The public record is the foundation of an informed democracy, but in the digital age, it is more fragile than ever. In this timely conversation, Merrilee Proffitt (Democracy’s Library at the Internet Archive), James Jacobs (Stanford University), and Christopher Marcum (Federation of American Scientists) examine the growing challenges of preserving government information in the digital age. As government websites, scientific datasets, public health guidance, and other public records can be altered, removed, or lost with unprecedented speed, they explore the critical role libraries, archives, and civil society organizations play in safeguarding trustworthy public knowledge.

This conversation was recorded on 6/23/2026.

Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge