October 2023

by Andrew Cockburn,

[Letter from the Tri-State Area]

The Golden Fleece

A historical adventure

by Joe Kloc,

[Essay]

The Spy

On seeing without being seen

by Rachel Cusk,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to say this : 84

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. adults are more likely to agree with the Republicans’ economic platform than the Democrats’ : 40

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to agree with the Republicans’ criminal justice platform : 33

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support Ukraine joining NATO : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who oppose sending U.S. troops to Ukraine : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2000 in the number of online headlines denoting fear : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of Americans who try not to read, watch, or listen to the news : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average cost of a home in the United States is higher than the average salary : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in the rejection rate of U.S. loan applicants : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of renters who think the rental market has a negative effect on their career progression : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who think it has negatively affected their life plans : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans whose decision to move in with a partner was influenced by money : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Gen Z-ers and millennials who say they regret moving in with a romantic partner : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that moving in with a romantic partner too early has led to a breakup : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z-ers and millennials who are encouraged by friends to overspend : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who say it’s important that their friends earn as much as they do : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of millennials who have taken on debt because of a friend : 88

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that a four-year college degree is not worth the cost : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of all U.S. student-loan debt that is held by women : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which it takes a woman, on average, longer than it takes a man to pay off student loans : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2004 in Google searches questioning one’s sexuality and gender : +1,300

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people who can accurately identify straight men by the sound of their voice : 46

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of cases in which AI is able to successfully determine a person’s sexual orientation : 83

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum amount that consumers have spent on AI romantic partners : $60,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who know how their parents met : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Who think it’s easier to meet a romantic partner today than it was when their parents met : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of patients who received Botox last year who were younger than 35 : 27

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the number of Americans seeking mental health treatment has increased over the past two decades : 154

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which exercise has been found more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in treating anxiety : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2002 in the number of Americans who consider community activities very important : +72

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Americans who consider religion very important : −11

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who think intelligent life will be discovered on another planet in the next fifty years : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which U.S. adults are more likely to agree with the Republicans’ economic platform than the Democrats’ : 40

[Harper’s Index]

By which they are more likely to agree with the Republicans’ criminal justice platform : 33

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support Ukraine joining NATO : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who oppose sending U.S. troops to Ukraine : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2000 in the number of online headlines denoting fear : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of Americans who try not to read, watch, or listen to the news : 2/5

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average cost of a home in the United States is higher than the average salary : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in the rejection rate of U.S. loan applicants : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of renters who think the rental market has a negative effect on their career progression : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Who think it has negatively affected their life plans : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans whose decision to move in with a partner was influenced by money : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Gen Z-ers and millennials who say they regret moving in with a romantic partner : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that moving in with a romantic partner too early has led to a breakup : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z-ers and millennials who are encouraged by friends to overspend : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Who say it’s important that their friends earn as much as they do : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of millennials who have taken on debt because of a friend : 88

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that a four-year college degree is not worth the cost : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of all U.S. student-loan debt that is held by women : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of years by which it takes a woman, on average, longer than it takes a man to pay off student loans : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2004 in Google searches questioning one’s sexuality and gender : +1,300

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people who can accurately identify straight men by the sound of their voice : 46

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of cases in which AI is able to successfully determine a person’s sexual orientation : 83

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum amount that consumers have spent on AI romantic partners : $60,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who know how their parents met : 63

[Harper’s Index]

Who think it’s easier to meet a romantic partner today than it was when their parents met : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of patients who received Botox last year who were younger than 35 : 27

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the number of Americans seeking mental health treatment has increased over the past two decades : 154

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which exercise has been found more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in treating anxiety : 14

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2002 in the number of Americans who consider community activities very important : +72

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of Americans who consider religion very important : −11

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. adults who think intelligent life will be discovered on another planet in the next fifty years : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Who think the United States will wage war in space in the next fifty years : 44

[Harper’s Index]

Who think space tourism will be routine in the next fifty years : 55

[Harper’s Index]

Who would be interested in orbiting Earth themselves : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which men are more likely than women to say this : 84

Readings

[Essay]

Transit Gloria

by Marvin Kitman,

[Complaint]

Ball Is Strife

[Listings]

Home Improvements

by Patrick Freyne,

[Story]

The Antiquarian

by Jonathan Lethem,

[Pleas]

Arraigning Cats and Dogs

[Minutes]

Tenure Track Attrition

[Fiction]

Pillory

by Omar El Akkad,

[Yarn]

Otterfiction

by Patrick Cottrell,

[Poem]

Mirror

by Elisa Gonzalez,

My Folks’ Place, a painting by Hayley Barker, whose work was on view last month as part of the exhibition Public Private, at Pond Society, in Shanghai.

Photographs by Anu Kumar, from her monograph Ghar, which was published last year by Perimeter Editions.

Stake Out, a painting by Charlie Roberts, whose work was on view in July at Anna Zorina Gallery, in Los Angeles.

A photograph by Thomas Rousset, from his monograph Prabérians, which was published last year by Loose Joints.

My Folks’ Place, a painting by Hayley Barker, whose work was on view last month as part of the exhibition Public Private, at Pond Society, in Shanghai.

Photographs by Anu Kumar, from her monograph Ghar, which was published last year by Perimeter Editions.

Stake Out, a painting by Charlie Roberts, whose work was on view in July at Anna Zorina Gallery, in Los Angeles.

A photograph by Thomas Rousset, from his monograph Prabérians, which was published last year by Loose Joints.

My Folks’ Place, a painting by Hayley Barker, whose work was on view last month as part of the exhibition Public Private, at Pond Society, in Shanghai.