July 2022

by Daniel Bessner,

[Letter from Ukraine]

Army of Shadows

Searching for the Ukrainian foreign legion

by Seth Harp,

[Report]

The Victim Cloud

Gullibility in the golden age of scams

by Hannah Zeavin,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say they are actively trying to avoid turning into their parents : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who believe high-level Democrats run a child sex-trafficking ring : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who think Putin is doing a better job as head of state than Biden : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Republicans were more likely than Democrats to view Russia as a major threat in 2008 : 28

[Harper’s Index]

By which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to do so now : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have their phone bills paid by their parents : 60

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 18 to 41 learned to do laundry from social media : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which vaccinated Americans are more likely than the unvaccinated to use social media as a news source : 17

[Harper’s Index]

By which Biden supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to do so : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to view NPR as untrustworthy : 50

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to view the Weather Channel as untrustworthy : 75

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to want their lives documented by a biographer : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which women with children under five have increased their alcohol consumption since the start of the pandemic : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the number of alcohol-related deaths among women in the past two decades : 157

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe calories from alcohol are different from other calories : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the global population that has a headache on any given day : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of cannabis sales in Colorado last year that were illicit : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in drug use among U.S. teenagers since 2019 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in adult fiction sales this year that can be attributed to TikTok : 73

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum portion of American parents who would give up social media to see their kids more : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which employees spend more time in meetings now than they did before the pandemic : 250

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who are unable to name all of their grandparents : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Average age at which U.S. adults think you turn into your parents : 32.5

[Harper’s Index]

Of coupled Americans who try to annoy their partners by claiming they are turning into their parents : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who say that their ideal relationship is non-monogamous : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of the U.S. population whose IQ has declined because of exposure to leaded gasoline : 59

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. community water systems that contain unsafe levels of uranium : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of recent American home buyers who regret their choice of location : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe it would be better for the environment if houses were built farther apart : 75

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the carbon footprint of a New Yorker is lower than that of the average American : 68

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which people who say they have a purpose in life are less likely to develop dementia : 19

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount that American Catholics or Protestants would pay a stranger to pray on their behalf : $2.34

[Harper’s Index]

That non-believers would pay to avoid being prayed for : $1.56

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say they are actively trying to avoid turning into their parents : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who believe high-level Democrats run a child sex-trafficking ring : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who think Putin is doing a better job as head of state than Biden : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Republicans were more likely than Democrats to view Russia as a major threat in 2008 : 28

[Harper’s Index]

By which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to do so now : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have their phone bills paid by their parents : 60

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American aged 18 to 41 learned to do laundry from social media : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which vaccinated Americans are more likely than the unvaccinated to use social media as a news source : 17

[Harper’s Index]

By which Biden supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to do so : 24

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to view NPR as untrustworthy : 50

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to view the Weather Channel as untrustworthy : 75

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to want their lives documented by a biographer : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which women with children under five have increased their alcohol consumption since the start of the pandemic : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the number of alcohol-related deaths among women in the past two decades : 157

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe calories from alcohol are different from other calories : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the global population that has a headache on any given day : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated portion of cannabis sales in Colorado last year that were illicit : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in drug use among U.S. teenagers since 2019 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in adult fiction sales this year that can be attributed to TikTok : 73

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum portion of American parents who would give up social media to see their kids more : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which employees spend more time in meetings now than they did before the pandemic : 250

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who are unable to name all of their grandparents : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Average age at which U.S. adults think you turn into your parents : 32.5

[Harper’s Index]

Of coupled Americans who try to annoy their partners by claiming they are turning into their parents : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who say that their ideal relationship is non-monogamous : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of the U.S. population whose IQ has declined because of exposure to leaded gasoline : 59

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. community water systems that contain unsafe levels of uranium : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of recent American home buyers who regret their choice of location : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe it would be better for the environment if houses were built farther apart : 75

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the carbon footprint of a New Yorker is lower than that of the average American : 68

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which people who say they have a purpose in life are less likely to develop dementia : 19

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount that American Catholics or Protestants would pay a stranger to pray on their behalf : $2.34

[Harper’s Index]

That non-believers would pay to avoid being prayed for : $1.56

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say they are actively trying to avoid turning into their parents : 42

Readings

[Essay]

The Path to Freedom

by Édouard Louis,Translated by Tash Aw,

[Vacations]

Gated Community

[Paper Trail]

Murder, She Wrote

by Nancy Brophy,

[Marketing]

Bound and Galleyed

by Jamie Fewery,

[Advice]

Game of Life

by Anne Kadet,

[Memoir]

Going Nowhere, Fast

by Mansi Choksi,

[Guidance]

Zero Dark Flirty

by Alfreda Scheuer,

[Fiction]

A Free Country

by Eugene Marten,

[Argument]

Rags to Reichstag

by Frank Niceley,

[Grievance]

The City That Never Sleeps

[Poem]

Gap and Erasure

by John Latta,

“Aviary, 2019,” a photograph by Farah Al Qasimi, whose book Hello Future was published last year by Capricious.

“Destruction of transgenic petunias,” a photograph by Klaus Pichler, from his book The Petunia Carnage, which was published this year.

America Is Woven of Many Threads #1, a mixed-media artwork by Troy Montes-Michie, whose work is on view through September at the California African American Museum, in Los Angeles.

Courtesy the artist and Company Gallery, New York City

“Coral: Starr King: Lands End,” a photograph by John Chiara, whose work was on view last month at ROSEGALLERY, in Santa Monica, California.

Float, a mixed-media artwork by Derek Fordjour, whose work was on view in May at David Kordansky Gallery, in Los Angeles.

“The Third Line, Dubai,” a photograph by Farah Al Qasimi, whose book Hello Future was published last year by Capricious.

“Aviary, 2019,” a photograph by Farah Al Qasimi, whose book Hello Future was published last year by Capricious.

“Destruction of transgenic petunias,” a photograph by Klaus Pichler, from his book The Petunia Carnage, which was published this year.

America Is Woven of Many Threads #1, a mixed-media artwork by Troy Montes-Michie, whose work is on view through September at the California African American Museum, in Los Angeles.

Courtesy the artist and Company Gallery, New York City