Names and faces
■ Jen Psaki, who rose to fame as President Joe Biden’s first White House press secretary, presiding over more than 200 briefings and gaining TikTok stardom for her occasionally spiky exchanges with reporters, is joining the cable news channel MSNBC later this year. She will serve as a political analyst for the midterm elections and the 2024 presidential campaign, the network said Tuesday. She’s also set to host a show starting next year on a streaming-only channel, MSNBC on Peacock. Psaki’s last day in the West Wing was May 13, and her move to television news was widely expected. She is MSNBC’s second major hire from the Biden administration; Symone Sanders, a former spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, is hosting a weekend show. Psaki said her program will focus on “fact-based and thoughtful conversations about the big questions on the minds of people across the country.” MSNBC is popular with Democrats and left-leaning viewers, and its election and primary night coverage already feature opinionated hosts such as Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace. Now its viewers will receive real-time commentary from a key member of Biden’s first-term inner circle. Psaki previously worked as an on-air contributor on CNN. Before that, she served as a White House communications director for President Barack Obama, and as chief spokesperson for Secretary of State John Kerry.
■ The Boss, aka Bruce Springsteen, is hitting the road again, and the E Street Band is going with him. The rockers announced Monday that they will begin an arena tour in the United States in February, followed by stadium shows in Europe beginning in April. Details on the U.S. tour will be announced later, but it’ll be the first time the group has toured since wrapping The River Tour in Australia in February 2017. “After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year,” Springsteen said. The European concerts will begin April 28 in Barcelona, with stops in Dublin, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and the tour concluding July 25, 2023, in Monza, Italy. Concerts in Britain and Belgium will be announced later. The North American dates will be split into two segments, with a second leg beginning in August. The group’s last release was the 2020 album “Letter to You.”