Nostalgium Arcanum

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.

The Santa Clause

December 9th, 2024  |  1 hr 54 mins

1990s, 90s, christmas, disney, movie, movies, santa, santa claus, tim allen, xmas

Tim Allen has to improve his home in an altogether different toy story as he kills Santa Claus and, by unbreakable North Pole contract law, must assume the awesome mantle of worldwide joy distribution. Guests Randy Allain and Kris Ingersoll of the Media/Lit podcast assure their places on the Nice list as we talk Santa murder, body horror, and the many metaphysical questions raised by this Disney holiday romp.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

December 2nd, 2024  |  1 hr 59 mins

1980s, 80s, beverly d'angelo, chevy chase, christmas, john hughes, julia louis dreyfus, lampoon, national lampoon, randy quaid, x-mas, xmas

We open our first Christmas podcast of the season as guest Sarah Heath (the RevCovery podcast) invites us over to the Griswolds' house for some egg nog with National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. We're the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

November 25th, 2024  |  1 hr 55 mins

1980s, 80s, comedies, comedy, film, films, holiday, homeless, homelessness, john candy, john hughes, movie, movies, road trip, steve martin, thanksgiving

John Hughes' classic Thanksgiving story about Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy) questing home against geography and Murphy's Law combines stellar comedic performances and a heartbreaking (and ultimately heartwarming) twist to deliver an all-time holiday classic. Guest Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) tags along with us to make a meal of a film with far more substance than its Odd Couple trappings would suggest.

Also, please stick around to the end of the episode for special guest Michael Shepherd, who joins us for a discussion on what you can do to help those struggling with homelessness this holiday season.

Songs of 1989

November 18th, 2024  |  2 hrs 26 mins

1980s, 1989, 80s, aerosmith, depeche mode, hair metal, heavy metal, hip-hop, madonna, metal, metallica, motley crue, music, pop, pop music, queen, rock, rock and roll, skid row, tesla

The music that dominated our radios and walkmen (walkmans?) in 1989 has stood the test of time, and has held up to endless replay. On this podcast we revisit that year with guests Ami Lief, Kyle Lieberman, and Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com) to see which songs from this banner year still strike the right chord.

Ernest Goes To Camp

November 11th, 2024  |  1 hr 58 mins

1980s, 80s, camp, cinema, comedies, comedy, ernest, film, films, jim varney, movie, movies

Hey Vern! We're joined by writer/comedian/filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) to head off to Camp Kikakee with one Ernest P. Worrell. Despite its humble trappings this is, we maintain, a cinematic masterpiece. By the end of this podcast you'll know what we mean, knowwhatImean?

The World Is Not Enough

November 4th, 2024  |  2 hrs 27 mins

1990s, 90s, action, bond, denise richards, espionage, james bond, judi dench, pierce brosnan, sophie marceau, spy

Christmas comes early this year as we revisit The World Is Not Enough, a James Bond film that leaves us shaken, not stirred. Guest Josh Covel of the Still Loading and Still Bonding podcasts goes on this mission with us to face down memorable villains with Elektra complexes.

Pirates of the Caribbean (Ride)

October 31st, 2024  |  36 mins 46 secs

adventure, amusement park, amusement parks, disney, disney world, disneyland, geoffrey rush, halloween, horror, johnny depp, pirate, pirates, pirates of the caribbean, ride, rides

Happy Halloween to you villains and knaves! This be a family affair, says I. We be joined by devils, black sheep, and really bad eggs Ami, Celeste (age 8), and Benjamin (age 5) Lief to follow a map to the classic Disney attraction Pirates of the Caribbean and discuss why it's still a pirate's life for me for nearly sixty years since the ride first opened in Anaheim. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

October 28th, 2024  |  2 hrs 4 mins

1990s, 90s, animated, animation, catherine o'hara, christmas, cinema, danny elfman, disney, film, films, halloween, horror, movie, movies, musical, musicals, puppet, puppets, stop motion, theater, tim burton, x-mas, xmas

This is Halloween! This is Halloween! For our final mainline October episode guest Matt Storm aka Stormageddon of the "Fun" and Games, and Reignite podcasts tricks and treats with us to revisit this masterclass in stop-motion animation that lets us celebrate two holidays for the price of one.

The Masque of the Red Death

October 26th, 2024  |  25 mins 15 secs

death, disease, edgar allen poe, halloween, horror, literature, masquerade, phantom, phantom of the opera, poe, short stories, short story

It's a bonus episode on top of a bonus episode! We're doing another Halloween reading, this time we're commemorating the Phantom of the Opera's favorite costume by revisiting Edgar Allen Poe's immortal classic, The Masque of the Red Death. The short story features Poe's gloomy mysterious prose, and strikes at our shared anxieties about pestilence and mortality.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

October 21st, 2024  |  2 hrs 5 mins

1980s, 80s, dreams, freddy, freddy krueger, halloween, horror, johnny depp, nightmare, nightmares, slasher, wes craven

For 40 years Freddy Krueger has stopped us from getting 40 winks. Arguably the king of the 80s slasher villains, Freddy's first outing remains as fresh as a liquified Johnny Depp. This week guests (and huge fans) Ami Lief and Betsy Allen join us to grab their crucifixes, stay up late, and never sleep again.