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To capture a democratic nation, authoritarians must control three sources of power: the intelligence agencies, the justice system, and the military.

Updated with new questions at 5:15 p.m. ET on October 7, 2025.
Welcome back for another week of The Atlantic’s un-trivial trivia, drawn from recently published stories. Without a trifle in the bunch, maybe what we’re really dealing with here is—hmm—“significa”? “Consequentia”?
Whatever butchered bit of Latin you prefer, read on for today’s questions. (Last week’s questions can be found here.)
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You could be forgiven for not knowing how much people love CBS News. I certainly didn’t until a few weeks ago, but the hoary institution is once again being described as the “Tiffany network”—Edward R. Murrow saying, “Good night and good luck”; Walter Cronkite taking the manliest moment in all of live television to get control of himself after announcing the death of John F. Kennedy; and … the trail grows cold.

Throughout Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for the presidency, he repeatedly indicated his desire to deploy National Guard troops into the “crime dens” of American cities and against the “enemy within.” This promise, at least, he has kept. Over the past four months, the president has sent the Guard into the streets of Los Angeles and the District of Columbia.

The Atlantic is announcing the addition of five journalists as part of a continued newsroom expansion: senior editor Paul Beckett and staff writer Simon Shuster, both as part of its growing national-security team; Lily Meyer, previously a contributing writer, as a staff writer covering books and culture; Alex Reisner, who covers tech and AI and moves to staff from contributing writer; and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, who will join as a staff writer covering politics from Arizona.