This American Life:

Regrettably, we have discovered that one of our most popular episodes was partially fabricated. This week, we devote the entire hour to detailing the errors in “Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory,” Mike Daisey’s story about visiting Foxconn, an Apple supplier factory in China.

The episode itself isn’t available yet, but it should be available this evening. However the summary alone is pretty upsetting. Update: Andy Baio has a cached copy of TAL’s textual retraction, which contains some of the details on the fabrications at hand.

Recall that Daisey is also the author of a one-man play The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, also based on his “experiences” in China.

Something about Daisey’s work and attitude on this topic never really sat right with me — I could never quite put it into words, and honestly just dismissed it as fanboyism on my part. However, recall that the concurrent Foxconn suicides imbroglio was also quite a bit less shocking than it was at first brush.

I think Merlin said it best though:

Mmmm…investigative performance non-journalism. What could possibly go wrong?

I was reading this excellent piece by Anil Dash on how Apple shows that liberal values aren’t antithetical to business success. I don’t really have anything to add other than full-throated agreement, but this caught my eye. On Jobs’s early life:

So, who is this man? He’s the anchor baby of an activist Arab muslim who came to the U.S. on a student visa and had a child out of wedlock.

I had no idea! Wikipedia:

Jobs was born in San Francisco, California and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs (née Hagopian) of Mountain View, California, who named him Steven Paul. Paul and Clara later adopted a daughter, who they named Patti. Jobs’ biological parents – Abdulfattah Jandali, a Syrian graduate student who later became a political science professor, and Joanne Simpson, an American graduate student who went on to become a speech language pathologist – later married, giving birth to and raising Jobs’ biological sister, the novelist Mona Simpson.

On September 13, 1985, after financial troubles and boardroom maneuvering, Steve Jobs resigned from Apple Computer. Shortly thereafter, he founded NeXT with a few other former Apple employees. At the end of 1996, Apple acquired NeXT, and Jobs returned to Apple as an advisor.

In March 1997, Peter Burrows of BusinessWeek magazine wrote a piece on Jobs’s return. It’s an interesting look at business decisions, politics, and personal relationships from fifteen years ago:

As [then Apple CEO Gil] Amelio hunts for $400 million in expense cuts, he’s following Jobs’ advice by targeting Apple’s advanced research group. Jobs argued hard for cutbacks, saying Apple should use its best brains to build snazzy new Mac products rather than futuristic gee-whiz technologies. Apple managers say Amelio is now considering slashing the advanced R&D group, which spent $30 million last year, by more than 50%. “The whole focus is to get lean, mean teams doing great things again,” says one manager. “That’s the Steve Jobs influence, and that’s good.”

…

In early February, for example, Jobs sat through a detailed review of an advertising campaign backed by Amelio. He listened intently, then launched into a speech about why advertising was a waste of money given the bad press that still plagues Apple. Amelio still approved the media campaign. “Gil doesn’t take all of Steve’s advice or all of anyone’s advice,” says Fred D. Anderson, Apple’s chief financial officer. “With all due respect, we have some seasoned executives here.” As for Jobs’s popularity at Apple, if Amelio is ruffled, he isn’t showing it. “If the price for getting Apple healthy is involving Steve…I’m O.K. with that. I’m a big boy,” he says.

Besides, Amelio says he’s all for getting tougher himself. He concedes he underestimated the challenge of reining in Apple’s unruly culture. “I didn’t realize it, but people would listen to me, say ‘Gee, that was a nice speech,’ and go do what they wanted,” says Amelio, 54, who came to Apple from National Semiconductor Corp. “This time, I’m going to use the two-by-four approach. I’m going to put this place through the most gut-wrenching change it’s ever had.”

I really liked the introduction:

On the wall of a cubicle in Apple Computer Inc.’s Infinite Loop engineering campus hangs a picture of Steven P. Jobs, the 41-year-old high-tech superstar and legendary Apple co-founder. Above the photograph are the words: “I was here when Steve came back.” In the adjoining cubicle, the same picture is tacked up on the wall with the caption: “He’ll be here when Gil leaves.”

Although the best part of the article is easily this quote:

“People keep trying to suck me in,” says Jobs. “They want me to be some kind of Superman. But I have no desire to run Apple Computer. I deny it at every turn, but nobody believes me.”

This article was published in March 1997. In July 1997, Jobs would stage a coup to oust Amelio as CEO of Apple, and in September Jobs became the interim CEO.

Hey, it turns out this is how they churn out those Apple ripoffs all day long.

Brett Arends, writing for SmartMoney.com:

… in 10 years’ time my $500 will have grown to about $800. That’s in today’s dollars—after inflation. In 15 years it’ll be about $1,000, and in 30 years, $2,000.

I figure I’ll be retiring in about 30 years, which is when I’m going to need lots of capital. I can have the iPad now, or about $2,000 then.

Thanks, but I’ll take the $2,000.

…

Yes, I typically do these mental calculations, at least in the back of my mind, for most things. A “$50” lunch at Morton’s really costs $200. A “$5,000” trip to the South Seas: $20,000. And so on. It tends to cut down on the spending. I typically come back from the mall with no bags, gleefully clutching my future millions.

‘Ili: This man leads a sad, lonely existence.

Colin: Yeah, exactly.

Colin: I was awestruck reading it.

Colin: “I don’t want to die poor, and I don’t want to live miserably and die rich either.” Could have fooled me.

‘Ili: Obviously long-term planning and weighing the benefits of large purchases is generally a good thing.

‘Ili: But this man crossed the Scrooge McDuck line ages ago.

Colin: Stick a dollar bill up this dude’s ass and it’s not pennies that pop out, but a half pennies.

Colin: So the best part about that story is that

Colin: The Street already ran it in 2007. http://www.thestreet.com/story/10366263/2/the-true-cost-of-an-iphone-try-17670.html

‘Ili: How does this guy function in society?

‘Ili: I’m imagining him in the produce section at a supermarket with a calculator.

‘Ili: “I really feel like some corn, but…” ::punches numbers::

Colin: I’m betting that he considers himself rich enough to not worry about this, and is doing the rich person equivalent of mansplaining.

‘Ili: “… if I don’t buy an ear now, I’ll have enough money to buy four of them in thirty years!”

‘Ili: ::goes home and boils a shoe for dinner::

Colin: ahahahahahahaha

Colin: On an old fashioned pipe stove.

Colin: “Why upgrade now when I could buy five stoves in 40 years?!” ::gets a crazed look in his eye::

‘Ili: He’s actually indistinguishable from a hobo.

‘Ili: “Why own a place to live now when I can have four later?”