Nostalgium Arcanum

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.

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.

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.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

March 31st, 2025  |  1 hr 57 mins

absurd, absurdism, bbc, britain, britcom, british, comedy, dead parrot, england, eric idle, flying circus, geek, graham chapman, john cleese, logic, medieval, michael palin, monty python, mythology, nerd, python, religion, saturday night live, sketch, sketch comedy, skit, snl, spam, taskmaster, terry gilliam, terry jones

We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail as some podcasting nerds should, by quoting it to death. Guest comedians Rich Baker and Ned Record (of the Lost & Confounded podcast and www.nedrecord.com) join us to discuss the unyielding hilarity and exceptional longevity of a film that just won't take "Ni" for an answer. And there was much rejoicing!

80s Movies - Part 2

February 17th, 2025  |  3 hrs 9 mins

1980s, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 80s, action, cinema, comedy, disney, film, films, goonies, horror, indiana jones, john hughes, little mermaid, movie, movies, princess bride, rob reiner, scifi, steven spielberg

1985 through 1989 was the best period of filmmaking, period. Each of these years produced dozens of groundbreaking, blockbusting, genre defining, and unforgettable movies, making listing our top tens nearly impossible. Our review crew of Ami Lief, Ryan Merlo, and Tania Newton join us to close out our survey course of the best, of the best, of the best.

80s Movies - Part 1

February 10th, 2025  |  2 hrs 14 mins

1980s, 80s, action, cinema, comedy, film, films, ghostbusters, horror, indiana jones, movie, movies, scifi, star wars

The films from 1980 to 1984, buoyed by genre hits like Star Wars, took flight with bold imaginative storytelling and state-of-the-art special effects, establishing many franchises that continue to this day. We're joined by guests Tania Newton and Ryan Merlo to rank our top ten movies from this incredible period.

Innerspace

January 20th, 2025  |  2 hrs 44 mins

1980s, 80s, action, anatomy, comedy, dennis quaid, fantastic voyage, joe dante, martin short, meg ryan, robert picardo, sam cooke, scifi

We're bringing you a supersized episode about a microscopic topic. Innerspace is a gigantic adventure, a zany comedy, and a sci-fi spectacle as Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) is shrunk and accidentally injected into Jack Putter (Martin Short). Guests Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) and Alex Sosin (writer/director of "The Canyon") help as go deep inside this fantastic voyage through the loony lens of Joe Dante.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

November 25th, 2024  |  1 hr 55 mins

1980s, 80s, comedies, comedy, film, films, holiday, homeless, homelessness, john candy, john hughes, movie, movies, road trip, steve martin, thanksgiving

John Hughes' classic Thanksgiving story about Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy) questing home against geography and Murphy's Law combines stellar comedic performances and a heartbreaking (and ultimately heartwarming) twist to deliver an all-time holiday classic. Guest Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) tags along with us to make a meal of a film with far more substance than its Odd Couple trappings would suggest.

Also, please stick around to the end of the episode for special guest Michael Shepherd, who joins us for a discussion on what you can do to help those struggling with homelessness this holiday season.

Ernest Goes To Camp

November 11th, 2024  |  1 hr 58 mins

1980s, 80s, camp, cinema, comedies, comedy, ernest, film, films, jim varney, movie, movies

Hey Vern! We're joined by writer/comedian/filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) to head off to Camp Kikakee with one Ernest P. Worrell. Despite its humble trappings this is, we maintain, a cinematic masterpiece. By the end of this podcast you'll know what we mean, knowwhatImean?

In Living Color

September 16th, 2024  |  1 hr 51 mins

1990s, 90s, black, black lives matter, blm, comedy, damon wayans, david alan grier, entertainment, improv, jamie foxx, jim carrey, keenan ivory wayans, marlon wayans, saturday night live, sketch, sketch comedy, snl, television, tv, wayans, wayans brothers

In Livng Color lived up to its theme and proved you could do what you want to do. We recorded a podcast about it. Kinda like it. Like to hear it? Hear it go! Guest Jala Prendes (host of Jala-Chan' Place, Monster, Dear Monster, and Duckfeed.tv's The Level) and Dave Cox (co-host of Monster, Dear Monster) join us to revisit the memorable cast and characters of one of the most important and groundbreaking sketch comedy shows ever made.