 SARS-CoV-2 infection has been shown to drive NLRP-3 inflammasome activation and thereby cytokine storm, but how it does so is unclear. Here the authors show that the viral N-protein can bind to NLRP-3, resulting in enhanced interaction with ASC and thereby with the NLRP-3 inflammasome. This article was authored by Pan Pan, Miao Miao Shen, Jin Yang Yu, and others.