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1996 Royal Concert in Brunei

Source: William Nation / Getty

When Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, the world mourned. But despite his global superstardom, he was dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct with children that became the basis of the controversial documentary Leaving Neverland in 2019.

A new podcast from Wondery and Audible attempts to examine Jackson’s complex legacy from child star to icon to pariah in some eyes. Michael Jackson: Think Twice covers Jackson’s life from his modest upbringing in Gary, Indiana, to recording the top-selling album of all time with 1982’s Thriller (and remains so despite The Eagles controversy) and selling out arenas around the world.

Journalist and podcaster Leon Neyfakh of Fiasco fame and hip-hop radio host Jay Smooth say they wanted to add context to Jackson, who remains as popular as ever with a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and an ongoing Cirque de Soleil show. An upcoming Thriller documentary was screened last year but mysteriously remains unreleased.

“When Leon reached out to me about collaborating on a Michael Jackson documentary series, I won’t lie, I was equal parts intrigued and alarmed,” Jay Smooth said in a statement.

“But as we both agreed to be upfront about our own complex feelings on Michael’s legacy, and let that guide our process of gathering all these different voices and perspectives, I quickly came to see just how rich and rewarding this show would become. Both as a fresh look back at the Michael Jackson story, and even more so as a way to understand—through Michael’s life and afterlife—how our world and culture evolved around him.”

Michael Jackson: Think Twice will release all 10 episodes on April 27 on Audible and to Amazon Prime members on Amazon Music.

Michael Jackson’s Legendary Career & Complicated Legacy Examined In New ‘Think Twice’ Podcast  was originally published on cassiuslife.com