Also: Meet the new Boston resident who may have switched Webster from red to blue; listeners share their low stakes hot takes
The WBUR Weekender November 7, 2020
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| 🌞 Weekend Weather: Sunny, with a high near 73. Sunday is also sunny, with a high near 69. Good morning,
The state of my desk usually reflects my mental state. By the end of this week, it was covered with post-its, cookie crumbs, coffee-stained mugs and empty cans of seltzer.
Yes, waiting is stressful – and many of you told us you've been feeling the same way. While sometimes it can be hard to make sense of the Electoral College process, seeing democracy at work is heartening. But the real calming force that got me through this week was a Groton, Mass. native: MSNBC’s national political correspondent Steve Kornacki.
Kornacki (and his khakis) became an internet sensation this week. Why? Well, for starters, he's been almost nonstop since Tuesday, using statistics, logic and real-time analysis to help the rest of us make sense of the electoral map. Here's some fun facts about the man in front of the big board:
- He's best known for his high energy. It likely stems from the fact that he's doing what he loves. “I got here in 2012, and my boss Phil Griffin called me up in 2014 and said, ‘We’ll give you a shot on the board,’” he told The New York Times, referring to the MSNBC president. “And I said, ‘Thank you!’ This is the thing that I really kind of wanted to do here. I think maybe that energy or whatever — maybe it’s too much — I think that’s probably what that is.”
- From what the world can tell, it seems he's only taken one forced break on Thursday, after listeners became worried he was going 24-hour days without sleep. His lack of clothing changes – and the fact that he's almost never off camera – gave him away. (Don't worry, he says he's fine.)
- All that energy is largely powered by Diet Coke. A lot of Diet Coke. And he hasn't eaten breakfast in 28 or 29 years.
- Kornacki is a Boston University grad.
- In 2011, he shared his coming out story in a personal essay for Salon. It's worth the read.
- The man has his own hashtag (complete with a Twitter emoji): #TrackingKornacki. It's a great place to fall down the rabbit hole.
- He buys his signature khakis from The Gap.
Here's hoping you (and Kornacki) can get some rest this weekend. — Meagan McGinnes
@meaganmcginnes
newsletters@wbur.org
This Week's Must Reads How The Pandemic May Be Making Political Bubbles Worse |  | | Some Massachusetts voters with very different political views do have something in common as they watch presidential election results come in: They're surprised the race is so close. That could be because they are surrounded by like-minded people in the age of social distancing, and got a false sense of their candidate's popularity. Read more. | Support the news
 | 'The Biological Event Of Our Lives': Boston Biotech Unicorn Dives Into Mass Coronavirus Testing  | | Gingko Bioworks hopes its testing facility will be up and running by early next month, and expects it to be needed at least through 2021. Read more. | Many Immigrants In Mass. Wait In Limbo For The Outcome Of The Election  | | For many immigrants in the country, uncertainty is something they've learned to live with during the Trump administration. Read more. |
'Do Better': Mass. Voters Hope To See Unity After Election Results  | | “I do want to see more tranquility, you know — a union,” one Massachusetts woman said. “That's what we want because that's what I teach my girls: To be respected. That’s the first thing. And that's what we all need: respect." Read more. |
3 Takeaways From Election Day In Massachusetts | | There weren't many surprises in Massachusetts' election results this year, but there's more to learn from the votes than just the clear-cut wins and losses. Here are three takeaways from parsing the numbers and studying the map of town-by-town results. Read more. | | | Time For A Break Listen: We all have that one opinion — that firmly held, low stakes, non-political belief that's usually met with (low stakes) outrage whenever you say it out loud. Endless Thread listeners shared their low stakes hot takes with us and, oh boy, did they deliver.
Snapshot: What a difference one week makes. Last Friday, there was a decent amount of snow on the ground, and this week, WBUR photographer Robin Lubbock grabbed this shot of kite-surfers by Castle Island. |  New music: Two Boston-based rappers came out with new EPs this week: Suriel and Billy Dean Thomas. Give them a listen.
Tell me something good: We all could use a little joy this week. This snowball fight from 1897 will do the trick.
Retail therapy: Buy local at the Make It Matter outdoor, pop-up marketplace today. Learn more about this event and a few other weekend suggestions here.
| | | Catch Up On Coronavirus What To Know About Coronavirus Today: The Baker administration is changing how the state calculates community risk levels for coronavirus, and moving away from the color-coded map to more of a list format. The main change: The new measurement system raises the cases required per 100,000 threshold for the "red" designation while adding variables for community size and positive test rate. Read more. |  Coronavirus By The Numbers: State public health officials think there's roughly 18,000 people in Massachusetts who have active cases of the coronavirus right now. There's nearly 500 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Massachusetts.
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