First Two Episodes Of Peak 2000s Podcast: American Idol & MySpace

There’s a tendency in pop culture podcasts where comedians / hosts utilize pop culture trends to spray humor, wit, and sarcasm on the listening audience. In these podcasts, the “funny” comes before the “facts.”

I’m happy to report that is not the case with Spotify’s new pop culture podcast, Peak 2000s. Hosted by comedians Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin, the series delivers humor and insightful commentary on prominent pop culture moments of the early aughts. Each episode focuses on a singular topic — a moment, person, or tech revolution — that shaped the way we grew up. Why was it so popular then? What still holds up today? What needs to be left back in 2003?

According to Spotify, “Peak 2000s brings a generation together around shared cultural moments, figures, and trends that defined millennials.”

Episode 1 explores American Idol. This first episode definitely benefits from the addition of NPR’s (now at Vox) Sam Sanders, who brings the 202/20 vision of insight and inquisitiveness into what made American Idol so popular and ubiquitous. Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin don’t simply set up their jokes, but allow their humor to flow naturally from the dialogue and the discovery.