Bonus 215: How I Write the Newsletter

I've received a number of questions from readers about the process involved in how I write—and decide what to write about in—the newsletter. This week's bonus issue attempts a peek behind the curtain.

Welcome back to the weekly bonus content for “One First.” Although Monday’s regular newsletter will remain free for as long as I’m able to do this, I put much of the weekly “bonus” issue behind a paywall as an added incentive for those who are willing and able to support the work that goes into putting this newsletter together every week. I’m grateful to those of you who are already paid subscribers, and I hope that those of you who aren’t will consider a paid subscription—both to have full access to the bonus content and to more broadly support these efforts—if and when your circumstances permit:

For this week’s bonus issue, I wanted to take a moment to write out a more complete (and hopefully coherent) response to a question that I’ve received at several events over the last few weeks: what actually goes into putting the newsletter together—including identifying topics, finding time to write, and actually writing and producing what you receive in your inboxes (at least) twice a week?

The short answer is that there’s no short answer. Much though I might wish (and you might prefer) that the newsletter was a well-oiled machine staffed by a large team of folks with plenty of time on their hands to carefully vet and research topics and edit the final product before it goes out into the world, the reality is a lot more … modest and chaotic. The bonus issues, in particular, tend to be written at the last minute on Wednesday afternoons (or early Thursday mornings)—either because I was waiting to see if the Supreme Court would make news; because I didn’t have time to tackle it any earlier; or, as is true of today’s bonus issue, both! (I’m writing this one, in particular, while waiting for a delayed flight home to D.C. from Kansas City.)

I’ll get into all of this below the fold. And I’ll leave to you if these additional insights change your view of the enterprise—and, if so, whether for better or for worse. I’ll just say that, for all of the warts inherent in such a necessarily haphazard operation, I’m immensely proud of what we’ve built over the 3.5 years that we’ve been doing this—and I’m immensely grateful to all of you for supporting it, in whatever form that support has come. The newsletter has become a much more meaningful part of my work than I ever could have anticipated in November 2022—and if you’re reading this, you’re a big part of why.

For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back (no later than) Monday with our continuing coverage of the Supreme Court. For those who are, please read on.