T minus 20
The year is 2004... Your polyphonic ringtone habit is sending you broke. George W Bush is sworn in for a second term. And in spite of everything going on, the most controversial thing is a wardrobe malfunction at the superbowl? T minus 20, rewind to this week in history 20 years ago with Joe and Mel.
Episodes
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 issues ...
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.
💥 Th...
👑 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, took DIY demo...
🚀 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, Nort...
🚀✨ 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 bu...
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 almost didn’t end...
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 Commission...
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 frien...
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 for t...
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.9-11commission.go...
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 mi...
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 ...
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. Con...
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 ...
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...
In what is one of many unexpected moves, Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted the afternoon programmes on the telly to inform his countrymen that he had just sacked the entire Russian Parliament mere weeks after he was elected for a second term as President!
In Australia Qantas launched it's budget airline, Jetstar with fares from Sydney to Melbourne as low as 60 bucks! Who cares about ...
This week in the news residents the Sydney suburb of Redfern clashed with police over the death of Aboriginal teenager TJ Hickey. TJ was allegedly clipped by a police car while being pursued on his bicycle. He hit the gutter and fell. His injuries were fatal and the local Indigenous community erupted with grief and outrage. We look at the incident and the media coverage from the time, and wonder if anything h...
In response to a very conservative State of The Union address, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome gives the directive to issue same sex marriage licenses. This would be seen by many as the spark that lit a fire under conservatives right across the nation. Poor old Gavin just wanted to do the right thing by his constituents.
Out in space the largest diamond ever discovered was spotted by the Harvard Sm...
It's the biggest story of 2004 so far, the moment when the world was seemingly more shocked by Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson's nipple at the Superbowl Halftime Show than anything a little old war in the middle east could deliver. We take a look at it from all sides 20 years later.
Meanwhile over at Harvard University as student by the name of Mark Zuckerberg took his first step ...
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