May 2021

by James Harkin,

[Letter from Terre Haute]

The Silent Type

On (possibly) being Bob Dylan’s son

by Sam Sussman,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past year in the membership of the Optimist International club : -9

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who regard Donald Trump as the best president in American history : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of 2020 Trump voters who feel more loyal to Trump than to the Republican Party : 54

[Harper’s Index]

Who would support a Trump party over the Republican Party : 46

[Harper’s Index]

Who believe that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was largely inspired by Antifa : 58

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries that have criminalized spreading misinformation : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of people in China who have been arrested for producing fake COVID-19 vaccines : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Number of doses produced by one man arrested in February : 58,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which declaring the intent to get a vaccine on OkCupid increases an American user’s chance of receiving a like : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated minimum number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths prevented by local moratoriums on evictions and utility shutoffs : 57,000

[Harper’s Index]

That would have been prevented had the entire country adopted such moratoriums : 170,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in life-insurance applications from Americans under age 49 : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of identified long-term effects from contracting COVID-19 : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of currently unemployed Americans who have considered changing careers : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of men working from home who would feel comfortable returning to the workplace when it reopens : 77

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in average U.S. household spending on streaming services since the onset of the pandemic : +24

[Harper’s Index]

Average increase in the number of streaming services an American household now subscribes to : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of directly held stock owned by the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe the stock market is rigged against amateur investors : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of long-term day traders who ultimately lose money : 97

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think the stock market does a good job of measuring the country’s economic health : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of energy, in terawatt-hours, used each year in the production of bitcoin : 121

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of energy used in bitcoin production that is generated by nonrenewable sources : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which a solar farm was more expensive to build and maintain than a coal plant in 2009 : 3.2

[Harper’s Index]

By which a coal plant is more expensive to build and maintain than a solar farm today : 2.2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated cost of stabilizing biodiversity by 2050 if measures are taken immediately : $7,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

If measures are taken ten years from now : $15,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of countries that consume more resources than their ecosystems can regenerate : 74

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of Earths that humanity would require to sustain its current level of resource consumption : 1.6

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which humanity is expected to require two Earths : 2030

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years that have passed since Earth previously reached today’s average temperature : 12,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of days by which climate change has lengthened the duration of allergy season since 1990 : 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about climate change’s impact on their mental health : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past year in the membership of the Optimist International club : -9

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who regard Donald Trump as the best president in American history : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of 2020 Trump voters who feel more loyal to Trump than to the Republican Party : 54

[Harper’s Index]

Who would support a Trump party over the Republican Party : 46

[Harper’s Index]

Who believe that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was largely inspired by Antifa : 58

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries that have criminalized spreading misinformation : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of people in China who have been arrested for producing fake COVID-19 vaccines : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Number of doses produced by one man arrested in February : 58,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which declaring the intent to get a vaccine on OkCupid increases an American user’s chance of receiving a like : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated minimum number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths prevented by local moratoriums on evictions and utility shutoffs : 57,000

[Harper’s Index]

That would have been prevented had the entire country adopted such moratoriums : 170,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in life-insurance applications from Americans under age 49 : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of identified long-term effects from contracting COVID-19 : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of currently unemployed Americans who have considered changing careers : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of men working from home who would feel comfortable returning to the workplace when it reopens : 77

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in average U.S. household spending on streaming services since the onset of the pandemic : +24

[Harper’s Index]

Average increase in the number of streaming services an American household now subscribes to : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of directly held stock owned by the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe the stock market is rigged against amateur investors : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of long-term day traders who ultimately lose money : 97

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think the stock market does a good job of measuring the country’s economic health : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of energy, in terawatt-hours, used each year in the production of bitcoin : 121

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of energy used in bitcoin production that is generated by nonrenewable sources : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which a solar farm was more expensive to build and maintain than a coal plant in 2009 : 3.2

[Harper’s Index]

By which a coal plant is more expensive to build and maintain than a solar farm today : 2.2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated cost of stabilizing biodiversity by 2050 if measures are taken immediately : $7,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

If measures are taken ten years from now : $15,000,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of countries that consume more resources than their ecosystems can regenerate : 74

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of Earths that humanity would require to sustain its current level of resource consumption : 1.6

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which humanity is expected to require two Earths : 2030

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years that have passed since Earth previously reached today’s average temperature : 12,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of days by which climate change has lengthened the duration of allergy season since 1990 : 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about climate change’s impact on their mental health : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past year in the membership of the Optimist International club : -9

Readings

[Essay]

The Sorrows of Young Wörter

Translated by John Sherman,

[Style Guide]

Mixed-media artworks by Sandi Haber Fifield from her monograph The Certainty of Nothing, which was published in January. Haber Fifield’s work is on view at Yancey Richardson Gallery, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York City

Birdsong, a painting by Angel Otero, whose work was on view in March at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City.

“London,” a photograph by Jacques Henri Lartigue, whose work is on view with 28 Vignon Street.

Never Ending Line II, a painting by Oska Gutheil, whose work was on view in March at Josh Lilley, in London.

“Toi, Toi,” a photograph by Musa N. Nxumalo, whose work was on view last year at SMAC Gallery, in Cape Town, South Africa. Nxumalo’s work is featured in The Journey: New Positions in African Photography, which was published last month by Kerber Verlag.