It Happened One Year

Episode 21 - White Squall (1996) Predicted All of This

A misguided belief that three 1994 babies could be covered in a single episode brings us to the first in a trio of episodes, also centered on a misguided belief! Child of '94 Fredrick Brennan is in the spotlight as we explore his major contribution to society - the nightmarish imageboard 8chan - and its most infamous members, the hyper conspiracy-trolling, insurrection-inspiring, downfall-of-rational-thought community known as QAnon! So as not to wind up the episode in too depressing a fashion, Sarah & Joe also reveal the ancient recording when It Happened One Year almost centered on the year 1792 B.C.! The tone might be a tad scattershot but the passion is undeniable in this anxiety-inducting twenty-first episode!

Episode 20 - Like a Blind Man at an Orgy...

The gang from Police Squad! pulled it together one final time in the spring of 1994 to supply a third film in the Naked Gun series, right before O.J. effectively torpedoed the whole franchise! Sarah & Joe take an extensive look at the entire Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker catalog, from the Kentucky Fried Movie through to the 21st century knock-offs of the genre, while also exploring the mysteries of the Naked Gun movies. Were there actual plans for a fourth film? Does O.J.'s presence sully the enjoyment of these movies? How did Priscilla Presley get cast with such limited acting experience? How similar are the career trajectories for her and Pia Zadora? Is this the best work Anna Nicole Smith ever did? Where is Scientology leader David Miscavige's wife Shelly? And how many songs have been written about Vanna White? It's a pretty wide ranging discussion of the third best Naked Gun film in this week's surreal twentieth episode of It Happened One Year!

Episode 19 - The Biggest Liar!

Finally, the fabled Biggest Liar episode arrives! The actual topic only manages to occupy about half of the runtime this week, as much discussion centers around the journey this story took to finally reach podcast audiences. Sarah & Joe explore the original concept as recorded many months ago, why it no longer could be released, and ultimately devolves into a surprising conversation about general mental health during the pandemic. But in between all that - the greatest round of golf in human history, courtesy of North Korean Supreme Leader circa 1994 Kim Jong Il, plus the many towering lies surrounding his immortal person! There are some wild swings and maudlin interludes, but with that vintage It Happened One Year style!

Episode 18 - You Can't Touch Duane Barry!

Trust no one, except Sarah & Joe! It should come as no surprise that It Happened One Year is finally swerving hard into an extensive look at The X-Files, in this eighteenth spooky episode! 1994 featured one of the great, early two-parters in the run of the series - season two's Duane Barry and Ascension, featuring the great villainous work of Steve Railsback opposite David Duchovny's Mulder and Gillian Anderson's Scully! This wide ranging discussion covers the bumps of the show's early years, the conspiracy episodes versus stand-alones, Vancouver's prominent role standing in for Washington D.C. and the rest of America, the catastrophic series finale in the reboot seasons, great one-off psychos, and much much more! The truth is right here in IHOY: You Can't Touch Duane Barry!

Episode 17 - IHOY Radio: 1994 Hitz, One-Hitters and Whatnot!

Haddaway? Corona?? Culture Beat?! The hosts tackle an increasingly obscure group of artists in the second part of the quiz show concept introduced last time around. Joe takes the lead offering up the jams here and Sarah takes swings at identifying, with varying levels of accuracy. Clues are provided, "Love is All Around" is explored at some length, and those hot 1994 beats are relentless in their ability to entertain! Keep your dial tuned to IHOY for this seventeenth harmonic episode!

Episode 16 - IHOY Radio: 1994 Hitz, Powerhouse Ladies Edition!

Part one of an ambitious dual episode holiday weekend delivery, where Sarah & Joe take us through some of the big hit songs of 1994 in an interactive guessing game contest! Sarah is in the driver's seat here, quizzing about the song titles and artists around the major successes straight from the ladies! Hear the stunning missteps and shocking gaps in Joe's knowledge! Listen to bizarre anecdotes about live country music concerts and Geico commercials! Experience again a dazzling array of tunes stretching from Celine Dion to Reba McEntire to Brandy, and marvel at the guesswork in this symphonic sixteenth episode!

Episode 15 - Six Degrees of It Happening One Year

Lightning episode! It's a quick one this week as Joe & Sarah explore the origin of the famed parlor game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and then attempt to play along, with varying levels of success. Come see how few Sean Connery movies Sarah can name! Listen as the hosts stumble through the decades trying to make connections! Hear the silly ways they pronounce "Cumberbatch"! It's multiple hours of recording condensed into a hot baker's dozen minutes of podcast glory in this blistering fifteenth episode of It Happened One Year!

Episode 14 - Love & Prenups

Finally, there's an opportunity for a full-on follow-up episode, as Sarah & Joe revisit a very, very briefly mentioned incident from back in Episode 2 - Love & Chaos, discussing the dissolution of a big 1994 celebrity marriage - Bill & Melinda Gates! Following fresh on the heels of Jeff Bezos's divorce, other potential super rich break-ups on the horizon are explored, while trying to mine details out of the Gates' rocky conclusion. Infidelity? Corporate strife? Jeffrey Epstein?? In addition, extensive shout-outs are given to other celebrities keeping their '94 unions afloat, including IHOY favorites Leila Kenzle and Harry Connick/Jill Goodacre. Credit where credit is due! Come for the love but stay for the fireworks in this fourteenth judicial episode!

Episode 13 - Blackout Thursday on NBC!

They don't do epic theme crossover television nights like they used to! That's the overriding conclusion of this thirteenth murky episode of It Happened One Year, delving into NBC's wild New York City based crossover of November 3rd, 1994! Sarah & Joe get into the night's programming scheme and the general history of Mad About You, Friends, Seinfeld, and Dabney Coleman's short lived Madman of the People! The discussion ranges from evaluating these shows at this point in their respective runs, why Seinfeld didn't participate in the blackout theme (and their proposal if the network insisted), tossing around theories as to when these programs hit their peaks, and debating the merits of television crossovers in general. Was it Must See TV at its finest, or too gimmicky to even warrant further attention? Bring a flashlight - it's IHOY: NBC's Blackout Thursday!

Episode 12 -"Who the F*ck is Justin Bieber?"

A rollicking new It Happened One Year segment is upon us, as Sarah & Joe delve deeply into the existential and literal question - Who is 1994 baby Justin Bieber? This twelfth bewildering episode attempts to address this through the use of very foggy memories and wild speculation, all subsequently fact-checked and highlighted in the episode with dings and buzzers, to let you know which guesses were on the money! Some names randomly thrown around include Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Demi Moore, Xavier Cugat, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Donny Osmond, Brenda Song, and Taylor Momsen as the hosts hack through the forest of modern teen entertainment to try and reach the core of truth about this pop idol. Are we all actually Justin Bieber? Does he even exist? Does he have a criminal record and/or a terrible mustache? Serving up heaping spoonfuls of truth and striking out mightily in equal measure, this week!