Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are
Episodes
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Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
October 20th, 2025 | 1 hr 48 mins
1980s, 80s, army of darkness, bruce campbell, demon, demonology, demons, evil dead, ghost, ghosts, halloween, horror, necronomicon, sam raimi, zombie, zombies
There's only one word to describe Evil Dead 2 - Groovy! On this episode we're joined by deadite Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) to accidentally read from the Necronomicon and summon Sam Raimi's wild ride of horror, gore, and comedy that literally takes a chainsaw to just about everything. Headlined by human cartoon Bruce Campbell, the film remains a rollicking great blood geyser of Halloween fun.
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The Fly (Redux)
October 17th, 2025 | 2 hrs 14 mins
1980s, 80s, body horror, cronenberg, david cronenberg, geena davis, horror, howard shore, jeff goldblum, scifi, tragedy
Be afraid... be very afraid. For a bonus episode this year we're returning to the subejct of our fourth podcast for a more in-depth look at David Cronenberg's profound and deeply upsetting remake of The Fly. Filmmaker Alex Sosin gets into the teleporter with us for the grossest love story ever made.
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Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
October 13th, 2025 | 2 hrs 2 mins
1980s, 80s, a nightmare on elm st, dreams, freddy, freddy krueger, halloween, horror, johnny depp, nightmare, nightmares, robert englund, slasher, wes craven
9... 10... we can sleep again because, at long last, Freddy's Dead. For real this time. We mean it. This episode we nod off with Rick Firestone of the Pixel Project Radio podcast to eulogize the undisputed roastmaster of horror, Freddy Krueger. This entry is one of the most unwieldy in the franchise, but it still carries the series' flare for wild, imaginative dream sequences, and the most one-liners of any slasher film.
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The Thing
October 6th, 2025 | 1 hr 51 mins
1980s, 80s, alien, aliens, body horror, halloween, horror, john carpenter, kurt russell, lovecraft, lovecraftian, movie, movies, scifi
Why don't we just wait here for a little while, see what happens? 1982's "The Thing" was a critical and commercial failure, until its insidious genius began an infection that has spread to its complete takeover as a horror landmark. Comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) joins us to examine this brilliant, grotesque, and paranoia-inducing film.
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Mariah Carey
September 29th, 2025 | 2 hrs 3 mins
1990s, 90s, all i want for christmas is you, butterfly, christmas, fantasy, mariah carey, music, pop, pop music, r & b, r and b, r&b, songwriting, soul, whitney houston, xmas
We give our full-throated endorsement to Mariah Carey, an artist of immense talent, superhuman vocal ability, and hit after hit after hit after hit. Friend-of-the-pod Ryan Merlo, podcaster Ami Lief (Playing By Ear), and comedian Eileen Mayse (@i_lean) roudntable their favorite tracks from Mimi's illustrious career.
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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
September 22nd, 2025 | 2 hrs 24 mins
adventure, archaeology, disney, george lucas, harrison ford, indiana jones, john williams, ke huy quan, movie, movies, short round, spielberg, steven spielberg
Anything goes in Indiana Jones' second (but technically first) outing. The film is flawed, but relentlessly entertaining, buoyed by engaging performances from future Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan and villain expert Amrish Puri. We make a meal out of this classic with filmmaker Alex Sosin (The Canyon) and fondly reminisce about a movie that has its heart in the right place - Mola Ram's fist.
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Bruce Springsteen
September 15th, 2025 | 2 hrs 27 mins
born in the u.s.a., born to run, bruce springsteen, clarence clemons, e street band, max weinberg, music, new jersey, patriot, patriotic, patriotism, rock, rock music, springsteen, steven van zandt
For over five decades Bruce Springsteen has been The Boss. Combining profound but accessible, empathetic, and comforting lyrics buoyed by anthemic melodies that can electrify stadiums, Bruce and his collaborators in the E-Street Band embody the spirit within all of us that yearns to be moved, and to be free. Tramps like our guests, improviser Dan Oster (MadTV, "A Podcast, But Evil") and comedian / musician Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com, www.themoonunits.com), were born to run for one of the greatest musicians and singer/songwriters in American history.
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Super Mario World
September 8th, 2025 | 1 hr 37 mins
16 bit, 1990s, 90s, computer, computers, console, consoles, game, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, mario, nintendo, platformer, retrogame, retrogamer, retrogamers, retrogames, retrogaming, snes, super nintendo, videogame, videogamer, videogamers, videogames, videogaming
35 years later Super Mario World remains a high watermark in video games. The venerable plumber and new pal Yoshi the dinosaur's adventure features pixel perfect platforming, satisfying secret scouring, and whimsical wonder. Guests podcaster Matt Storm a.k.a. Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite) and comedian Rich Baker (richbakercoaching.com) hit the Star Road to celebrate a classic that is still tubular, groovy, and funky today.
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The Running Man
September 1st, 2025 | 2 hrs 31 mins
1980s, 80s, action, arnold schwarzenegger, dystopia, dystopian, game show, gameshow, hunger games, schwarzenegger, scifi, stephen king
It's time to start running! Cheesy, gratuitous, and satirically biting, The Running Man showcases everything that makes 80s movies great, and why no one can anchor a film and deliver one, two, and three-liners like Arnold Schwarzenegger. We're joined by a full panel to stalk this classic including comedian Rich Baker (@ricbakercoaching), filmmaker Alex Sosin ("The Canyon"), and podcaster Jala Prendes (Jala-Chan's Place, Duckfeed.tv's The Level). We pack in everything, so we hope you left enough room for our fist.
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Green Day
August 25th, 2025 | 2 hrs 10 mins
21st century breakdown, american idiot, billie joe armstrong, dookie, green day, kerplunk, mike drrnt, music, nimrod, pop, punk, rock, tre cool
Welcome to paradise! Green Day exploded in the '90s, matured into a political force in the '00s, and continues to blend pop, punk, and power to this day. We're joined by comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) musician and podcaster Kyle Lieberman (Playing By Ear) and his daughter Ali to celebrate the legacy of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Drrnt, and Tre Cool.
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Tango & Cash
August 18th, 2025 | 2 hrs 37 mins
1980s, 80s, action, buddy cop, comedy, cop, cops, kurt russell, movies, police, stallone, sylvester stallone
Tango & Cash typifies 1980s action excess and buddy-cop odd-couple comedy as Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell play the titular loose cannons with a complete disregard for police procedure and the laws of physics. We're joined by guest podcasters Josh Covel (Still Loading) and Dan Oster (A Podcast, But Evil) to settle scores and spew one-liners.
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Songs of 2001
August 11th, 2025 | 2 hrs 54 mins
00s, 2000s, alternative, hip hop, hiphop, metal, music, pop, pop music, rap, rock, songwriting
2001 was nothing like what Stanley Kubrick promised, but the music of that year continued to expand into a wide variety of different directions. Guests Ami Lief, musician Kyle Lieberman, and comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) join us to roundtable our top ten songs of 2001.
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Ninja Gaiden
August 4th, 2025 | 1 hr 20 mins
game, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, nes, ninja, nintendo, nintendo entertainment system, retrogame, retrogamer, retrogamers, retrogames, retrogaming, video game, video gamer, video games, video gaming
1988's Ninja Gaiden was a leap forward in video game storytelling, featuring splashy cut scenes, a propulsive soundtrack, and notorious difficulty. Ryu Hayabusa faces off against military goons, relentless wildlife, and otherworldly grotesque demons in his quest to keep Jaquio and the forces of darkness at bay. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) joins us to give this unforgiving landmark game the Nintendo seal of quality.
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Billy Joel
July 28th, 2025 | 2 hrs 9 mins
1970s, 1980s, 70s, 8os, billy joel, movin' out, music, new york, piano, piano man, pop, rock, rock and roll, songwriting
For the longest time Billy Joel's music has thrilled generations. Guests podcaster Matt Storm a.k.a. Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite) and comedian / musician Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com, www.themoonunits.com) are in the mood for a melody, and this episode will have you feeling alright.
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Destroy All Monsters
July 21st, 2025 | 1 hr 8 mins
1960s, 60s, alien, aliens, ghidora, godzilla, horror, japan, japanese, kaiju, monster, monsters, mothra, rodan, science fiction, scifi, toho
It's mosnters versus aliens as Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and company find themselves at the mercy of an extraterrestrial menace in 1968's "Destroy All Monsters". Why have one kaiju when you can have them all? We don rubber suits and stomp on model cities with guest Joe Mastropiero aka Joedecahedron of the Dice Training podcast to celebrate a franchise that literally left an enormous footprint on cinema.
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The Princess Bride
July 14th, 2025 | 2 hrs 21 mins
1980s, 80s, andre the giant, billy crystal, carol kane, cary elwes, chris sarandon, christopher guest, comedy, fairy tale, fantasy, fred savage, mandy patinkin, peter falk, rob reiner, robin wright, wallace shawn
You asked for something special for our 150th episode so all we can say is "as you wish." The Princess Bride is inconceivably perfect. The film has everything - fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles, and a superlative cast and script to bring it all together. Guest comedian and filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis, tarikrdavis.com) joins us to revisit a storybook story that demands to be told over and over.