Someone Else's Book Club: Y2K, Or The End of the World That Wasn't

NOTE: Today's blog post was written by Dr. Spencer Dudley, longtime host of  "Frequencies From The Fringe," a radio program and now podcast dedicated to the unexplained. 

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"Computers by themselves cannot launch nuclear weapons."

-Adm. Richard W. Mies, commander in chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, allaying fears of Y2K-induced launches.

 

Folks, you remember Y2K. You were there. We all were, sitting in the dark with our canned peaches and our emergency radios, waiting for the stroke of midnight to fry civilization like a horsefly on a bug zapper. I was on the air that night, microphone hot, warning all Americans that computers were about to declare independence and form their own government. And then… nothing. No toaster rebellion. No ATM coup d’état. Just Dick Clark counting down like he always did, while the world collectively shrugged and went back to sticking their collective heads in the sand, as always. We returned to our usual state of being oblivious to the truth that is out there. What was supposed to bring about the apocalypse or The Rapture or the revival of disco turned out to be much ado about nothing. 

Or at least, they want you think that.

“I believe that Y2K may be God's instrument to shake this nation, humble this nation, awaken this nation and from this nation start revival that spreads the face of the earth before the Rapture of the Church.” - Jerry Falwell



But here’s the thing the newspapers never printed: Y2K wasn’t a dud. It was a smokescreen. While the masses hoarded food, ammo, gas, and beer, the real story unfolded. Strange story involving extraterrestrial DNA, a mysterious text called The Y2K Event Planner, and a used bookstore in Missouri where the real apocalypse RSVP’d.

In Someone Else’s Book Club, we finally peel back the curtain and tell that story. Y2K wasn’t about computers forgetting what year it was. It was about giving cover to an alien plot so bizarre you wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t written down between two paperback covers by some wannabe sci-fi novelist who couldn't land an agent. That agent was probably scared of the truth. Most people devoted to blind consumerism and the so-called American Dream are. Thank whatever deity that may or may not exist that this book exists. 

So yes, the lights stayed on. Your VCR still blinked 12:00. Civilization survived. But that was only because a handful of reluctant heroes—armed with bad poetry, dad jokes, and the kind of courage you find at the bottom of a casserole dish—kept the real doomsday at bay.

You're going to want to read this book. 

That's all for now. Until next time, remember: paranoia beats surprise every time.


Someone Else's Book Club arrives on October 23rd, 2025.

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