April 2025

by Lily Scherlis,

[Fiction]

The Last Detail

On patrol with the Guardian Angels

by Kent Russell,

Harper’s Magazine welcomes reader response.

Email us about articles in the magazine.

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an average American attended a party on any given weekend in 2004 : 1 in 16

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of people in a U.S. household in 1970 : 3.1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of unoccupied bedrooms in the United States has increased since 1970 : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which U.S. deaths are projected to begin exceeding births : 2033

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of years by which people diagnosed with ADHD have shorter life expectancies : 7.7

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American man convicted of a crime was older than 50 in 1990 : 1 in 25

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of violent crimes in New York City that are committed on the streets : 43

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of crimes committed in the New York City subway for every million hours people spend there : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Republicans who say that corporate DEI programs have had no effect on their careers : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that these programs have benefited their careers : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they expect to drink alcohol almost every day in 2025 : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of microplastics, in grams, in the average American’s brain in 2016 : 4.7

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who cannot distinguish between right and left : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they rely on a “hand-related strategy” to do so : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. engineers with Ph.D.s who were born abroad : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of job-seeking Harvard Business School students who were unemployed three months after graduation in 2022 : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2022 in job turnover among U.S. CEOs : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of funds deposited into online gambling apps that come from the top 3 percent of bettors : 69

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an online gambler has ever withdrawn any winnings : 1 in 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in new American learners of Mandarin on Duolingo : 216

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of monthly users of character.ai, a website that offers AI-generated conversation partners : 20,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes per day that the average user spends on character.ai : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage chance that an American is able to identify whether a poem was written by Shakespeare or by ChatGPT : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who, in a blind comparison of poems by Shakespeare and by ChatGPT, find the latter more beautiful : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z Americans whose favorite movie is Avengers: Endgame : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Average length, in minutes, that Americans think a movie should be : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Average length, in minutes, of a movie nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes that the average American says they would spend watching movies or TV on a perfect day : 186

[Harper’s Index]

Number of perfect days the average American says they had last year : 12

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a large asteroid will strike Earth on December 22, 2032 : 1 in 32

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease last year in global champagne sales : 9

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an average American attended a party on any given weekend in 2004 : 1 in 16

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of people in a U.S. household in 1970 : 3.1

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the number of unoccupied bedrooms in the United States has increased since 1970 : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Year in which U.S. deaths are projected to begin exceeding births : 2033

[Harper’s Index]

Average number of years by which people diagnosed with ADHD have shorter life expectancies : 7.7

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an American man convicted of a crime was older than 50 in 1990 : 1 in 25

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of violent crimes in New York City that are committed on the streets : 43

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of crimes committed in the New York City subway for every million hours people spend there : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Republicans who say that corporate DEI programs have had no effect on their careers : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Who say that these programs have benefited their careers : 26

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they expect to drink alcohol almost every day in 2025 : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated amount of microplastics, in grams, in the average American’s brain in 2016 : 4.7

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who cannot distinguish between right and left : 15

[Harper’s Index]

Who say they rely on a “hand-related strategy” to do so : 45

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. engineers with Ph.D.s who were born abroad : 56

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of job-seeking Harvard Business School students who were unemployed three months after graduation in 2022 : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase since 2022 in job turnover among U.S. CEOs : 80

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of funds deposited into online gambling apps that come from the top 3 percent of bettors : 69

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that an online gambler has ever withdrawn any winnings : 1 in 10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase over the past year in new American learners of Mandarin on Duolingo : 216

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of monthly users of character.ai, a website that offers AI-generated conversation partners : 20,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes per day that the average user spends on character.ai : 90

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage chance that an American is able to identify whether a poem was written by Shakespeare or by ChatGPT : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who, in a blind comparison of poems by Shakespeare and by ChatGPT, find the latter more beautiful : 61

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Gen Z Americans whose favorite movie is Avengers: Endgame : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Average length, in minutes, that Americans think a movie should be : 92

[Harper’s Index]

Average length, in minutes, of a movie nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards : 150

[Harper’s Index]

Number of minutes that the average American says they would spend watching movies or TV on a perfect day : 186

[Harper’s Index]

Number of perfect days the average American says they had last year : 12

Readings

[Essay]

Plates of Fruit, Cut and Peeled

by David Seung,

[Fiction]

Speech Pathology

by Maggie Nelson,

Moonlight shadows in a park, a drawing by Per Adolfsen, whose work is on view this month with Nino Mier Gallery, at the Dallas Art Fair. Courtesy the artist and Nino Mier Gallery

Photographs by Jason Fulford, from his book Lots of Lots, which was published in December by MACK. Courtesy the artist and MACK

Photographs from the series At Dusk (1993) by Boris Mikhailov, whose work was on view in February at Marian Goodman Gallery, in New York City. These images were created using a Horizon panoramic film camera, prints from which were then hand-colored cobalt blue. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery

The Porch of Shadows, a painting by Cathleen Clarke, whose work was on view in February at Night Gallery, in Los Angeles. Courtesy the artist and Night Gallery, Los Angeles

“Bedroom, 2021,” a photograph by Bryan Schutmaat, whose book Sons of the Living was published in November by Trespasser Books. © The artist. Courtesy Trespasser Books

Moonlight shadows in a park, a drawing by Per Adolfsen, whose work is on view this month with Nino Mier Gallery, at the Dallas Art Fair. Courtesy the artist and Nino Mier Gallery

Photographs by Jason Fulford, from his book Lots of Lots, which was published in December by MACK. Courtesy the artist and MACK

The Porch of Shadows, a painting by Cathleen Clarke, whose work was on view in February at Night Gallery, in Los Angeles. Courtesy the artist and Night Gallery, Los Angeles

“Bedroom, 2021,” a photograph by Bryan Schutmaat, whose book Sons of the Living was published in November by Trespasser Books. © The artist. Courtesy Trespasser Books

Moonlight shadows in a park, a drawing by Per Adolfsen, whose work is on view this month with Nino Mier Gallery, at the Dallas Art Fair. Courtesy the artist and Nino Mier Gallery