Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For Pop Culture Ephemera
Episodes
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Mitch Hedberg
January 22nd, 2024 | 1 hr 12 mins
andy kaufman, beatnik, comedy, hedberg, improv, jazz, mitch hedberg, open mic, stand up, stand up comedy, stand-up, stand-up comedy, steve martin
If stand-up comedy was an equation then Mitch Hedberg was its Isaac Newton, a pioneer who turned the format on its head and make jokes into jazz and vice versa. Comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) joins us to revisit Hedberg's tragically brief career, and the stand-up revolution he quietly raged.
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Matchbox Twenty
January 15th, 2024 | 1 hr 35 mins
1990s, 90s, concert, entertainment, mainstream, matchbox 20, matchbox twenty, mb20, music, rob thomas, rock
Let's see how far we've come. Since the late 1990s Matchbox Twenty has been entertaining audiences with mass appeal and mass success. This week guests Ami Lief, Betsy Allen, and Kyle Lieberman join us to roundtable their top ten MB20 songs.
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Independence Day
January 8th, 2024 | 1 hr 56 mins
1990s, alien, aliens, area 51, bill pullman, conspiracy theories, extraterrestrial, extraterrestrials, id4, invasion, jeff goldblum, martian, martians, randy quaid, roswell, scifi, war of the worlds, will smith, x-files
Welcome to Earth. This week guest Matt Powers joins us to revisit a 1990s disaster classic that, like its extraterrestrial scourge, loomed large over the action blockbusters of the era.
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Ghostbusters
January 1st, 2024 | 2 hrs 12 mins
1980s, afterlife, bill murray, comedy, dan ackroyd, ectoplasm, frozen empire, ghostbusters, ghosts, harold ramis, haunting, ivan reitman, rick moranis, sigourney weaver, slimer, snl, spirits
Who ya gonna call? For 40 years the story of blue-collar scientists with unlicensed nuclear accelerators exterminating paranormal threats has offered thrills, chills, and spills (of self-cooking eggs and marshmallow goo). On this episodes guests Dylan Gregory and Dan Oster (MadTV) join us to revisit why this comedy classic still has us in a trap four decades on. Grab a big twinkie and join us!
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Batman Returns
December 25th, 2023 | 2 hrs 30 mins
1990s, batman, christmas, christopher walken, comic book, comic books, comics, danny devito, danny elfman, dc comics, freaks, gothic, horror, michael keaton, michelle pfeiffer, superhero, tim burton, xmas
It's Christmas in Gotham and writer/director of horror short "The Canyon" Alex Sosin joins to once again delve into Tim Burton's gothic nightmare vision of the Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin in a supersized present of an episode. It's bigger and more unwieldy than its predecessor, but no less compelling and terrifying.
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ActRaiser
December 18th, 2023 | 35 mins 58 secs
enix, faith, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, god, nintendo, religion, retrogamer, retrogamers, retrogames, retrogaming, rpg, rpgs, sim-city, snes, square, supernintendo, urban planning, video games, videogames, videogaming
Lo and behold! In ActRaiser you get to play God, literally. In this SNES classic combines two different gameplay modes (hack/slash and city-building sim) to create an overall experience that is still worshipped today.
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My Best Friend's Wedding
December 11th, 2023 | 1 hr 29 mins
1990s, 90s, cameron diaz, comedy, entertainment, film, julia roberts, movies, rom-com, romantic comedy, romcom
My Best Friend's Wedding is, despite its trappings, not a romantic comedy. The film cleverly subverts expectations by making the villain appear to be the protagonist, making a happily never after the proper ending. We're joined again by Ami Lief and Ryan Merlo to revisit Julie Roberts doing worst what she usually does best.
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Care Bears
December 4th, 2023 | 1 hr 12 mins
1980s, 80s, animation, care bears, caring, cartoon, cartoons, child psychology, dic, empathy, entertainment, movies, television, toys, tv
You stare into the Care Bear and the Care Bear stares back at you. This week guest podcaster Jala Prendes (Jala-Chan's Place, Monster, Dear Monster, The Level) drops in from the clouds to help us revisit the Care Bears franchise and how its tender-hearted worldview taught a generation of children to be empathetic and also buy lots of toys.
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16-Bit Disney Games
November 27th, 2023 | 1 hr 6 mins
aladdin, animation, cartoon, cartoons, castle of illusion, disney, games, genesis, megadrive, mickey mouse, retrogames, retrogaming, sega, snes, super nintento, the lion king, video game, video games
In the early 1990s Disney animation recaptured its magic and along with it came a wave of memorable video games for the consoles of the era. This episode we're joined by Phil Head of the Spectrum Days podcast (@SpectrumDaysPod) and Eileen Mayse (@i_lean) to revisit Aladdin, The Lion King, and Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. Grab a controller, some cheetos, and join us for at least 16 bits.
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Batman (1989)
November 20th, 2023 | 2 hrs 14 mins
1980s, 80s, batman, comic, comic book, comic books, comics, dc, dc comics, film, gotham, gothic, horror, jack nicholson, joker, michael keaton, movies, superhero, tim burton
Tim Burton's fantastical vision of the Caped Crusader and his dark gothic expressionist world forever changed the superhero genre, and the way blockbusters are made. This episode writer/director of horror short film The Canyon Alex Sosin (@alexsosin4831) joins me to revisit our shared love of the summer of Batmania.
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Clue: The Movie
November 13th, 2023 | 1 hr 38 mins
1980s, 80s, board game, board games, cluedo, comedy, farce, game, games, murder, mystery, tim curry, whodunnit
The classic whodunnit game became a classic whodunnit comedy. Guests comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) and Ami Lief roll the dice and try to make a long story short as we try to solve the mystery of what makes this film so great. Hint, a lot of the credit goes to Tim Curry.
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Muppet Treasure Island
November 6th, 2023 | 1 hr 36 mins
1990s, 90s, comedy, disney, electric mayhem, fozzie, gonzo, jim henson, kermit, muppets, muppets mayhem, pirate, pirates, puppeteering, puppets, rizzo, robert louis stevenson, sea shanties, sea shanty, shanty, tim curry, treasure island
Shiver me felt timbers! We're shovin' off for adventure as Josh Covel of the Still Loading podcast (@StillLoadingPod) joins our crew to revisit the Muppets' take on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic.
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The Haunted Mansion
October 31st, 2023 | 25 mins 18 secs
amusement park, attraction, disney, disneyland, disneyworld, ghost, ghosts, halloween, seance, seances, spirit, spirits
It's a bonus Halloween treat (no tricks) as 7-year-old Celeste joins her old podcasting dad to revisit classic Disney attraction The Haunted Mansion, and the 999 happy haunts who call it home.
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show
October 30th, 2023 | 1 hr 37 mins
1970s, 70s, aliens, gender, halloween, horror, lgbtq, musical, musicals, queer, rock, rock and roll, sci-fi, scifi, sexuality, susan sarandon, tim curry, trans, transsexual
Let's do the Time Warp again as special guest writer/director/actress/producer Shakina Nayfack (@shakeenz, Difficult People, Quantum Leap) joins us to send off our Halloween season with a bang, emphasis on the bang. This musical is a one-of-a-kind blend of rock, camp, horror, and sexual exploration that really puts the "fluid" in gender fluidity, one that has and always will inspire hordes of live audiences to not just dream it, but to be it.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
October 23rd, 2023 | 1 hr 20 mins
american literature, disney, ghost story, ghosts, halloween, headless horseman, horror, ichabod crane, literature, new york, revolutionary war, short story, sleepy hollow, tim burton, washington irving
Over 200 years old and still scaring people, Washington Irving's masterpiece remains a Halloween classic and an all-time great ghost story. On this episode we not only discuss it, but as a bonus, the entire tale is here as an audiobook for your enjoyment.
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
October 16th, 2023 | 2 hrs 1 min
alan rickman, angela lansbury, cannibalism, cannibals, class warfare, folklore, helena bonham carter, horror, johnny depp, lansbury, musical, musicals, opera, sondheim, stephen sondheim, theater, tim burton, victor garber, victorian
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, who murdered patrons so we could pod. Actress, comedian, and host of Coming Out Pod Lauren Flans (@comingoutpod, @LaurenFlans) joins us to dine on Stephen Sondheim's horror musical masterpiece of class and cannibalism.