Jim Fingal was an intern assigned to fact-check an essay by John D’Agata. "Hi, Jim," D’Agata began. "I think maybe there’s some sort of miscommunication, because the 'article,' as you call it, is fine. It shouldn’t need a fact-checker." The exchange from their new book, "The Lifespan of a Fact," is excerpted in Harpers. More from Slate, the New Yorker, and Salon.
