the average global temperature in 2050 : 0.01

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of parents aged 27 to 45 and concerned about climate change who have a “negative vision of the future” : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people worldwide who have lost weight during the pandemic : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in China’s obesity rate since 2002 : 131

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum amount that China has proposed fining social-media influencers who post evidence of overeating : $15,300

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the frequency of “arrests with force” made by NYPD officers when they are equipped with body cameras : +1.9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the mortality rate in large U.S. jails over the past decade : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of inmates who died during that period who were awaiting trial : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which elderly patients are more likely to die during or after emergency surgery performed on the surgeon’s birthday : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage increase in the number of U.S. deaths last year : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which the United States last saw so great an increase : 1918

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which U.S. life expectancy declined in 2020 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that 2021 will be better than 2020 for them personally : 44

Readings

[Essay]

Putin on Your Pants

by Konstantin Borisovich Kudryavtsev, Alexei Navalny,

[Oral History]

Chipotle Misérables

by Brett Bachman,Translated by Eduardo Zevallos,

[Dialogue]

Traduttore, Traditore!

by Mikaël Gómez Guthart, Ariana Harwicz,Translated by Sarah Moses,

[Footnotes]

In Lieu of Keen Virtue, a painting by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, whose work is on view at Tate Britain, in London. From Lynette Yiadom- Boakye: Fly in League with the Night, which was published last year by Tate Publishing and D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers.

Ripple (Times Zero), a mixed-media artwork by Sarah Sze, whose work is on view at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, in Paris.

A photograph by Andy Sewell, from his book Known and Strange Things Pass, which was published last year by Skinnerboox.

“Books” and “Smoke Bomb,” photographs by Debi Cornwall from her monograph Necessary Fictions, which was published last year by Radius Books. Cornwall’s work was on view last month at Candela Books + Gallery, in Richmond, Virginia.