Episodes

If you like Telephone Stories, you'll probably enjoy this one, too: Pull the Thread: The Wild Life takes an unprecedented look at the corrupt, dangerous, and fascinating world of wildlife trade. Undercover recordings, a surburban house stuffed with ivory, and...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...