Rewind Time

This week’s topic is the iconic 2000s musical comedy trio The Lonely Island, consisting of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer.  Are The Lonely Island YouTubers? Should we cover them on this podcast? These are valid questions, but instead, we spent this episode compiling our respective Top 10 The Lonely Island Music Videos lists.  The music videos mentioned are available in a YouTube p...

Content warnings: This episode touches on some heavier topics as part of discussing the channel’s coverage of news - discussion of sexual assault between 23:15 and 29:10, during the Late 2000s Philip DeFranco Show chapter. Discussion of child abuse between 41:00 to 55:00, during the chapter The Daddy of Five exposé chapter. We review the YouTube career of Philip DeFranco, most well-known for hosti...

In this episode, we look back over the career of Michelle Phan, one of YouTube's original beauty gurus. Starting in 2005, Michelle transitioned from makeup blogs and short video tutorials to becoming a YouTube sensation.  We discuss her rise to fame, notable collaborations, including her early partnership with Lancome, and her ventures into launching her own makeup line, EM Cosmetics.  We examine...

This week we talk Neil Cicierega, the artist and musician behind the iconic Potter Puppet Pals . Uploaded during 2000s Harry Potter mania, the series became one of YouTube’s earliest viral hits. We explore Neil's early work on Newgrounds, pioneering Animutation , his other eclectic comedic and musical projects, and where he is at in 2025. We are subscribing to: Lucy - Younger Max - MAFS Australia...

This week we discuss YouTuber Justine Ezarik aka iJustine. Her content ranges across Apple fandom, tech commentary, music parodies and public dance videos. We discuss her continued success, mainstream media opportunities and collaborations with other creators and celebrities. We also highlight her professionalism and the challenges of being a female creator in a male-dominated space. What we’re su...

This week we are discussing the former most subscribed YouTuber and unfortunately named nigahiga. The channel’s founders, classmates Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi, started out posting short comedy videos filmed around their Hawaiian homes. Ryan took control of the channel and became one of OG YouTube’s biggest stars, posting comedy content including music videos, sketches, commentary, and parodies....

This week, we delve into the mysterious world of lonelygirl15, which began in 2006 as a vlog by a teenage girl named Bree but turned out to be a groundbreaking web series. We recount the channel’s rise to the most subscribed on YouTube, the eventual reveal of its fictional nature, and the innovative use of social media integration, product placements, and viewer-funded content. This week we are su...

Welcome to Rewind Time, an unofficial YouTube history podcast.  This week we are chatting the iconic early YouTube channel Smosh, created by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox.  We talk the major milestones, including Smosh's rise to become the most subscribed YouTube channel, their acquisition by Defy Media (RIP), and eventual return to form and evolution. Oh, also our groceries arrive midway through...