Read Beat (...and repeat)
If you're like me, you like to know things but how much time to invest? That's the question. Here's the answer: Read Beat--Interviews with authors of new releases. These aren't book reviews but short (about 25-30 minutes on the average) chats with folks that usually have taken a lot of time to research a topic, enough to write a book about it. Hopefully, there's a topic or two that interests you. I try to come up with subjects that fascinate me or I need to know more about. Hopefully, listeners will agree. I'm Steve Tarter, former reporter for the Peoria Journal Star and a contributor to WCBU-FM, the Peoria public radio outlet, from 20202 to 2024. I post regularly on stevetarter.substack.com.
Read Beat (...and repeat)
"The Editors" by Stephen Harrison
Among the digital giants that we've probably come to take for granted is the all-knowing Wikipedia site.
Stephen Harrison has taken notice. In fact, for the past five years, he's been following Wikipedia in a column called "Source Notes" in Slate magazine.
Recent articles of his carry titles such as "Wikipedia is covering the war in Israel and Gaza better than X" and "Wikipedia will survive A.I."
Harrison has carried his interest in Wikipedia over to The Editors, a suspense novel that the Washington Post labels "strikingly relevant."
Harrison said he became fascinated with Wikipedia after moving to New York several years ago. Wanting to know more about the city's extensive transit system, he consulted Wikipedia and was impressed with the information he found there. After looking up the sources of several specific articles, Harrison found that they were written by a couple of teenagers from Queens. That got him hooked on learning more about the many volunteers who provide input to the site and edit its contents.
Harrison noted that, as in his fictional work, attempts have been made to compete with Wikipedia over the years but, for various reasons, haven't gained traction.
Harrison says that Wikipedia does a good job of providing "neutral" information but he doesn't recommend it as a single stop for students. "I think it's a good place to start one's research but not to finish there," he said.
