August 2023

by Jason Blakely,

[Folio]

Who Walks Always Beside You?

A disappearance in Arkansas

by Benjamin Hale,

[Letter from Lagos]

Love in the Time of Sickle Cell Disease

What’s the cost of rolling the genetic dice?

by Krithika Varagur,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think our country should reduce “political correctness” : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Who think our country should foster “social justice” : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this year in the number of Americans who identify as conservative on social issues : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of independent voters who do not know the Republicans’ or Democrats’ stance on abortion : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who do not think either party handles the issue of abortion well : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which foot traffic in U.S. city centers is lower today than it was in 2019 : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since October in the number of companies requiring employees to work in person full-time : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which hybrid workers are more satisfied with their organization’s culture than in-person workers : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of remote workers who claim to be dissatisfied with their daily commute : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which remote work reduces the likelihood of securities fraud : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who use recreational drugs or alcohol while working remotely : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who report having been under the influence during a virtual meeting : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2021 in random workplace drug testing : 18

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of employers who believe their workers have an alcohol use disorder : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since the start of the pandemic in U.S. adults with substance use disorders : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of speech pathologists who have seen an increase in children with communication difficulties since 2019 : 4/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are too tired to make changes to their diet or exercise routine : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of their daily calorie intake that the average American consumes in the form of ultra-processed food : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who are unable to do five consecutive push-ups : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who think the invention of the internet was bad for humanity : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease this year in worldwide sales of personal computers : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of pagers still in use in the United States : 808,245

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American men who say their online lives are more engaging and rewarding than their offline lives : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Who have not spent time with someone outside of their home in the past week : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men charge more than women for freelance work : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who do not believe that gender equality in the workplace is very important : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Who do not believe that a racially and ethnically diverse workplace is very important : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who approve of colleges taking race and ethnicity into account to increase diversity : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they have been personally disadvantaged by efforts to increase racial and ethnic diversity : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of student loan debt held by adults 35 or older : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a university professor has seen a UFO or knows someone who has : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of English professors who are interested in researching UFOs : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes by which a day is longer on Mars than on Earth : 39

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who think our country should reduce “political correctness” : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Who think our country should foster “social justice” : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase this year in the number of Americans who identify as conservative on social issues : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of independent voters who do not know the Republicans’ or Democrats’ stance on abortion : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who do not think either party handles the issue of abortion well : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which foot traffic in U.S. city centers is lower today than it was in 2019 : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since October in the number of companies requiring employees to work in person full-time : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which hybrid workers are more satisfied with their organization’s culture than in-person workers : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of remote workers who claim to be dissatisfied with their daily commute : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which remote work reduces the likelihood of securities fraud : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who use recreational drugs or alcohol while working remotely : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who report having been under the influence during a virtual meeting : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2021 in random workplace drug testing : 18

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of employers who believe their workers have an alcohol use disorder : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since the start of the pandemic in U.S. adults with substance use disorders : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of speech pathologists who have seen an increase in children with communication difficulties since 2019 : 4/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are too tired to make changes to their diet or exercise routine : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of their daily calorie intake that the average American consumes in the form of ultra-processed food : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who are unable to do five consecutive push-ups : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who think the invention of the internet was bad for humanity : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease this year in worldwide sales of personal computers : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of pagers still in use in the United States : 808,245

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American men who say their online lives are more engaging and rewarding than their offline lives : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Who have not spent time with someone outside of their home in the past week : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men charge more than women for freelance work : 48

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. workers who do not believe that gender equality in the workplace is very important : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Who do not believe that a racially and ethnically diverse workplace is very important : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. adults who approve of colleges taking race and ethnicity into account to increase diversity : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they have been personally disadvantaged by efforts to increase racial and ethnic diversity : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of student loan debt held by adults 35 or older : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a university professor has seen a UFO or knows someone who has : 1 in 5

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of English professors who are interested in researching UFOs : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes by which a day is longer on Mars than on Earth : 39

Readings

[Essay]

Fidelia Córdoba

by Amalialú Posso Figueroa,

[Pedagogy]

The Bard of Armagh

by Timothy Donnelly,

A photograph from the series After Anahit by Ece Gökalp, whose work is on view this month at Foam, in Amsterdam.

“Domesticated Palms, Amazonas,” a photograph by Richard Mosse, whose work was on view in June at Altman Siegel, in San Francisco. His monograph Broken Spectre was published last year by Loose Joints.

Courtesy the artist and Loose Joints

House of Jealous Lovers, a mixed-media artwork (acrylic, spray paint, photo transfer, and oil) by Rosson Crow, whose work will be on view next month with Miles McEnery at the Armory Show

in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Miles McEnery, New York City

“Untitled #15,” from the series Swimmers, circa 1979, a photograph by Larry Sultan, whose book Swimmers was published in June by MACK.

It Was Said They Could See Each Other’s Memories, a painting by Maia Cruz Palileo, whose work is on view this month as part of the exhibition Presence in the Pause: Interiority and its Radical Immanence, at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago

A photograph from the series After Anahit by Ece Gökalp, whose work is on view this month at Foam, in Amsterdam.

Courtesy the artist and Loose Joints

House of Jealous Lovers, a mixed-media artwork (acrylic, spray paint, photo transfer, and oil) by Rosson Crow, whose work will be on view next month with Miles McEnery at the Armory Show

in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Miles McEnery, New York City