Possible factual error in a podcast description
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Dear Pocket Casts team,
First, I’d like to thank you for the work you’re putting into your platform and for making such a wide range of podcasts available to your audience. It’s obvious that you care deeply about what you do, and many people benefit from your efforts.
That’s why I thought you’d be interested in something I noticed on your website. I came across the description of the Pushkin Industries podcast, which currently reads:
“Puskin puts artists and creators first and produces work that they believe in. Their name pays homage to Alexander Pushkin, the Russian Romantic write. Pushkin was a hybrid, a mix of Russian, African, and French ancestry – as well as a philosopher, poet, playwright, and novelist.”
I’m afraid part of this description is not entirely accurate. It is well established that Pushkin spoke French, as did much of the Russian nobility of his time. However, this was not because of any French ancestry, but because French language and culture exerted enormous influence across much of Europe during that period. As far as I’m aware, Pushkin’s ancestry was Russian and African. The only connection to France appears to be that his African great-grandfather, Abram Gannibal – who was most likely born in what is now Cameroon – spent several years in France as a young man before entering the service of Peter the Great.
I realize this may seem surprising at first glance, as Google’s AI-generated overview at times agrees with the claim that Pushkin had French ancestry. However, after checking the sources it cites, I found that they do not appear to contain evidence for that claim.
I also noticed a couple of typographical errors in the excerpt above (“Puskin” instead of “Pushkin”, “write” instead of “writer”). I wouldn’t normally write a whole post to point them out, but since I was already writing to you, I thought I would mention those as well.
I hope you’ll have a chance to review the description and make any necessary corrections. After all, sharing knowledge goes hand in hand with accuracy.
Thank you for your time, and thank you again for all the work you do.
Kind regards,
Oksana -
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Our team mentioned that the description comes from the author, but that said, we also have this list which is slightly newer than the one you were looking at https://lists.pocketcasts.com/pushkin-industries-2022
Pocket Casts Forum 