This week on Tubular Time Machine, we’re rewinding all the way back to 2001—and I’ve got the perfect co-pilot to guide us through the pop culture of that unforgettable year. Joining me is someone I first connected with through our mutual obsession: reality TV. He’s a full-on reality show junkie—The Amazing Race, Big Brother, The Challenge, and of course, Survivor. If it’s got alliances, tribal councils, or confessionals, he’s there for it.

Kyle Jackson became a Survivor fan in the most legendary way possible—right after the Ravens won the Super Bowl in January 2001, CBS aired Survivor: The Australian Outback, and from that moment on, he was hooked. He was just 14 at the time, soaking in early 2000s pop culture through the lens of a teenager—and  ...