Richard Cooke: The Last Best Place on the Internet
About the event
6pm for 6.30pm Thursday 15th October Listen to Richard Cooke in conversation with Raph Dixon & James Hennessy as he takes us through a playful and provocative exploration of mighty Wikipedia: how it was built, why it thrived and what we lose as its ideals disintegrate. Please note that this event will be recorded for the Down Round podcast. One of the keystone inventions of the twenty-first century, Wikipedia is the largest repository of human knowledge ever made, with editions in more than 300 languages read by millions every day – all created by unpaid, mainly amateur and mostly anonymous volunteers. In this entertaining book, journalist Richard Cooke delves into Wikipedia's fabled creation, its extraordinary success and its profound effects on politics, business, literature and society. He explores the site's shifting role in establishing fact in a time of deep uncertainty about truth and authority; the often hilariously fierce debates between 'Inclusionists' and 'Deletionists' about what is worth knowing and preserving, and who gets to decide; and the great peril Wikipedia faces today from bots, political division and artificial intelligence. The Last Best Place on the Internet is a fascinating journey into the hidden world of one of the most vital – and most endangered – cultural achievements of our time. Richard Cooke’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, WIRED and the Paris Review, and has been selected multiple times for the Best of Longform and Best Australian Essays. He is also a two-time Walkley winner and former Columnist of the Year. His fourth book, The Last Best Place on the Internet, is a cultural history of Wikipedia. Raph Dixon is a failed founder turned creative tech professional (turned podcaster). He's also an ARIA-nominated artist and founding member of sonic house The Meeting Tree. James Hennessy is a writer, editor and podcaster. He is the ideas editor at business, politics and finance publication Capital Brief. He was previously the editor of Business Insider Australia and deputy editor at Pedestrian.
