I am 41 years old, which means I have been intrigued and surprised by our current moment’s obsession with all things ‘90s. The looks are back. The trends are back. There’s a desire to reconsume ‘90s pop culture all over the Internet these days. Honestly, I love it, but I have some questions.

When I asked him to describe the pop culture of the ‘90s, particularly the pop culture made for young people, Rob told me, “It meant well.” Even if it didn’t always hit the mark. “We tried to tackle some really important things.” He spoke of all the children’s shows that had a kind of after-school special vibe to them, moralizing on the dangers of drugs, teenage pregnancy, and more. “Oh, this is a light-hearted comedy show! And then it just became Jesse Spano on caffeine pills.” He continued, “There's an episode of Boy Meets World, where one of the principals is an alcoholic for a day, but in that one day, he [also] gets an intervention.”

And sometimes, it was more than an intervention. Rob spends a lot of time in his show, and in our chat, breaking down the 1994 family comedy Blank Check. It’s all about an 11-year-old boy who, through a strange sequence of events, gets a blank check from a criminal enterprise and uses it to give himself a million dollars. When the feds come to investigate, the undercover FBI agent assigned to the case — a fully adult woman — seems to express romantic interest in the 11-year-old boy, even sharing a kiss with him at the end of the film, and making a promise to go on a date with him as soon as he turns 17.

“It was this, like age gap thing of the ‘90s, where we just didn't care,” Rob told me. “Age gaps weren't really a thing… On Dawson’s Creek, Pacey, a high school student, dated his teacher!”

For more insane stories of ‘90s pop culture, including the time the hit series Touched By An Angel had a blackface episode (featuring Rosa Parks!), check out our latest episode with Rob Anderson. And if you catch the YouTube version, you’ll see me trying to pull off my best ‘90s outfit, crazy workout pants included.

I’m also curious, what are you making of our current ‘90s nostalgia moment? And what of it are you most nostalgic about? In a few weeks, we’ll have another conversation about my favorite decade. I won’t spoil it, but it’s all about what the ‘90s did to feminism, and how we are still working through a playbook of womanhood and girlhood that was set in stone several decades ago. I can’t wait to share that one with you as well, and hear from all of you about all things ‘90s.

Lemme know your ‘90s thoughts, and have a great weekend!

–Sam

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to Sam's Newsletter for more.