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]

Of new viruses : 10,928

[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]

Number of those people who died : 7

[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]

At other U.S. warehouses : 3.1

[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]

Who think so today : 16

[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 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]

About sports : 4

[Harper’s Index]

About failure : 4.5

[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]

Of American women in relationships who think so : 14

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,

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

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”

“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”

“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

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

[Letters]

September 2021

Bad News

Selling the story of disinformation

The Portrait Gallery

What the American Academy of Arts and Letters taught me about death

World of Night

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

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

Of new viruses : 10,928

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

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

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

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

Number of those people who died : 7

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

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

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

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

At other U.S. warehouses : 3.1

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

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

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

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

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

Who think so today : 16

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

In the number of Republicans : +65

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

Of Republicans who have an unfavorable view of it : 91

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

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

About sports : 4

About failure : 4.5

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

Number of these prisoners whose requests were approved : 36

Minimum number who died while their requests were pending : 35

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

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

In the number of families reporting food shortages : 42

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

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

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

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

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

Of American women in relationships who think so : 14

Readings

The Mothership

Machine Yearning

Math Rock

Late Edition

Apocalypse Nouns

Faucian Bargain

About Face

Immigrant Sea

Fan Mail

Moments of Silence

Life Alert

The 500-Year-Old Sturgeon

Realities Intrude . . . Her Voice That

“San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, 1971”

“Mercator Höfe, Berlin”

Reflection in the Looking-Glass River

Letters

Death Valley

Harper’s Index

Bad News

Selling the story of disinformation

In the Dark

World of Night

When the Raids Came

The war’s toll on one Afghan family

The Portrait Gallery

What the American Academy of Arts and Letters taught me about death

Eating the Whale

A personal history of meat

The Third Force

On stupidity and transcendence

The Book of Breezes

Women Corinne Does Not Actually Know

New Books

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.