Talk ’90s to me
Diving deep into a wild decade of chaos, creativity and hedonism – from Oasis to ‘Friends’, from grunge to girl power, from Kate Moss to alcopops to ‘Trainspotting’ and beyond. Join award-winning Observer journalist and Smash Hits graduate Miranda Sawyer as she meets the people who were really there for the decade of Cool Britannia, Cantona and the Chemical Generation. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
Episodes
Buffy the Vampire Slayer! – How a surprise monster hit redefined horror
This episode was recorded prior to the sad death of the brilliant Anthony Head on 5 June 2026.
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Fangs for the memory! Buffy the Vampire Slayer began life as a teen horror-comedy film that came and went in 1992 with barely any impact. But five years later, creator Joss Whedon brought Buffy back for television, casting Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role and som
Cash, cocaine and chaos – The mad, bad ’90s music biz with author John Niven
Diving deep into all things ’90s. The music business’s last hurrah of excess, extravagance and super-colossal expense accounts came in the ’90s – and John Niven was in the front row as an A&R man* at era-defining label London Records. His experiences of trying to sign the next big thing in a cloud of money and “stimulants” became the cult book and movie Kill Your Friends (the British American Psyc
Showgirls – Worst film of the ’90s or misunderstood gem?
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Paul Verhoeven’s camp, deranged, Vegas-based “erotic drama” Showgirls was a $45 million Hollywood gamble that became one of the biggest box office flops of the decade. Nominated for 16 Razzies, it got its lead actress Elizabeth Berkeley effectively blacklisted for almost 20 years.
But thirty years later, things look very different. Once dismissed as pure camp exc
From Queen to Mogwai – John Robins on his ’90s music journey
Diving deep into all things ’90s. John Robins was a child at the start of the ’90s and eighteen by the end of it. He talks through his early obsession with Freddie Mercury and Queen’s ‘90s releases, his controversial non-uniform day outfits and how his music taste evolved to the likes of Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Plus, he discusses his new book Thirst, which is out now.
Buy Thirst
Prozac Nation! – How one grunge-era depression memoir changed everything
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Elizabeth Wurtzel’s groundbreaking grunge-era memoir of depression, medication and alienation Prozac Nation divided opinion like few books ever have. How did it become the book of a generation? Does it stand up now? Did Wurtzel reinvent an old genre or start a new one? And would Lena Dunham’s Girls exist without it? Miranda Sawyer is joined by Sian Pattenden, cult
Alcopops! – Hooch, Metz, Breezers and the booze of the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Bright, sugary and brewed to go down far too easily, alcopops arrived in the ’90s with a bang. They blurred the line between soft drink and spirit, encouraged a new generation into the pubs and if you believed the tabloids sparked a youth drinking revolution.
This week on Talk ’90s, Miranda is joined by drinks writer Pete Brown to revisit the sticky-sweet rise o
Ash! – Tim Wheeler on the Northern Irish kids who crashed the Britpop party
Diving deep into all things ’90s. It’s 1994, three schoolkids from Downpatrick get permission from their headteacher to go on tour with Elastica… and the rest is history. Ash arrive with the bombastic Girl From Mars and pure teenage nerve, somehow landing a record deal before they’ve finished their exams, then opening their A-level results live on BBC Radio 1! Frontman Tim Wheeler joins Miranda to
Goldie – The drum’n’bass bad boy who defined ’90s Jungle
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Nothing captures the raw excitement of ’90s clubbing like the speaker-shattering sound of jungle and drum’n’bass – a collision of real time breakbeats and chest-rattling sub-bass that created a culture that still lives on today. And the undisputed don of the scene is Goldie, the Metalheadz mastermind whose unstoppable ambition brings drum’n’bass out of the undergr
Sky Magazine! – Sex, sin and six-packs with the Bible of the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Stuffed with high-glam, sex-soaked shots featuring the likes of Kylie, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Ewan McGregor and Uma Thurman, Sky Magazine was the glossiest badge of adulthood you could possibly leave on the coffee table. In an age when satellite TV was booming and the remote was king, it catapulted suburban Britain to the heart of Hollywood.
Sky Magazine’s edit
Judge Jules – The original superstar DJ on decks, drugs and rock’n’roll
Diving deep into all things ’90s. “The Judge won’t budge!” DJ Julius O'Riordan AKA Judge Jules was at the centre of the ’90s dance music boom that took the scene from pirate radio and illegal raves to Radio 1, superclubs and Ibiza at its most ’avin it. The law student turned DJ became one of the defining figures of the decade.
Miranda sits down with Jules to talk about how dance music changed acr
This Life – The definitive guide to being young in the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Cigs for breakfast! Oral sex in the kitchen! Wobbly cameras! E binges! Egg! Milly! Miles! Anna! Warren! And “the punch”. It’s 30 years since the groundbreaking houseshare drama This Life exploded onto our screens and gave us a candid look into the lives of young lawyers living together in London. What made this ramshackle saga work? And what made the characters so
Eastenders icon Natalie Cassidy! – On being Sonia, barmy soap stories and Britpop!
Diving deep into all things ’90s. What happens when you grow up on the most famous square in Britain? Natalie Cassidy was barely a teenager when she became Sonia Fowler and suddenly the nation was watching her first kisses, first heartbreaks and, yes, her many trumpet solos.
In this episode of Talk ’90s To Me, Natalie looks back on life as a child star at the heart of EastEnders at its peak: the
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Rise of the 90s’ Ultimate Heartthrob
Diving deep into all things ’90s. In 1994, a 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio received his first Academy Award nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. It proved he was the real deal and set him on course to become more than just an actor. Within a few short years he’d become the ultimate poster boy, with bedroom walls across the globe filling up with Leo pictures carefully snipped from teen mags
Jeff Buckley – Inside a Beautiful Tragedy
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Jeff Buckley died in 1997 at just 30 years old, leaving behind only a handful of recordings but a huge impression on his fans. In the decades since, the mythology of the singer-songwriter hasn’t really faded. Buckley didn’t leave a long catalogue behind, but what he did leave was enough to make him a legend.
This week, Miranda sits down with music Journalist Jude
How The Fast Show and Cold Feet defined ’90s Telly with John Thomson
Diving deep into all things ’90s. British comedy got faster, stranger and more gleefully quotable in the ’90s than ever before. At the centre of it all was John Thomson, the everyman who helped turn The Fast Show into a cultural phenomenon, popped up everywhere from I’m Alan Partridge to Men Behaving Badly, and then pivoted to the Sunday night, must-watch dramedy Cold Feet.
This week, Miranda sit
Lads' Mags – From Loaded to GQ, how the ’90s changed media
Diving deep into all things ’90s. 1994, Loaded lands on newsstands and suddenly the tone of British magazines shifts overnight. Louder, cheekier, more irreverent than anything before. At the centre of it all is James Brown, the unlikely magazine wunderkind who rocked the world of ’90s publishing.
This week, Miranda Sawyer sits down with James, author of new fanzine Zine Age Kicks to discuss his
Björk! – The National Elf Service… and how she shaped the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Pop was trying very hard to look polished, predictable and a little bit American in the early ’90s… then Björk arrived, barefoot, uncompromising, and sounding like the future of music. She didn’t just release hit records. She blew open the idea of what a pop star could be: experimental but chart-friendly, weird but deeply human. In this episode of Talk ’90s to Me,
Calvin Klein! The brand that made Kate Moss into the ’90s It Girl
Diving deep into all things ’90s. CK’s iconic black-and-white underwear ads didn’t just sell underwear – they practically defined the style of the ’90s. Slip dresses that looked like you’d forgotten the rest of your outfit, billboards full of brooding half-dressed teenagers, and a minimalist aesthetic all reshaped fashion forever.
Sali Hughes, The Guardian’s beauty columnist and host of the Beyon
Disney Villains! – How queer baddies helped save Disney in the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s. The Disney Renaissance is usually remembered for its big tunes and Broadway bombast, but one of its most long-lasting impacts is the strength of its villains. From a sea witch inspired by the most transgressive drag queen of the ’80s to a Shakespearean lion schemer voiced by Jeremy Irons, these characters defined the era. Louder, stranger and far more interesting
When Posh married Becks – The original Beckham wedding that dazzled Britain
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Brooklyn and Nicola? Pffft. In 1999 David Beckham and Victoria Adams were the two most stratospherically famous people in Britain – and their wedding blew the nation’s collective mind. How did the Posh’n’Becks nuptials change celebrity culture, the media and the minds of everyday people? Diehard Posh’n’Becks fangirl, Guardian columnist and Mirror veteran Polly Hud
Britney Spears – the world’s most powerful teenager
Diving deep into all things ’90s. In 1999, Britney Spears exploded into pop superstardom. One song, one video, and suddenly she was everywhere with barely any build-up and no room to breathe. Was Britney’s debut a pop miracle, or the start of a life lived on other people’s terms?
This week, Miranda Sawyer is joined by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, author Being Britney, to look back at culture that m
Josh Widdicombe on TFI Friday and the chaos of ’90s live TV
Diving deep into all things ’90s. This week, Miranda is joined by comedian and podcast royalty Josh Widdicombe (who loved ’90s TV so much he even wrote a book about it Watching Neighbours Twice a Day..) to talk about ’90s TV phenomenon TFI Friday hosted by the one and only Chris Evans.
Red hair, loud shirts, laddish chaos, celebrity stunts, flashes of brilliance and moments that make you ask, ho
Pulp Fiction! Tarantino’s masterpiece that changed cinema forever
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Cool. Violent. Funny. Quoted to death. Still feels modern today. This week on Talk 90s To Me, Miranda opens the briefcase on 1994’s Pulp Fiction, the film that didn’t just dominate the cinema, it rewired culture entirely. With non-linear storytelling, electric dance scenes, super cool hitmen and a soundtrack that instantly made you cooler just for owning it.
This
Adidas Gazelles – The '90s trainer that will never go out of style
A special preview of the kind of thing we're doing over on our Patreon to tide you over the new year! Suede, slim and quietly confident, Gazelles could improve almost any outfit. Worn by everyone from indie kids to people who definitely weren’t trying, they went to gigs, clubs, school and back again without fuss. This week on our Patreon pod shot, Miranda is joined by DJ, journalist and man with s
Were the ’90s the golden age of Christmas Number Ones?
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Did the Great British Christmas Number One peak in the ’90s? Miranda Sawyer sits down with comedian Marc Burrows, author of Mistletoe and Vinyl: The Story of the Christmas No. 1, to get our heads around the annual scramble to be top of the Christmas pops. It’s an epic tale featuring Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, Queen and even Cliff Richard. Plus: we attempt t
Stay Another Day – The story of East 17's accidental Christmas classic with Tony Mortimer
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Today we unwrap one of the great Christmas gifts: how a lad from Walthamstow wrote the Crimbo anthem of the 90s. Yes, we’re talking about East 17’s Stay Another Day. Miranda sits down with Tony Mortimer to find out how he turned real heartbreak into a perennial festive classic. Plus: the highs and lows of life in a boyband, four legged bandmates, giant puffa jacke
Italia ’90 – Gazza’s tears, Maradona’s madness and the tournament that changed football!
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Italia ’90 wasn’t just a World Cup, it was a national mood. The summer when Gazza wept, England stumbled heroically, and football suddenly looked… different. Sleeker. Made for TV. This week on Talk ’90s to Me, Miranda Sawyer is joined by Simon Kuper, author of World Cup Fever, to dive back into the tournament that rejuvenated the sport. They talk about the drama a
Catwalk Britain, Absolutely Fabulous and shopping in the ’90s – with Mary Portas, darling!
Diving deep into all things ’90s. The British high street was everything in the ’90s. A place to roam, reinvent yourself and blow your wages on whatever you fancied. Fashion maven Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas, author of I Shop, Therefore I Am, joins Miranda to revisit a decade when shop floors became catwalks, window displays turned into art, and the real-life fashion of the decade helped inspire
Seinfeld – The best sitcom of the ’90s?
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Seinfeld was a “show about nothing” that critics didn’t get, audiences didn’t love at first, and yet somehow became one of the biggest comedy phenomena of the decade. From Jerry’s neuroses and Elaine’s sharp tongue to Kramer’s manic energy and George’s miserable existence, we explore how a strange sitcom rewrote the rules of TV.
To help
RIP Mani – Why the Stone Roses bass genius was universally loved
The sudden death of Stone Roses bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield aged only 63 shocked music fans everywhere and led to an outpouring of love and appreciation from fans and friends including Liam Gallagher, New Order, Elbow, the Courteeners, and many more. In a special tribute edition Miranda talks to music journalist John Robb of Louder Than War about how Mani’s bass put the funk into what would beco
Thelma & Louise – The ’90s most important chick flick
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. This week we’re talking about the Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis blockbuster Thelma & Louise: the renegade feminist road movie that rewired Hollywood’s idea of what a chick flick could be. Miranda Sawyer is joined by screenwriter Sarah Morgan to talk crime, camaraderie and cultural legacy. And yes, we’re going to talk about that Brad Pitt
From Take That to Westlife – Inside the boy band boom!
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Boy bands were a big deal in the ‘90s, with Take That paving the way for what feels like hundreds of different groups. From Westlife, to 5ive to East 17 to plenty you haven’t heard of or whose songs are forgettable, sorry Boyzone. Miranda discusses this phenomenon with Michael Cragg, author of Reach for the Stars: 1996–2006: Fame, Fallout
Patreon mini-pod! UNFINISHED SYMPATHY – How MASSIVE ATTACK kickstarted trip-hop
Back us on Patreon and get a special extra podcast like this every two weeks. On our first mini-pod, the story of Unfinished Sympathy. Back in 1991, a mystery trio from Bristol were mixing hip hop, soul, dancehall and house into a potent, bass-driven and very danceable sound that would reshape ’90s music. Stand-up comic and fan Carl Donnelly tells Miranda how Massive Attack inspired everyone from
The KLF! The real story of the band that burnt one million quid
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty didn’t just make pop music in the 90s. They abducted it, held it to ransom, then gleefully set it on fire. From their acid-house days to a feud with ABBA and eventually a million-quid bonfire, The KLF combined pop with art and the final result was chaos. This week, Miranda Sawyer talks to Joe Muggs about how
How Scream started the ’90s horror revolution
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. For our special Halloween episode, we’re looking back at the film that defined ‘90s horror. When Scream slashed into cinemas in 1996, Wes Craven’s meta-masterpiece tore up the rulebook and rewrote the genre for a new generation. Miranda Sawyer is joined by Clark Collis, author of Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable R
Adam Buxton! – Inside the making of The Adam and Joe Show!
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Before YouTube, before TikTok, Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish were ahead of the curve: parodying Hollywood blockbusters with toys, pranking shopkeepers with the direction of Louis Theroux and doing it all on a shoestring budget. This week, Miranda Sawyer is joined by Adam Buxton, podcaster, national treasure and author of I Love You, Byeee,
Tomb Raider! – Lara Croft, girl power and the game that changed everything
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. The world met Lara Croft in 1996 and video games were never the same again. The decade’s most iconic heroine wasn’t just raiding tombs; she was breaking boundaries, redefining gaming, and accidentally becoming a global sex symbol in the process. This week, Miranda’s joined by tech expert and OG gamer girl Aleks Krotoski, host of Radio 4’s
How the Castlemorton rave changed festivals forever
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. In May, 1992, Fifty thousand people descended on Castlemorton Common for a week-long party that scandalized Middle England and rewrote the rules of British nightlife. This week, Miranda Sawyer sits down with filmmaker Aaron Trinder, director of Free Party: A Folk History, to dig into the delirious mayhem of Castlemorton, the legal fallout
Radio 1's most chaotic decade – with Mark Radcliffe of 'Mark and Lard'
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. In 1997, Mark and Lard landed the biggest job in British radio: hosting the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Nine months later, ratings had plummeted and the two were sacked. On this week’s Talk 90s To Me, Miranda Sawyer sits down with Mark Radcliffe, one half of the comedy duo, to look back at the short, chaotic stint that nearly broke the statio
The birth of Parklife, Britpop and Cool Britanania with Blur's Dave Rowntree!
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Before they were the poster boys of Britpop and the soundtrack to Cool Britannia, Blur were just four awkward lads from Colchester trying to work out who they were. On this week’s Talk 90s To Me, Miranda Sawyer sits down with drummer Dave Rowntree to talk about his new book, No One You Know, of never-before-seen photographs captures Blur
Madonna! From Blonde Ambition to the Pope’s Blacklist
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. From cone bras to the sexist coffee table book of all time, Madonna ruled the early 90s like no one else. In the wake of record breaking Blonde Ambition tour, she became both the decade’s biggest pop icon and public enemy number one. Provocative videos, banned shows, and revealing documentaries the erotic era was worshipped by fans and co
The Prodigy – Keith Flint, Firestarters and a rock-rave fusion
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. How did a gang of Essex ravers in baggy jeans and bucket hats end up storming Top of the Pops and terrifying your mum in the process? How did they leap from underground raves to inspiring the most popular Halloween costume of 1996? This week, Miranda Sawyer is joined by the host of Oh God What Now and seasoned music journo Andrew Harrison
Princess Diana – The inside story of THAT ‘Revenge Dress’ – with Vogue’s Plum Sykes
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. On June 29, 1994, Prince Charles confessed on national TV that he’d cheated on Princess Diana, stunning the world. But Diana stole his thunder and entranced the global media by stepping out in the now-legendary ‘Revenge Dress’. How did a little black dress spark a tabloid storm that still fascinates people today? Vogue journalist Plum Syk
Friends! Could a TV show be any more influential?
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. In 1994, six twenty-somethings walked into a Manhattan coffee shop and changed TV forever. Friends wasn’t just a sitcom: it became the defining show of the decade, shaping how we laughed, dated, and even decorated our flats. This week on Talk 90s To Me, BAFTA-nominated comedian and writer Gráinne Maguire joins Miranda to discuss the perfe
George Michael! – From tabloid target to shamelessly gay pop icon
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. On April 7, 1998, George Michael was arrested for “lewd conduct” in a Beverly Hills public toilet. But instead of shrinking away in shame, he flipped the script. What followed rewrote the rulebook on how celebrities came out, and shifted the way we talked about sexuality. This week, Jack Guinness, curator of The Queer Bible , joins Miran
Nirvana! Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, grunge and the whole brilliant mess – with Yasi Salek
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. How did a grunge band from Seattle become a global sensation? Yasi Salek, host of the Bandsplain podcast, joins Miranda Sawyer to unpack the legacy of Nirvana from raw teenage angst to the dazzling lights of the MTV Awards. Plus, we trace their influence on everything from alt-rock to pop-punk, and how their sound and style changed rock
Trainspotting! – Irvine Welsh on what it all REALLY meant
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. This time: How did a novel about heroin, unemployment and clubbing become a cultural phenomenon? Miranda Sawyer is joined by Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, to talk about the book’s legacy, from drug-fuelled nights to its impact on how we talk about class, masculinity, and even his plans for a brand new musical. Plus, we explor
Oasis! Music, mayhem and the band that kickstarted the ’90s – with author Ted Kessler
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. This time: Oasis brought chaos, electricity and working-class swagger to a music scene dominated by po-faced grunge and indie bands in the early 1990s. How did the Gallaghers go from humble beginnings in Manchester to taking over the world? Miranda Sawyer is joined by Ted Kessler, co-author of A Sound So Very Loud which covers every singl
Talk '90s to me - trailer!
Diving deep into a wild decade of chaos, creativity and hedonism – from Oasis to ‘Friends’, from grunge to girl power, from Kate Moss to alcopops to ‘Trainspotting’ and beyond. Join award-winning Observer journalist and Smash Hits graduate Miranda Sawyer as she meets the people who were really there for the decade of Cool Britannia, Cantona and the Chemical Generation.
Talk ’90s To Me – could a
