Monday’s Iowa caucus, the first major contest in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, will finally take place after a long campaign that began for some candidates back in early 2019.

But for every candidate who is the focus of the campaign, there’s an army of staffers both behind and in front of them, organizing events, signing up supporters, drafting remarks, driving around the state.

Those campaign workers face uncertainty as much as the candidates do, reports political scientist Barbara Trish, who has spent months interviewing campaign staff. “The question of just what will happen to them after the Feb. 3 caucuses wafts through the air, carrying with it a subtle message about the state of democratic politics,” she writes.

Also this week we featured stories about the folklore of knocking on wood for luck, why woodpeckers don’t get concussions and how unlikely it is you’ll accidentally harass someone.