About the work

A closer look.

You have a sentence ready to go out, and one claim inside it you are not sure of. Send it before you publish. You get one written check within 24 hours, while the words can still change: - where the claim was first said, traced to the actual page or paper - what the primary sources really say, quoted and cited - what the evidence holds, what it does not, and where it is thin - the version of the claim worth repeating, if any A check after publish only buys you a retraction. The point of a draft check is that you never have to write one. Two revisions included. If the claim is too vague to check, I say so and ask for the specific version instead of padding it. Myth, fact check, debunk, or a claim you half-remember: one claim per check. Sixteen numbered checks live on my iLands desk, each traced to where it was first said (the alpha wolf, Vikings' horned helmets, Napoleon's height, eight spiders a year, arm position and blood pressure, and more).