HBO’s “Leaving Neverland” — a two-part documentary that focuses on the stories of two men, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who allege that Michael Jackson sexually abused them as children — prompts us to wrestle with our love for and discomfort with the pop star. We examine how Jackson seemed to have been culturally exonerated, and we ask what to do with a man whose artistic reach is so profound that “canceling” him — an imperfect way of dealing with problematic artists to begin with — might not even be possible.

Discussed this week:

• “How to Support a Friend or Loved One Who Has Been Sexually Abused” (Vanessa Marin, The New York Times, 2019)
• “Leaving Neverland” (HBO, 2019)
• “Moonwalk” (Michael Jackson, 2009)
• “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (ABC, Feb. 10, 1993)
• “Living With Michael Jackson” (ITV, 2003)
• “On Michael Jackson” (Margo Jefferson, 2006)

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The Jussie Smollett investigation has captured America’s attention — and ours. We take a look at the support for as well as the doubts about Smollett’s claims, and try to make sense of the charge that Smollett staged his own attack. In an era in which personal trauma and victimhood are often leveraged for cultural capital, we consider the long-term repercussions of the Smollett case.

Discussed this week:

• “Jussie Smollett Timeline: Mystery Remains as Actor Is Charged With Faking His Assault” (Sopan Deb, The New York Times, Feb. 17, 2019)
• “Lee Daniels Shares Powerful Words for Jussie Smollett After Racist, Homophobic Attack” (Alex Ungerman, ETOnline, Jan. 29, 2019)
• April Ryan asks President Trump what he thinks about the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett (C-Span, Jan. 29, 2019)
• “Jussie Smollett speaks to Robin Roberts in ABC News exclusive interview” (Good Morning America, Feb. 14, 2019)
• “Can the Grammys Please Anyone?” (Ben Sisario, The New York Times, Feb. 7, 2019)
• “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” (Netflix, 2019)
• “Fyre Fraud” (Hulu, 2019)
• “Breaking Bad” (AMC, 2008-13)
• “Where’s All This Energy for the Attacks on Black Transgender Women?” (Raquel Willis, Out, Jan. 31, 2019)
• “At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — A New History of the Civil Rights Movement From Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power” (Danielle L. McGuire, 2011)
• “Prada, Gucci and now Burberry: Are brands under fire for offensive designs doing it on purpose?” (Rachel Leah, Salon, Feb 20. 2019)
• “Former Goucher Student Faces Four Counts of Hate Crime Charges for Racist Graffiti” (WJZ, Dec. 5, 2018)
• “Revisiting a Rape Scandal That Would Have Been Monstrous if True” (Retro Report, The New York Times, June 3, 2013)
• “Why You Always Lying” (Nicholas Fraser, Sept. 14, 2015)

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With the Academy Awards right around the corner, we take a look back at some previous Best Picture winners. When these winning films were about race, they often highlighted a feel-good racial reconciliation fantasy. But about 30 years ago, there was one movie that was snubbed at the Oscars — “Do the Right Thing” — that is anything but a feel-good racial reconciliation fantasy. We revisit how “Do the Right Thing” showcased realities about race in America in ways that none of the current Oscar nominees — including Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” — do, and why it matters.

Discussed this week:

• “Green Book” (directed by Peter Farrelly, 2018)
• “Forrest Gump” (directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
• “Crash” (directed by Paul Haggis, 2004)
• “Driving Miss Daisy” (directed by Bruce Beresford, 1989)
• “BlacKkKlansman” (directed by Spike Lee, 2018)
• Kim Basinger going off-script at the 1990 Academy Awards
• “Do the Right Thing” (directed by Spike Lee, 1989)

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"Becoming," the best-selling memoir by the former first lady, Michelle Obama, is a study in what happens when the ways we see ourselves don't always line up with the ways that society sees us. In reading about her journey from high-achieving, self-possessed child in Chicago to the fraught glamour of her life in the White House, we marvel at the ways she balanced herself and her image in service of the country. And we discuss how Michelle Obama's memoir fits into a powerful lineage of black women navigating entirely new circumstances with curiosity, strength and grace.

Discussed this week:

• “Becoming” (Michelle Obama, 2019)
• Beyoncé singing “At Last” at Barack Obama’s 2008 inauguration
• “Lean In” (Sheryl Sandberg, 2013)
• “Complete Writings: Phillis Wheatley” (Phillis Wheatley, 2001)
• “Thick: And Other Essays” (Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, 2019)
• “Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower” (Dr. Brittney Cooper, 2018)
• “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds” (adrienne maree brown, 2017)

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Inspired by Netflix’s “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” we decide to KonMari Wesley’s Brooklyn apartment. We ask ourselves what sparks joy in our lives and examine whether Marie Kondo’s philosophy extends into the metaphysical realm.

Discussed this week:

• "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" (Netflix, 2019)
• "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" (Marie Kondo, 2014)
• "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter" (Margareta Magnusson, 2017)

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We now live in an era where people can choose to believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of proof or evidence. From the Laquan McDonald trial to the film “Green Book” to R. Kelly’s song “I Believe I Can Fly” to the Nick Sandmann/Nathan Phillips encounter at the Lincoln Memorial, we wrestle with the ways that reality is contested, both personally and politically.

Discussed this week:

• "Jason Van Dyke Sentenced to Nearly 7 Years for Murdering Laquan McDonald" (Mitch Smith and Julie Bosman, The New York Times, Jan. 18, 2019)
• "Who is America?" (Showtime, 2018)
• "Green Book" (directed by Peter Farrelly, 2018)
• "Why Do the Oscars Keep Falling for Racial Reconciliation Fantasies?" (Wesley Morris, The New York Times, Jan. 23, 2019)
• "Surviving R. Kelly" (Lifetime, 2019)
• The Nick Sandmann/Nathan Phillips encounter at the Lincoln Memorial (Jan. 25, 2019)

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The new Netflix show “Sex Education” feels so refreshing because for the longest time, there has been a dearth of cultural properties that specifically deal with the realities of sex. Sure, there’s sex in film and TV, but in recent history, there has been an absence of content that treats sex (and the complicated feelings that it can bring up) not as an aside, but as the main event. From “Fatal Attraction” to “Sex and the City” to “Knocked Up” to “Black Panther,” we trace the history — on screen and off — of how we went from lots of bad sex to no sex to hopefully some good sex moving forward.

Discussed this week:

• "Sex Education" (created by Laurie Nunn, 2019)
• "Fatal Attraction" (directed by Adrian Lyne, 2019)
• "Basic Instinct" (directed by Paul Verhoeven, 1992)
• "Color of Night" (directed by Richard Rush, 1994)
• "The Witches of Eastwick" (directed by George Miller, 1987)
• "Sex and the City" (created by Darren Star, 1998-2004)
• Bill Clinton denying his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky (1998)
• "Knocked Up" (directed by Judd Apatow, 2007)
• "X-Men" (directed by Bryan Singer, 2000)
• "Black Panther" (directed by Ryan Coogler, 2018)

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Last fall, Nike released a groundbreaking ad featuring the former N.F.L. quarterback Colin Kaepernick. His kneeling protest, which started in 2016 as a response to police brutality, was reinterpreted by social media, celebrities and Nike itself to mean something that doesn’t always match the intention of his original protest. So what does it say that a multinational corporation has aligned itself with a social movement? And are we O.K. with this form of “Kaepitalism”?

Discussed this week:

• "Samson et Dalila" at the Metropolitan Opera
• Jennifer Lee Chan’s tweet showing Colin Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem (Aug. 27, 2016)
• Colin Kaepernick explaining why he won’t stand for the national anthem (Aug. 28, 2016)
• "Colin Kaepernick and the Question of Who Gets to Be Called a 'Patriot'" (Wesley Morris, The New York Times Magazine, Sept. 12, 2016)
• Nike’s ad featuring Colin Kaepernick (September 2018)
• "Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad sparked a boycott — and earned $6 billion for Nike" (Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, Sept. 24, 2018)
• "This Could Be the Next Step for the New, Socially Conscious Nike" (Sarah Spellings, The Cut, Sept. 6, 2018)
• "Nike Is Facing a New Wave of Anti-Sweatshop Protests" (Marc Bain, Quartz, Aug. 1, 2017)

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New year, new season.

Kevin Hart. Ellen. Brett Kavanaugh. We live in an age of #SorryNotSorry, prevalent in our pop culture and woven into the fabric of our nation’s founding. But how can we grow into the people we want to become when we can’t acknowledge our mistakes and the effect that they've had on others? We invite you to start off 2019 with an apology.

Discussed this week:

• Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony at the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing (2018)
• “I Won’t Back Down” (Tom Petty, 1989)
• “Ms. Jackson” (OutKast, 2000)
• “All Apologies” (Nirvana, 1993)
• “Sorry” (Beyoncé, 2016)
• “Poltergeist” (directed by Tobe Hooper, 1982)
• “The Best Man” (directed by Malcom D. Lee, 1999)
• Dan Harmon’s apology on the Harmontown podcast (Jan. 10, 2018)
• Kevin Hart’s non-apology on Instagram (Dec. 6, 2018)
• Kevin Hart’s appearance on Ellen (Jan. 4, 2019)
• “The Apology of Socrates” (Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• “I’m Sorry” (Brenda Lee, 1960)

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Buckle up, babies. Still Processing returns on Thursday, January 10th.

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