Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I never thought how they were made - Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory

I highly recommend listening to This American Life in general, but the most recent episode is just a terrific piece that I'd love for you all to listen to as well as your students. "Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory" is a piece in which - well, here's the overview from the TAL website:

Mike Daisey performs an excerpt that was adapted for radio from his one-man show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." A lifelong Apple superfan, Daisey sees some photos online from the inside of a factory that makes iPhones, starts to wonder about the people working there, and flies to China to meet them.
It's a great example of cognitive dissonance, as Daisey comes to terms with how his actions impact people on the other side of the world, people he never thought about and at one point he even admits that he thought cool tech toys were made by robots. But don't let the fact that it's completely appropriate to be used as an assignment keep you from listening to it just for your own increased mindfulness. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

--posted by Steve

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great post Steve. I listened to this Sunday night and I experienced the same dissonance. Still am, actually.