Jen Poyant

This is the 25th year of the Brian Lehrer Show, and all this fall we'll be marking it with a year-by-year look at some of the defining stories from 1989 through 2014. Right now, we're at the brainstorming stage, also known as the "remember that thing that happened that year?" stage. And we need your help!

In the spreadsheet below, the producers of the show are starting to fill in items from each year (thanks Wikipedia!), but we've opened the spreadsheet for you to help remember what really mattered. So join in when you have a few minutes, starting with any year. A few guidelines:

• We're looking for items that had a public impact, both local, national and international. There will be opportunities for you to reflect on your personal memories from each year soon, but for now we're taking suggestions for news/events.
• Anything goes, but we're particularly fascinated by stories that ended up having a bigger impact than anticipated. Our favorite example is the repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999, which was somewhat overlooked at the time but sowed the seeds for the financial crisis a decade later.
• This is an open spreadsheet, but please don't erase or edit other entries. For now, we're collecting as many ideas as possible!

One lawmaker believes Congress should spend less time in D.C. He's come up with a proposal that would grant Congress the power to vote on legislation and attend committee meetings remotely.

Fifty years ago this week Ford Motor Company unveiled the Mustang. Ford is remembering that day in the company's history amid the changing future of the American auto industry.

In Africa, there's a quiet trend sweeping the continent and dividing neighbor from neighbor. More than 30 nations worldwide have declared that homosexuality is a crime, and most of these nations are in Africa.