History of the 90s

On this episode of History of the 90s host Kathy Kenzora is looking back at some of the best Simpsons episodes from the 1990s. From Who Shot Mr. Burns to Homer at Bat we revisit 10 Simpsons episodes that stand the test of time with help from listeners of the podcast. Contact: Twitter: @1990shistory Facebook: @1990shistory Instagram: @that90spodcast Email: 90s@curiouscast.ca Newsletter: http://hist...

From riots in the streets of Los Angeles and the siege at Ruby Ridge to the election of Bill Clinton and the Late Night TV wars, 1992 was a year of incredible transformation, excitement, devastation and tragedy. It was filled with seismic changes that continues to reverberate through our lives 30 year later. On this episode of History of the 90s host Kathy Kenzora looks back and counts down ten of...

In the early morning hours of December 26, 1996, a 39 year old stay-at-home mom in an upscale neighbourhood of Boulder, Colorado made a shocking discovery. Her 6-year-old daughter had been kidnapped while the family slept and a mysterious ransom note had been left in her place. The handwritten 2-and-half page letter demanded $118,000 and instructed the family to wait for a call later that morning...

When The Simpsons debuted in December 1989 it was a radical move by the Fox TV Network. There had not been a successful prime-time animated sitcom for adults since The Flintstones in the 1960s. Plus The Simpsons was a lot edgier than the clean family sitcoms on the air at the time. But not only was The Simpsons an instant hit, it became a cultural phenomenon that continues over 30 years later. On...

For 100 days in 1994 evil descended upon the small country of Rwanda. A long simmering conflict between Hutus and Tutsis boiled over after the country’s president died when his plane was shot down by a missile. Police stood by as approximately 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis were killed by violent mobs armed with clubs, sticks and machete’s. From the capital city of Kigali to small rural villages, u...

In the 1990s the most violent thing on television wasn’t wrestling, or NHL hockey it was The Jerry Springer Show. The daytime talk show regularly devolved into wild physical fights between guests that were excitedly cheered on by riled up audience members During the 90s more than two dozen similar daytime talk shows, that ranged from provocative to downright trashy, ruled the airwaves. Big names y...

After the home video game industry crashed spectacularly in 1983 one company rose from the ashes and helped breathe new life with a new 8 bit video console. The Nintendo Entertainment System with games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda ruled the console market until another Japanese company started going after older and more serious gamers. For the first time the Sega Genesis console...

In the late 1990s two unexpected musical genres that centered around big bands with horns and retro clothing burst back onto the scene in North America. Third wave ska and retro swing with breakthrough mainstream hits infiltered pop culture from movies and video games to the Gap’s famous khaki swing commercial. Life was good in the 90s and the music reflected it. The fun upbeat sounds of Ska and S...

There was change and excitement in the air when the lights came up on Gianni Versace’s 1991 fall fashion show in Milan. For the show’s finale, a group of four beautiful young women linked arm-in-arm and made their way down the catwalk lip-synching the words of a pop song that blasted from the speakers. It was the launch of a 90s phenomenon that is as symbolic to the decade as tabloid television an...

The case of Paul Bernardo captured media and public attention in the mid-1990s at a time when the United States was focused on the O.J. Simpson case in a similar way.  But Bernardo’s trial, for the murders of teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, wasn’t televised, so hundreds of people lined up to get inside the downtown Toronto courtroom to witness Canada’s version of the O.J. trial.  Othe...

If you Google most notorious killer in Canadian history, Paul Bernardo’s name will appear at the top of nearly every list.  There have been other killers who have taken more lives and eluded police over a longer period of time but the case of Paul Bernardo, at first as the Scarborough rapist and then later as the killer of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, has left a deep and painful scar on Cana...

From the moment grunge music went mainstream in the fall of 1991 the clock was ticking down toward its tragic end just a few years later. But in the meantime, the huge success of Seattle bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and SoundGarden led to a frenzy by record labels to sign other grunge type bands.  And as the Seattle area was picked dry of talent the search for half-way decent bands wearing flanne...

For the uninitiated, grunge begins and ends with Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. Maybe sprinkle in a little Pearl Jam or Sound Garden and a few flannels and that’s grunge. A moment in time that has long passed, but frozen in our memories because of Cobain’s early death. But grunge is so much more than one band, and one singer who may have had an outsized impact on the movement but was just one of piece o...

If you grew up in the 1980s or 90s chances are you watched a lot of Nickelodeon or at least some of the fun kids shows made by the cable network.  During its golden years, Nickelodeon not only had over 50 per cent of the kid audience share, but it was also one of the most profitable cable networks out there.  Plus it revolutionized kids programming with new and innovative game shows, variety shows...

In the 1990s the FBI’s most wanted criminal was an elusive mystery bomber who had been mailing dangerous and deadly packages to executives and university professors since 1978.  The UNABOMBER had left a trail of destruction around the United States, but the FBI had very little hard evidence that could help solve the case. Then in 1993 after a six year hiatus the UNABOMBER was back on the scene and...

In the summer of 1987 four young DJs from London took a trip to the Mediterranean Island of Ibiza for a birthday celebration. On their first night they attended an ecstasy-fueled party at club Amnesia, dancing under the stars to a mix of techno and house music played by legendary DJ Alfredo.  The experience was life changing and when the four DJs returned home to London they organized some of the...

On November 30, 1999, thousands of protestors locked arms and marched into downtown Seattle.  They surrounded a convention center where a conference organized by the World Trade Organization was set to take place over the next four days. Most of the demonstrators were peaceful but among their ranks was a small core of protestors dressed in black clothes and ski masks waiting for the right moment t...

In an era before podcasts and satellite radio, the 1990s was the peak of the shock jock genre on terrestrial radio.  Big names like Howard Stern, Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh attracted legions of devoted fans with their controversial shows that often ran afoul of the FCC and special interest groups.   On this episode of History of the 90s, host Kathy Kenzora looks back at three of the most famous ra...

The 30th anniversary of Woodstock was supposed to celebrate the iconic music festival known for peace, love and happiness but instead Woodstock ’99 turned into a weekend of violence and mayhem. The weekend ended with a fiery riot and reports of numerous sexual assaults, some taking place in the mosh pit.  On this episode of History of the 90s we are looking back at the 1999 event in Rome, New York...

The 90s were an era filled with new and inventive tech toys. It seemed liked every year another new gadget hit the market causing a buying frenzy at toy stores. Some were fads that quickly fizzled out while others were so revolutionary that they continue to impact us to this day.  On this episode of History of the 90s, host Kathy Kenzora is looking back at some of the most memorable tech toys and...

When Princess Diana, along with her boyfriend and driver were killed in a car crash on August 31, 1997, the course of history changed. The ‘People’s Princess’ and the mother to a future King was dead and a reckoning with the paparazzi was about to begin. From the moment Diana began dating Prince Charles she was stalked by aggressive photographers who she would later say made her life unbearable. D...

When the X-Files debuted in 1993 no one could have predicted it would become one of the defining TV shows of the decade.  The show about a couple of FBI agents investigating aliens and other supernatural creatures was nothing like the other one-hour TV shows that were on the air at the time.  But within a couple of years the show became a phenomenon that kick started internet fandom and influenced...

Like every year in the 90s, 1991 was a year of incredible change. From the fall of the Soviet Union, to the birth of the World Wide Web, it was a roller coaster ride of exciting new paths being forged as we were barreling toward the end of the century. And more and more we were being consumed by a new type of round the clock news coverage that permeated our lives like never before. On this episode...

Every generation seems to have its own version of an iconic boy band but the 90s was the first-time boy bands essentially took over pop music. On this episode of History of the 90s were looking back at the magical era of 90s boy bands as we dive deep into two of the biggest boy bands of all time.  Both the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC had to pay their dues in Europe before breaking through in the Uni...

You’ve heard the stories. You’ve felt for the people involved. But what happens after the cameras shut off and the reporters walk away? Just because a story disappears from the news doesn’t mean it’s gone. So whatever happened to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima? or the trapped Chilean Miners? And did anything actually come out of the Ice Bucket Challenge? Join Global News reporter, Erica Vella o...