Apologies Accepted

Cow Tails: A Sweet Apology from a 'Tiny Human'

In this episode of Apologies Accepted, hosts Theo and Juliette take a lighthearted look at a heartwarming story from the Red River Gorge General Store in Kentucky. After accidentally walking out with a $1.99 brownie-flavored cow tail, a young boy (believed to be older than originally thought) demonstrates unexpected integrity by sending an apology letter and $3 to cover the cost. The gesture, hailed for its sincerity, goes viral, sparking a mission to thank the family personally with gifts, showcasing that integrity is ageless and impactful.

WorldCon: The Future is Here

The 2025 Seattle World Science Fiction Convention will be held in August 2025.  In getting ready to produce the event, organizers used AI to vet a list of about 1,500 potential speakers. The conference wanted to ensure they would not invite anyone who might create a controversy by their attendance.  AI read through social media posts, public records, 3rd grade report cards, everything available online looking for red flags.

Imagine the organisers' surprise that in trying to prevent controversy, they created an even bigger controversy!  Once word got out that AI was used to vet the list of potential speakers, people got big mad and had feelings about using robots to do human work. Kathy Bond, volunteer chairperson of the 2025 event, issued an apology amidst calls for her resignation (and a few nerds wanted to shoot her into space).

WorldCon is not only a SciFi convention, it's home to the Hugo awards - for SciFi writers, their publishers, and their readers, a Hugo award is a big deal.  We dive into the WorldCon situation and visit Hugo award controversies past to discover it truly is A Brave New World (see what we did there!).

Gaza Aid Conflict: Food for Fight

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a consulting giant. The company recently apologized for the "undisclosed work" of two senior executives who were working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.  BCG claimed the work was done pro-bono, but other sources claim that BCG was invoicing GHF (so many initials!) upwards of a million dollars a month.  BCG has said it will not accept any money paid to it for any work done on this project.

GHF has come under criticism for not only sloppy operations that resulted in the deaths of 27 people, but close ties to former Trump advisors and the country of Israel (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked for BCG in the United States prior to his political career in Israel).  

In this thought-provoking discussion, Theo and Juliette analyze BCG's apology, examining the language, actions taken, and the broader implications in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They explore the challenges of navigating political sensitivity and the ethical responsibilities of global corporations engaged in humanitarian efforts. Tune in as they delve into the intricacies of public apologies and whether BCG's response measures up to the expectations of accountability and transparency.

Patti LuPone: The Fall of a Broadway Star

Patti LuPone, Broadway star extraordinaire, known for her dynamic stage-presence and personal outspokenness, finds herself once again at the center of controversy - this time for making dismissive comments about fellow Broadway stars.  Over 500 Broadway actors and theater people signed an open letter asking that LuPone be barred from attending the Tonys (Broadway's version of Hollywood's Oscars) and from everything else - even the opening of an envelope!  Broadway is big mad at Madam LuPone.  Patti issued her first public apology, ever, and we're here to rate it and decide if she gets to continue acting or if she must be sent to summer stock (or worse, middle school musical hell).

AI Hallucinations: Making up the News

Both the Chicago Sun-Times AND the Philadelphia Inquirer unknowingly published an AI-generated summer reading list featuring completely made-up books.  King Features, a Hearst syndicate that licenses content nationally, produced the 56-page insert called “Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer,” which also included things like summer foods and summer activity recommendations.  The journalist who wrote the piece, Marco Buscaglia, used AI to help create the reading list and unfortunately did not double check the work, so did not see the fake book titles attributed to real-live best-selling authors.  King Features did not fact check Marco's work (rookie mistake!).  The Chicago Sun and the Philly Inquirer did not double check the insert from King (another rookie mistake!).  The papers' readers alerted the papers to what was up (heroes!) and the papers issued apologies for the mistake.

More importantly, Theo learns a new word this episode that he will never use again!

David Letterman: Sex Scandal Apology

Back when the world only had 3 TV channels (OK, and cable), late night television was the edgy cultural playground of intellectuals and night owls and people who just needed to watch something at midnight.  David Letterman was one of the top, and sometimes the top, late night host.  Known for his quick wit and dry delivery, his show was popular for decades.

But David was sleeping with his staff and some employees didn't appreciate working for the boss's continual parade of girlfriends.  David's behavior made him a prime target for blackmail - and boy was he blackmailed.  Rather than give in, David had the blackmailer arrested and issued an on air apology to the viewing audience for his behavior.

This happened about 10 years prior to the #MeToo movement so his career was largely untouched by the scandal, but his personal life was wrecked.  He's been on a years long journey making amends to some female staff for his behavior and we're here to tell the story and evaluate the sorry!

 

Race Relations: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Sorries

Welcome to another episode of Apologies Accepted where hosts Theo and Juliette delve into the world of public apologies, examining the impactful stories behind them. In this episode, they explore the iconic photograph of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, facing a jeering Hazel Bryan. Hazel's journey from being an emblem of racial hostility to seeking redemption and reconciliation with Elizabeth unfolds.

Decades later, as Elizabeth and Hazel attempt to foster a friendship, the complexities of true forgiveness and the unresolved shadows of past traumas come to light, highlighting their very different perspectives on not only the incident but what true forgiveness means.

Nike: Running on Empty

Nike issued an apology in April 2025 for their use of the Holocaust remembrance slogan "Never Again" in an advertising campaign for the London Marathon.  Nike had billboards along the marathon route of "often quoted" runner complaints, like "why did I do this?" and "how many more miles to go?" and "Definitely taking up yoga instead of running".  Apparently "Never again" is something Nike believed runners said a lot and so they put up the quote and congratulated themselves on a campaign well run (haha).

People noticed and pointed out to Nike that using the phrase "Never again" might be a touch inconsiderate.  Nike was quick to issue an apology and we are here to rate and review it!

Holland: Not Heroic

This week we are leaving America behind and going to Amsterdam!  Mayor Femke Halsema, Mayor of Amsterdam since 2018, offered a public apology in April 2025 for the city's capitulation to the Nazi's in World War 2.

“The Amsterdam government, when it came down to it, was not heroic, not determined and not merciful. And it let its Jewish residents down terribly,” Halsema said. “On behalf of the city government, I offer my apologies for this"

She issued the apology at an event marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.  The Mayor went on to say that civil servants in Amsterdam played an active role in the murder of thousands of Jewish citizens.

From a population of 80,000 citizens, only 20,000 survived the war.  Lost among the tens of thousands was Anne Frank, whose diary spoke of the horrors of the Holocaust.

What parallels exist between the political situation in the US today and the political situation of Holland 80 years ago?  Is history doomed to repeat itself (or at the very least rhyme)?  Good news and bad news on that question!

 

 

 

Haley Joel Osment: I See Drunk People

Hi Everyone!  We are back from vacation so word to the skippers, the first 30 minutes is gossip and catching up.  But if you skip you will miss all the hot news on running out of gas in Big Bend National Park and Juliette's display of bravery during a turbulent flight across the US!

This week we look at Haley Joel Osment, famous as a child actor for his role in "The Sixth Sense" ("I see dead people") and a surprising amount of work as an adult actor.  He claims to have escaped the curse of the child actors, but reports of drunk and disorderly behavior, cocaine possession, and American Airlines front desk staff calling the police on him at Las Vegas International Airport might give one reason to doubt his claims of not being another tragic child actor.  Pretty much only Jodi Foster, Drew Barrymore, and the girl who played "Blossom" in the 80s (has a doctorate in neuroscience from UCLA) are known to have escaped the curse of the child actor.

Haley was up at Mammoth Mountain in early April 2025 and was daytime drunk trying to get onto the ski lift without skis or a snowboard.  The police arrived and arrested him.  Haley let them know what he thought about them and how sorry they were going to be for wrongfully arresting him!  He hurled a slur used against jewish people at one of the cops and also called the same cop a Nazi.  The bodycam footage was released and so was the public apology, which we are here, finally back, to rate and review for you!