This is The Trump Trials by George T. Conway III, a newsletter that chronicles the former president’s legal troubles. Sign up here.
Not all that long ago, I thought that the trial currently being held in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump would be the last one I’d want to see as the first one tried against the former president. It seemed the least serious of the cases against him. Here’s a man who tried to overthrow American democracy by launching a coup to stay in power.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors bestowed on Republicans what seemed like an election-year gift: charging a senior House Democrat in a competitive district with accepting $600,000 in bribes and acting as a foreign agent. For a party clinging to a threadbare majority in the House, the indictment offered an obvious opportunity for an America First attack.

It took Conan O’Brien less than 90 seconds to upend Hot Ones. The YouTube interview show’s gimmick is simple: Celebrities eat successively hotter chicken wings while the host, Sean Evans, asks them well-researched questions about their life and career. Most guests are happy to endure painful spice while answering never-before-asked questions. O’Brien, on the other hand, shamelessly infused his own zany sensibility into the show’s design by immediately introducing “Dr.

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  
This week, a range of political headlines continue to raise questions about the looming presidential election. The adult-film star Stormy Daniels took the stand in the third week of former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial.

When Maya Rudolph returned to her old stomping grounds to host Saturday Night Live this weekend, the cast members Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman popped in during her monologue to declare her “mother”—and not only because she has four children. They also meant it in the slang sense of the word, which was derived from queer ballroom culture.

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.
Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer or editor reveals what’s keeping them entertained. Today’s special guest is Caroline Mimbs Nyce, a staff writer who used to be the lead writer of The Daily.

In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II, the Earl of Warwick warns the king of an impending revolt, which is one of those
main chance of things
As yet not come to life, who in their seeds
And weak beginning lie intreasured
The ailing but canny king rises to the occasion:
Are these things then necessities?
Then let us meet them like necessities.
A brutal war ensues, in which Henry saves his kingdom.

1.
I’m tapering
the doctor says––
It might feel
like you can hear
your eyes moving––
space racing
from the back
of your skull
to the front––
Mine goes a little
cold sometimes––
I don’t know
how else
to describe it––
Tall black candles––
2.
I’m tapering
off
because they
make me
very sick––
the morning
and evening
tablets I take
to stave off
the chill
of consciousness––
Two poles––
all stomach
or all mind––
Tall black candles––
3.