In this episode, Elizabeth and Karin discuss the recently published essay Karin wrote, Echoes Without Presence: AI, Michael Jackson, and the Crisis of Cultural Authenticity. They discuss specific topics as mimesis, misremembering and disremembering and imagination. Feel free to connect and ask us questions.

REFERENCE AS:

Merx, Karin, and Elizabeth Amisu. “Episode 86 – Echoes Without Presence” Podcast, Michael Jackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation, 13 no. 2 (2025). Published electronically 21/11/25. https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/episode-86-echoes-without-presence.

The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies asks that you acknowledge The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies as the source of our Content; if you use material from The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies online, we request that you link directly to the stable URL provided. If you use our content offline, please credit the source as follows: “Courtesy of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies.” All content is copyright-protected. Any unauthorised reproduction, redistribution, or use for artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automated data collection is strictly prohibited.

Elizabeth Amisu, PGCE, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. Find out more about Elizabeth here.

Karin Merx BMus, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies, and author of ‘A festive parade of highlights. La Grande Parade as evaluation of the museum policy of Edy De Wilde at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’. Find out more about Karin here.

• Karin Merx, ‘Echoes Without Presence: AI, Michael Jackson, and the Crisis of Cultural Authenticity’, The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies, vol. 5, issue 1 (November 2025).
• Karin Merx, ‘From Throne to Wilderness: Michael Jackson’s ‘Stranger in Moscow’ and the Foucauldian Outlaw’, The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies, vol. 1, issue 1 (June 2015).

“Was Michael Jackson just a pop icon… or a philosopher in disguise?”
Discover the dangerous ideas behind his music, persona, and legacy in this online course, based on the acclaimed book The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson.
Enrol today. https://onlineartseducation.co.uk/course/dangerous-philosophies-of-michael-jackson-online-course/

In this episode, Elizabeth and Karin discuss the essay, Sentenced to Neverland: Michael Jackson, Peter Pan, and Queer Futurity by Amy C. Billone. This essay is published in Michael Jackson: Grasping the Spectacle, edited by Christopher R. Smit.

REFERENCE AS:

Merx, Karin, and Elizabeth Amisu. “Episode 85 – Sentenced to Neverland Podcast, Michael Jackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation, 13 no. 1 (2025). Published electronically 21/10/25. https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/episode-85-sentenced-to-neverland

The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies asks that you acknowledge The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies as the source of our Content; if you use material from The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies online, we request that you link directly to the stable URL provided. If you use our content offline, please credit the source as follows: “Courtesy of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies.” All content is copyright-protected. Any unauthorised reproduction, redistribution, or use for artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automated data collection is strictly prohibited.

Elizabeth Amisu, PGCE, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. Find out more about Elizabeth here.

Karin Merx BMus, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies, and author of ‘A festive parade of highlights. La Grande Parade as evaluation of the museum policy of Edy De Wilde at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’. Find out more about Karin here.

• Amy C. Billone, ‘Sentenced to Neverland: Michael Jackson, Peter Pan, and Queer Futurity, ed. C. R. Smit (Ashgate 2012) pp 39-50.
• Elizabeth Amisu, ‘The Isle Is Full of Noises’: Revisiting the Peter Pan of Pop.” The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies 1, no. 1 (2014).https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/the-isle-is-full-of-noises-revisiting-the-peter-pan-of-pop/
• Elizabeth Amisu, The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife (Praeger/Bloomsbury, 2016, 2024)
• Elizabeth Amisu, Online Course Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson, https://onlineartseducation.co.uk/course/dangerous-philosophies-of-michael-jackson-online-course/

In part 2 of our discussion about Margo Jefferson, we discuss articles from the Guardian and her essay in the catalogue of the On the Wall exhibition.

REFERENCE AS:

Merx, Karin, and Elizabeth Amisu. “Episode 83 – part 1 – On Michael Jackson” Podcast, Michael Jackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation, 12 no. 4 (2025). Published electronically 21/08/25. https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/episode-84-part-2-margo-j/efferson

The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies asks that you acknowledge The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies as the source of our Content; if you use material from The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies online, we request that you link directly to the stable URL provided. If you use our content offline, we ask that you credit the source as follows: “Courtesy of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies

Elizabeth Amisu, PGCE, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. Find out more about Elizabeth here.

Karin Merx BMus, MA, is editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies, and author of ‘A festive parade of highlights. La Grande Parade as evaluation of the museum policy of Edy De Wilde at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’. Find out more about Karin here.

• Margo Jefferson: ‘I have always loved Michael Jackson’ ( Guardian, 2018)
• Was I in denial? Margo Jefferson on Michael Jackson’s Legacy ( Guardian, 2019)
• Margo Jefferson, A Life and Afterlife of Shape-Shifting in NPG’s, Michael Jackson: On the Wall ( Tent Cat, National Portrait Gallery, 2018).
• Margot Jefferson, Ripping Off Black Music: From Thomas “Daddy” Rice to Jimi Hendrix
• Jefferson, Margo. Ripping Off Black Music From Thomas: “Daddy” Rice to Jimi Hendrix (Harper’s, 1973) – https://amzn.to/4ffn5Kl

“Was Michael Jackson just a pop icon… or a philosopher in disguise?”
Discover the dangerous ideas behind his music, persona, and legacy in this online course, based on the acclaimed book The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson.
Enrol today. https://onlineartseducation.co.uk/course/dangerous-philosophies-of-michael-jackson-online-course/