Before I record each episode of “Book-ish,” the script is fact-checked by The Daily Princetonian’s intrepid copy editors. While editing the last episode on Sarah Bakewell’s “How to Live,” they marked two of the passages from the book I quoted to be checked. I was confused because, well, I quoted them! Why would they need to check those?

Lo and behold, they were wrong. Only slightly wrong — but wrong indeed. You heard the correct quotes on the podcast two weeks ago.

This whole fiasco could have been avoided if I had taken the time to properly cite the book. Citations both prove that you’ve done your work and make it easy to check.

Anthony Grafton’s book, “The Footnote,” digs into the history of citation. I sat down with him to talk about his book, how history is made, how we understand the past, and the nature of truth. The humble little footnote is behind it all. Listen in.

This podcast was written and recorded by Gabe Robare, and was produced under the 145th Managing Board of The Daily Princetonian. It was edited by Cammie Lee and produced by Frannie Block with production help from Isabel Rodrigues. Special thanks to Professor Grafton for speaking with me for today’s episode.

Have a book you want us to review, or want to talk about a previous episode? Send us an email at [email protected].

For The Daily Princetonian, this has been Book-ish. Have a great day and keep reading.

Rock Over London by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4301-rock-over-london
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license