Digitization has changed our present lives in many unexpected ways—also for historical research. So what happens if we look at the past through a digital lens? Scholars Shih-Pei Chen and Joseph Dennis use LoGaRT, a set of online digital tools for investigating a historical resource called Chinese Local Gazetteers. In doing so they work at an intersection between history and Big Data, and where digitization is transforming an entire academic field. In this third episode of the Science Social podcast, Shih-Pei and Joseph chat about open access, the differences between doing research pre- and post-digitization, and why it's sometimes smarter not to wait for that copy of a hard-to-get book. And yes, we'll also explain why Local Gazetteers are the most amazing written works you've probably never heard of! Learn more about LoGaRT: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/LoGaRT About Shih-Pei Chen: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/schen About Joe Dennis: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/jdennis This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0