Nostalgium Arcanum
Episode Archive
Episode Archive
142 episodes of Nostalgium Arcanum since the first episode, which aired on October 3rd, 2022.
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Road House
May 19th, 2025 | 1 hr 50 mins
1980s, 80s, action, ben gazzara, bouncer, movie, movies, nightclub, patrick swayze, sam elliott
Our month of Patrick Swayze movies continues with 1989's Road House. The Double Deuce is in double trouble and only one man with beautiful hair and Buddhist philosophy can clean it up. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) gives a full-throated endorsement to this ripping good time of a movie.
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Donnie Darko
May 12th, 2025 | 2 hrs 18 mins
drew barrymore, high school, jake gyllenhaal, maggie gyllenhaal, patrick swayze, scifi, seth rogen, teen
It's the end of the world as we know it, and we feel fine. Donnie Darko's convoluted sci-fi narrative is beside the point, as it's the emotional core of Richard Kelly's film about how our lives interweave and that we are not truly as alone as we may suspect that makes this an enduring classic. Guest podcaster and possible imaginary rabbit Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel) joins us to discuss this mad world, why it still haunts us, and why it deserves to be part of our Patrick MAYze month of movies.
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Point Break
May 5th, 2025 | 2 hrs 4 mins
1990s, 90s, action, entertainment, heist, keanu reeves, lori petty, movie, movies, patrick swayze, surf, surfing
For Cinco de Mayo it's "vaya con Dios" as we revisit surfing and bank robbing classic "Point Break". We start our Patrick MAYze month by hanging ten with Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) for a radical ride that never lets up. We're joined by superfan Tania Newton to give this tubular movie two guns fired in the air, way up.
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Blockbuster Video
April 28th, 2025 | 1 hr 21 mins
1980s, 1990s, 80s, 90s, blockbuster, dvd, entertainment, film, films, games, gaming, genesis, movie, movies, nes, nintendo, sega, snes, super nintendo, vhs, video, video game, video games
It's time to be kind and rewind back to the days when home media rental was a pillar of daily life. Whether it was Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or your local mom-and-pop shop, renting movies and games was a ritual of living in the 80s an 90s that is now lost to the dominance of streaming. We're joined by Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast to rack up a few very late fees in service to the lost world of video rental.
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Songs of 1995
April 21st, 2025 | 2 hrs 49 mins
alanis morrissette, alternative, bush, garbage, green day, grunge, hip hop, mariah carey, metal, music, no doubt, oasis, rap, rock, rock and roll, smashing pumpkins, tupac shakur, weezer
The midpoint of the 1990s found grunge transitioning to more pop-friendly versions of rock, hip hop finding its groove, and extraordinarily heartfelt hits dominating the charts.
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Super Metroid
April 14th, 2025 | 1 hr 19 mins
alien, aliens, game, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, horror, metroid, metroidvania, nintendo, retrogame, retrogamer, retrogames, retrogaming, samus, samus aran, scifi, snes, videogame, videogamer, videogamers, videogames, videogaming
In space, no one can hear you scream, or roll into a little ball. Super Metroid is yet another jewel in Nintendo's crown, and one whose labyrinthine corridors of sci-fi horror forever cemented a genre of gameplay that has cast a shadow for over three decades. Matt Storm aka Matt Stormageddon of the "Fun" and Games, and Reignite podcasts joins us to celebrate Samus Aran and this seminal entry in the long-running Metroid series.
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A Goofy Movie
April 7th, 2025 | 2 hrs 15 mins
1990s, 90s, animation, cartoon, cartoons, disney, donald duck, goof troop, goofy, mickey mouse, musical, musicals, powerline
It's the perfect cast... podcast! Today is the 30th anniversary of A Goofy Movie. While Goofy is, well, goofy, Disney's story of father/son bonding has for more depth than its dippy dog characters would suggest. We're seeing I 2 I on this film's excellence with a full Goof Troop with comedian Eileen Mayse (@i_lean) and podcaster Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel). A-hyuck!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.