- 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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• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/t9tm
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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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29 June 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 22 minutesPaula Yates – The life, loves and tragedy of a Big Breakfast superstar
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Big Breakfast presenter, tabloid icon and 50% of THE rock power couple, Paula Yates was one of the most fascinating and complicated figures of the 1990s. A journalist, presenter, style icon and gossip column fixture, she helped redefine celebrity culture with her unconventional Big Breakfast interviews. Her high-profile marriage to Bob Geldof, and later relationship with Michael Hutchence, made her one of the most talked-about women in Britain. But behind the glamour lay a life shaped by family secrets, fame, heartbreak and tragedy. Miranda Sawyer is joined by Guardian columnist Polly Hudson to explore the woman who captivated Britain – and the legacy she left behind.
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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
22 June 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 1 minuteSelect Magazine – How the ’90s greatest music mag launched Britpop and reinvented Glastonbury
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Not many images epitomise Britpop more than Suede’s Brett Anderson in front of a Union Jack with “Yanks go home!” emblazoned across his chest. Suede were not happy… but the readers of Select Magazine – the delinquent lovechild of Smash Hits and NME – loved it. In-your-face, colourful, and never taking itself too seriously, Select brought Oasis, Reeves & Mortimer, hip hop, The Prodigy, Blur DJ culture and crimplene trousers together an era-defining monthly celebration that was about much more than just Britpop.
Former editor (and Miranda’s old boss) Andrew Harrison returns to summon up the glory days and explain how, without Select, we wouldn’t have the Glastonbury we have now.
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait. 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
15 June 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 5 minutesBuffy the Vampire Slayer! – How a surprise monster hit redefined horror
- This episode was recorded prior to the sad death of the brilliant Anthony Head on 5 June 2026.
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Fangs for the memory! Buffy the Vampire Slayer began life as a teen horror-comedy film that came and went in 1992 with barely any impact. But five years later, creator Joss Whedon brought Buffy back for television, casting Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role and somehow transforming the story of a blonde Californian teenager killing vampires into one of the defining shows of the ’90s.
At first glance it was all quips, questionable kung fu and a monster-of-the-week procedural tv show. But Buffy was using vampires and demons to talk about the horror of being a teenager which resonated with audiences around the world. Comedian, writer and star of Buffy Revamped Brendan Murphy joins Miranda to ask: why did Buffy hit quite so hard? And nearly thirty years later, does the Slayer still survive the rewatch?
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait. 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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