Y2K, also known as the Millennium Bug, was a computer error predicted to cause widespread systematic issues when internal dates changed from  12/31/99 to 01/01/00. Despite apocalyptic fears and doomsaying in the years leading up to the new millennium, the year 2000 arrived with no major catastrophe. Planes didn't fall out of the sky. Banks didn't fail. The American public now commonly remembers Y2K as a sort of hoax.

But the popular understanding of Y2K fails to recognize the years of preparation that occurred before January 31, 1999. Over $100 billion was spent in the US alone by government and the private sector to avert any potential disaster. And it worked.

This week on the Buzz, we're digging into the history and legacy of Y2K with guest Zachary Loeb, a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the social and technical impacts of the Millennium Bug. This seemingly minor computer glitch has a lot to teach us about the role of technology our lives, how institutions cooperate (or don't), and how we as a society measure and respond to large-scale risk.

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Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound

(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)