Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.A worsening pandemic may leave many Americans stripped of holiday comforts. Although an old TV show is no substitute for a hug from a loved one, perhaps some solace can be found in the familiar faces of beloved characters.

Pfizer announced this week that early data show its vaccine to be “more than 90 percent effective.” But what does that actually mean? And does it change the timeline for a return to “normal life”?Stephen Thomas, the chief of infectious disease at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the lead principal investigator of the Pfizer vaccine trial, answers questions on the podcast Social Distance from staff writer James Hamblin and producer Katherine Wells.

ATLANTA—Georgia wasn’t supposed to turn blue. Not yet, and especially not in the suburbs of Atlanta, where Newt Gingrich arguably launched the modern conservative movement in the early 1990s and cemented the stereotype of these sprawling neighborhoods as rich, white, and die-hard Republican. This is where a generation of conservative political stars fostered their careers: former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, longtime U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, even Sean Hannity.

GETTY / THE ATLANTICThe journalist Matthew Yglesias, a co-founder of Vox, announced today that he is leaving that publication for the paid-newsletter platform Substack, so that he can enjoy more editorial independence.The move may prove a good fit for Yglesias, who began his career as a highly successful independent blogger before blogging at The Atlantic and then elsewhere.

Just hours after Joe Biden was declared president-elect of the United States, and as massive celebrations gripped cities around the country, Dave Chappelle took the Saturday Night Live stage to puncture the jubilant mood. He started his monologue with a story about his great-grandfather, who’d been born into slavery in South Carolina. “I thought about him all day today, because I wish I could see him now.