'This American Life' retracts its iPad factory report: the full story
This American Life has retracted an episode that focused on working conditions inside a Foxconn iPad factory, calling the source material "partially fabricated." The episode depended largely on details provided by a theatrical show by Mike Daisey, who apparently misled TAL and others.
Culture
Mike Daisey issues first actual apology for his monologue, says he 'violated trust'
In a new blog post, besmirched playwright Mike Daisey apologizes for the methods behind his controversial monologue about Foxconn's iPad factories, and says that "when I said onstage that I had personally experienced things I in fact did not, I failed to honor the contract I'd established with my audiences over many years." Daisey adds that "in doing so, I not only violated their trust, I also made worse art." Daisey was pelted by the media after This American Life retracted an episode that...
Steve Wozniak comes out in support of Mike Daisey, says 'his method succeeded'
The furor over performance artist Mike Daisey's misrepresentation of facts in an episode of This American Life has led to a retraction from TAL and a back-and-forth between all parties involved — but one individual that's standing by Daisey is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. In an interview with CNET today, Woz stated that he thought Daisey's work was a positive force that had steered the public conversation in the right direction, comparing it to informative political satire like The...
Culture
Foxconn 'glad that Mike Daisey's lies were exposed,' but Daisey says his comments were 'taken out of context'
The row over Mike Daisey's factually suspect monologue that was aired and then retracted in an episode of This American Life is quickly turning into a game of position taking and verbal sparring — Daisey claims in a new blog post that This American Life took his comments in the "retraction" episode out of context with skillful editing, and that "there is nothing in this controversy that contests the facts in my work about the nature of Chinese manufacturing." Daisey says that "in particular...
Apple
Full audio: Mike Daisey explains himself on new episode of 'This American Life'
Earlier today, the radio show This American Life and The New York Times retracted first-hand reports by Mike Daisey about the conditions at factories making iPads in China. While the Times simply removed a paragraph from an editorial by Daisey, the producers of This American Life dedicated an entire new episode to revealing the truth behind the alleged lies. That episode is now online. The show invited Mike Daisey to explain himself, and Marketplace reporter Rob Schmitz to document how...
Apple
NYT removes disputed Foxconn details from Mike Daisey op-ed in wake of 'This American Life' retraction
This American Life made waves this morning when it announced it was retracting its episode about Foxconn's factories because performance artist Mike Daisey misrepresented several facts to the program. The announcement seems to have started a chain reaction, with the New York Times removing a paragraph from an opinion piece Daisey wrote after the passing of Steve Jobs last year. Entitled "Against Nostalgia," the piece originally contained references to Daisey meeting a man whose hand had been...
Excerpts from 'This American Life' on Mike Daisey: 'Why not just tell us what really happened?'
We've received an early transcript of the episode of This American Life which will air this evening at 8:00PM ET entitled "Retraction." The episode features Mike Daisey, whose previous appearance on TAL was a dramatic monologue he has been performing since 2010 about workers at the Chinese factory which produces, among many other things, Apple products. Mike has gained a lot of attention for his work which has in turn brought much attention to the plight of the Chinese workers who toil to...
'This American Life' retracts episode about Foxconn's iPad factories, says it was 'partially fabricated'
This American Life has retracted an episode that focused on working conditions inside a Foxconn iPad factory, calling the source material "partially fabricated." The episode — the most popular in TAL history with nearly a million streams — was partially based on the work of artist Mike Daisey, who apparently lied to fact-checkers about his experiences visiting Foxconn's facility. Some of the lies were discovered during an interview with Daisey's Chinese translator, who disputed the facts...
Apple
This American Life goes inside an Apple factory
Monologuist Mike Daisey has won wide acclaim for his show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," now playing in New York City. In it, Daisey narrates his complex relationship with Apple products: once a self-described "worshipper in the cult of Mac," he wondered about the origins of those sleek objects of desire. He followed the story to China and was appalled by what found; that trip formed the basis of his monologue. This American Life picked up the story there, and the episode's second...
