Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are
Episodes
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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.
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Resident Evil 4
October 9th, 2023 | 1 hr 36 mins
body horror, capcom, cults, gamer, gamers, games, gaming, halloween, horror, parasites, resident evil, video games, videogamer, videogames, videogaming, zombies
¡Puedes correr, pero no te puedes esconder! Resident Evil 4 was a revolutionary game that revitalized the series and videogames as a whole through its combination of tense dynamic gameplay, best-in-class body horror, and unsettling tone. Ken Cole of KenCast (@kenergycole) joins us to once again plunge into RE4's irresistible terrors.
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It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
October 2nd, 2023 | 1 hr 2 mins
animation, cartoon, cartoons, charles schulz, charlie brown, comedy, halloween, horror, peanuts, snoopy
Good Grief! It's finally Halloween and that means it's time for comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) to join our yearly vigil in the seasonal Peanuts special that is the most sincere.
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Queen
September 25th, 2023 | 1 hr 49 mins
1970s, 1980s, 70s, 80s, bohemian rhapsody, classic rock, composition, freddy mercury, music, opera, queen, rock, rock and roll
Queen and its unfathomably talented lead singer Freddie Mercury declared they would rock you, and in so doing achieved music immortality. Guests Matt Storm aka Matt Stormageddon (the Fun & Games, Reignite, and Screen Snark Podcasts) and Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com) join us to compare lists of our top 10 Queen songs.
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Uncharted
September 18th, 2023 | 1 hr 28 mins
archaeology, games, gaming, indiana jones, konami, lara croft, nathan drake, naughty dog, playstation, retro games, sony, the last of us, tomb raider, video games
The Uncharted franchise grew to greatness from small beginnings as globe-trotting treasure hunter Nathan Drake took the archeological reins from Indiana Jones and Lara Croft before him. Josh Covel of the Still Loading Podcast (@stilloadingpod) helps unearth what made this game franchise a true treasure that belongs in a museum.
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Calvin and Hobbes
September 11th, 2023 | 1 hr 5 mins
cartoon, cartoons, comedy, comic, comic strip, comics, drawing, nostalgia, watercolor
Arguably the greatest comic strip of all time, Bill Watterson's masterpiece Calvin and Hobbes melded artistic mastery, comedic timing, and most of all the profound sense of wonder at the heart of our collective childhoods. Guest Case Aiken of the Certain Point of View podcast networks joins us to go exploring in its timeless wilderness. Yukon Ho!
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Impressions
September 4th, 2023 | 1 hr 13 mins
comedy, impersonation, impersonations, impression, impressions, improv, mimic, mimicry, stand-up, vo, voice over, voiceover
Gifted impressionists Dan Oster (@senatordanoster from MadTV and A Podcast, But Evil) and Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) join us to discuss our favorite impressions, how we got started, and be all (and whoever) we can be.