Hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to attend a public memorial for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles, and countless more around the world will watch the event on TV.

But some fraction of the population wonders why the death of any celebrity warrants such attention.

Guests:

Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African American Studies at Duke University

Nelson George, author and director. He wrote The Michael Jackson Story. In his remembrance of Michael Jackson, he compares the King of Pop to Citizen Kane.

Bill Wyman, editor of Hitsville.org, and the former arts editor of NPR and Salon.com

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