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[Report] Bad News

Selling the story of disinformation

By Joseph Bernstein,

Current Issue September 2021

[Letter from Sher Toghi] When the Raids Came

The war’s toll on one Afghan family

By Andrew Quilty,

[Essay] The Portrait Gallery

What the American Academy of Arts and Letters taught me about death

By Ann Patchett,

[Harper’s Index]

Number of new microorganisms that have been discovered on urban mass-transit systems since 2016 : 11,676

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of unruly-passenger incidents on U.S. flights this year that involved face masks : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Of new viruses : 10,928

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which parking demand will decline across the United States by 2050 : 40

[Harper’s Index]

Number of New York City parking spots that were converted into outdoor dining areas during the pandemic : 8,550

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of U.S. streets closed during the pandemic that have reopened or are scheduled to reopen to traffic : 85

[Harper’s Index]

Number of people admitted to Phoenix’s burn unit last summer after contact with hot asphalt, sidewalks, or sand : 104

[Harper’s Index]

Number of those people who died : 7

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of the world’s mature giant sequoias that were killed in a single wildfire last year : 1/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decline in California’s monarch butterfly population since the 1980s : 99.7

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of additional humans who will be exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes by 2080 : 950,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Number of serious injuries that occur at Amazon warehouses for every 200,000 hours worked : 5.9

[Harper’s Index]

At other U.S. warehouses : 3.1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Europeans who would prefer to have packages delivered by a robot or drone instead of a human : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Who would like to see artificial intelligence replace some of their legislative representatives : 51

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of candidates for local office in Mexico this year who were murdered before the June elections : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which atheists are more likely than religious Americans to oppose the death penalty for murder : 76

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who thought religion was gaining influence in the United States a year ago : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Who think so today : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change this year in the share of Democrats who regard the country’s moral values as “poor” : –29

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they have a “good idea” of what it is : 34

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which high-income college applicants are more likely than low-income applicants to write essays about mental health : 1.5

[Harper’s Index]

About sports : 4

[Harper’s Index]

About failure : 4.5

[Harper’s Index]

Number of U.S. prisoners who requested compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons during the pandemic last year : 30,969

[Harper’s Index]

Number of these prisoners whose requests were approved : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number who died while their requests were pending : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Chance that a European Union resident who received public services last year did so through a personal connection : 1 in 3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage decrease in the number of families reporting depression and anxiety after the last two rounds of stimulus checks : 20

[Harper’s Index]

In the number of families reporting food shortages : 42

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in the sale of vacation homes in the United States : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of U.S. millennial homeowners who have “some regrets” about purchasing a house : 2/3

[Harper’s Index]

Date on which China announced that it would allow couples to have a third child : 5/31/21

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of women surveyed in the central Chinese city of Xi’an who say they would like to have three children : 8

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of American men in relationships who think their partner is more attractive than they are : 37

[Harper’s Index]

Of American women in relationships who think so : 14

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“Untitled, 2017–20”

“Untitled, 2017–20,” a photograph from The Roses series by Adam Pape, whose work was on view last week with the Aperture Foundation at the Armory Show, in New York City.

Hood’s Red Rider, No. 2

Hood’s Red Rider, No. 2, vegetable color, dry pigment, watercolor, gold paint, and tea on wasli paper by Shahzia Sikander, whose work is on view through September 26 at the Morgan Library and Museum, in New York City.

The Wholesaler and Ironmonger Dimpfel Family Curiosity Cabinet

The Wholesaler and Ironmonger Dimpfel Family Curiosity Cabinet, 1668, gouache and punched gold on parchment, by Joseph Arnold, from Conchophilia: Shells, Art, and Curiosity in Early Modern Europe, which was published this month by Princeton University Press.

Courtesy Museum Ulm, Germany, and Princeton University Press

Round a Memory (The Artists)

Round a Memory (The Artists), oil and glitter on canvas by Briana McLaurin, whose work is on view through September 2 at Thierry Goldberg, in New York City.

Courtesy the artist and Thierry Goldberg, New York City

Number of new microorganisms that have been discovered on urban mass-transit systems since 2016 : 11,676

Portion of unruly-passenger incidents on U.S. flights this year that involved face masks : 3/4

Of new viruses : 10,928

Estimated percentage by which parking demand will decline across the United States by 2050 : 40

Number of New York City parking spots that were converted into outdoor dining areas during the pandemic : 8,550

Percentage of U.S. streets closed during the pandemic that have reopened or are scheduled to reopen to traffic : 85

Number of people admitted to Phoenix’s burn unit last summer after contact with hot asphalt, sidewalks, or sand : 104

Number of those people who died : 7

Minimum portion of the world’s mature giant sequoias that were killed in a single wildfire last year : 1/10

Percentage decline in California’s monarch butterfly population since the 1980s : 99.7

Estimated number of additional humans who will be exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes by 2080 : 950,000,000

Number of serious injuries that occur at Amazon warehouses for every 200,000 hours worked : 5.9

At other U.S. warehouses : 3.1

Percentage of Europeans who would prefer to have packages delivered by a robot or drone instead of a human : 35

Who would like to see artificial intelligence replace some of their legislative representatives : 51

Minimum number of candidates for local office in Mexico this year who were murdered before the June elections : 34

Percentage by which atheists are more likely than religious Americans to oppose the death penalty for murder : 76

Percentage of Americans who thought religion was gaining influence in the United States a year ago : 38

Who think so today : 16

Percentage change this year in the share of Democrats who regard the country’s moral values as “poor” : –29

In the number of Republicans : +65

Percentage of Democrats who have a favorable view of critical race theory : 86

Of Republicans who have an unfavorable view of it : 91

Percentage by which Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they have a “good idea” of what it is : 34

Factor by which high-income college applicants are more likely than low-income applicants to write essays about mental health : 1.5

About sports : 4

About failure : 4.5

Number of U.S. prisoners who requested compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons during the pandemic last year : 30,969

Number of these prisoners whose requests were approved : 36

Minimum number who died while their requests were pending : 35

Chance that a European Union resident who received public services last year did so through a personal connection : 1 in 3

Percentage decrease in the number of families reporting depression and anxiety after the last two rounds of stimulus checks : 20

In the number of families reporting food shortages : 42

Percentage increase last year in the sale of vacation homes in the United States : 16

Portion of U.S. millennial homeowners who have “some regrets” about purchasing a house : 2/3

Date on which China announced that it would allow couples to have a third child : 5/31/21

Percentage of women surveyed in the central Chinese city of Xi’an who say they would like to have three children : 8

Percentage of American men in relationships who think their partner is more attractive than they are : 37

Of American women in relationships who think so : 14

September 14, 2021

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Seven Steps to Heaven

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Eating the Whale

The Third Force

Women Corinne Does Not Actually Know

“Untitled, 2017–20”

Hood’s Red Rider, No. 2

The Wholesaler and Ironmonger Dimpfel Family Curiosity Cabinet

Round a Memory (The Artists)

Past Issues

Harper’s Finest

From the Archive

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SARS was found in tears.

A psycholinguistic analysis of posts on Twitter and Weibo during COVID-19 lockdowns found that residents of Lombardy grew increasingly focused on leisure and residents of Wuhan grew increasingly focused on religion.

Convalescent plasma helps Syrian hamsters fight SARS-CoV-2.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-­19-­infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.

The World Health Organization warned that SARS will probably return this winter.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-19-infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.