First Two Episodes Of Peak 2000s Podcast: American Idol & MySpace

 There's a tendency in pop culture podcasts where comedians / hosts utilize pop culture trends to spray humor, wit, and sarcasm on the listening audience. In these podcasts, the "funny" comes before the "facts."

I'm happy to report that is not the case with Spotify's new pop culture podcast, Peak 2000s. Hosted by comedians Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin, the series delivers humor and insightful commentary on prominent pop culture moments of the early aughts. Each episode focuses on a singular topic - a moment, person, or tech revolution - that shaped the way we grew up. Why was it so popular then? What still holds up today? What needs to be left back in 2003? 

According to Spotify, "Peak 2000s brings a generation together around shared cultural moments, figures, and trends that defined millennials."

 

 

 

Episode 1 explores American Idol. This first episode definitely benefits from the addition of NPR's (now at Vox) Sam Sanders, who brings the 202/20 vision of insight and inquisitiveness into what made American Idol so popular and ubiquitous. Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin don't simply set up their jokes, but allow their humor to flow naturally from the dialogue and the discovery.

 

Episode 2 dives into Myspace and the early days of social media. Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin describe their Myspace pages (blinged out Tweety Bird anyone?), how the platform propelled music careers (e.g., Kesha, Nicki Minaj, Waka Flocka, etc.), perils of the Top 8, the social network scene (AIM was big), and more. Special guest Alana Levinson, a culture writer and editor, joins the show to provide her insight into why Myspace became so popular, her experience using the platform, and how Myspace died.

It's an interesting episode for millennials because, to them, social media is like a permanent marker in that it never disappears. In the earlier days of the internet, popular web platforms burned brightly, but flamed out quickly. Today, it seems like we'll never get rid of Facebook.

 Listen to the trailer and first two episodes of Peak 2000s

Every episode features a fun segment called “Yay or Yuck” – yay if it still holds up, or yuck if it needs to stay in the 2000’s.

 

Additional topics to be discussed in this 12-episode weekly series include Napster, TRL and 106 & Park, Paris Hilton, and more.