Investigative journalists are now vulnerable to stifling libel laws and facile contradiction by fake news and disinformation. Harkin, a free press activist, suggests we read at least a few pages of his new GQ article as prep for his talk. In a journey which takes him from rural Syria to continental Europe, Harkin tracks down the faked and then the real story of a daring revolutionary singer in Syria who either did or didn’t end up with his throat slit by government loyalists. The article narrates the singer’s story, Harkin‘s harrowing detective work, and fills us in painlessly on the tangled and deadly political allegiances protecting the supporting the regime. He’ll speak about narrative-investigative crossover pieces with this article as a case in point. The talk will still make sense if you haven’t read the article–but it’s a great read.
