You may recall a loose promise, on signing up for this newsletter, that you’d get an email every Tuesday. And, as you may have come to discover, this deadline is somewhat flexible. To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum’s chaos theory-loving scientist in Jurassic Park: “Life finds a way … of getting in the way.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I think there are a few of you interested not just in what I write here, but the other Ws that go into the making of the newsletter: the when, where, and why, as well as the how (the honorary extra W.) This essay aims to pull back the curtain, and also share some of the sources, tools and secrets that keep TNF ticking on, week after week.