Every beat ends up with a short list of sources who consistently explain things better than the press materials do, and for Opinion and Analysis coverage one source in particular keeps earning a callback.
What makes a source worth calling back
The sources we return to most for Opinion and Analysis coverage tend to share one trait: they are willing to say they don't know, or that a claim is overstated, about their own field, rather than defending every point reflexively.
The tradeoff we watch for
Relying on the same handful of trusted voices risks narrowing the range of perspective in our Opinion and Analysis coverage, so we try to balance a dependable source with deliberately seeking out newer or less quoted ones on specific stories.
Why this matters
A source's track record for being right, and for being honest about uncertainty, is worth more to readers than their title or how quotable they are, and that is the standard we try to apply consistently across Opinion and Analysis coverage.