How Texas's Power Grid Failed

Also: new music, reads and podcasts for your weekend ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View in Browser]( | [Donate]( [WBUR] [WBUR]( The WBUR Weekender February 20, 2021 🌞 Weekend Weather: Today is partly sunny, with a high near 34. Sunday will be sunny, with a high near 33. Good morning, I got into journalism because I think knowledge is one of the most powerful tools we have to make sense of the world. And these days, there's a lot of news and information to sort through and try to make sense of, especially in regard to COVID-19 vaccines. At WBUR, our main goal is to inform the community so individuals can make important decisions about their health. But to make sure everyone has access to reliable news and information on vaccines, we need your help. Please share our reporting and resources on vaccines and the state's rollout with your personal networks. Here are a few ways you can do that: - Get family and friends to sign up for our weekly coronavirus newsletter or [share this page]( with your town or city officials and community groups. The newsletter has built a reputation as a trusted resource for local vaccine news, covering everything from vaccine safety to the latest distribution information in an understandable way. Just [click on this link](mailto:?subject=Good%20info%20on%20vaccines&body=Hi%20friend%2C%0A%0AWBUR%20has%20a%20weekly%20coronavirus%20newsletter%20and%20I%20wanted%20to%20share%20it%20with%20you.%20It's%20a%20trusted%20resource%20for%20all%20your%20local%20vaccine%20news.%20They're%20covering%20everything%20from%20vaccine%20safety%20to%20the%20latest%20distribution%20information.%20If%20you're%20interested%2C%20you%20can%20sign%20up%20here%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wbur.org%2Fcoronavirus%2Femail-alerts%0A%0AHope%20you're%20doing%20well%20and%20chat%20soon!) for a prewritten email you can then address to three friends. - Bookmark this [wholistic look at all of our vaccine coverage]( and share any reporting you find helpful. A good place to start is this [regularly updated FAQ]( on Massachusetts' distribution plan. - [Ask any questions]( you have about vaccines. We'll work to answer them as best we can! - Attend one of our town hall events on vaccines. You can learn more and register for the free virtual events [here](. Thanks in advance for doing your part to share valuable information, and helping to keep your neighbors and friends safe and up to date. Stay well. — Meagan McGinnes [@meaganmcginnes]( newsletters@wbur.org This Week's Must Reads url[6 Hours And 6 Minutes: Bob Oakes On Delays And 'Delirium' Signing Up For A Vaccine Slot]( Stepping away. English breakfast tea. Remembering the woodpecker. How Morning Edition host Bob Oakes kept it together enough to keep trying to book his vaccine appointment. [Read more.]( - Background: [Mass. Residents Furious Over State's Faulty Vaccine Websites]( - Update: [Maryland Company Takes Blame For Mass. Vaccination Site Failure]( Support the news [Singing Bollywood In The Sunroom: A Daughter Remembers Her Dad As He Was Before COVID]( Salman Wasti was an immigrant, a professor, a lover of plants and a collector of things. He’s also one of nearly 500,000 Americans who’ve died from COVID-19. Here, his daughter Noreen remembers her father. [Read more.]( - More from Cog's 'Faces Of COVID' series: [They Were Both Gravely Ill With COVID — But Only One Survived]( [An Art Installation Confronts Us With A Hurricane, And Our Role In Climate Change]( Boston-based artist Georgie Friedman hopes the installation "Hurricane Lost" will confront people with the growing climate crisis, and their complicity in it. [Read more.]( [How Herd Immunity Works — And What Stands In Its Way]( When you click "Run Simulation" in this article from NPR, you are witnessing how a disease can spread through a population and how increased levels of vaccination can stop it in its tracks. How quickly a community gets to herd immunity depends on a number of factors. NPR illustrated some major ones in these scenarios. [Read more.]( [How Texas's Power Grid Failed]( Texas is the biggest energy producing state in the U.S. But this week’s frigid weather crashed the system. So what happened? On Point looks into the state's vulnerable power grid and how we make it better. [Read more.]( - Related: [For Texas, The Worst Of The Weather Has Passed, But Water Is Still A Big Problem]( How To Help: [A Collection Of Ways You Can Help In Texas From The Today Show]( Time For A Break Read: "Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019" collects the work of 90 writers — historians, poets, journalists, novelists and activists — to tell the stories of Black Americans. The book was edited by scholars Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. [Read an excerpt here.]( Listen: A quarter century after her death, Selena is breaking the internet, and Maria explores why in [the latest episode of "Anything For Selena."]( If you're loving the podcast as much as I am, be sure to attend the live taping of the final episode on Thursday, Feb. 25. You can [register for the free virtual event here.]( Watch: ["I Care A Lot"]( on Netflix. The dark comedy was filmed in Massachusetts in 2019 in Boston, Braintree, Dedham, Medfield, Millis, Natick, Rockport, Watertown, Wayland and Wellesley. Add new music to your playlist: New songs from Massachusetts artists [Sonni Mai]( and [Kwaku]( dropped this week, and IMHO they're 🔥 Need a laugh? This [horse from Middleborough]( agrees that no morning is complete without a trip to Dunkin’. Catch Up On Coronavirus What To Know: At least some of the COVID-19 vaccine doses that the state said Thursday would not be here until Monday — a little more than 135,000 doses — arrived in Massachusetts Friday. That's enough doses, the state said, to ensure providers will not have to cancel already scheduled vaccination appointments. [Read more.]( By The Numbers: 83% of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been shipped to Massachusetts have been administered. More than 1.2 million total doses have been given to residents and just under 330,000 people have been fully vaccinated. ([See our latest maps and charts for more information on case counts and vaccine rollout data.]( Before you go: "Cancun, Cabo, [even Boston]( sounds amazing!!!!!" 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📨 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news [WBUR]( [95289b97-66e8-43d4-a174-3bc3520a79a9.png]( [Instagram](  [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Want to change how you receive these emails? [Stop getting this newsletter by updating your preferences.]( I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](. Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2021 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved. You signed up for this newsletter at wbur.org. Our mailing address is: WBUR-FM 890 Commonwealth AveBoston, MA 02215-1205 [Add us to your address book](