The roster of commentators at MSNBC (the US tv channel) includes two white guys in their 40s who look like they might be brothers, dress very similarly, and often appear together in split-screen discussions, which I find vaguely disconcerting. The brothers in news:
(#1) Jonathan / Jon Lemire, from Morning Joe
(#2) Willie Geist, from Way Too Early
They have even gone on the road together, as here:
(#3) [p.r. for the event:] A thought-provoking night at [the 92nd St. Y in NYC on 7/27/22]. Join Jon Lemire & Willie Geist as they delve into the tumultuous state of American politics and discuss Lemire’s new book: The Big Lie. Live, in person & streaming globally.
Basic biographical facts:
Lemire: born 10/28/79, grew up in Lowell MA
Geist: born 5/3/75, grew up in Ridgewood NJ
Telling them apart. Neither has markedly regional features in his speech, and their speech styles are similar (as are their projected personas — as serious, thoughtful, nice guys with an easy masculinity), but their vocal qualities are notably different, since Geist has lots of vocal fry in his voice.
Despite their fraternal similarity, they can be distinguished by eye if you attend to details: Lemire has brown hair, arching eyebrows, a broader face, and a squarer jaw; while Geist has black — that is, very dark brown — hair, flatter eyebrows, a narrower face, and a more pointed chin.
So: look carefully.
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