The interesting and informative podcast “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” (TMSIDK) from Stephen Dubner, strikes me as a kind of antidote to “fake news” so common these days. 📣🎙️

It’s an interesting format. In their own words:

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is live journalism wrapped in a game-show package and hosted by Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books and host of Freakonomics Radio. Stephen has always had a mission: to tell you the things you thought you knew but didn’t; and things you never thought you wanted to know, but do. Now, he has a new way of doing just that. TMSIDK is still journalism, still factual — but disguised in the most entertaining, unexpected, and occasionally ridiculous conversation you’re likely to hear. Guests presenters come on stage before a live audience and try to wow Stephen and his co-host(s) with a fascinating fact, a historical wrinkle, a new line of research — anything, really, as long as it’s interesting, useful and true (or at least true-ish). There’s a real-time human fact-checker on hand to sort fact from fiction.

I keep thinking it’s an “antidote” to fake news in a sly way, because of the focus they bring to (admittedly ad hoc) fact checking, because a part of the game is to judge the “IDKs” participants present as fact, and because of how we get to observe the thought processes of some very smart people.

It’s a real pleasurable listen, and you might like it too. The show has some serious heavy hitters as panelists. Check it out!

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Photo of protesters marching for facts

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