Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are
Episodes
-
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
March 31st, 2025 | 1 hr 57 mins
absurd, absurdism, bbc, britain, britcom, british, comedy, dead parrot, england, eric idle, flying circus, geek, graham chapman, john cleese, logic, medieval, michael palin, monty python, mythology, nerd, python, religion, saturday night live, sketch, sketch comedy, skit, snl, spam, taskmaster, terry gilliam, terry jones
We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail as some podcasting nerds should, by quoting it to death. Guest comedians Rich Baker and Ned Record (of the Lost & Confounded podcast and www.nedrecord.com) join us to discuss the unyielding hilarity and exceptional longevity of a film that just won't take "Ni" for an answer. And there was much rejoicing!
-
The Police
March 24th, 2025 | 1 hr 54 mins
1970s, 1980s, 70s, 80s, andy summers, music, new wave, outlandos, punk, regatta, reggae, rock, rock and roll, stewart copeland, sting, synchronicity, synth, zenyatta
Screaming "Roxanne" into the night, The Police's compact but impactful career featured incredible melodies, driving rock, keening vocals, and sophisticated musicianship. The trio fused punk with reggae, and later burgeoning synth with ease, and made it seem like every little thing they did was magic. We're once again joined by musical experts Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com, The Moon Units) and Kyle Lieberman to send out an S.O.S. about this incredible band and compare top ten lists of our favorite songs by Sting and company.
-
Leprechaun In The Hood
March 17th, 2025 | 2 hrs 8 mins
halloween, hip-hop, hiphop, horror, ice-t, ireland, irish, leprechaun, rap, slasher, st. patrick, st. patrick's day, warwick davis
For St. Patrick's day, we have a treat. A horror film that's pretty neat. We're revisiting Leprechaun In The Hood, and a Lep in the 'hood, come to do no good. Guest Jala Prendes (host of Jala-Chan' Place, Monster, Dear Monster, and Duckfeed.tv's The Level) and her husband, Dave (co-host of Monster, Dear Monster) have a direct-to-video sequel to praise and rave. It's podcast gold, but listener beware, of Warwick Davis and Ice-T's towering hair.
-
Songs of 1991
March 10th, 2025 | 2 hrs 1 min
1990s, 90s, alternative, boys ii men, grunge, guns n' roses, hair metal, hip-hop, hiphop, metal, metallica, mtv, music, nirvana, ozzy osbourne, pearl jam, pop, r.e.m., rap, rock, skid row, tesla
Here we are now. Entertain us! 1991 ushered in a musical sea change as hair metal, new wave, and other genres were swept aside by grunge, alternative, and more. Guest musician Kyle Lieberman and comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) bust out their flannel and join us to rank our top ten songs of this unforgettable year of music.
-
Total Recall
March 3rd, 2025 | 2 hrs 22 mins
1990s, 90s, action, arnold, arnold schwarzenegger, mars, paul verhoeven, philip k. dick, schwarzenegger, scifi, sharon stone, simulation, simulation theory, space
Get your ass to Mars! We're having total recall over Total Recall, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best films. Guest filmmaker Alex Sosin ("The Canyon") joins us to revisit Paul Verhoeven's take on Philip K. Dick that is relentlessly entertaining, funny, exciting, and over the top from the first frame to the last. Come do your best Arnold "nnyyaaarrrrgggh!" along with us for the memory of a lifetime.
-
Sneakers
February 24th, 2025 | 1 hr 46 mins
1990s, 90s, ben kingsley, caper, dan ackroyd, david strathairn, film, heist, movies, river phoenix, robert redford, sidney poitier, thriller
A high-stakes heist with an all-star cast, 1992's Sneakers is one of the most entertaining capers ever put on screen. Returning guest filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) joins us to decrypt a film with too many secrets. Our voices are your passport.
-
80s Movies - Part 2
February 17th, 2025 | 3 hrs 9 mins
1980s, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 80s, action, cinema, comedy, disney, film, films, goonies, horror, indiana jones, john hughes, little mermaid, movie, movies, princess bride, rob reiner, scifi, steven spielberg
1985 through 1989 was the best period of filmmaking, period. Each of these years produced dozens of groundbreaking, blockbusting, genre defining, and unforgettable movies, making listing our top tens nearly impossible. Our review crew of Ami Lief, Ryan Merlo, and Tania Newton join us to close out our survey course of the best, of the best, of the best.
-
80s Movies - Part 1
February 10th, 2025 | 2 hrs 14 mins
1980s, 80s, action, cinema, comedy, film, films, ghostbusters, horror, indiana jones, movie, movies, scifi, star wars
The films from 1980 to 1984, buoyed by genre hits like Star Wars, took flight with bold imaginative storytelling and state-of-the-art special effects, establishing many franchises that continue to this day. We're joined by guests Tania Newton and Ryan Merlo to rank our top ten movies from this incredible period.
-
James Bond Songs
February 3rd, 2025 | 2 hrs 55 mins
007, action, bond, daniel craig, james bond, music, pierce brosnan, roger moore, sean connery, shirley bassey, song, songs, timothy dalton
The theme songs from the James Bond franchise are an intrinsic part of this storied series. This episode we're joined by Josh Covel of the Still Loading and Still Bonding podcasts to rank our favorites and celebrate the music of the longest running franchise in film history.
-
Songs of 1990
January 27th, 2025 | 2 hrs 24 mins
1990s, 90s, alternative, hair metal, hip hop, metal, music, new wave, rap, rock, rock and roll, synth
In 1990, music was at a crossroads, quickly approaching the sea change that would occur in 1991. The songs of this era reflect that transition, ranging from hair metal, to hip hop, new wave, genres that would all undergo profound transformation the following year. We're joined by Ami Lief, Kyle Lieberman, and comedian Rich Baker to roundtable the best songs of this pivotal year.
-
Innerspace
January 20th, 2025 | 2 hrs 44 mins
1980s, 80s, action, anatomy, comedy, dennis quaid, fantastic voyage, joe dante, martin short, meg ryan, robert picardo, sam cooke, scifi
We're bringing you a supersized episode about a microscopic topic. Innerspace is a gigantic adventure, a zany comedy, and a sci-fi spectacle as Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) is shrunk and accidentally injected into Jack Putter (Martin Short). Guests Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) and Alex Sosin (writer/director of "The Canyon") help as go deep inside this fantastic voyage through the loony lens of Joe Dante.
-
Final Fantasy IX
January 13th, 2025 | 1 hr 40 mins
1990s, 90s, fantasy, final fantasy, game, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, jrpg, jrpgs, nobuo uematsu, playstation, ps1, psx, retrogame, retrogamer, retrogamers, retrogames, retrogaming, rpg, rpgs, videogame, videogamer, videogamers, videogames, videogaming
For those who love video games with an emotionally resonant story, Final Fantasy IX is a place to call home. We're joined by Rick Firestone of the Pixel Project Radio podcast to celebrate this compelling entry in the long-running series, its memorable characters, impactful story, and all-time great soundtrack. Kupo!
-
Weezer
January 6th, 2025 | 2 hrs 11 mins
1990s, 90s, buddy holly, grunge, music, rivers cuomo, rock, rock and roll, rock band, rock music, weezer
They may look like Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore, but for three decades Weezer has infused infectious pop earworms and garage band musical mathematics to create indelible songs that are equal parts fist-pumping and feels-inducing. We're joined by friends and bandmates Kyle Lieberman and Damien Jordan to list our favorite songs from Rivers Cuomo and Co.
-
Edward Scissorhands
December 30th, 2024 | 2 hrs 3 mins
1990s, 90s, alan arkin, anthony michael hall, christmas, danny elfman, diane weist, edward scissorhands, fairy tale, goth, gothic, johnny depp, tim burton, vincent price, winona ryder, xmas
For our final Christmas episode of the season we give Tim Burton's haunting answer to the question "Where does snow come from?" This soulful personal tale of loneliness and longing is arguably Burton's finest, and our guest filmmaker Alex Sosin ("The Canyon") is here to discuss why Edward Scissorhands still makes the cut.
-
Christmas Songs
December 23rd, 2024 | 2 hrs 31 mins
carol, carols, christ, christian, christmas, holiday, holidays, jesus, music, song, songs, xmas
'Tis the season, so we're taking a look at the Christmas classics that make us fa la la la la la la la la. Guests Ami Lief and Tania Newton join us to roundtable our favorite holiday songs, from traditional carols, to broadway musicals, pop, rock, and all the tunes that fill our homes and speakers in December.
-
Die Hard
December 16th, 2024 | 2 hrs 7 mins
1980s, 80s, action, alan rickman, bruce willis, christmas, die hard, entertainment, heist, let it snow, movie, movies, x-mas, xmas
Yippie-Kay-Yay and Ho... ho... ho... It isn't Christmas until Hans Gruber takes a dive off of Nakitomi Plaza. On this episode we're joined by comedian Rich Baker (@ricbakercoaching) and Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) to celebrate the greatest Christmas story since 0 A.D. Come on out to the coast with us and have a few laughs.