IRE Radio Podcast | The Story That Freed Hundreds of Slaves

If you’re having seafood for dinner, there’s a chance it was caught by a slave. That’s what the Associated Press uncovered when reporters traveled to the remote island of Benjina, Indonesia. They found workers trapped in cages, forced to work 22-hour days for almost no pay. And when they followed the fish, they learned some of it ended up in US restaurants and supermarkets.

On this episode we’re talking to reporters Martha Mendoza, Margie Mason and Robin McDowell about their high-impact investigation.

As always, you can find us on Soundcloud, iTunes and Stitcher. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.

EPISODE NOTES 

Looking for links to the stories, resources and events we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.

• Read the AP investigation into slave-caught seafood
• Read vignettes of modern day slavery, as told by former fishing slaves
• Read Margie Mason’s report on 125 former slaves returning home to Myanmar
• Learn about the seven arrests made in the seafood slavery case
• Read about Myint Naing, one of the men enslaved for 22 years. Watch a video of the reunion. Naing is one of hundreds rescued and returned to their families after the year-long AP investigation.
• Follow Robin, Margie and Martha on Twitter to keep tabs on the case

CREDITS

Music in this episode comes from Podington Bear. Shawn Shinneman wrote and produced this episode. IRE Web Editor Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast.