Remembering Y2K: Radio Series Examines Whether It Has Lasting ImpactRemembering Y2K: Radio Series Examines Whether It Has Lasting Impact

The Y2K phenomenon still lingers today, according to a series scheduled for airing on American Public Media in early January. Among other things, the reporters who researched the Y2K story found that much of today's offshore outsourcing rage was jump-started by Y2K.

"The Surprising Legacy of Y2K," will broadcast on the American Public Media program Marketplace on Jan 3, 4, and 5. The series features interviews with John Koskinen, President Clinton's Y2K czar, who said he was in a no-win position. If nothing happened when at the moment of truth he would be attacked for preparing for a hoax. But if the computers stopped, he would be blamed for the crisis.

"Not only was Y2K " shorthand for the inability of computers to recognize '00' as a reference to the year 2000 " a real threat narrowly averted, the work done in the rush to fix the problem laid the groundwork for perhaps today's biggest economic story: white collar jobs being sent overseas " particularly to India," according to promotional material for the series.

The series features interviews with Indian entrepreneurs as well as workers in Silicon Valley. Much of the work involved in preparing for Y2K was for redundant labor-intensive keying and programming. Much of that work was sent overseas, giving many offshore outsourcing firms their foothold in outsourcing.