( Wired.com ) -- Acclaimed Public Radio International program `` This American Life '' has retracted an entire episode about working conditions inside Foxconn , the Chinese manufacturer that builds much of Apple 's most popular hardware , after learning the reporter `` partially fabricated '' information about his visit to the factories . In the episode , PRI aired a monologue from reporter Mike Daisey , a self-proclaimed performer whose one-man show , `` The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs , '' detailed alarming labor practices which he claimed to witness during his time visiting Foxconn . Among the many facts Daisey fabricated , according to PRI , were the number of Foxconn factories he visited , the number of workers he spoke with , as well a major lie about meeting with a number of workers who claimed to have been poisoned by chemicals used on iPhone assembly lines . `` Daisey lied to me and to `` This American Life '' producer Brian Reed during the fact checking we did on the story , before it was broadcast , '' the show 's host , Ira Glass , wrote in a blog post on Friday . `` That does n't excuse the fact that we never should 've put this on the air . In the end , this was our mistake . '' The retraction came even as consumers lined up Friday to buy Apple 's latest iPad amid protests over its treatment of workers -- protests that did little to dampen sales . Public debate rages on about working conditions inside of Foxconn 's Chinese factories , which have for years been the subject of reports that employees endure long hours and unsafe working environment . Wired dug into the subject more than a year ago in a cover story after 17 Foxconn employees committed suicide . More recently , The New York Times reported a series of investigative pieces further detailing the undesirable jobs of Foxconn employees . In an unprecedented response from the normally stoic Apple , the company responded to the reports publicly by cooperating with the Fair Labor Organization for audits of its entire supply chain . An entire page dedicated to Apple supplier responsibility can now be found on Apple 's website . Daisey issued a statement about the incident on his personal blog : . `` I stand by my work . My show is a theatrical piece whose goal is to create a human connection between our gorgeous devices and the brutal circumstances from which they emerge . It uses a combination of fact , memoir , and dramatic license to tell its story , and I believe it does so with integrity . `` Certainly , the comprehensive investigations undertaken by The New York Times and a number of labor rights groups to document conditions in electronics manufacturing would seem to bear this out . '' `` What I do is not journalism . The tools of the theater are not the same as the tools of journalism . For this reason , I regret that I allowed THIS AMERICAN LIFE to air an excerpt from my monologue . THIS AMERICAN LIFE is essentially a journalistic -- not a theatrical -- enterprise , and as such it operates under a different set of rules and expectations . '' `` But this is my only regret . I am proud that my work seems to have sparked a growing storm of attention and concern over the often appalling conditions under which many of the high-tech products we love so much are assembled in China . '' PRI 's `` This American Life '' website was bombarded with traffic upon news of the retraction , buckling the site under the torrent of traffic . Apple , Public Radio International and Daisey did not immediately respond to requests for comment . Wired confirmed that none of Daisey 's U.S. performances of The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs were canceled after news of the retraction , save for one special broadcast : the April 7 show slated for performance at the Chicago Theater , which was originally sponsored by This American Life and Chicago public radio station WBEZ 91.5FM . Roberto Baldwin and Tim Carmody contributed to this report . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2011 Wired.com .
Public radio issued an apology after learning Mike Daisey ` ` partially leaked '' information . ` ` This American Life '' host Brian Williams said , ` ` In the end , this was our mistake '' Daisey released a statement about the incident on his personal blog .