Two Friends Look Back on Y2K and The Apocalypse That Never Was

Looming over the end of 1999 was anxiety about Y2K, a theory that said at the stroke of midnight, when the year turned over to January 1, 2000, computers would malfunction and society as we know it would crumble.

Many people thought this was nonsense and trusted that experts had everything under control. But others, including 18-year-old Erin Maloney, latched onto the swirling conspiracy theories that Y2K could spell serious disaster.

Middle photo: A view of the home where Erin Maloney and Alec Lively lived for several months in 1999. Photo courtesy of Erin Maloney.

When Erin learned that a friend of hers had an old house in the woods where they could go, she rallied a small group to move there and wait out the potential apocalypse.

She came to StoryCorps with one of member of that group, Alec Lively. It was the first time they’d sat down together to talk about the final days of the last millennium.

Bottom photo: Erin Maloney sits atop an old military shipping container at the property in New Hampshire in 1999. Photo courtesy of Erin Maloney.

Top photo:  Erin Maloney and Alec Lively stand outside the house in rural New Hampshire in 1999. Photo courtesy of Erin Maloney. 

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Originally aired December 27, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.