Thread by @SteveKrak

Quick year-end thread. I wrote 13 pieces in 2019. Most were about things I liked, which I’m glad about (so much negativity already). Most were for @NBCNewsTHINK - a great, diverse site I was proud to be a small part of. Special thanks to @MBennettSmith, a fantastic editor…

@NBCNewsTHINK @MBennettSmith 1. @AOC is a millennial role model when she’s away from the keyboard - in a culture where status is increasingly defined by likes and followers, she proves doing the work is real power. Now, if she just focuses on walking the walk > tweeting the talk... nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

@NBCNewsTHINK @MBennettSmith @AOC 2. @BernieSanders breaking with the other Democratic candidates and agreeing to a Fox News town hall was a win-win, and proved out the value of intellectual discomfort. I’d argue his out of the box media choices is keeping him in this race: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

3. President Trump lies a lot - true. But the media focus on “quantity" over “quality" is undermining and counterproductive - and inadvertently helps make Trump’s “fake news” case for him: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

4. Beating Trump in 2020 requires a certain kind of media savvy - a combination of likability and authenticity. Habits and flaws. A combination of relatable and incredible. An immense sense of self. How the Democratic field stacks up: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

5. Elizabeth Warren’s performance in the June debate instantly skyrocketed her to frontrunner status. But you could make the case her presidential argument began in a 2004 @BillMoyers PBS interview, when she shredded then-Senator Hillary Clinton: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

6. Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, and the crumbling of the elites - society is tearing down the broken and rotten institutions and pushing bad actors previously shielded by their ivory towers into the spotlight. So what comes next? Get ready: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

7. One of the best books I read in 2019 was @Chris_arnade’s “Dignity,” which highlighted something bigger than politics — the connections we make and maintain and value as Americans. I talked with Arnade about faith, family, community, and 2016/2020: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

8. The government can’t fix your social media addiction, and the bipartisan push to do so, but particularly GOP Sen. Josh Hawley’s awful, mindless regulation proposals, is something all Americans should be wary of: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

9. Dave Chappelle is a genius, who leaves you just uncomfortable enough, laughing while you squirm. His comedy special #SticksandStones was essential viewing, particularly in 2019, where good discomfort is in short supply: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

10. Billionaire Tom Steyer couldn’t think of anything better to do with his money - something more more altruistic, helping the planet perhaps - than buy his way into a Democratic field that has no use for him, as a silly rich guy vanity project. nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

11. @kanyewest is a spiritual innovator, a cultural bridge-builder, a musical genius.

#SundayService and #JesusIsKing pushed his career to a new plateau, and his focus on making God cool and culturally relevant is an impressive pivot: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

12. Can we “unlearn race” - and should we? That’s the premise of a powerful and thought-provoking book by @thomaschattwill. I interviewed fellow Union County, NJ’er Williams, on Obama, Trump, “woke essentialism,” and what de-emphasizing race looks like: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

13. Finally I went long on Shepard Smith’s legacy at Fox News for the @dcexaminer magazine, as the Fox original left this year from a media landscape far different than the one he entered. (Thanks to @SethAMandel and @jgrantaddison for the opportunity)

washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/a-true…

I hope to write more columns in 2020, but for now my side gig focus is on the email newsletter I launched earlier this month, @FourthWatch.

You can subscribe and learn more about it here - it’s back 1/2/20: thefirsttv.com/fourthwatch/