I was originally going to title this episode “Facts Matter,” but instead chose the 90s hiphop version of that sentiment, as I’m prone to do.

Today, we are peeling back the curtain on how I achieved the maximum possible accuracy and precision in my book What If We Get It Right?: I hired a fact checker named James Gaines.

James is a freelance science writer, journalist, and fact checker with a special focus on solutions journalism, which we love. He grew up in a cabin in the woods in Texas, and as the child of two librarians, loves a good footnote. He comes by it honestly: his pedigree is people who sweat the details.

Tune in as we reveal which facts were the hardest to check, my aversion to the term “my truth,” and how we got to the bottom of things, together.

And head to the newsletter for pics and to read the poem I read to close out this episode, Marge Piercy's "To Be Of Use." It’s one of my all-time favorites, and it's the last poem that appears in What If We Get It Right? You may notice me slow down to emphasize my favorite line: “The work of the world is common as mud.” Yes. Mostly unglamorous, often solitary, sometime tedious, and that’s just fine as long as it’s a contribution to the transformation we need.

CREDITS: This episode was produced and edited by Nora Saks and me, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, recorded live at Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, with recording assistance from John O’Brien. Check out James’ website, jmgaines.com, to find out more about all the cool work that he’s doing. And as always, huge thanks to my chief of staff (and tour producer) Jenisha Shrestha.

Thanks for listening 💛

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