November 2022

by Sarah Smarsh,

[Criticism]

Halensee

A father’s guide to Nabokov’s Berlin

by Ryan Ruby,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of American men who believe they will run out of money after retiring : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Average minimum salary that U.S. men say they are willing to accept when offered a new job : $86,259

[Harper’s Index]

That U.S. women say they are willing to accept : $59,543

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who quit their last job who do not regret it : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the net worth of married couples aged 25 to 34 is greater than that of single households of the same age : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this disparity has increased since 2010 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who plan to buy a home in the event of a housing market crash : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Gen Z-ers who say they want the housing market to crash so they can purchase a home : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z-ers who plan to live at home with relatives long-term : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Gen Z-ers are saving more of their income than their parents : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Average cost of an abortion in the United States : $606

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change this year in American adults who say they are “thriving” : –14

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say political divisions have worsened since Joe Biden took office : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who would prefer an alternative to the electoral college system : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who consume “severely problematic” amounts of news : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which these individuals are more likely to have a serious mental illness : 9

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to have a serious physical illness : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans aged 18 to 34 who have at least one chronic health condition : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2019 in the number of children who are unvaccinated against polio : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum percentage of Facebook and Instagram content that comes from accounts a user does not follow : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum factor by which this is projected to increase next year : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2014 in the number of U.S. teenagers who use Facebook : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which black teenagers are more likely than white ones to say they use the internet “almost constantly” : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in total sales of smartphones this year : –8

[Harper’s Index]

In sales of smartphones that cost more than $900 : +25

[Harper’s Index]

Average age at which parents say they intend to give their child a smartphone : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the top twenty-five box office hits of 1981 that were sequels, spin-offs, or remakes : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries in which euthanasia is legal : 7

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in deaths by euthanasia in Canada : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2010 in the number of philosophy majors at U.S. colleges : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of American men who believe they will run out of money after retiring : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Average minimum salary that U.S. men say they are willing to accept when offered a new job : $86,259

[Harper’s Index]

That U.S. women say they are willing to accept : $59,543

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who quit their last job who do not regret it : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the net worth of married couples aged 25 to 34 is greater than that of single households of the same age : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which this disparity has increased since 2010 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who plan to buy a home in the event of a housing market crash : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Gen Z-ers who say they want the housing market to crash so they can purchase a home : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z-ers who plan to live at home with relatives long-term : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Gen Z-ers are saving more of their income than their parents : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Average cost of an abortion in the United States : $606

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change this year in American adults who say they are “thriving” : –14

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say political divisions have worsened since Joe Biden took office : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who would prefer an alternative to the electoral college system : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who consume “severely problematic” amounts of news : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which these individuals are more likely to have a serious mental illness : 9

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to have a serious physical illness : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans aged 18 to 34 who have at least one chronic health condition : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2019 in the number of children who are unvaccinated against polio : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum percentage of Facebook and Instagram content that comes from accounts a user does not follow : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum factor by which this is projected to increase next year : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2014 in the number of U.S. teenagers who use Facebook : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which black teenagers are more likely than white ones to say they use the internet “almost constantly” : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in total sales of smartphones this year : –8

[Harper’s Index]

In sales of smartphones that cost more than $900 : +25

[Harper’s Index]

Average age at which parents say they intend to give their child a smartphone : 13

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the top twenty-five box office hits of 1981 that were sequels, spin-offs, or remakes : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of countries in which euthanasia is legal : 7

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in deaths by euthanasia in Canada : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2010 in the number of philosophy majors at U.S. colleges : 14

Readings

[Essay]

Lessons Learned

by Michael Carroll, Brian Alessandro,Art by Igor Karash,

[Fiction]

The passing (dead daadi), a mixed-media jacquard woven tapestry with hand embellishment by Ebony G. Patterson, whose work is on view this month as part of the exhibition Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Courtesy the artist; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; and the private collection of Sandroni Education Trust

“Magic Hands,” a photograph by Patricia Voulgaris, whose work is on view this month at La MaMa Galleria, in New York City.

“Witches House,” a photograph by Patricia Voulgaris, whose work is on view this month at La MaMa Galleria, in New York City.

Midnight Trader, a painting by Sally Kindberg, whose work was on view last month at Thierry Goldberg Gallery, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; and the private collection of Sandroni Education Trust

“Magic Hands,” a photograph by Patricia Voulgaris, whose work is on view this month at La MaMa Galleria, in New York City.

“Witches House,” a photograph by Patricia Voulgaris, whose work is on view this month at La MaMa Galleria, in New York City.

Midnight Trader, a painting by Sally Kindberg, whose work was on view last month at Thierry Goldberg Gallery, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; and the private collection of Sandroni Education Trust

[Letters]

A skull previously thought to belong to Cleopatra’s sister was found to be that of an Italian boy with a deformed jaw.

[Findings]

The collapse of the Qing Dynasty was driven by the quadrupling of its population and consequent rural impoverishment, an overabundance of qualified applicants for elite academic degrees, rising costs and trade deficits, and falling productivity, which were variously associated with internal unrest, opium imports, and the depletion of silver reserves.

[Findings]

Men can rate the facial attractiveness of women without paying attention, but women cannot do the same for men; gay men find the faces of purportedly fertile women and men more attractive; adolescents and adults both rate the faces of children younger than 4.6 years old as more appealing than those of older children; and body odors associated with fear quicken the visual processing of others’ facial expressions of fear.

[Findings]

The collapse of the Qing Dynasty was driven by the quadrupling of its population and consequent rural impoverishment, an overabundance of qualified applicants for elite academic degrees, rising costs and trade deficits, and falling productivity, which were variously associated with internal unrest, opium imports, and the depletion of silver reserves.

[Findings]

Men can rate the facial attractiveness of women without paying attention, but women cannot do the same for men; gay men find the faces of purportedly fertile women and men more attractive; adolescents and adults both rate the faces of children younger than 4.6 years old as more appealing than those of older children; and body odors associated with fear quicken the visual processing of others’ facial expressions of fear.

llustration by Fausta Kingué Microfiche

November 2022

In the Running

The trials of an almost candidate

Some Like It Hot

Notes from the Marilyn Appreciation Society

Halensee

A father’s guide to Nabokov’s Berlin

Portion of American men who believe they will run out of money after retiring : 2/3

Readings

Ghost Stories

The New Guy

Cockfight or Flight

Lessons Learned

Don’t Worry About the Trace

Ham Session

Smile

Baby on Board

Letters

Government Forces

Harper’s Index

In the Running

The trials of an almost candidate

Party Walls

Walter Karp’s enduring view of the establishment

Some Like It Hot

Notes from the Marilyn Appreciation Society

Three Poems

Halensee

A father’s guide to Nabokov’s Berlin

The Loud Parts

New Books

Contest or Conquest?

A provocative history of Indigenous America

The Thoughtful Prick

On Casanova

Logophilia

See the solution to last month’s puzzle.

Findings

A skull previously thought to belong to Cleopatra’s sister was found to be that of an Italian boy with a deformed jaw.