Nostalgia Club

Time skip! We’re betraying our enemies and deceiving our friends in this week’s episode about Season 2 of Young Justice! Joining us is Sam, who brings an incredible in-depth analysis of our young heroes and the perils they face! Jino and Michael relive the entertaining infighting of The Reach and the suave machinations of Lex Luthor. Victoria questions Nightwing’s plans and mourns a brave sacrific...

We’re going on a bear hunt, but I ain’t scared! In our third Show & Tell episode, Jino dusts off long-dormant memories and recounts his adventures as a Cub Scout! Tune in as we relive adventures of youth such as building and racing wooden cars, selling popcorn to strangers and also your uncle, and camping out deep in the Texas scrubland. Cub Scouts: It’s scouting for babies! Cool babies. Cool...

Kush kush! Today we’re stepping out of our cages and embarking on adventures in the vast outside world, just like Hamtaro and his friends! Whether or not you’ve personally interacted with this Japanese multi-media franchise, you’ve surely got some positive associations with these tiny, adorable hamsters due to their large cultural impact. Michael watched a little bit of the anime as a kid, though...

Got a problem you need solved? The Thea Sisters are on the case! Nicky, Colette, Violet, Pamela, and Paulina are some of the best and brightest of Mouseford Academy, a school that definitely has way more problems than it may seem on the outside. On today’s episode, we’re discussing three of their adventures: Thea Stilton and the Dragon’s Code, Drama at Mouseford, and Revenge of the Lizard Club. No...

Calling all history buffs! In this second Show & Tell episode, Michael takes us on an exploration of some civilizations and cultures from The Bronze Age and how they’ve captured his attention over the years. If you recently watched Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, or if you’ve been interested in this time period before it was cool, then this is for you! Turns out, people from thousands of year...

Banzai! Run away to the woods with us as we revisit Katherine Paterson’s award-winning novel, Bridge to Terabithia. If you read this as a kid, you probably remember it was emotionally devastating, and we’re here to report…it still is! Jino reread this book at least a hundred times as a kid, perhaps in an effort to keep characters alive within the pages. Michael avoided reading it until now because...

Once upon a dream, you found yourself listening to a podcast about Sleeping Beauty! This classic 1959 Disney film’s stunning artwork and animation was foundational in Michael’s childhood. Victoria loved re-enacting scenes from this movie, particularly the most dramatic “death” reveal as both Maleficent and Aurora. Jino had not seen this movie before, but still found much to love in the whimsical f...

The road goes ever on and on…and at last it’s brought us to The Lord of the Rings trilogy! Today we’re talking about the first book: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. We’re all big fans of the series - Jino considers it his go-to cosy British fantasy story, Victoria read the books once in middle school and returns for new perspectives on this reread, while Michael is excited to read th...

We’re starting a new series we call “Show & Tell” episodes, where each of us brings in a personal topic to share with the class. Today, Victoria dives into a Korean dating sim game called Mystic Messenger, known for its gameplay through chatrooms and phone calls that happen in real time. From characters with dark backstories, to storylines that were unexpectedly harrowing, there’s more than me...

If you were on the Internet in 2016, then there’s a pretty high chance that you’ve heard of Yuri!!! on ICE. This sports anime focused on the relationship between Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki and Russian figure-skating champion Victor Nikiforov, and it took the world by storm due to, and in spite of, heavy visual censorship. Victoria watched this show as it was released and remembers all the...

Time waits for no one… even if you have the power to time travel! On today’s episode, we’re talking about Mamoru Hosoda’s 2006 animated film: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Victoria discovered it by complete chance while procrastinating on homework one day and it quickly became one of her all-time favorite movies. Jino was surprised by how the protagonist Makoto tumbles and falls her way through...

We’re back to the world of Haikyuu!! with the highly anticipated 2024 movie: The Dumpster Battle. This time, we also read the entire arc in the manga in order to get the full scope of the story. Victoria was excited to re-experience (cry about) this game for the third time from a more analytical lens. Jino appreciated the way the movie captured the frenetic energy of a real volleyball game, while...

We love rodent media here at Nostalgia Club and today we’re following the journey of a deer mouse named Poppy! This book by Avi captured our hearts and surprised us with its message about propaganda and living under a dictator. Victoria read this as a kid, but had almost forgotten about it until stumbling across the book cover. Jino and Michael are first time readers, and thus have many thoughts a...

On this week’s episode, we’re doing something a little different with our very first Q&A! We asked you, our lovely listeners, what you wanted to know about us, and we got so many fun questions. From podcast logistics (How do we juggle our day jobs with podcasting?) to our best attempt at delivering hot takes (they may be lukewarm at best), here are all the answers you’ve been waiting to hear....

At long last, we’ve come to the end of our journey through The Bartimaeus Sequence. With our reading of Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud the cycle of empire is complete! …Well, sort of. This book takes many turns, and those turns took us by storm! Jino absorbed the entire text in, like, a day, and Victoria remained deeply affected well after turning the final page. Michael had fun too. He really...

You don’t wanna get yeerked! Today we are (finally) exploring the harrowing world of the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate, just after its 30th anniversary. None of us ever dared to read these books as kids, so we invited the best expert we know to lead us on this journey: Livi Dom! She’s read all 62 books and she’s here to make sure we get all the facts straight, even if she needs to use thought...

Prepare for trouble! We’re starting off Season 6 with a highly requested dive into the world of Pokémon! This episode will focus primarily on the first season of Pokémon: Indigo League, but we also meander to other aspects of the Pokémon world. Jino reminisces about improbable evolution playground rumors, Michael recalls the secret to getting two Feraligatrs in Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Victori...

The time has come, dear listener, to close the chapter on Season 5. In Part 2 of our recap, we look at our episodes from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH to Despicable Me. What a range! Tune in as we get unusually philosophical about the pros and cons of filler episodes, binge watching vs. weekly releases, and lost media.  Join us for the first episode of Season 6 in 2 weeks! If you’d like to know...

We’re back from our post-Season 5 break, so what a great time to look back on the fun episodes we had, from High School Musical to Geronimo Stilton! As usual, we’ve got some final thoughts on these properties, as well as more personal stories & tangents we forgot to tell in the main episode. Victoria shares the most iconic Sasuke and Sharpay Open RP thread from Tumblr and Jino and Michael try...

FREEZE RAY!! It’s the Season 5 finale of Nostalgia Club, and you know what that means… another cursed, animated classic! This one comes in the form of Despicable Me (2010), though according to Jino, the movie isn’t cursed so much as ~surrounded~ by cursed energy. Victoria knows this personally, and she shares her own deep lore cut from the banana-y cloth of the infamous minions! Also, Michael fina...

We pledge allegiance to the School of Rock, the 2003 movie that taught us that a little crime is fine as long as it inspires the kids. Joining us is Mitra, a professional Jack Black appreciator who basically has this whole thing memorized. She leads Victoria, Michael, and Jino in their analysis of these incredibly talented kids, their secretly sad substitute teacher, and a principal who really des...

The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings. Today, we’re diving back into the world of The Hunger Games, but this time from the twisted perspective of Coriolanus Snow. Victoria loved rereading this book and picking out even more details that call back to other installments in the series. Jino was initially hesitant to read about a bad, bad man, but found value in following the journey of someo...

Get off of my back! And go watch Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Especially if you’re like Victoria, and enjoy watching this unbreakable horse do a lot of breaking men’s bones! But, you know, comedically! Jino and Michael track his many breaks from captivity, and countless more viewers feel the break in their hearts - for Spirit will submit to no rider, no matter the emotional bond. Unless, of c...

It’s finally here. The podcasting event of a lifetime that none of you have been waiting for because we didn’t warn you about it: The Rodents-With-Jobs-Battle-Royale-Bracket! Sixteen fictional rodents go head to head in a competition with only the vaguest set of criteria. Only one rodent with a job can be crowned the champion! Featuring hit competitors such as Matthias of Redwall, Master Splinter,...

Gather ‘round the summoning circle as we conjure up a doozy of an episode on The Golem’s Eye (2004), the second novel in the Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud! Michael returns to this childhood favorite for the first time in roughly two decades while Victoria and Jino explore it anew. Lucky for us, there are no spiritual contracts involved – only a lengthy plot synopsis wherein we explore the...