Nostalgium Arcanum

A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are

About the show

Each episode we add a new entry to the Nostalgium Arcanum, a repository for the movies, tv, music, games, and other pop culture that still enchants us today. Find us on the socials by googling "Nostalgium".

Nostalgium Arcanum on social media

Episodes

  • 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.

  • 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.

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    Songs of 1998

    July 7th, 2025  |  3 hrs 3 mins
    1990s, 90s, alternative, country, hip hop, indie, metal, music, pop, pop music, rap, rock, rock and roll

    By 1998 the grunge and gangsta rap of the early 1990s had petered out. Ska came and went. Musical tastes had begun to drift, and our year-review reflects these tectonic shifts with mainstream pop ascendant and indie artists beginning to peek through. Guests Ami Lief, musician Kyle Lieberman, and comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) join us to roundtable our top ten songs of this year.

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    Back to the Future

    June 30th, 2025  |  2 hrs 33 mins
    1950s, 1980s, 80s, christopher lloyd, comedy, delorean, huey lewis, michael j. fox, physics, robert zemeckis, sci-fi, science, science fiction, scifi, steven spielberg, time machine, time travel

    What is a nostalgia podcast if not a time machine? We're firing up the flux capacitor and setting the time circuits to Back to the Future for the 40th anniversary of this seminal temporal comedy. We're joined by guest Darren Lanning (darrenlanning.com) to celebrate a film so heavy that its success was practically density.

  • WarGames

    June 23rd, 2025  |  1 hr 56 mins
    1980s, 80s, ai, ally sheedy, artificial intelligence, computer, computers, matthew broderick, politics, software, ussr, war games

    Shall we play a game? 1983's WarGames presciently predicts the dangers of both human intelligence and artificial intelligence that we still wrestle with today. In this classic Matthew Broderick accidentally nearly sets World War III into motion by seemingly innocently challenging an AI to a game with potentially apocalyptic consequences. We're joined by returning guest B.T. Moorer to discuss the fallout from this thermonuclear film.

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    The Sandlot

    June 16th, 2025  |  2 hrs 7 mins
    1990s, 90s, 90s movies, babe ruth, baseball, denis leary, james earl jones, nostalgia, sandlot, sports, sports movies, the sandlot

    The Sandlot is a perfect distillation of childhood dreams, fantasy, fears, and legends that will live on forever... forEVER... FOREVER!!! Guests sultan of swat Randy Allain and king of crash Kris Ingersoll of the Media/Lit podcast join the team to relive endless summers played one base at a time.

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    Raiders of the Lost Ark

    June 9th, 2025  |  2 hrs 44 mins
    adventure, archaeology, disney, george lucas, harrison ford, indiana jones, john williams, movie, movies, spielberg, steven spielberg

    If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones. The first film in the franchise pits archaeology against the Third Reich as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams, and of course, Harrison Ford unearth an icon. We're joined by "top men" comedian Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast But Evil) and filmmaker Alex Sosin (The Canyon) to excavate the origins of a cinematic legend, whip cracking dialogue, and just plain whip cracking.

  • Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

    June 2nd, 2025  |  1 hr 18 mins
    arcade, boxing, game, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, mike tyson, nes, nintendo, retrogame, retrogamer, retrogamers, retrogames, retrogaming, sports, video game, video gamer, video games, video gaming

    We get in the ring with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (later known as just Punch-Out!!). This NES classic cleverly disguises puzzles and pattern recognition within its colorful cast of memorable pugilists. Comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) joins us to put the smackdown on one of the most beloved titles in Nintendo's library. TKO!

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    Ghost

    May 26th, 2025  |  2 hrs 3 mins
    afterlife, demi moore, ghost, ghosts, love story, patrick swayze, pottery, righteous brothers, romance, spirit, spirits, unchained melody, whoopi goldberg

    For our final episode of Patrick MAYze, we're covering perhaps his most eternal film. Ghost is comedic, inventive, suspenseful, and most of all, a moving story of love transcending death, a long lonely time. We're joined by guests Ami Lief and Ryan Merlo to sing Unchained Melody and the praises of Swayze, Demi Moore, and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg. We'd say we love this film, but instead, we'll just say "ditto".

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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.