- 1 hour 7 minutesMark Kermode – My all-time favourite soundtracks from the ’90s
Diving deep into all things ’90s… He’s Britain’s best and most admired film critic and he cut his teeth in the ’90s, but what are Mark Kermode’s favourite movie soundtracks from our favourite decade? The bequiffed star of 5Live, primetime TV and now his award-winning podcast with Simon Mayo has co-authored a book Mark Kermode's Surround Sound: The Stories of Movie Music. He joins Miranda to pin down his three most beloved soundtracks from the ’90s and declare war on infuriatingly on-the-nose musical moments in film.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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7 September 2026, 3:00 am - 57 minutes 14 secondsThe Girlie Show’s Sarah Cawood – “I was never a ladette!”
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Young and quick-witted with an infectious energy and a flame of short red hair, Sarah Cawood encapsulated everything it meant to be a ’90s TV presenter. Fronting The Girlie Show with Sara Cox before moving onto Singled Out, Live and Kicking, Top of the Pops and Night Fever, she represented everything a smart carefree ’90s woman could be. But behind the scenes it wasn’t that easy.
Sarah had to prove herself against misogyny of the era: when her male co-hosts decided move on, Sarah would be asked to leave too. And even though The Girlie Show had a magnetic all-female lineup, an anarchic format and a cult audience it was came from a male perspective that doesn’t sit well today.
Sarah Cawood joins Miranda Sawyer to dig into the highs and lows of 90s TV, explain why she’s decided to document the era on Substack, and says why she’ll always be a rebellious indie kid at heart. Sign up to support us on Patreon for extra material too.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31 August 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 10 secondsDJ legend SMOKIN JO on 90’s clubs – “It was hot, it was sweaty, everyone was off their t*ts!”
Diving deep into all things ’90s… A regular on the decks at Turnmills, Fabric, Ministry of Sound, The Haçienda, Space, Amnesia, Privilege and Panorama Bar, the legendary Smokin Jo is the only woman ever (!!) to win DJ Mag’s coveted DJ of the Year award.
After a painful childhood, she found herself and her family at gay raves, plus a new career and a lifelong obsession. But where were the female DJs? Jo tells Miranda how she took matters into her own hands and became an inspiration to generations of women – as you can read in her autobiography, You Don’t Need A Dick To DJ. Driven, free-spirited and dedicated to the decks, Jo has spent her life performing… when she’s not teaching yoga to Nick Clegg. More of that in the episode!
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24 August 2026, 3:00 am - 58 minutes 52 secondsRaving in the ’90s – Pills, acid, warehouse parties and more with author Kirk Field
Diving deep into all things ’90s… “It’s an event for 4000 people starting at midnight. We won’t need alcohol – just water and soft drinks.” When Kirk Field found himself helping a mobile bar service to deliver to strange, out-of-town, alcohol-free parties – Sunrise, Raindance ajd more – he was on the road to becoming a full-on, acid-house-mad, die-hard raver.
From these early days of naivety to his rave column for Mixmag and now award-winning and bestselling tribute to the era, Rave New World: Confessions of a Raving Reporter, he tells how raves transformed the ’90s – and Britain. “Our lives are becoming separated,” he tells Miranda, “and I think there’s a danger in that.” As he writes in Rave New World: “When we watch someone else do the same thing at the same time as us, it feels like we become one.”
• Picture: Clubbers dancing at Amnesia Rave 1991. (Tony Davis/PYMCA/Avalon/Getty Images)
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17 August 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 2 minutesTim Booth from James – “Sit Down? I’d rather keep dancing.”
Diving deep into all things ’90s… It was impossible to miss anthemic Manchester groundbreakers James’ monster hits in the ’90s, like Sit Down, Laid and She’s A Star. Huge communal singalongs with a melancholic beauty that struck a chord on both sides of the pond, they put James right into the mainstream (and on thousands of t-shirts too). Away from the charts it was even more of a rollercoaster story. After blagging his way into a Manchester acting school, Tim Booth went out one night, narrowly avoided a fight with some blokes who were trying to steal his drink, and found himself the lead singer of their band – the group he’s now been fronted for nearly 45 years.
From ending up in a cult to near death experiences, band addictions, breakups and makeups, collaborations with Brian Eno and Angelo Badalamenti, and an appearance in Batman Begins, Tim’s story is astonishing. He joins Miranda to discuss how Eastern philosophy saved his life… how an incident with a maraca nearly sank the band… and why despite never quite cracking America, he has no regrets.
• Live photo by Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images
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• Advertisers! Want your brand to reach the 3.5 MILLION people who listen to Podmasters podcasts every month? Contact [email protected] to find out moreWritten and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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10 August 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 11 minutesShirley Manson of Garbage – “Weird girls and disobedient women? That’s the ’90s”
Diving deep into all things ’90s… The fierce face and blazing voice of post-grunge feminist rock’n’roll, Shirley Manson became a 90s icon with Garbage’s era-defining hits: Only Happy When It Rains, Stupid Girl, Milk, I Think I’m Paranoid and more. A James Bond theme, acting in video games and TV – she played an actual Terminator! – fashion fame and more all followed. What was it like in the whirlwind of ’90s alt.rock, when you’ve graduated from Scottish bands Goodbye Mr Mackenzie and Angelfish to a new outfit whose drummer Butch Vig had just produced Nirvana’s Nevermind, and the whole world has its eyes on you?
Now back with Garbage and as fiery as ever, Shirley joins Miranda to talk global fame in the ’90s, being a literally starving artist when Garbage made their double-platinum selling debut Garbage, and becoming rock royalty.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist.
Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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3 August 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 5 minutesPrimal Scream! – Bobby Gillespie on ’90s rock, rave and getting loaded (and having a good time)
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Primal Scream began the decade by smashing indie rock into acid house. Their euphoric classic Screamadelica made everyone briefly believe in a happier, kinder, more disco-psychedelic Britain. But there’s more to the Scream than Movin’ On Up and their late ’90s masterpieces Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR – now re-released as part of the “Bunker Trilogy” – showcased the dark side of the chemical generation.
Prime mover Bobby Gillespie joins Miranda to discuss paranoia, politics, Top of the Pops, drugs, dodgy journalism and bass legend Mani’s brief career in a burger van. Could it be that Primal Scream both started and killed the ’90s… and is it really possible for anyone to pull off black leather before teatime? WLCM T TH PDCST, BBBY GLLSPE.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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27 July 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 12 minutesTony Hawk, RaD magazine, MTV and more – the rebirth of SKATING
Diving deep into all things ’90s… In 1978, skate died for good. Skateparks closed, toys went to landfill, boards gathered cobwebs and Tony Hawk couldn’t pay his bills. But then a new wave of skaters swapped the vert for the street, new fashion brands and magazines like RaD (Read and Destroy) and Thrasher were born, and skate culture began to take over the world. When an older, maybe less cool Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 at the X Games it was the moment that birthed his behemothic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise… and the rest is pretty much history.
Writer and skater-’til-I-die Neil Macdonald has just released Elsewhere, the ultimate book on British skateboarding history – stuff you would only find in the pages of 35-year-old magazines and zines, and the rattled minds of old skaters. He takes Miranda on an ollie- and heelflip packed ride through skating in the ’90s.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20 July 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 7 minutesGodfather of Britpop! – Producer Stephen Street on Blur, The Cranberries, Morrissey and more
Diving deep into all things ’90s… If you wanted the Britpop sound* you called Stephen Street – the legendary record producer, musician and band-wrangler who brought out the magic in Blur’s Parklife and The Great Escape, two colossal Cranberries albums, and Britpop classics from Sleeper, Catatonia and Shed Seven. Oh and before that he engineered a little-known record called Meat is Murder by The Smiths (heard of it?).
He talks to Miranda about creating the guitar sound that defined a decade… juggling Blur and The Cranberries while the latter were making two of the biggest-selling Irish albums of all time (‘Zombie’ alone has nearly 4 billion plays on Spotify and YouTube)… how working with Morrissey and Pete Doherty was “quite the ride”… and why Graham from Blur refused to make an album in Iceland because he needed somewhere he could get to on his skateboard. Parklife!!
(* also the IrishPop sound)
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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13 July 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 6 minutesELIS JAMES of BBC 5Live – “Manics, Super Furries, terrible shoes and MY ’90s”
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Stand-up comic, actor, prolific podcaster, 5 Live fixture and proud ’90s kid Elis James has led a hectic life, from playing in indie bands in his mum’s wedding dress to selling out the London Palladium. Today he’s here to talk about his ’90s – from his burgeoning obsession with music and the music press as a teenager to the real (read: not so great) fashion of the era, to the thrill of seeing Welsh bands like the Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci make it outside of Wales while still proudly singing in Welsh. And of course he couldn’t not mention the Oasis reunion. Cymru Connection ahoy!
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
6 July 2026, 3:00 am - 53 minutes 20 secondsClueless! Why this ’90s classic is still the best teen film of all time
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Observant, razor-sharp, and totally uncynical, there’s a reason why Clueless has stood the test of time. Often referred to as the best teen film ever, it takes Jane Austen’s Emma and transplants her into the plastic-chic world of 90s Beverly Hills. At its centre is Cher Horowitz played by Alicia Silverstone, a blissfully unaware teenager who – while desperate to impart her philanthropic endeavours on others – often misses what is right in front of her face. Today, Miranda Sawyer is joined by film critic and Empire’s Editor-at-Large Helen O’Hara to discuss how Clueless infiltrated every part of our culture, from the way we dress to the way we speak, and left its mark on teen cinema and beyond.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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