May 2024

by Daniel Bessner,

[Letter from the Campaign Trail]

The Race for Second Place

The Republican primaries as farce

by Kyle Paoletta,

[Letter from Big Sky]

Slippery Slope

How private equity shapes a ski town

by Nick Bowlin,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who say that it would be a good idea to let Trump be a dictator for the first day of a second term : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they would not vote for a presidential candidate who has been charged with a felony : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2020 in the portion of Americans who say they would vote for a Muslim presidential candidate : +8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the portion who say they would vote for a Jewish presidential candidate : –5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that the United States should spend more money on assistance for poor people : 72

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage who say so when this assistance is called “welfare” : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which low-income Americans are more likely than others to identify as vegetarian : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the number of Americans who identify as vegetarian since 2018 : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe they will be harmed personally by climate change : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of the global population that lives in places where air quality does not meet World Health Organization standards : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who said in January 2020 that they were very satisfied with their lives : 65

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the total net worth of white Americans since 2019 : +26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of millennial Americans who believe they have “money dysmorphia,” or unfounded feelings of financial insecurity : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of layoffs in the U.S. media sector since January 2023 : 26,102

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the 100 largest American law firms that say they use generative AI in their work : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. human-resources officers who expect AI to replace jobs at their company within the next three years : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which employees who work in person are more likely to be promoted than those who work exclusively remotely : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which workers who primarily sit at work are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who do not : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which lesbian and gay American adults are more likely to smoke than their straight counterparts : 27

[Harper’s Index]

By which bisexual American adults are more likely to smoke : 66

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that lesbian and gay “relations” are morally acceptable : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2022 in the portion of Americans who say so : –10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2022 in those who say that married men and women having affairs is morally acceptable : +33

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of LGBT Americans raised Christian who have left the faith : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of transgender Americans who have been homeless at some point : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of transgender Americans who have had gender-affirming surgery who report an increase in life satisfaction : 97

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say they typically know the cost of a health-care service or product before receiving it : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which syphilis cases have increased in the United States since 2018 : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the rate of premature births has increased in the United States since 2014 : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since October 2023 in miscarriages reported in Gaza : 300

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of children in Gaza under the age of five who have an infectious disease : 93

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the United Nations’ requested annual budget for humanitarian aid in the past year : 11

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. veterans who say they feel awkward or uncomfortable when they are thanked for their service : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Republicans who say that it would be a good idea to let Trump be a dictator for the first day of a second term : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say they would not vote for a presidential candidate who has been charged with a felony : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2020 in the portion of Americans who say they would vote for a Muslim presidential candidate : +8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the portion who say they would vote for a Jewish presidential candidate : –5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that the United States should spend more money on assistance for poor people : 72

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage who say so when this assistance is called “welfare” : 29

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which low-income Americans are more likely than others to identify as vegetarian : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the number of Americans who identify as vegetarian since 2018 : 20

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe they will be harmed personally by climate change : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of the global population that lives in places where air quality does not meet World Health Organization standards : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who said in January 2020 that they were very satisfied with their lives : 65

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change in the total net worth of white Americans since 2019 : +26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of millennial Americans who believe they have “money dysmorphia,” or unfounded feelings of financial insecurity : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of layoffs in the U.S. media sector since January 2023 : 26,102

[Harper’s Index]

Number of the 100 largest American law firms that say they use generative AI in their work : 41

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. human-resources officers who expect AI to replace jobs at their company within the next three years : 7/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which employees who work in person are more likely to be promoted than those who work exclusively remotely : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which workers who primarily sit at work are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who do not : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which lesbian and gay American adults are more likely to smoke than their straight counterparts : 27

[Harper’s Index]

By which bisexual American adults are more likely to smoke : 66

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say that lesbian and gay “relations” are morally acceptable : 64

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2022 in the portion of Americans who say so : –10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2022 in those who say that married men and women having affairs is morally acceptable : +33

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of LGBT Americans raised Christian who have left the faith : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of transgender Americans who have been homeless at some point : 3/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of transgender Americans who have had gender-affirming surgery who report an increase in life satisfaction : 97

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who say they typically know the cost of a health-care service or product before receiving it : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which syphilis cases have increased in the United States since 2018 : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the rate of premature births has increased in the United States since 2014 : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since October 2023 in miscarriages reported in Gaza : 300

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of children in Gaza under the age of five who have an infectious disease : 93

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the United Nations’ requested annual budget for humanitarian aid in the past year : 11

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. veterans who say they feel awkward or uncomfortable when they are thanked for their service : 1/2

Readings

[Essay]

Coming to Terms:
Adapted from “The Diplomatic Path to a Secure Ukraine”

by George Beebe, Anatol Lieven,

[Call Log]

May

by Ed Skoog,

Photographs by Jesse Lenz, from his book The Seraphim, which was published in March by Charcoal Press. The book is the second volume in his septology The Seven Seals.

Photographs by Nikita Teryoshin, whose book Nothing Personal: The Back Office of War was published in February by GOST Books and whose work is on view this month at the Light Leaks Festival in Luxembourg. Left: “A South Korean officer watching the air show by the aerobatic Black Eagles air-force team flying KAI T-50B Golden Eagle jets, ADEX, Seoul, 2017.” Right: “The red carpet, DEFEXPO, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020.”

Black Quantum Physicists (Duppy for Delacroix), a painting by Firelei Báez, whose work is on view this month at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, in Humlebæk, Denmark.

The Elephant in the Room, a painting by Katie Butler, whose work is on view this month in the exhibitions Moreover: 50 Paintings, at the Green Gallery, in Milwaukee, and Serving Gluttony, at Unit, in London.

Chorus, a mixed-media artwork (acrylic dispersion, pigment, chalk, and pencil on unstretched canvas) by Ella Walker, whose work was on view last month at Casey Kaplan Gallery, in New York City.

Photographs by Jesse Lenz, from his book The Seraphim, which was published in March by Charcoal Press. The book is the second volume in his septology The Seven Seals.

Black Quantum Physicists (Duppy for Delacroix), a painting by Firelei Báez, whose work is on view this month at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, in Humlebæk, Denmark.

Chorus, a mixed-media artwork (acrylic dispersion, pigment, chalk, and pencil on unstretched canvas) by Ella Walker, whose work was on view last month at Casey Kaplan Gallery, in New York City.

Photographs by Jesse Lenz, from his book The Seraphim, which was published in March by Charcoal Press. The book is the second volume in his septology The Seven Seals.