Just the Facts

Untangling Contradictory Claims

By: Joel Best

Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt

Why can’t we seem to agree on facts? In this succinct volume, sociologist Joel Best turns his inimitable eye toward the social construction of what we think is true. He evaluates how facts emerge from our social worlds—including our beliefs, values, tastes, and norms—and how they align with those worlds’ standards. He argues that by developing a sociological perspective toward what we think we know, we can better parse the use of facts and untruths around us.

This book examines how facts are created and supported through science, government, law, and journalism, revealing that facts are actually claims. These claims are malleable and can change over time through fact-checking, revision, and sometimes rejection. Best guides us through these processes so that we can question our assumptions and understand why disputes happen in the first place. In a time of increasing social and political divide, Just the Facts urges us to resist defensiveness over our facts and approach disputes in critical new ways.

The book is published by University of California Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2025 Joel Best (P)2026 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"This book is important, and Joel Best excels." (Tim Hallett, coauthor of Group Life: An Invitation to Local Sociology)

"This is a brilliant analysis of the social construction of facts.." (Michael Flaherty, coauthor of The Cage of Days: Time and Temporal Experience in Prison)