Your Feedback

Now time for some of your feedback on our recent programs.

On Tuesday we spoke with writer John D'Agata and his fact-checker Jim Fingal, co-authors of "Lifespan of a Fact," a new book that explores the art of storytelling, and the relationship between fact and truth.

The two men worked together on a magazine piece about a Las Vegas teen suicide. They corresponded for years, arguing back and forth about the extensive factual changes that D'Agata made to an otherwise true story.

"The role I was playing as a fact-checker is in some ways is a very extreme position ... because there's not a lot of room for fudging, whereas me as a private citizen, I think there are interesting questions about genre and about what is appropriate in different sorts of writing," he told us.

For his part, the writer D'Agata defines his own work as "lyrical essay," a genre in which he feels journalistic accuracy is not necessary.

Eliza Lloyd wrote on Facebook:

Writers and more importantly readers, should have their poetic license out at all times.

On the other hand, "Guest" Commented on radioboston.org:

This is why we have books categorized as fiction or non-fiction. I buy primarily non-fiction books because I don't want one's opinion[s]. Now we have authors who have opinions on what makes a book a non-fiction. Nice opinion but no thanks.

Listener David was even harsher, describing D'Agata as "A lazy liar with a sense of entitlement. How tedious."

On Monday, we chatted with Rex Trailer, the star of the western television series "Boomtown." The Texas-born, Massachusetts-resident is now the focus of new legislation on Beacon Hill that would make him the official cowboy of the Commonwealth.

I never left being a cowboy," Trailer said. "I'm still a cowboy and when I was with the rodeo my grandfather told me, 'you're a performer.'"

Linda wrote on radioboston.org:

As a child, I remember watching "Boomtown" and was very excited, even at the age of 55 to meet Rex Trailer.

Chris Santos added:

I shared with Rex that I had a recurring dream that he brought me my own golden Palomino, leading it up the stairs to my family's apartment. When he heard that it was four flights, he shook his head and said he never would have climbed that many flights!

Jenna Norton left a final thought at radioboston.org:

I moved here from Texas and this story has had me laughing all day.