The following podcast contains explicit language.

I'm Stephen Metcalf and this is the Sla Culture Gap Fest of Michael Jackson

addition. It's Wednesday, March 6th, 2019. You may have noticed the absence of a

glib title for today's show.

We're doing something different and I pretty sure unprecedented for us.

We're going to spend the whole time talking about a single subject,

the two-part four-hour HBO documentary Leaving Neverland from director Dan Reed.

I do not think that this is a hard decision to justify.

There is scarcely a more important figure in the history of music or popular culture than Michael Jackson

and he is likely to hold on to the record for the highest selling album of all time forever.

He broke a color barrier but that is so reductively small next to the totality of his achievements.

He's completely unconstrained to this day by any traditional categories of taste or identity. First let me introduce my co-host of course Dana

Stevens is the film critic for slate. Hey Dana. Hey Stephen and of course Julia

Turner is deputy managing editor of the Los Angeles Times. Hey Julia,

Hi Steve.

Later we'll be joined by Christina Kauterucci to discuss the

allegations of abuse in a slightly more legalistic way

and then by Carl Wilson to discuss Jackson's legacy. I should also say

before we dig in in earnest our regular listeners know it is my common practice

not to talk about HBO production since my husband works there on the comedy series department.

And we've decided that this document which comes from an entirely different team at

HBO that has absolutely nothing to do with him,

...