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Examine the many faces of Michael Jackson with host Brandon Ogborn. What starts as a simple question of guilt or innocence quickly turns into a searching chronicle of race, fame and abuse. Drawing on extensive interviews and relying on much-needed humor, Ogborn and co-host Omar Crook interview Jackson’s defense attorneys, the investigators and prosecutors who pursued him, and the writers and tabloid journalists who followed the cases and ferreted out leads. Through those interviews and their ruminations, Ogborn and Crook wander the hall of mirrors that was Jackson’s life, painstakingly, sometimes painfully, reconstructing the complex narrative of an iconic and troubled performer haunted by allegations of criminal perversion. Learn more at https://luminary.link/telephone

Episodes

The Music is Everywhere

Free Episode119 mins

The season finale of Telephone Stories picks up after the trial, as Michael Jackson wanders the world in crippling debt and agrees to a concert series to rebuild both his finances and reputation. The comeback plans are cut short by...

A Tale of Two Conspiracies

Free Episode92 mins

With the prosecution’s case in shambles, Mesereau swings for the fences and presents a full blown defense for Michael Jackson – calling up celebrities to vouch for the singer and smear the Arvizo Family. The result is 14 acquittals and...

It All Backfired

Free Episode82 mins

Prosecuting DA Tom Sneddon uses California's "prior bad acts" statute in order to delve into Jackson's past. Former employees testify to witnessing inappropriate behavior between Jackson and other children from Jordie Chandler to Macaulay Culkin but Jackson's defense attorney Thomas...

Credibility Issues

Free Episode75 mins

The People v. Jackson commences on the world stage and the singer arrives late to court - dazed and in pajamas, nearly forfeiting his bail. The tone soon shifts as defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau prods at inconsistencies in the Arvizo...

North of the Mountains

Free Episode82 mins

Following the second raid on Neverland, the small town of Santa Maria is quickly overwhelmed with a media frenzy as the criminal trial against Michael Jackson begins to take shape. Brandon talks to counsel on both sides of the aisle...

Like a Brother, Like a Father

Free Episode84 mins

Young Gavin Arvizo, stricken by cancer in 2000, wanders into a world of celebrity, meeting idols from Chris Tucker to Michael Jackson. But Gavin and his troubled family are soon painted as con artists and gold diggers as the Arvizos...

The Goose With the Golden Eggs

Free Episode55 mins

Following the Jordie Chandler scandal, Michael Jackson's career wanes, his drug use worsens, he surrounds himself with sycophants and his finances are in shambles. Jackson's charitable efforts and public appearances become crude punchlines. Attempting to reign in the narrative and...

A Land of Giants

Free Episode56 mins

Taking a break between the cases, Brandon and Omar speak with two lauded former FBI profilers - Ken Lanning and Jim Clemente, to better understand the complicated dynamics of child sex offenders and their victims. The "stranger danger" fear is...

Walking Away With A Lot of Money

Free Episode74 mins

Jordie Chandler’s lawyer files devastating motions in court, Jackson switches legal council, and Elizabeth Taylor takes a front row seat in his defense. Soon, Jackson returns to the US to undergo a humiliating body search, and within weeks a massive...

Like a Ton of Bricks

Free Episode76 mins

Following interviews with the Chandler family by DCFS and the LAPD, Jackson's homes are raided and press scramble to find the origins of the boy's claims and the police investigations. As the Chandlers lawyer up, Jackson cancels tour dates over...

Second Star to the Right

Free Episode59 mins

Featuring author and critic Margo Jefferson, we explore Michael Jackson's childhood and rise to stardom -- growing up in the limelight of a family band and dealing with his complicated and dysfunctional relatives.


Originally published in 2019.

Something Cosmic

Free Episode61 mins

As Michael Jackson and Jordan Chandler’s relationship evolves into constant companionship, Jordan’s father, Evan Chandler, a Beverly Hills dentist, grows suspicious that something is amiss. He begins a custody dispute with Jordan’s mother over his concerns, which leads to allegations...

Trailer: Trailer: Telephone Stories

1 mins

Join Ogborn and Crook as they explore the hall of mirrors that was Michael Jackson’s life and then as they painstakingly, sometimes painfully, reconstruct the complex narrative of an iconic and troubled performer haunted by allegations of criminal perversion. Listen...

A Suspicious Environment

Free Episode42 mins

Brandon and Omar set forth to find out: what really happened with Michael Jackson? Through an interview with Bert Fields, Jackson’s famed entertainment lawyer, comes a portrait of the singer at the height of his talents and fame. And following...