Years ago, when the Simpsons animator Chuck Sheetz was a lecturer at UCLA, he invited a producer colleague of his from the series to attend a screening of his students’ work. That was a Saturday night; when Sheetz entered the Simpsons offices the following Monday morning, he found a handful of his pupils in the reception area. The producer had offered them jobs, they said, and they were ready to join the team—the students had the animation skills required of a thriving production.

Nigel Farage is a great survivor. A decade ago, the British populist provocateur achieved his lifelong ambition—getting his country to vote itself out of the European Union. Since then, he has founded Reform UK—now Britain’s most popular party—and won a seat in Parliament after seven failed attempts. But one question won’t go away: Where does he get his money from?
Hoping to silence inquiries about his financial interests, the Reform leader today risked everything in a Trumpian gamble.

The celebrations of America’s 250th birthday, though they offered many wonderful moments, did not provide the sweeping sense of national unity for which some people had hoped. Some Americans found the July 4 weekend too political, too polarizing, and offering too much President Trump.
But another event this summer has proved to be a source of infectious patriotism: the World Cup.

The buff George Washington statue in the National Museum of American History speaks for itself. Taking in the washboard abs and determined expression of the 1840 work by Horatio Greenough, a visitor would be hard-pressed to see anything but a Founding Father rendered as a Greek god. Yet in a searing 162-page report on the Smithsonian museum released on July 4, the Trump administration takes issue with the lack of patriotism in even this exhibit.

Last September, the progressive strategist Morris Katz confessed to The New Yorker that the process by which he decided that Graham Platner was qualified to run for U.S. Senate required less time than drinking a cup of coffee. Actually, it seems to have been less a confession than a boast. “Within a few minutes of talking to him, I was, like, ‘This guy owes it to the country to run for Senate,’” Katz recalled.

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
This evening, the U.S. Men’s National Team will take on Belgium in a World Cup Round of 16 match in Seattle. Much to U.S.A. fans’ relief, and to Belgians’ chagrin, the team will have the services of the striker Folarin Balogun.
The star player was sent off during last week’s U.S.A.

The only thing more riling than a referee’s interference in a sports event is a politician’s. How to kill America’s goodwill in the World Cup: Wave a “red card” under the nose of Donald Trump. Let him go to work, by putting in a call to his good friend Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, to inquire about the suspension of Team USA’s top scorer. Have the player’s suspension magically lifted just in time for the next big game.