T minus 20

Get ready to rewind to a week where headlines, heartbreaks, and heroics took center stage! From the tense streets of Iraq to the Olympic glory in Athens. 🎥 A Captive’s Tale: On August 19, the world held its breath as Al-Jazeera aired a chilling video of American filmmaker Micah Garen, held captive by Iraqi insurgents. Documenting the looting of archaeological sites, Garen found himself in the clu...

This week, we're rolling through August 2004, where history meets hilarity! 🎙️😄 🌪️ Hurricane Charley's Chaos: August 13th, 2004, saw Hurricane Charley tearing through Florida with winds hitting 150 mph, leaving devastation in its wake. Punta Gorda felt the brunt of this Category 4 storm, causing $16.3 billion in damages but showcasing the resilient spirit of the Sunshine State. 💪🏽🌴 🇬...

🎙️ Hey, throwback junkies! It's time to dive back into 2004 with our latest podcast episode, where we unpack the year’s most iconic moments in news, music, and entertainment! 🔥 Supermarket Inferno in Paraguay: A tragic fire in Asunción turned a regular shopping day into a catastrophe, leaving 396 dead and over 500 injured. The blaze exposed shocking safety failures, locked exits, and a lack...

💛🚴‍♂️ This week on T minus 20, we offer you a yellow bracelet and a whole lot of controversy. Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong bracelets were the hottest accessory, sported by celebs from Eva Mendes to Tom Hanks, but beneath the yellow silicone lay a storm of doping allegations. We dive into the French exposé “LA Confidentiel” and Armstrong’s fiery denials as he pedalled his way to a record sixth To...

🎬 We dive into the glitz and chaos of Hollywood with the premiere of Entourage. The series that gave us a backstage pass to fame, fortune and the wild ride in between! 💉We’re sweating the small stuff – literally! We said bye bye pit stains when the FDA gave Botox the green light for sweat-free underarms. 🏆 We chat the 12th ESPY Awards - the big winners on the day plus deets on where they are no...

🌆 It’s the grand opening of Millennium Park in Chicago, with attractions like Cloud Gate (aka The Bean), the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and Crown Fountain. From construction delays to cost controversies, we spill all on how this urban gem came to be. 🏛️ We turn the spotlight on Martha Stewart's sentencing saga. From selling her New York condo to a courtroom showdown that had fans chanting "...

🏙️ In New York, the cornerstone for One World Trade Center was laid, marking a powerful symbol of resilience and renewal.  👑 Across to London, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the memorial fountain for Diana, Princess of Wales. We discuss the heartfelt ceremony and the splash of controversy that followed. 📉 We revisit the infamous Enron scandal with the indictment of former Chairman Kenneth Lay. We&a...

⚖️ Saddam Hussein made his first courtroom appearance since being captured. Spoiler alert: he didn't exactly roll over and accept his fate. Defiant and dramatic, Saddam had some choice words and loads of theatrics for the court and President Bush.  🪐 Relive the groundbreaking journey of the Cassini spacecraft as it entered Saturn’s orbit. This monumental mission unveiled secrets of the ringe...

🚀 We’re launching into space history when SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded human spaceflight. Funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, this bad boy reached an altitude of 100 kilometres and opened the door to the future of private space travel.  ⚖️ The New York Court of Appeals declared the state's death penalty statute unconstitutional in People v. LaValle. The landmark dec...

Hold onto your low-rise jeans nostalgia nuts, this week we’re chatting boobs, bluetooth and Mr Brightside 🎓 What did you get for your graduation? A watch? A fountain pen? Or a set of breasts? Yep. Back in ’04 parents were gifting their 18-year-olds breast implants as a ‘well done on the exams results kiddo, here are some new cans’. With reality shows like Extreme Makeover fuelling body image issu...

This Week on T Minus 20 we rewind to tragedy in Riyadh, a cosmic crash and an indie film breakthroughs.  🌍 First on our radar is the chilling attack on a BBC news team in Riyadh, where courage met tragedy. We pay tribute to cameraman Simon Cumbers, who lost his life and salute Frank Gardner, whose resilience turned a moment of horror into a lifetime of advocacy for journalist safety.  💥 Then, we...

👑 Let's kick off with a tiara toss back to when Jennifer Hawkins conquered the (Miss) universe. Our Aussie queen strutted into a spotlight that catapulted her far beyond the pageant stage. Join us as we sashay through the sequins and into the savvy career moves that followed her crowning glory. 🚜 Over in Colorado, Marvin Heemeyer’s bulldozing bonanza, aka the "Killdozer" rampage,...

🚀 This week, we’re serving up a hearty slice of May 2004 chaos, with all the trimmings of scandal, tech tantrums, and pop culture pandemonium! 🛫 First up, tragedy strikes at Charles de Gaulle Airport when Terminal 2E crumbles under the weight of poor design—literally. As the newly constructed section collapses, it leaves us questioning whether faster is always better...  📵 Meanwhile, North Kore...

🚀✨ This week, we're zipping back to mid-May 2004 with a monumental leap in equality, the formidable force of nature and we unleash our inner emo…   🌈 First up, Massachusetts makes history by being the first U.S. state to say "I do" to same-sex marriage. The champagne popped and love won, setting the stage for a nationwide wave of wedding bells. Here's to love ruling the day!...

🚀 This week on T minus 20, we rewind to headline-grabbing news, ethical media dilemmas, unforgettable pop hits and pivotal sports triumphs. 🎬 We kick off with a dark chapter in modern history, revisiting the tragic fate of Nick Berg, whose brutal demise at the hands of extremists left the world reeling. This heart-wrenching story isn't just a reflection on the perils faced in conflict zones...

Hey Y2K lovers (and loathers), hold on to your trucker caps ‘cause this week 20 years ago is an emotional ride. Friends Farewell: Grab the tissues 'cause we’re going on a break. We say farewell to FRIENDS - the iconic show that became a pop culture phenomenon. 52.5 million of us watched them close the door on that iconic apartment. And you know what’s really weird? The show as we know it almo...

Buckle up, buttercup: this week 20 years ago was a wild ride - equal parts horrifying, hilarious and of course nostalgic. The heavy: The Abu Ghraib prison scandal explodes, sending shockwaves around the world. We'll unpack the details and the fallout, but be warned, it's not a pretty picture. Dick Cheney and George W. Bush take a turn in the hot seat, testifying before the 9/11 Commissio...

This week twenty years ago delivered a mix of jaw-dropping headlines and eyebrow-raising moments that'll make you say, "Wait, did that really happen?" First up, the heart-wrenching tale of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned soldier whose story reads like a Hollywood script. From sacking quarterbacks to dodging bullets, Tillman's journey took a tragic turn when he was killed by fr...

The headline is a bit misleading but British PM Tony Blair did visit the US this week 20 years ago where he held a joint press conference with the US President Geroge W Bush to talk all things Coalition of the Willing and give an update on the War in Iraq. Surprisingly Bush managed to forget a few key dates when questioned. In sport West Indian Cricket batting legend Brian Lara broke the record fo...

We’re pretty sure our research this week has us on a watch list somewhere as we look into ammonium nitrate and why this highly explosive chemical needed to be banned way back in 2004. The fun doesn’t stop there either as we take the best parts from Condaleeza Rice when she testifies for over three hours at the 9/11 commission hearings. As promised you can find all the deets here: https://www.9-11c...

It’s a week of good news for the people in Ireland, whether they like it or not, as they breathe the fresh air that comes with banning smoking in pubs and clubs. Although some may argue that it was a rather anti-social initiative, the people who didn’t have to breathe the passive smoke found it much easier to hold a conversation. Not so good news for military contractors in Fallujah however when a...

Ok so it’s an obscure title that we’ve used to put two unrelated occurrences together this week. The first being the deliberate sinking of the HMS Scylla of the coast of Britain and the second, Usher releasing his album confessions. Where the single ‘Burn’ basically gave him an excuse to rip his shirt off. In sport France defeated England to win the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. We also had an alb...

The news this week is positively and literally astronomical, with scientists announcing the discovery of 90377 Sedna, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. We break down the selection criteria for a planet vs a dwarf planet and find out why Pluto was downgraded. Terror in Taiwan this week in 2004 with Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot the day before the country's presidential election....

Yeah that’s right, break out the cheese cubes, French onion dip, Jatz and cabanossi because we have a party Susan loaded with your weekly dose of news and pop culture. Great news in Iraq as their interim constitution is signed and Colin Powell gushes over the content. So much so he gave it five stars on Good Reads! Sadly there was an horrific terror attack in Madrid, Spain this time 20 years ago w...

Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of The Christ” makes its debut this time 20 years ago and the overwhelming response was that people were overwhelmed!  And that is just one story in what was a massive week! The United Nations came clean saying they could not find any evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. UN weapon inspector David Kay simply said “We were almost all wrong”, which sent the media...