
Michael Jackson: Too Big to Fail
From What Next | Daily News and Analysis by Slate Podcasts
April 27, 2026 · 26 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the biopic 'Michael' and its portrayal of Michael Jackson's life, particularly in relation to the 1993 lawsuit allegations.
The biopic “Michael” solves the third-act problem of Michael Jackson’s life by simply ending before the 1993 lawsuit that alleged child sex abuse, and before his appearance and behavior took a drastic turn. It leaves the King of Pop someone you can love without qualification—but not someone you can understand. Guest: Aisha Harris , co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Guest: Aisha Harris
Topics covered
- Michael Jackson
- biopic
- child sex abuse allegations
- pop culture
- film analysis
Keywords
- Michael Jackson
- biopic
- Aisha Harris
- NPR
- pop culture
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NPR, Slate Podcasts
Books & works: Michael
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