September 2021

by Joseph Bernstein,

[Essay]

World of Night

by Hale Gurland,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of unruly-passenger incidents on U.S. flights this year that involved face masks : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new microorganisms that have been discovered on urban mass-transit systems since 2016 : 11,676

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which parking demand will decline across the United States by 2050 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Number of New York City parking spots that were converted into outdoor dining areas during the pandemic : 8,550

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. streets closed during the pandemic that have reopened or are scheduled to reopen to traffic : 85

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people admitted to Phoenix’s burn unit last summer after contact with hot asphalt, sidewalks, or sand : 104

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of the world’s mature giant sequoias that were killed in a single wildfire last year : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decline in California’s monarch butterfly population since the 1980s : 99.7

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of additional humans who will be exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes by 2080 : 950,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of serious injuries that occur at Amazon warehouses for every 200,000 hours worked : 5.9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Europeans who would prefer to have packages delivered by a robot or drone instead of a human : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Who would like to see artificial intelligence replace some of their legislative representatives : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of candidates for local office in Mexico this year who were murdered before the June elections : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which atheists are more likely than religious Americans to oppose the death penalty for murder : 76

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who thought religion was gaining influence in the United States a year ago : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change this year in the share of Democrats who regard the country’s moral values as “poor” : –29

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democrats who have a favorable view of critical race theory : 86

[Harper’s Index]

Of Republicans who have an unfavorable view of it : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they have a “good idea” of what it is : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which high-income college applicants are more likely than low-income applicants to write essays about mental health : 1.5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. prisoners who requested compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons during the pandemic last year : 30,969

[Harper’s Index]

Number of these prisoners whose requests were approved : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number who died while their requests were pending : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a European Union resident who received public services last year did so through a personal connection : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the number of families reporting depression and anxiety after the last two rounds of stimulus checks : 20

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of families reporting food shortages : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the sale of vacation homes in the United States : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. millennial homeowners who have “some regrets” about purchasing a house : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Date on which China announced that it would allow couples to have a third child : 5/31/21

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of women surveyed in the central Chinese city of Xi’an who say they would like to have three children : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American men in relationships who think their partner is more attractive than they are : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of unruly-passenger incidents on U.S. flights this year that involved face masks : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new microorganisms that have been discovered on urban mass-transit systems since 2016 : 11,676

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which parking demand will decline across the United States by 2050 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Number of New York City parking spots that were converted into outdoor dining areas during the pandemic : 8,550

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. streets closed during the pandemic that have reopened or are scheduled to reopen to traffic : 85

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people admitted to Phoenix’s burn unit last summer after contact with hot asphalt, sidewalks, or sand : 104

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of the world’s mature giant sequoias that were killed in a single wildfire last year : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decline in California’s monarch butterfly population since the 1980s : 99.7

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of additional humans who will be exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes by 2080 : 950,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of serious injuries that occur at Amazon warehouses for every 200,000 hours worked : 5.9

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Europeans who would prefer to have packages delivered by a robot or drone instead of a human : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Who would like to see artificial intelligence replace some of their legislative representatives : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of candidates for local office in Mexico this year who were murdered before the June elections : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which atheists are more likely than religious Americans to oppose the death penalty for murder : 76

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who thought religion was gaining influence in the United States a year ago : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change this year in the share of Democrats who regard the country’s moral values as “poor” : –29

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democrats who have a favorable view of critical race theory : 86

[Harper’s Index]

Of Republicans who have an unfavorable view of it : 91

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they have a “good idea” of what it is : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which high-income college applicants are more likely than low-income applicants to write essays about mental health : 1.5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. prisoners who requested compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons during the pandemic last year : 30,969

[Harper’s Index]

Number of these prisoners whose requests were approved : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number who died while their requests were pending : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a European Union resident who received public services last year did so through a personal connection : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the number of families reporting depression and anxiety after the last two rounds of stimulus checks : 20

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of families reporting food shortages : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the sale of vacation homes in the United States : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. millennial homeowners who have “some regrets” about purchasing a house : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Date on which China announced that it would allow couples to have a third child : 5/31/21

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of women surveyed in the central Chinese city of Xi’an who say they would like to have three children : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American men in relationships who think their partner is more attractive than they are : 37

Readings

[Essay]

Machine Yearning

by Markie Louise Christianson Twist,

[Musicology]

Late Edition

by Heinrich von Kleist,Translated by Matthew Spencer,

[Vocabulary]

About Face

by Alexander Kluge,Art by Alex Katz,Translated by Isabel Fargo Cole, Wieland Hoban,

[Poem]

The 500-Year-Old Sturgeon

by Stella Macheridis,

Reflection in the Looking-Glass River, a painting by Raqib Shaw, whose work was on view last month at Pace Gallery, in Geneva.

Photograph by Kata Geibl, from the series There Is Nothing New Under the Sun. Geibl’s work was on view in June at Silver Eye, in Pittsburgh.

Photograph by Kata Geibl, from the series There Is Nothing New Under the Sun. Geibl’s work was on view in June at Silver Eye, in Pittsburgh.

Realities Intrude . . . Her Voice That, a painting by Ana Maria Micu, whose work was on view in July at Mind Set Art Center, in Taipei, Taiwan.

“San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, 1971,” a photograph by Joel Meyerowitz from his monograph Wild Flowers, which was reissued this year by Damiani. Meyerowitz’s work is currently on view at the Musée d’art et d’archéologie, in Aurillac, France.

“Mercator Höfe, Berlin,” a photograph by Romeo Alaeff, from the monograph In der Fremde: Pictures from Home, which was published in January by Hatje Cantz.

Reflection in the Looking-Glass River, a painting by Raqib Shaw, whose work was on view last month at Pace Gallery, in Geneva.

Photograph by Kata Geibl, from the series There Is Nothing New Under the Sun. Geibl’s work was on view in June at Silver Eye, in Pittsburgh.

Photograph by Kata Geibl, from the series There Is Nothing New Under the Sun. Geibl’s work was on view in June at Silver Eye, in Pittsburgh.

Realities Intrude . . . Her Voice That, a painting by Ana Maria Micu, whose work was on view in July at Mind Set Art Center, in Taipei, Taiwan.

“Mercator Höfe, Berlin,” a photograph by Romeo Alaeff, from the monograph In der Fremde: Pictures from Home, which was published in January by Hatje Cantz.