The Michael Jackson Case for Innocence Podcast

In this final episode of our rebuttal, we circle back to Part 1 in our series, focusing on how Think Twice doesn't follow journalism fairness standards and rigorously challenge their presumption of guilt.You'll hear examples of applying a "consider the opposite" approach to the Michael Jackson allegations, by asking what else has to be true if he were innocent. We invite hosts Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth to engage with innocence advocates. We also put forward an alternative response to ...

In this episode, we present a few more examples of how the narrative in Think Twice is one-sided and slanted. There's a wider context and missing information in their stories that's important to consider, which calls into question their own theories and conclusions. We take a look at how Think Twice presents Michael Jackson’s relationship with his father and what they’ve left out of the background regarding Jackson’s Oxford speech. And because Think Twice uses Jackson’s wor...

In part 2 of our rebuttal, you'll hear some examples of bias, lack of context and misleading information in Think Twice that undermines their presumption of guilt. The focus of this episode is examining how Think Twice handles the evidence in the first two sex abuse cases against Michael Jackson.What sort of fact checking process have they used to check the claims of the Chandler and Arvizo allegations? What sources are they citing? What sources are they leaving out? Who do they c...

Think Twice is an Audible podcast released in April 2023 about the legacy of Michael Jackson. Over its 10-episode series, Think Twice focuses on the theme of why we the public are still listening to Michael Jackson, despite the allegations against him.The Think Twice narrative is that there must be something unique about Jackson in his ability to defy cancellation, and the podcast aims to help us understand why he’s different from other celebrities who have been cancelled after being ac...

In this bonus episode of the podcast, we critique the use of Michael Jackson in The New York Times Presents documentary series entitled, "Sin Eater." "Sin Eater" is a 2-part documentary about the shady legacy of Anthony Pellicano, a Hollywood private investigator most active in the 1990s. The documentary promotion page says about Pellicano: "Hollywood’s dirtiest private investigator didn’t operate within the law to hide the sins of the rich and powerful." However, we argue i...

Up to this point in the podcast, we’ve been focusing on each sex abuse case separately, in order to address their problems point by point. But by compiling and comparing the evidence in all four cases, there are telling patterns that emerge among Jackson’s accusers. patterns that compound the individual weaknesses of their claims, and build an even stronger case for Jackson’s innocence. You’re going to hear about research into child predator behavior in this episode and how child molesters ta...

How does the science of lie detection and bias factor into the Michael Jackson sex abuse allegations? With an emphasis on the deceit revealed in the Leaving Neverland documentary, this episode focuses on the following questions: What does science tell us about our ability to spot a liar? What steps do deception experts recommend we take when trying to judge if a story is true? And finally, why did so many people get taken in by this film?Website: www.michaeljacksoncaseforinn...

The focus of the third and final episode on Leaving Neverland is how filmmaker Dan Reed continues the pattern of deceit in his promotional interviews. Through his responses, Reed reveals that he is not interested in the accuracy of his film, only the impact of this film. The episode concludes by taking a measure of how Leaving Neverland matches up with accepted standards for documentary filmmaking.Website: www.michaeljacksoncaseforinnocence.comTwitter: @Case4InnocenceContent Advisory: This ep...

One of the most talked about aspects of Leaving Neverland is the very graphic descriptions of sex abuse by both Robson and Safechuck. It was a shock to hear these accusers spell out the specific sex acts at length on screen. These vivid and compelling details are what led to many viewers believing the allegations were true. In this episode, you'll hear 3 arguments for why Robson and Safechuck's unusually graphic accounts of sex abuse should not be taken as evidence for truthfulness.All&...

Leaving Neverland Part 2 picks up in 1992, when Robson and Safechuck claim Jackson dropped them for Macaulay Culkin and Brett Barnes. The Robsons express resentment that Jackson didn't take Wade on the Dangerous Tour, and are upset that he took Barnes. You'll hear about the accusers' support of Jackson during the Chandler scandal of 1993, and their improbable claims of being intimidated by Jackson and his lawyers to testify in 2005. The film and this episode conclude with the Robsons and Safe...