June 2021

by William Deresiewicz,

[Letter from Los Angeles]

The Anxiety of Influencers

Educating the TikTok generation

by Barrett Swanson,

[Essay]

Prayer for a Just War

Finding meaning in the climate fight

by Greg Jackson,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of number-one pop songs that credited a single songwriter in 1990 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the average length of a hit single has decreased since 1990 : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of jobs in California’s arts and culture industry that have been lost during the pandemic : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of jobs in New York City’s arts and culture industry : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the value of the global art and antiques market last year : –22

[Harper’s Index]

In the value of the NFT market during the first quarter of this year : +2,053

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Republicans who held negative opinions of technology companies in 2019 : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of former Justice Department officials hired by Amazon in the past ten years : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which judges who are former corporate lawyers are less likely to side with workers in labor disputes : 43

[Harper’s Index]

By which judges who are former prosecutors are less likely to do so : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of appellate judges who were formerly prosecutors or corporate lawyers : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. workers who were projected, before the pandemic, to be displaced by automation by 2030 : 36,900,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Swiss voters who supported a March initiative to ban women from wearing niqabs or burqas in public : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. state legislatures that are considering new voting restrictions : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which the rate of police killings in a U.S. city decreases one year after its first Black Lives Matter protest : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Five years after its first Black Lives Matter protest : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters who are “extremely concerned” about Trump supporters : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Who are “extremely concerned” about voter suppression : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which the option to vote by mail increased voter turnout in Texas last year : 0.02

[Harper’s Index]

Amount by which utility deregulation has increased electricity costs for Texans since 2004 : $28,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

By which electricity providers overcharged Texans during February’s winter storm : $16,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. electric-car owners who are concerned about being able to charge their vehicles on the road : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. electric-car charging outlets that are in California : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which streaming video in standard rather than high definition reduces its carbon footprint : 86

[Harper’s Index]

By which turning off the camera during a Zoom call reduces its carbon footprint : 96

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of state governments that are funding efforts to modify the weather with cloud seeding : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Number by which the sperm count of the average human male is declining each year : 5,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which human sperm counts will reach zero at the current rate : 2045

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the projected number of U.S. births this year : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of single Americans who say they are masturbating more than once a day : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of number-one pop songs that credited a single songwriter in 1990 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the average length of a hit single has decreased since 1990 : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of jobs in California’s arts and culture industry that have been lost during the pandemic : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Of jobs in New York City’s arts and culture industry : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the value of the global art and antiques market last year : –22

[Harper’s Index]

In the value of the NFT market during the first quarter of this year : +2,053

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Republicans who held negative opinions of technology companies in 2019 : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of former Justice Department officials hired by Amazon in the past ten years : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which judges who are former corporate lawyers are less likely to side with workers in labor disputes : 43

[Harper’s Index]

By which judges who are former prosecutors are less likely to do so : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of appellate judges who were formerly prosecutors or corporate lawyers : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. workers who were projected, before the pandemic, to be displaced by automation by 2030 : 36,900,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Swiss voters who supported a March initiative to ban women from wearing niqabs or burqas in public : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. state legislatures that are considering new voting restrictions : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which the rate of police killings in a U.S. city decreases one year after its first Black Lives Matter protest : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Five years after its first Black Lives Matter protest : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters who are “extremely concerned” about Trump supporters : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Who are “extremely concerned” about voter suppression : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which the option to vote by mail increased voter turnout in Texas last year : 0.02

[Harper’s Index]

Amount by which utility deregulation has increased electricity costs for Texans since 2004 : $28,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

By which electricity providers overcharged Texans during February’s winter storm : $16,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. electric-car owners who are concerned about being able to charge their vehicles on the road : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. electric-car charging outlets that are in California : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which streaming video in standard rather than high definition reduces its carbon footprint : 86

[Harper’s Index]

By which turning off the camera during a Zoom call reduces its carbon footprint : 96

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of state governments that are funding efforts to modify the weather with cloud seeding : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Number by which the sperm count of the average human male is declining each year : 5,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which human sperm counts will reach zero at the current rate : 2045

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the projected number of U.S. births this year : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of single Americans who say they are masturbating more than once a day : 30

Readings

[Essay]

Blood Ties

by Sarah Schulman,

[Instructions]

A Man’s World

[Seminar]

Cult of Hospitality

[Feedback]

Sweet Om Alabama

[Confessions]

Diary of a Country’s Priest

by Vincent Mongaillard,Translated by Max Norman,

[Financial Instruments]

Crock Market

[Trial]

Without Precedent

[Lawsuit]

Hard Pill to Swallow

[Performance]

The King in Queens

by Ly Tran,

[Menu]

Staples Foods

[Definitions]

Terms of Estrangement

Edited by Jesse Sheidlower,

[Instrument]

Bones to Pick

[Fiction]

Wealth of Memory

by E. C. Osondu,

[Poem]

Code Vein Magic

by Barry Schwabsky,

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Untitled (A Map of the British Empire in America), a mixed-media artwork by Firelei Báez, whose work is on view through September with the National Museum Cardiff, in Wales.

A photograph by Susan Kandel from her monograph At Home, which was published last month by Stanley/Barker.

With Strings Attached, a painting by Maud Madsen, whose work was on view in April at 1969 Gallery, in New York City.

Laundromat, a painting by Paige Jiyoung Moon, whose work will be on view in November at Steve Turner Gallery, in Los Angeles.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Untitled (A Map of the British Empire in America), a mixed-media artwork by Firelei Báez, whose work is on view through September with the National Museum Cardiff, in Wales.

A photograph by Susan Kandel from her monograph At Home, which was published last month by Stanley/Barker.

With Strings Attached, a painting by Maud Madsen, whose work was on view in April at 1969 Gallery, in New York City.

Laundromat, a painting by Paige Jiyoung Moon, whose work will be on view in November at Steve Turner Gallery, in Los Angeles.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.

Photograph from Guatemala City by Juan Brenner, from his monograph The Ravine, the Virgin, and the Spring, which will be reissued this month by Pomegranate Press.