
533: cyber.cafe: The 90s TV Show That Exposed the Internet's Wild Side - The Retro Hour EP533
From The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) by The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)
May 29, 2026 · 1h 47m · Episode 533
About this episode
Wingham Rowan discusses the pioneering '90s ITV show cyber.cafe and its exploration of early internet culture.
This week, we’re joined by Wingham Rowan, creator and host of the pioneering ’90s ITV show cyber.cafe . Long before YouTube, Twitch, Tinder and social media, cyber.cafe explored the strange, funny and sometimes shocking human stories emerging from the early internet, from chat room romances and online communities to JenniCam, alien abductees, moral panics, bizarre websites and late-night web culture. Wingham shares brilliant behind-the-scenes stories from making one of the UK’s first TV shows to take the internet seriously, capturing a moment when the web was still mysterious, chaotic and full of possibility. cyber.cafe : https://www.ninetiesinternet.com/ Contents: 00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories 49:52 – cyber.cafe Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs PlayEXPO Blackpool tickets: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/ We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://theretrohour.com/support/…
People in this episode
Host: The Retro Hour
Guest: Wingham Rowan
Topics covered
- 90s television
- early internet
- cyber culture
- online communities
- human stories
Keywords
- cyber.cafe
- 90s TV show
- internet history
- chat rooms
- online communities
Sponsors
Bitmap Books, PCBWay, PlayEXPO Blackpool
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ITV
More episodes of The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)
- 535: The Game That Took 37 Years to Finish: Ocean Software's Colin Porch - The Retro Hour EP535 · June 11, 2026 · 1h 50m
- 534: How Games Like Wipeout and Tony Hawk Changed the Music Industry - The Retro Hour EP534 · June 5, 2026 · 1h 40m
- 532: Elite Systems: Inside the 80s Arcade Conversion Powerhouse - The Retro Hour EP532 · May 22, 2026 · 1h 55m
- 531: Inside Psygnosis: WipEout, PlayStation and the Rave Generation - The Retro Hour EP531 · May 15, 2026 · 1h 46m
- 530: Inside Gargoyle Games: Stuart Cox on Light Force, Scooby-Doo and ThunderCats - The Retro Hour EP530 · May 8, 2026 · 1h 47m
- 529: Nightdive, Stardock and the Business of Saving Classic Games: Larry Kuperman - The Retro Hour EP529 · May 1, 2026 · 1h 51m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) podcast page.