Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are
Episodes
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Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
December 29th, 2025 | 36 mins 30 secs
animation, boris karloff, cartoon, cartoons, christmas, chuck jones, comedy, dr. seuss, grinch, santa, santa claus, x-mas, xmas
It wouldn't be Christmas without Yuletide stealing, so we've got one more episode that's very revealing. The kids drop by the pod, to discuss who's Who, and give How The Grinch Stole Christmas a proper review.
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The Muppet Christmas Carol
December 22nd, 2025 | 2 hrs 14 mins
a christmas carol, charles dickens, christmas, dickens, jim henson, michael caine, muppet, muppets, musical, musicals, puppet, puppets, the muppets, x-mas, xmas
God bless us, every one! It's a special cross-over podcast as we bring an episode of Still Muppetting to Nostalgium Arcanum. Co-host Josh Covel (Still Loading) and comedian Eileen Mayse (@i_lean) revisit Muppets past and Michael Caine's turn breaking good as Ebeneezer Scrooge in "The Muppet Christmas Carol". And it was always said of them, that they knew how to keep Muppets well, if anyone alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!
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Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
December 15th, 2025 | 1 hr 26 mins
1960s, 60s, animation, burl ives, carols, christmas, christmas carol, christmas carols, frosty, musical, musicals, rankin bass, rudolph, santa, santa claus, stop motion, x-mas, xmas
Our holiday coverage continues as we recall the most famous reindeer of all. Rankin-Bass' stop-motion retelling of Rudolph's super-mutant origins remains the most beloved version of the holiday mainstay. Guest podcaster and misfit toy Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel) joins us to sing the praises (and carols) of this Christmas classic.
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A Christmas Story
December 8th, 2025 | 2 hrs 15 mins
1980s, 80s, christmas, comedy, santa, santa claus, x-mas, xmas
On this episode you'll shoot your eye out as we join Ralphie, his family, and the world's sexiest lamp to revisit A Christmas Story. We drink our ovaltine with our friends from from the Media / Lit Podcast, Kris Ingersoll and Randy Allain and use our tongues for discussing a holiday classic instead of sticking them to frozen poles.
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Ernest Saves Christmas
December 1st, 2025 | 1 hr 42 mins
1980s, 80s, christmas, comedy, ernest, jim varney, santa, santa claus, x-mas, xmas
It's time to pass the torch, knowwhatImean? We're returning to the weird world of Ernest P. Worrell as Jim Varney's blue-collar rubber face works a double shift to ensure the magic of Christmas is passed to a new generation. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbakeractor) and filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis, tarikrdavis.com) join us to celebrate a comedy that knows when to step on the gas and when to hit the air brakes.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
November 23rd, 2025 | 3 hrs 15 mins
andy serkis, bilbo, cate blanchett, christopher lee, d&d, dragon, dungeons and dragons, dwarf, elf, fantasy, gandalf, gollum, hobbit, howard shore, ian mckellan, liv tyler, lord of the rings, lotr, middle earth, peter jackson, rings of power, sean astin, the rings of power, tolkien, viggo mortensen, wizard
We're glad to be with you, here at the end of all things. Frodovember closes with our look back at Peter Jackson's incredible capstone to his adaptation of The Lord of The Rings, which collected a record-tying 11 coveted gold Oscar statuettes in exchange for the destruction of one pesky gold ring. We're joined by Jacob Price of the Pre-Order Bonus podcast to celebrate a film that can only be described as precious. I will not say, "Do not weep", for not all tears are an evil.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
November 17th, 2025 | 3 hrs 9 mins
andy serkis, bilbo, cate blanchett, christopher lee, d&d, dragon, dungeons and dragons, dwarf, elf, fantasy, gandalf, gollum, hobbit, howard shore, ian mckellan, liv tyler, lord of the rings, lotr, middle earth, peter jackson, rings of power, sean astin, the rings of power, tolkien, viggo mortensen, wizard
The stakes continue to rise as the last hope for Middle Earth faces the looming of The Two Towers. We're joined by wicked, tricksy hobbitses from the Media / Lit Podcast, Kris Ingersoll and Randy Allain to revisit the middle chapter in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece. From its landmark special effects, to one of the greatest battles ever filmed, The Two Towers remains as precious as it was in 2002.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
November 10th, 2025 | 2 hrs 50 mins
andy serkis, bilbo, cate blanchett, christopher lee, d&d, dragon, dungeons and dragons, dwarf, elf, fantasy, gandalf, gollum, hobbit, howard shore, ian mckellan, liv tyler, lord of the rings, lotr, middle earth, peter jackson, rings of power, sean astin, the rings of power, tolkien, viggo mortensen, wizard
Frodovember continues as we begin the quest to destroy the One Ring with guest Dave Jackson (the "Tales from the Backlog" podcast). Released to massive critical and financial sucess in 2001, the first film of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy masterfully condenses and adapts the first third of Tolkien’s seminal work with winning performances from an all-star cast, and all the powerful emotional depth the story contains. Bring a second breakfast, because this pod goes ever on and on.
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The Hobbit
November 2nd, 2025 | 2 hrs 9 mins
animation, bilbo, cartoon, cartoons, d&d, dragon, dungeons and dragons, dwarf, elf, fantasy, gandalf, gollum, hobbit, lord of the rings, lotr, middle earth, rings of power, the rings of power, tolkien, wizard
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead, as Frodovember begins with the 1977 Rankin Bass adaptation of The Hobbit. We go there and back again with guest podcaster Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel) to enjoy our mutual first experences with Middle Earth and the works of J.R.R. Tolkein.
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Coraline
October 31st, 2025 | 1 hr 9 mins
00s, 2000s, animation, dakota fanning, fairy tale, ghost, ghosts, halloween, horror, ian mcshane, keith david, neil gaiman, parenting, stop motion, teri hatcher, they might be giants
Be careful what you wish for this Halloween. On this special it's a family affair as the Other Doug and the Other Ami welcome their children Celeste and Ben into the other world of 2009's Coraline. This stop-motion masterpiece spins a web and puts a button or two on a modern Grimm fairy tale about how the grass seems greener on the other side of a tiny mysterious door.
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The Colour Out Of Space
October 29th, 2025 | 1 hr 18 mins
alien, aliens, audiobook, cosmic, cosmic horror, cthulhu, halloween, horror, invasion, literature, lovecraft, lovecraftian, short stories, short story, the thing
For this year's Halloween bonus reading, we're going down to Nahum's farm and taking a gander at "The Colour Out Of Space", cosmic horror master H.P. Lovecraft's unsettling tale of a chromatic contagion from beyond the stars.
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Fright Night
October 27th, 2025 | 2 hrs 22 mins
1980s, 80s, chris sarandon, halloween, horror, roddy mcdowall, tom holland, vampire, vampires
Hi-Diddly-Ho, neighborino! When Jerry Dandridge moves in next door, young Charlie Brewster's worst fears are confirmed, leading to a one-of-a-kind horror comedy that, unlike Jerry, does not suck. Guest comedian and filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis, tarikrdavis.com) joins us to stake out this meta Halloween tale that we're happy to invite into our homes.
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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.