Nostalgium Arcanum

By Doug Lief

What's Nostalgium Arcanum about?

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 twitter at: @nostalgiumpod

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Nostalgium Arcanum episodes:

06.24.2024
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, 1999's remake of The Thomas Crown Affair twists and turns as Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo twist and turn around each other. Guests Tania Newton and Ryan Merlo...
06.17.2024
3 Ninjas
Hi-ya! We kick back with Josh Covel of the Still Loading podcast to knuckle up with Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum on their first adventure. The film hit hard in the early 90s with its blend of kid power, high kicks,...
06.10.2024
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
South Park, CO may be a quiet mountain town but decades on it remains the locus for satire, profanity, and the occasional doomsday prophesy. Friendly faces Dave Jackson (the Tales From the Backlog podcast) and comedians Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) and...
06.03.2024
90s Movies - Part 2
We conclude our survey course of 90s movies by revisiting the late teens of our crew of guests (Ami Lief, Tania Newton, and Ryan Merlo) for those films that challenged us and shaped us into who we are. Once again,...
05.27.2024
90s Movies - Part 1
On this episode our crew (Ami Lief, Tania Newton, and Ryan Merlo) join us for the first of a two-part roundtable of our top ten 90s films. This part focuses on movies released from 1990 to 1994. See if your...
05.20.2024
Blazing Saddles
Mel Brooks' crowning achievement, Blazing Saddles blazed a trail and confronts racism with equal parts ferocious satire and wild cartoon abandon. Writer/comedian/filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) joins us to celebrate 50 years of this film's uncompromising hilarity and empathy. We are...
05.13.2024
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3 set the standard not only for Nintendo's flagship franchise, but it was a literal game changer. Comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) joins us to save the Mushroom Kingdom - yet again - from the nefarious clutches of...
05.06.2024
The Wizard
Part cross-country child road trip, part Nintendo commercial, The Wizard is a time capsule of 1980s nostalgia that holds up better than its corporately calculated premise would suggest. Players Jonathan Cardoso and Tania Newton don their power gloves to join...
04.29.2024
Fallout
Duck and cover! We're going back to the radioactive world of tomorrow as companion B.T. Moorer joins us to open the vault to Fallout. This unique videogame series and its recent blockbuster TV adaptation use an alternate history post-apocalypse to...
04.22.2024
Dazed and Confused
We get older and this classic teen comedy stays the same age. Our bud Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel) joins us to revisit our nostalgia for Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused", the 1976 it depicts, its killer soundtrack,...
04.15.2024
TV Theme Songs
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale of a podcaster and guests, who sit around debating which old theme songs were the best. We're joined by Ami Lief (creepy and kooky) and Ryan Merlo (mysterious and spooky) to...
04.08.2024
Monty Python's Flying Circus
And now for something completely different. Monty Python's Flying Circus redefined comedy from the subatomic level up with sketches that were quotable, absurd, and of course, funnier than a dead parrot full of spam. Guest comedians Rich Baker and Ned...
04.01.2024
The Big Lebowski
The Dude abides, and his stupefying tale from the Coen Brothers continues to make people laugh to beat the bend... parts anyway. Little Lebowski Urban Achievers Dylan Ris (www.lostmoonradio.com) and Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) join us to...
03.25.2024
Ghostbusters 2
Too hot to handle, too cold to hold. Ghostbusters 2 is a sequel that's anything but paint-by-numbers. We're gonna call superfans Dylan Gregory and Tania Newton to blow some positively-charged slime all over a film that keeps on lifting us...
03.18.2024
A League of Their Own
Batter up, hear that call. The time has come for one and all... To play ball. We load the bases with guests Ami Lief, Ryan Merlo, and Tania Newton to revisit "A League of Their Own", a seminal sports movie...
03.11.2024
Happy Gilmore
The price is right for this classic golf comedy in which Adam Sadler tees off on everyone and everything in his path. Guest Dave Jackson (Tales From The Backlog - @TFTBLpod) joins us to revisit a movie that never fails...
03.04.2024
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin are the godfathers of metal - a band that rocked so hard it forever reshaped the landscape of music. Jimmy Page's unparalleled riffs, Robert Plant's searing vocals, John Bonham's intricate and powerful percussion, and John Paul Jones' genius...
02.26.2024
The Terminator
No matter how many times Arnold has been back, the original Terminator film still holds up as a taut, suspensful, scifi horror classic. Guest Jala Prendes (host of Jala-Chan' Place, Monster, Dear Monster, and Duckfeed.tv's The Level) joins us to...
02.19.2024
RoboCop
Like RoboCop himself, beneath this film's flashy exterior lies turmoil and humanity. Guests comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) and Dan Oster (MadTV, A Podcast, But Evil) join us to investigate Paul Verhoeven's dystopian satire of dehumanization, but one that still manages...
02.12.2024
Spaceballs
Spaceballs? Oh shit, there goes the podcast! Guest and master of the Schwartz Matt Storm a.k.a. Matt Stormageddon joins us for a look back at Star Wars as filtered through Mel Brooks' mastery of vaudeville, satire, and moichandizing! Find links to...
02.05.2024
Disney Songs, Part 2
We're back to revisit our favorite Disney songs to infinity and beyond! Last time we covered songs from Walt Disney Studios' animated features. This time we're covering everything else from Pixar to Touchstone to the Disney Channel to the amusement...
01.29.2024
Crash Bandicoot
1996's Crash Bandicoot tackled the leap from 2d gaming to 3d with wild abandon, cartoon mania, and down-under flair. Guest James Hughes of the TeamWorks podcast joins us to revisit a mascot platformer that dominated his era of videogame history. If...
01.22.2024
Mitch Hedberg
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...
01.15.2024
Matchbox Twenty
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 (and huge fans) Ami Lief, Betsy Allen, and Kyle Lieberman join us to roundtable their...
01.08.2024
Independence Day
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. If you have feedback, find us on the socials here: Facebook:...
01.01.2024
Ghostbusters
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...
12.25.2023
Batman Returns
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...
12.18.2023
ActRaiser
Lo and behold! In ActRaiser you get to play God, literally. This SNES classic combines two different gameplay modes (hack/slash and city-building sim) to create an overall experience that is still worshipped today. If you have feedback, beseech unto us on...
12.11.2023
My Best Friend's Wedding
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...
12.04.2023
Care Bears
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...
11.27.2023
16-Bit Disney 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...
11.20.2023
Batman (1989)
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 The Canyon horror short film Alex Sosin (@alexsosin4831) joins me to...
11.13.2023
Clue: The Movie
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 to solve the mystery of who, where, and what makes this film...
11.06.2023
Muppet 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. The Muppets' unique brand of humor is in...
10.31.2023
The Haunted Mansion
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. If you have feedback, find us on the socials...
10.30.2023
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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,...
10.23.2023
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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...
10.16.2023
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
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. If...
10.09.2023
Resident Evil 4
¡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...
10.02.2023
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
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. If you have feedback, find us on the socials here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/265036650022926/ The...
09.25.2023
Queen
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)...
09.18.2023
Uncharted
The Uncharted franchise grew to greatness from small beginnings as globe-trotting treasure hunter Nathan Drake took the archaeological reins from Indiana Jones and Lara Croft before him. Josh Covel of the Still Loading Podcast (@stilloadingpod) helps unearth what made this...
09.11.2023
Calvin and Hobbes
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...
09.04.2023
Impressions
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) that we can be. If you have feedback, find...
08.28.2023
MegaMan 2
MegaMan was released to little fanfare but its sequel put the Blue Bomber into the hall of fame. Boasting one of the greatest chiptune rock soundtracks of all time, tight controls, and the biggest whimsical anime robots the NES could...
08.21.2023
Yu-Gi-Oh!
It's time to duel! Jared Moss, Ben Robinson, and Ky Huizinga of the Play Along Podcast (www.playalongpod.com) bust out their decks to solve the true Millennium Puzzle - how Yu-Gi-Oh has continued to dominate the world of anime, movies, video...
08.14.2023
Doom
Doom's lasting impact on the world of video games remains as potent as ever 30 years on. Comedian Rich Baker (@richbakercoaching) throws on a helmet with us to return to Mars and blast away at all manner of digital demons....
08.07.2023
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
P-p-p-lease join our 35th anniversary retrospective on Robert Zemeckis' 1988 masterpiece with special guest Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis) of the Amber Ruffin Show. This film still dazzles as it combines unparalleled live action and animation wizardry and a classic noir tale...
07.31.2023
My Cousin Vinny
Hailed by audiences and lawyers alike, My Cousin Vinny has been sustained while other legal comedies have been overruled. Returning guest Ami Lief brings her best Marisa Tomei impression along with lifelong friend Ryan Merlo to celebrate, quote ad nauseum,...
07.24.2023
Chrono Trigger
Time keeps on slippin' as Matt Storm of the Fun & Games podcast (@funandgamespod) travels with us back to 1995 to revisit Chrono Trigger, one of the most highly regarded and influential video games ever. With an adventure that criss-crosses...

What's Nostalgium Arcanum about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Nostalgium Arcanum episodes:

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

3 Ninjas

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

90s Movies - Part 2

90s Movies - Part 1

Blazing Saddles

Super Mario Bros. 3

The Wizard

Fallout

Dazed and Confused

TV Theme Songs

Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Big Lebowski

Ghostbusters 2

A League of Their Own

Happy Gilmore

Led Zeppelin

The Terminator

RoboCop

Spaceballs

Disney Songs, Part 2

Crash Bandicoot

Mitch Hedberg

Matchbox Twenty

Independence Day

Ghostbusters

Batman Returns

ActRaiser

My Best Friend's Wedding

Care Bears

16-Bit Disney Games

Batman (1989)

Clue: The Movie

Muppet Treasure Island

The Haunted Mansion

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Resident Evil 4

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Queen

Uncharted

Calvin and Hobbes

Impressions

MegaMan 2

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Doom

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

My Cousin Vinny

Chrono Trigger

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