- This American Life retracted its January segment carried out by Mike Daisey which exposed unpleasant practices at the Foxconn factories in China where Apple products are made. Rob Schmitz of “Marketplace” discovered and investigated Daisey’s fabrications. Listen to the official podcast here: Retraction.
- Daisey has defended his monologue as using “a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story” but expressed “regret that I allowed This American Life to air an excerpt from my monologue.” Read more of his post from Friday here.
- Charles Isherwood, NY Times theater critic, wrote and posted “Speaking Less Than Truth to Power,” defending This American Life’s retraction. It’s a great read along with David Carr’s “Theater, Disguised as Real Journalism.”
I highly recommend listening to TAL’s podcast and/or reading the transcript.
“The truth always matters,” Mr. Daisey said at one point during his recent interview with “This American Life.” “Stories should be subordinate to truth.”
Food for thought.
