December 2021

by Hedley Twidle,

[Essay]

A Posthumous Shock

How everything became trauma

by Will Self,

[Memoir]

Her Kind

On losing and finding my mind

by Naomi Jackson,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated year by which the woolly mammoth could become de-extinct : 2026

[Harper’s Index]

Who considered the summer of 2021 to be bad or the “worst summer ever” : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who considered the summer of 2020 to be average or above average : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of pounds by which the average weight of an adult male in the United States has increased since 1988 : 18.5

[Harper’s Index]

Average weight, in pounds, of a professional Santa : 245

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of New Mexico among states whose residents googled the phrase “is Santa real” most often this year : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Amount West Virginia will pay prospective residents to move to the state : $12,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of The Villages, a Florida retirement community, among the fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan areas : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American planning to move in the next year blames natural disasters or extreme temperatures : 1 in 2

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the rate of body mass index growth for U.S. children has increased during the pandemic : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of teen girls who say that Instagram has aggravated their body image issues : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of TikTok videos removed from the platform last year for violating its “minor safety” policies : 55,401,107

[Harper’s Index]

Ratio of school psychologists to K–12 students in the United States : 1 : 1,211

[Harper’s Index]

Number by which U.S. college enrollment has declined over the past five years : 1,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of this decline that can be attributed to male students : 71

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of adults worldwide who have experienced increased stress in the past year : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who describe themselves as “emotionally exhausted” : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. executives who think their workplace culture has improved since the start of the pandemic : 72

[Harper’s Index]

Of U.S. human resources professionals who think so : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who have not participated in a video call since the pandemic began : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Who say digital interactions are just as good as in-person ones : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults taking virtual exercise classes who plan to continue as gyms reopen : 86

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. prisoners released in 2008 who were arrested again in the following decade : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those arrests that were for drug-related offenses : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Amount, in grams, of marijuana the Drug Enforcement Administration plans to produce this year : 2,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the amount of psilocybin the agency plans to produce : 4,900

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who have been invited to join intradepartmental gangs : 254

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the number of deaths by overdose in the United States : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of 2020 among years with the highest number of recorded deaths by overdose : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past two decades in the number of U.S. estates paying estate taxes : -96

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of millionaires who worry about leaving “too much” money to their heirs : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of outstanding student debt owed by U.S. public school teachers : $56,900

[Harper’s Index]

Average salary of a U.S. public school teacher : $65,090

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. families with health insurance that have medical debt : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Average cost of a fake COVID-19 vaccination card on the messaging app Telegram : $250

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been made available to U.S. zoo animals : 11,000

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who considered the summer of 2020 to be average or above average : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Number of pounds by which the average weight of an adult male in the United States has increased since 1988 : 18.5

[Harper’s Index]

Average weight, in pounds, of a professional Santa : 245

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of New Mexico among states whose residents googled the phrase “is Santa real” most often this year : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Amount West Virginia will pay prospective residents to move to the state : $12,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of The Villages, a Florida retirement community, among the fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan areas : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American planning to move in the next year blames natural disasters or extreme temperatures : 1 in 2

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the rate of body mass index growth for U.S. children has increased during the pandemic : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of teen girls who say that Instagram has aggravated their body image issues : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of TikTok videos removed from the platform last year for violating its “minor safety” policies : 55,401,107

[Harper’s Index]

Ratio of school psychologists to K–12 students in the United States : 1 : 1,211

[Harper’s Index]

Number by which U.S. college enrollment has declined over the past five years : 1,500,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of this decline that can be attributed to male students : 71

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of adults worldwide who have experienced increased stress in the past year : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who describe themselves as “emotionally exhausted” : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. executives who think their workplace culture has improved since the start of the pandemic : 72

[Harper’s Index]

Of U.S. human resources professionals who think so : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who have not participated in a video call since the pandemic began : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Who say digital interactions are just as good as in-person ones : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults taking virtual exercise classes who plan to continue as gyms reopen : 86

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. prisoners released in 2008 who were arrested again in the following decade : 82

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of those arrests that were for drug-related offenses : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Amount, in grams, of marijuana the Drug Enforcement Administration plans to produce this year : 2,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in the amount of psilocybin the agency plans to produce : 4,900

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who have been invited to join intradepartmental gangs : 254

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the number of deaths by overdose in the United States : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of 2020 among years with the highest number of recorded deaths by overdose : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past two decades in the number of U.S. estates paying estate taxes : -96

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of millionaires who worry about leaving “too much” money to their heirs : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of outstanding student debt owed by U.S. public school teachers : $56,900

[Harper’s Index]

Average salary of a U.S. public school teacher : $65,090

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. families with health insurance that have medical debt : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Average cost of a fake COVID-19 vaccination card on the messaging app Telegram : $250

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been made available to U.S. zoo animals : 11,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2016 in the wild reindeer population : -13

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated year by which the woolly mammoth could become de-extinct : 2026

Readings

[Essay]

The Licentiate’s Children

by Juan Gabriel Vásquez,Translated by Phil Klay,

[Homework]

Writing Wrongs

[Interview]

Built to Spill

by Mohammad Hossein Jafarian, Salar Abdoh,

[Survey]

Claus and Effect

[Diorama]

Still Life

by Christopher Spencer,

[Statistics]

Buy the Numbers

by Colette Brooks,

[Q&A]

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Translated by Natascha Hoffmeyer,

[Rolodex]

Killing Time

by Lise Funderburg,

[Fiction]

Naked As We Came

by Miriam Toews,

[Poem]

Angel

by Rae Armantrout,

Le Printemps, a painting by Marc Padeu, whose work was on view in October with Jack Bell Gallery at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, in London.

The artist. Courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London

Night at the PS, a mixed-media artwork by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, whose work was on view in October at James Cohan Gallery, in New York City.

The artist. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York City

Son las Tres en la Habana, a painting by Julio Larraz, whose work is on view through April at the Coral Gables Museum, in Florida.

A spread from “The First Day,” a chapter in Whatever You Say, Say Nothing by Gilles Peress. The book was published by Steidl in May.

Le Printemps, a painting by Marc Padeu, whose work was on view in October with Jack Bell Gallery at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, in London.

The artist. Courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London

Night at the PS, a mixed-media artwork by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, whose work was on view in October at James Cohan Gallery, in New York City.

The artist. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York City

Son las Tres en la Habana, a painting by Julio Larraz, whose work is on view through April at the Coral Gables Museum, in Florida.

A spread from “The First Day,” a chapter in Whatever You Say, Say Nothing by Gilles Peress. The book was published by Steidl in May.

Le Printemps, a painting by Marc Padeu, whose work was on view in October with Jack Bell Gallery at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, in London.

The artist. Courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London