Harper’s Magazine

From the September Harper’s Index. buff.ly/Q06fGEm

“Ten billion snow crabs have disappeared from the Bering Sea. Oceans have never been this hot in recorded history. The one torture method G proposed that I shut down immediately was cold-water immersion. Researchers say the ocean is suffocating.” —@alienvsrobbins.bsky.social buff.ly/AL2A8j0

“When we met for the first time a couple weeks later, she pissed on my socks and beat me until I bruised with the copy of Mary Gaitskill’s Bad Behavior I’d brought her, stupidly thinking she was soliciting a gift when she told me to bring a book I loved.”

“Senator Dan Sullivan enjoined voters not to vote for his rival, also named Dan Sullivan, in the bid for his congressional seat; The U.S. president endorsed a New Jersey representative whose whereabouts have been unknown for months.”

“Recent surveys by the Pew Research Center have found that half of Americans are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life; a similar proportion believe that it will worsen our ability to think creatively and form meaningful relationships…”

“There would be less dirt to clean, probably, if everyone knew in advance that they couldn’t leave the cleaning to someone else.” From “Dirty Work Should Be Shared,” which appeared in the December 1982 issue.

“Georges Bataille was right: excess is the accursed share of abundance, and no one can afford to bear it.” Simon Paré-­Poupart on the life of the garbageman.

“I thought I would be scared. I thought it was very strange. I thought, Wow.” From eyewitness testimonies sent to the National UFO Reporting Center. harpers.org/archive/2026...

“Some were drawn first to the language and its interna ideo, only to later realize the travel benefits involved; others had learned the language specifically to bum around.” Katie Thornton reports from the 110th annual World Esperanto Congress in the Czech Republic.

“Maya, as much as I love her, is no less susceptible than any of us to being blinded by a glimpse of something we desire—in this case, our long-discussed but repeatedly delayed plan to have a child together if both of us were still single by thirty-five…”

“Humor allows people to stand back from what they are in reality.” From “The Hormone Pill,” by César Aira, a story in the collection Five, which will be published by New Directions (@ndbooks.bsky.social) next month.

“When he pulled his gun on the 2 train that day, Goetz could hardly have been aware of all that he would come to represent about this era—but from a certain angle, you can see history coursing through him.” — @kevinlozano.bsky.social

“In principle, there is no such thing as intrinsically degrading work; degradation is a cultural phenomenon. In practice, however, activities having to do with dirt, waste, and garbage have been the object of disdain and avoidance in just about every society.”