Telephone Stories

By Ninth Planet AudioSociety & Culture Documentary

Telephone Stories episodes

December 17, 2023 Like a Brother, Like a Father
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 find themselves at the center of a PR fallout. Gavin ultimately alleges abuse by the singer, resulting in a new investigation and a second raid on Neverland.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 25 min
December 10, 2023 The Goose With the Golden Eggs
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 gain sympathy, Jackson agrees to allow British journalist Martin Bashir to film his private life -- a terrible miscalculation which results in a new, criminal investigation into the singer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
56 min
November 26, 2023 A Land of Giants
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 rooted in truth, but exaggerated, they come to learn, and the real danger for children is the "nice guy" offender who becomes a pillar of his community only to gains access to children and manipulate them into silence once they are victimized.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
57 min
November 19, 2023 Walking Away With A Lot of Money
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 financial civil settlement is announced, shocking investigators engaged in a criminal investigation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 15 min
November 12, 2023 Like a Ton of Bricks
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 a drug problems and disappears in Europe.

[Originally published in 2019]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 17 min
November 05, 2023 Second Star to the Right
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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr
October 29, 2023 Something Cosmic
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 that Jackson had a romantic, sexual relationship with Jordan. Originally published in 2019.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 2 min
October 29, 2023 Trailer: Telephone Stories
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 back to this 2019 docseries now.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2 min
October 29, 2023 A Suspicious Environment
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 a televised interview with Oprah in 1993, Jackson befriends a boy named Jordan Chandler - a relationship that will change both of their lives forever.

Originally published in 2019.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min

About Telephone Stories

From the publisher's feed

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