Nostalgium Arcanum
A Repository For The Pop Culture That Made Us Who We Are
Displaying items 1-10 of 54 in total of Nostalgium Arcanum with the tag "80s".
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Labyrinth
June 27th, 2026 | 2 hrs 34 mins
1980s, 80s, brian froud, david bowie, fantasy, goblins, jennifer connelly, jim henson, monty python, muppets, musical, musicals, terry jones, the muppets
On this episode we celebrate 40 years of the babe with the power, as Jennifer Connelly braves her way through Jim Henson's "Labyrinth". Full of astounding designs, puppetry, humor, and iconic songs from a mesmerising David Bowie, while Labyrinth was not an immediate financial success, the film's undeniable awesomeness has proven it still has power over you. We're joined by guest Josh Covel of the Still Loading podcast (and our co-host on the Jim Henson retrospective podcast "Still Muppeting") to celebrate one of the greatest movies of the 1980s. Come inside, and have a nice cup of tea!
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The Manhattan Project
June 15th, 2026 | 1 hr 30 mins
1980s, 80s, atomic, cynthia nixon, fallout, john lithgow, nuclear, physics, science, war games
Much like its subject, when "The Manhattan Project" premiered 40 years ago it did not go off with a bang, but this film remains a hidden gem of classic '80s kids-can-do cold war paranoia. When teenage genius Paul Stephens sets out to build his own nuclear bomb, his weird science quickly turns into some war games with spreading fallout. Returning guest B.T. Moorer joins us for a look back at a wonderful flim that likely passed you by, but is well worth your time.
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Back to the Future Part II
June 1st, 2026 | 2 hrs 15 mins
1950s, 1980s, 80s, christopher lloyd, comedy, delorean, elisabeth shue, michael j. fox, physics, robert zemeckis, sci-fi, science, science fiction, scifi, steven spielberg, time machine, time travel
We're going back to Back to the Future, or more accurately, going to the future and back. The second chapter of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's time-travelling comedy trilogy finds Doc and Marty battling causality and the horrors that might ensue were power to fall into the wrong hands. Returning guest improviser and lifelong BTTF fan Darren Lanning (darrenlanning.com) hops into the time machine that is this podcast to ride a hoverboard to Back to the Future Part II. Go on and listen to it. What's the matter? Are you chicken?
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The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
March 16th, 2026 | 2 hrs 2 mins
1980s, 80s, comedy, david zucker, jerry zucker, leslie neilsen, liam neeson, o.j. simpson, oj simpson, parody, police squad, priscilla pressley, ricardo montalban, satire, spoof, weird al, weird al yankovic
You've seen the ad. You've seen the movie. Now listen to the podcast! Few films can boast the comedic batting average of Leslie Neilsen, and the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker team. With jokes flying so fast and furious you'd likely not catch them all on your fifth or sixth viewing, "The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad!" still delivers belly laughs simultaneously smart and stupid. Guest podcaster Matt Storm a.k.a. Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite) joins us for a look back at one of the greatest spoofs ever made.
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Legend
January 19th, 2026 | 2 hrs 21 mins
1980s, 80s, cinematography, fantasy, mia sara, ridley scott, tangerine dream, tim curry, tom cruise, unicorn, unicorns
No light without darkness. Legend is a film about duality and yet, the story of the dual cuts of the film is just as captivating as Ridley Scott's spectacular visuals, performances from a young Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and a make-up consumed Tim Curry. Indeed, this is truly a unicorn as the theatrical and director's cut versions of the film are radically different movies, with different tones, themes and stories. While Ridley Scott made diddley squat at the box office, the legend of the film has only grown. We're joined by guests Jala Prendes (host of Jala-Chan' Place, Monster, Dear Monster, and Duckfeed.tv's The Level) and her husband, Dave (co-host of Monster, Dear Monster), to celebrate this cult classic of 80s fantasy.
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Stand By Me
January 5th, 2026 | 2 hrs 21 mins
1980s, 80s, corey feldman, jerry o'connell, kiefer sutherland, richard dreyfuss, river phoenix, rob reiner, stephen king, wil wheaton
Deeply personal, darkly profound, the late Rob Reiner's masterpiece "Stand By Me" is the film he said he most wanted to be remembered for. The film lays bare the pain in growing pains in the seemingly simple tale of four children trudging to see a dead body, but which explores the complex emotions on the precipice of adulthood, the traumas that shape us, in perhaps the finest coming-of-age film ever made. We're joined by filmmaker (and fellow wilderness-exploring childhood friend) Alex Sosin ("The Canyon") to celebrate this crown jewel of Reiner's career. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
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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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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.