In her debut book, Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything, Colette Shade explores how the Y2K era – which she defines as running from 1997-2008, shaped our future in ways we’re still trying to understand. As a millennial myself who started and finished college in the middle of the Great Recession, this book hit close to home. It helped me understand the hope I felt as a child and the despair I’ve felt since.
In 2025, I wanted to bring back long-form conversations to the Debutiful site, a reminder of a form of media that dominated long before podcasts took over our lives, and knew I wanted Colette Shade to be the first. This conversation, which was edited and condensed, explores why Shade wrote this book and reflects on Y2K’s optimism, disillusionment, and enduring impact on contemporary life.
Continue reading “I Wish I Had a Time Machine: Examining The Boundaries, Politics, and Nostolgia for the 2000s with Y2K author Colette Shade”