HARPER’S MAGAZINE, the oldest general interest monthly in America, explores the issues that drive our national conversation through such celebrated features as Readings, Annotation, and Findings, as well as the iconic Harper’s Index.
Sun and Air Though Hillary Angelo paints a stark picture of solar energy development in the American West [“Boomtown,” Letter from Nevada, January], many studies suggest that solar farms offer an opportunity to unite carbon-free energy production with ecological restoration. While solar farms can have mixed environmental effects, my research has found that amid increasing heat and drought stress in the West, the shade provided by arrays can strengthen native plants, extend flowering time, and support critical pollinator habitats. And agrivoltaics—the coupling of solar energy and agriculture production—shows promise. For example, using sheep grazers to manage solar array landscapes in lieu of gas-powered motors sustainably combines livestock and energy production. The opinions of those living near proposed solar sites must be taken into consideration, and the ways in which private…
After he finished medical school, my father left India, moved to the United Kingdom, and became a surgeon in the National Health Service. He specialized in orthopedics, which made Christmas a busy time for him. Icy sidewalks and boozy seasonal parties meant a steady stream of broken hips and car accidents. On Christmas morning, he would take the family on a round of the London hospitals where he worked to visit the patients stuck there for the holidays. It was a tradition, a mark of goodwill—most of the doctors we knew did the same thing—but also a recognition that medical care involved more than just the provision of treatment. Many of the patients, particularly the very old ones, had no other visitors. We substituted for the family they didn’t seem…
Brian T. Watson is an architect and cultural critic. For twenty-three years, he has been a columnist with the Salem News in Salem, Massachusetts, focused primarily on current affairs and the forces that were and are shaping societies both here and abroad. btwatson20@gmail.com (781) 367-2008 Paper, $13.00 e-Book, $9.99 Available on Amazon Independent of the pandemic and war, we are beset by a range of unprecedented developments that together, in this century, threaten the very existence of civilization. The current states of just ten forces — capitalism, technology, the internet, politics, media, education, human nature, the environment, population, and transportation — are driving society in predominantly negative ways. These forces are powerful and interconnected and their combined dynamics will carry us into any number of disasters well before 2100. We…
[Essay] WRITING WRONGS By Rachel Zucker, from excerpts of a lecture collected in The Poetics of Wrongness, which was published last month by Wave Books. In late January 2013, I told my mother I was going to publish my memoir, called MOTH-ERs, despite the fact that she’d told me she did not want me to and that, if I did, terrible things would happen to her, to me, and to my children. A few hours after receiving my email and forwarding it to several friends with a note saying that I was breaking her heart, my mother, who was in Taiwan at the time, was rushed to the hospital. She suffered an aortic dissection and never regained consciousness after an emergency heart valve replacement surgery. For months after my mother’s…
A mind trained from birth to calculate Bred for the role of CEO Breezed through an elite prep school As good at explaining macroeconomics as anyone out there in the world today Unbelievably fantastic Obviously a genius More like a super-advanced AI than flesh and blood Working when people arrive, working when people leave Devoting every waking moment of his life to work His parents queued for a moment of his time, only to give up because the wait was too long Has a real chance at being the world’s first trillionaire Like no other billionaire I’ve ever met Instantly lovable The guilelessness, kindness, and openness of a Muppet Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the terms of the deals he makes favor the other side An ethical maximalist in…
People think actor Mickey Rourke bears a resemblance to Val Kilmer Lady Gaga becomes the latest celebrity to fall into a meme trend of someone posting a picture of a celebrity for humorous effect Many respond to a tweet receiving criticism for suggesting the kinds of photos women should not share online The usual quips about Green Day and their hit song are made as September ends, but some remember its true meaning Author and psychologist Dr. Umar Johnson confirms a viral video shows him shopping at a mall in New Jersey Spokane-style pizza sparks discussion People see similarities between Popeyes food and a plate of food in a tweet A video of a drive-thru worker’s interaction with a customer circulates online Some debate the fizzy properties of Sprite at…
