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Audie Cornish's 2:30 a.m. Wake-Up: A Day in DC
The CNN anchor wakes before 3 a.m., skips coffee, and assembles the 'world's saddest bootleg omelet' before her 6 a.m. show. She then records a podcast, picks up her kids by 3:30 p.m., and is in bed by 7 p.m.
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Audie Cornish wakes at 2:30 a.m. She doesn't drink coffee. A shower is her cup of coffee, she said. By 3 a.m. she's in the car, driving to CNN's Washington, D.C. studio. The half-hour commute is her transition time.
Cornish, 46, is a CNN senior analyst and the anchor of "CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish." She also co-hosts the network's podcast "Engagement Party" with Ari Shapiro. She joined CNN in 2022 after 16 years at NPR, where she co-hosted "All Things Considered."
"In the first six months of the job, I never ate before the show," Cornish said. "I felt so run down." Now she arrives, reviews the rundown, shares story ideas, and fields fact-check questions. She takes a Zoom call from the makeup chair. Then she assembles what she calls the world's saddest bootleg omelet, topped with sprouts and cucumber. Tea – Earl Grey or Jasmine Pearl – is her only caffeine. The brewing process helps her focus.
"I get into a flow state of work, even though it looks like I'm just having tea," she said.
The show airs live at 6 a.m. Cornish pictures herself at a breakfast table, checking in on viewers. "I think about all the parents getting their kids ready for school, all the people who get up early to go to the gym," she said. She tries to make the hour fun and to wrestle with complex ideas.