Home Podcasts Humanitarian - The Real Michael Jackson
Humanitarian - The Real Michael Jackson

Humanitarian - The Real Michael Jackson

Paul Dwyer 16 Episodes Jan 2, 2026

This podcast focuses on Michael Jackson's humanitarian efforts, highlighting his record for supporting charities. Host Paul Dwyer shares stories from people who were directly helped by Jackson's kindness, aiming to shed light on this lesser-known aspect of his life. The show is based on Dwyer's book and documentary of the same name.

Episodes

9/11: Michael Jackson’s Compassion After the Chaos - with Chantal Obrist
9/11: Michael Jackson’s Compassion After the Chaos - with Chantal Obrist Jan 2, 2026 1897 Chantal Obrist has been a devoted Michael Jackson fan since 1987. In this episode of The Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson podcast, she shares her firsthand experience of traveling from Switzerland to New York in September 2001 to attend Michael Jackson’s historic 30th Anniversary Concert.What followed was unimaginable. After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, New York—and the world—ca
Witnessing the King’s Compassion - with Jimmy Van Norman
Witnessing the King’s Compassion - with Jimmy Van Norman Dec 18, 2025 1819 Jimmy Van Norman was Michael Jackson’s bodyguard for over a decade and went on to work for the king of pop at his Neverland home. In this episode Jimmy, who also worked with Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Taylor Swift, is brutally honest and tells us of a caring, gentle Michael that gave so much of himself to all those around him.You can connect with Jimmy HEREGet the book "Humanitarian - Th
Kindness Matters - with Mallory Cyr
Kindness Matters - with Mallory Cyr Dec 2, 2025 1692 Mallory Cyr is a young lady who works with Children & Youth with Special Healthcare Needs. She has done a lot of work for Disability Justice & Health Equity, but Mallory also has an interesting story from the early 90’s that Michael Jackson fans might be interested to hear.The story features briefly in my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson.”In 1993, Michael Jackson sent a letter
UNCF and the Michael Jackson Scholarship – with Kenya Gray
UNCF and the Michael Jackson Scholarship – with Kenya Gray Nov 18, 2023 1829 Welcome to the final episode of season one of my podcast, "Humanitarian - The Real Michael Jackson." I'd love to bring you another season and I still have a lot of people I want to speak with to tell their stories of how Michael Jackson helped them in their time of need or contributed to their recovery from illnesses or people that were just first-hand witness to his many humanitari
An unpublicized act of compassion, from one father to another – with Dustin Woods
An unpublicized act of compassion, from one father to another – with Dustin Woods Nov 3, 2023 1810 In 1998, through the Make-a-wish foundation, Michael Jackson met 5-year-old cancer sufferer Aza Woods at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Michael cleared his afternoon schedule and spent time with Aza and Aza’s father at the themed attraction "Star Trek: The Experience.” In this episode, Dustin Woods, Aza’s father tells us of the afternoon he got to spend with The King of Pop.To donate to St Ju
A simple act of kindness - with Joseph Yenish
A simple act of kindness - with Joseph Yenish Oct 21, 2023 1683 In July of 1997, as a crowd of fans sprinted after Michael Jackson’s limousine, one of his vans accidentally ran over a fan’s leg, pushing the fan, Joseph Yenish to the ground resulting in a broken foot. Joseph later received a phone call to inform him that Michael had heard of the accident and had arranged for him to attend Michael’s concert for free and then meet him. Joe went backstage at the W
From Classroom to Neverland: The Heart behind the Dance - with Christine Fossemalle
From Classroom to Neverland: The Heart behind the Dance - with Christine Fossemalle Oct 7, 2023 2073 Christine Fossemalle owns and runs a dance school in Santa Ynez, California, in the same neighborhood that Michael Jackson called home at his Neverland Valley Ranch for 15 years. In the summer of 2003, Michael Jackson not only helped Christine with a fundraiser for her school, but also invited the entire school for a day at Neverland. In this episode, Christine tells us all about it.Buy the book “
A miraculous moment of healing - with Christina Dowling
A miraculous moment of healing - with Christina Dowling Sep 23, 2023 1226 As seen on page 101 of my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson,” on July 19, 1997, Irish Michael Jackson fan Christina Dowling, who suffers from Morquio syndrome was bought up on stage with Michael Jackson during his HIStory show in Dublin, Ireland. Michael held Christina’s hand during the song “Heal the World” and the result, as you’re about to hear, was nothing short of a miracle. Hear
The hope & healing behind the headlines - with Angela & Helen Darlington
The hope & healing behind the headlines - with Angela & Helen Darlington Sep 8, 2023 1282 As seen on page 27 of my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson,” on November 13, 1987, Michael Jackson visited The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where he spent the day with children and their families, giving out gifts, signing autographs and chatting to the patients. In episode 7 of the podcast, I spoke with Angela Darlington, who was in the hospital recovering from a
Neverland's Purpose - with Allan "Big Al" Scanlan
Neverland's Purpose - with Allan "Big Al" Scanlan Aug 25, 2023 2371 Allan Scanlan, affectionately known by Michael Jackson and the Michael Jackson fan community as “Big Al” worked at Michael’s home, Neverland Valley Ranch for 15 years. I had the pleasure of meeting the amusement ride specialist last year and have spoken to him a few times in regards to Michael’s humanitarianisms. The chat you’re about to hear was actually recorded last year but I wanted to include
Michael Jackson at The Orphans Christmas Party - with Gwen Carino
Michael Jackson at The Orphans Christmas Party - with Gwen Carino Aug 11, 2023 2716 Before my chat with episode 5's main guest, The Michael Jackson Book Club's Shari Thurman Wilks joins me to tell us about an awesome project that The Book Club are doing this August to honor Michael Jackson's 65th Birthday.Then, as seen on page 94 of my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael jacksn,” Gwen Carino was PR officer at the Manila Hotel in The Philippines & was assigned
I danced for Michael Jackson - with Raphael Recht
I danced for Michael Jackson - with Raphael Recht Jul 28, 2023 1924 As seen on page 93 of my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson,” in November of 1996, Michael Jackson visited Melbourne, Australia on his HIStory tour and arranged for busloads of sick patients from The Royal Children's Hospital” to visit him at his hotel and attend his concerts free of charge. Cystic Fibrosis sufferer Raphael Recht was a lucky fan that got to dance for Michael, go ba

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