A selection of recent and most read stories from The Atlantic to start your day

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The President’s Weapon

Why does the power to launch nuclear weapons rest with a single American?

Humanity Is Playing Nuclear Roulette

The contours of World War III are visible in the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, India and Pakistan, and now Israel and Iran.

‘The Bear’ Isn’t Wasting a Second

Season 4 of the FX show is exactly what it—and we—needed.

A Military-Ethics Professor Resigns in Protest

Over the course of several months, Pauline Shanks Kaurin concluded that she no longer had the academic freedom necessary for doing her job.

America’s Incarceration Rate Is About to Fall Off a Cliff

Long sentences and recidivism kept prison populations high for decades, but prisons are now starting to empty.

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The Atlantic’s Crossword

The Atlantic’s crossword puzzle gets a little more challenging every day: Mondays are the easiest, with the biggest, most difficult puzzle on Sunday.