March 2025

by Andrew Cockburn,

[Letter from Greece]

New World Symphonies

Listening for the future of music

by Matthew Sherrill,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of time, in nanoseconds, by which each day on Earth is longer than the last : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of children in Gaza who said last year that they “wanted to die” : 49

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Ukrainians who said in 2022 that their country should keep fighting until it defeats Russia : 73

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage who now favor negotiations to end the war as soon as possible : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which the opening of a Walmart Supercenter causes nearby household incomes to decrease : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in bankruptcy filings by U.S. retail stores : 104

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated ratio of manufacturing robots to human factory workers in the United States : 1:33

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2000 in cases of adult diabetes in the United States : 111

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who have experienced chronic pain : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which black Americans are more likely than white Americans to suffer from psychosis or schizophrenia : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of Americans who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation who have had a traumatic brain injury : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of legally owned gun silencers in the United States in 2011 : 285,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of states that require annual active-shooter trainings for public elementary schools : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2019 in the number of school-bus drivers in the United States : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of schools that reported having “major difficulties” transporting students in 2024 : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an applicant to a 4-year U.S. college will hire an independent admissions consultant this year : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of non-white Americans who say that U.S. colleges do a very good or excellent job of educating students : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in book sales in the United States over the past year : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of square miles of new drylands formed in the past three decades : 2,700,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. solar-power capacity growth last year accounted for by Texas : 31

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Texas’s new solar-power capacity exceeded California’s last year : 358

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which annual deaths from exposure to cold weather have increased in the United States since 2000 : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Projected factor by which the population of homeless people over the age of 65 in U.S. cities will increase by 2030 : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2010 in divorces among Americans aged 65 and older : 60

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2021 in ADHD diagnoses among that cohort : 67

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American believes they have undiagnosed ADHD : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say that keeping their house clean is harder than working a full-time job : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of events at nightclubs in New York City that went past 3 am in 2014 : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of time, in nanoseconds, by which each day on Earth is longer than the last : 47

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of children in Gaza who said last year that they “wanted to die” : 49

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Ukrainians who said in 2022 that their country should keep fighting until it defeats Russia : 73

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage who now favor negotiations to end the war as soon as possible : 52

[Harper’s Index]

Average percentage by which the opening of a Walmart Supercenter causes nearby household incomes to decrease : 6

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in bankruptcy filings by U.S. retail stores : 104

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated ratio of manufacturing robots to human factory workers in the United States : 1:33

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2000 in cases of adult diabetes in the United States : 111

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who have experienced chronic pain : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which black Americans are more likely than white Americans to suffer from psychosis or schizophrenia : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of Americans who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation who have had a traumatic brain injury : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of legally owned gun silencers in the United States in 2011 : 285,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of states that require annual active-shooter trainings for public elementary schools : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease since 2019 in the number of school-bus drivers in the United States : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of schools that reported having “major difficulties” transporting students in 2024 : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an applicant to a 4-year U.S. college will hire an independent admissions consultant this year : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of non-white Americans who say that U.S. colleges do a very good or excellent job of educating students : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase in book sales in the United States over the past year : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of square miles of new drylands formed in the past three decades : 2,700,000

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. solar-power capacity growth last year accounted for by Texas : 31

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Texas’s new solar-power capacity exceeded California’s last year : 358

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which annual deaths from exposure to cold weather have increased in the United States since 2000 : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Projected factor by which the population of homeless people over the age of 65 in U.S. cities will increase by 2030 : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2010 in divorces among Americans aged 65 and older : 60

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2021 in ADHD diagnoses among that cohort : 67

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American believes they have undiagnosed ADHD : 1 in 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who say that keeping their house clean is harder than working a full-time job : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of events at nightclubs in New York City that went past 3 am in 2014 : 70

[Harper’s Index]

Average amount of time, in nanoseconds, by which each day on Earth is longer than the last : 47

Readings

[Essay]

Johannes’s Veneer

by Kristian Vistrup Madsen,

[Quandaries]

A collage by Laia Abril from her project On Mass Hysteria, which is on view this month at Le Bal, in Paris. Her monograph of the same title was published last year by Dewi Lewis. This artwork was inspired by an outbreak of a mysterious illness in 2006 that afflicted hundreds of girls at a boarding school in Chalco, Mexico. The illness, which was described by Mexican public-health authorities as a mass psychogenic disorder, was believed to have been an unconscious protest against conditions at the school. Courtesy the artist and Dewi Lewis

The Missing Link 4, a painting by Noah Davis, whose work is on view this month at the Barbican, in London. © The Estate of Noah Davis. Courtesy the Estate of Noah Davis, David Zwirner, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Art Here and Now: Studio Forum 2013

A photograph by Gregory Halpern from his book King, Queen, Knave, which was published last year by MACK. Courtesy the artist and MACK

Blues Ship (makes me wanna holla), a mixed-media artwork by Todd Gray, whose work is on view this month at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City. © The artist. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin

A photograph by Gregory Halpern from his book King, Queen, Knave, which was published last year by MACK. Courtesy the artist and MACK

Blues Ship (makes me wanna holla), a mixed-media artwork by Todd Gray, whose work is on view this month at Lehmann Maupin, in New York City. © The artist. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin