Dear Reader,

There’s an old Schoolhouse Rock video called “Three Ring Government.” It’s a catchy tune, likening the three branches of government to a different act at a circus. I found myself humming it the other day when thinking about the upcoming hearings in the House on a list of topics that are becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of. Sadly, unlike the Schoolhouse Rock diddy, the House hearings are unlikely to offer a meaningful civics lesson. In fact, they are almost guaranteed to be total freakshow. So you can keep up with the circus, I offer a quick guide to the acts below.

Ring #1: Hunter Biden’s Laptop

There are few people who would be brave enough to go down the right-wing rabbit hole and write an explainer on what, exactly, the Hunter Biden Laptop scandal is about. One of those people is me. I’m trying to keep this column under 3,500 words so I won’t rehash all of the details here, but you can read that explainer – ideally with a shot of whiskey and an Ambien close by for after you finish – at my Substack. Just know that the entire story includes a blind laptop repairman, Rudy Giuliani, salacious photos, and Elon Musk. So you’ve been warned.