February 2025

by Barrett Swanson,

[Letter from Switzerland]

At the Summit

The last days of Davos

by Caitlín Doherty,

[Letter from Texas]

A Good Company

Searching for my publisher’s radioactive oil waste

by Justin Nobel,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democratic campaigns outspent Republican campaigns at Sweetgreen last year : 70

[Harper’s Index]

By which Republican campaigns outspent Democratic campaigns at McDonald’s : 2,700

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democrats who say that Trump’s reelection was illegitimate : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American has lied about whom they voted for : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of November 6, 2024, among the days with the most account deactivations on X since Elon Musk acquired the company : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of abortion pills ordered in the United States on November 6 exceeded the daily average : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount by which the total net worth of the world’s 10 wealthiest people increased that day : $64,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of “password” among the most common digital passwords used by CEOs : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Median net worth of a single American woman with no children : $87,200

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past year in the portion of first-time U.S. home buyers who are single women : +26

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of New York City public school students who are homeless : 1/8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which this portion increased over the past year : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people caught smuggling fentanyl into the United States since 2019 who are Mexican citizens : 18

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of American children who have been prescribed Ozempic or other GLP-1 medications : 31,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which girls are more likely than boys to receive such a prescription : 50

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of medical cases that ChatGPT accurately diagnoses on the basis of a list of symptoms : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average wait to receive approval for federal disability benefits has increased since 2019 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of Americans who died in 2023 while waiting for such approval : 30,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of 2024 among the deadliest years on record for humanitarian workers : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of hospitals in Gaza that have been direct targets of Israeli missile strikes since October 7, 2023 : 31/36

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of Gazans killed by the Israeli military in this period who were women or children : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of plant life in Gaza that has been destroyed : 83

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 1973 in the average American’s carbon emissions : −36

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which per capita U.S. carbon emissions exceed the global average : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the average American worker’s contribution to the country’s GDP exceeds their income : 170

[Harper’s Index]

By which the price of an average luxury bag exceeds its production cost : 900

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2000 in the portion of disposable income that Americans give to charity : −21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who believed in 2010 that working hard would result in a better life : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who report experiencing the “Sunday scaries” : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democratic campaigns outspent Republican campaigns at Sweetgreen last year : 70

[Harper’s Index]

By which Republican campaigns outspent Democratic campaigns at McDonald’s : 2,700

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Democrats who say that Trump’s reelection was illegitimate : 32

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American has lied about whom they voted for : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of November 6, 2024, among the days with the most account deactivations on X since Elon Musk acquired the company : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of abortion pills ordered in the United States on November 6 exceeded the daily average : 17

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount by which the total net worth of the world’s 10 wealthiest people increased that day : $64,000,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of “password” among the most common digital passwords used by CEOs : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Median net worth of a single American woman with no children : $87,200

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change over the past year in the portion of first-time U.S. home buyers who are single women : +26

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of New York City public school students who are homeless : 1/8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which this portion increased over the past year : 23

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of people caught smuggling fentanyl into the United States since 2019 who are Mexican citizens : 18

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of American children who have been prescribed Ozempic or other GLP-1 medications : 31,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which girls are more likely than boys to receive such a prescription : 50

[Harper’s Index]

By which boys are more likely to be prescribed human-growth hormone : 100

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of people over seven feet tall who have played in the NBA : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who know what the term “neurodivergent” means : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of these Americans who are neurodivergent themselves : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of medical cases that ChatGPT accurately diagnoses on the basis of a list of symptoms : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the average wait to receive approval for federal disability benefits has increased since 2019 : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of Americans who died in 2023 while waiting for such approval : 30,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of 2024 among the deadliest years on record for humanitarian workers : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of hospitals in Gaza that have been direct targets of Israeli missile strikes since October 7, 2023 : 31/36

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of Gazans killed by the Israeli military in this period who were women or children : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of plant life in Gaza that has been destroyed : 83

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 1973 in the average American’s carbon emissions : −36

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which per capita U.S. carbon emissions exceed the global average : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the average American worker’s contribution to the country’s GDP exceeds their income : 170

[Harper’s Index]

By which the price of an average luxury bag exceeds its production cost : 900

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 2000 in the portion of disposable income that Americans give to charity : −21

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who believed in 2010 that working hard would result in a better life : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who report experiencing the “Sunday scaries” : 45

Readings

[Essay]

Scott

by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings,

[Home & Garden]

There Are More Ways to Show Devotion

by Hanif Abdurraqib,

Memories, a painting by Eunnam Hong, whose work was on view last month at Mendes Wood DM, in Brussels. Courtesy the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, and New York City

“Untitled,” a photograph from the series Traditions Highway by Irina Rozovsky, whose work is on view this month as part of the exhibition Southern Spirit, at Strata Editions, in Livingston, Montana. Courtesy the artist and Strata Editions, Livingston, Montana

Reservations, 2024, a painting by Jack Penny, whose work was on view in December at Dan Yoshii, in New York City. © The artist. Courtesy Dan Yoshii, New York City

“Interstate 5, California, 2019,” a photograph by Austin Leong, from the book Soft Eyes, by Leong, Adrian Martinez, and Henry Wessel, which was published in November by Deadbeat Club. Courtesy the artist and Deadbeat Club

Memories, a painting by Eunnam Hong, whose work was on view last month at Mendes Wood DM, in Brussels. Courtesy the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, and New York City

Reservations, 2024, a painting by Jack Penny, whose work was on view in December at Dan Yoshii, in New York City. © The artist. Courtesy Dan Yoshii, New York City

Memories, a painting by Eunnam Hong, whose work was on view last month at Mendes Wood DM, in Brussels. Courtesy the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, and New York City

[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.

Cover design by Fausta Kingué. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, June 13, 2024, Manchester, Tennessee © Gary Miller/ WireImage/Getty Images Microfiche

February 2025

High and Dry

Sobriety and transcendence at Bonnaroo

At the Summit

The last days of Davos

A Good Company

Searching for my publisher’s radioactive oil waste

Percentage by which Democratic campaigns outspent Republican campaigns at Sweetgreen last year : 70

Readings

Hope Springs Paternal

The Firepower of Christ

Scott

Drug Bust

Talking Horse

Love Bombing

There Are More Ways to Show Devotion

Letters

Expect More Bulldozings

Harper’s Index

High and Dry

Sobriety and transcendence at Bonnaroo

Disconcertion

At the Summit

The last days of Davos

The Dangerous Problem

The century-long struggle to prove the Collatz conjecture

A Good Company

Searching for my publisher’s radioactive oil waste

Half-Believers

New Books

Such a Schemozzle

The beauty of John McGahern’s prose

Facetious Friends

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.