Nostalgia Club

Look up, and you may see a city in the Northern Lights! We’re so excited to be joined once again by Isabella Miller for this deep dive into The Golden Compass, the first book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. This was a childhood favorite for Victoria and Isabella, and a brand new journey for Jino and Michael to embark on. In this first book, we searched for answers to the series’ gre...

Hold onto your hats and get ready to move with Howl’s Moving Castle! We’re revisiting a collective favorite today in this 2004 animated Studio Ghibli film. No matter how many times we’ve watched it, there’s still a new way to interpret the film’s message. Victoria felt seen in the character of Old Lady Sophie, with some additional insights from the original book by Diana Wynne Jones. Michael loved...

Let’s get down to business! Today, we’re talking about the 1998 Disney animated film, Mulan, whose songs could always quickly get kids hyped up. This is a particularly personal episode, as both Jino and Michael were involved in theatrical performances based on Mulan - who would’ve thought! Victoria unfortunately had no such stage experiences, but she similarly grew up loving the movie, as well as...

Honk! Did you understand that? If not, maybe you just have to spend more time listening to geese. Today we are journeying to the kingdom of Bayern with Princess Ani in Shannon Hale’s “The Goose Girl”, a truly wonderful and comforting read. As a big fan of fairy tale retellings, Victoria read all the Books of Bayern as a kid. Upon re-reading The Goose Girl, she was reminded once again of how the au...

This episode is about to be yoicks because we’re talking about The Guardians of Ga’hoole! If you read this series as a kid, then you must know a lot about owls, including all the unique vocabulary of this owl society created by the talented Kathryn Lasky (make sure you don’t go yeep!). For this episode, we read the first two books - The Capture and The Journey, where we follow Soren and his friend...

Oya? Oya oya? We’re returning to the intense world of high school volleyball in today’s episode where we’re covering Season 2 of Haikyuu!! (Be sure to check out Episode 43 where we began the saga if you haven’t already.) This is Victoria’s all-time favorite season, with high stakes volleyball games and a lot of great character development too. Jino was happy to finally have context for all the mem...

When there’s trouble you know who to call - it’s the Teen Titans! In this episode, we dive deep into this iconic animated series. The first episode Michael ever saw was Date With Destiny, which quickly got him invested in the Robin & Starfire dynamic. Jino tried to watch the series in college and couldn’t get into it, but the characters still became familiar to him through fanart and other DC...

Have you ever wondered if you might be related to a famous person? How about every famous person in history? Well, if you’re part of the Cahill family, you don’t have to wonder - you definitely are! That’s right, today we’re talking about The 39 Clues. These adventure novels not only taught kids about history and (somewhat questionable) science, but they also marketed themselves as an immersive ex...

Are you kind, honest, selfless, intelligent, or brave? Then you might belong in the world of Divergent… as long as you don’t value more than one of those traits at a time! Or something like that? Today, we’re giving our honest critiques and analysis of Veronica Roth’s debut novel. Victoria enjoyed this series as a teen, but now as an adult she’s not so sure the worldbuilding and romance lands for...

Let that rat cook! We’re firing up Season 4 by combining two of our favorite Nostalgia Club topics: rodents with society + food!! You’ll probably want to grab some strawberries with cheese, or even cook up a whole pot of soup, because our discussion of Ratatouille is sure to make you hungry. Michael sings a beautiful rendition of “Le Festin”, Jino applauds the clever worldbuilding disguised as foo...

Season 3 comes to an end as we share our final thoughts on Part 2 of our season recap. This one covers our episodes from Pacific Rim to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (bet you don’t see those two titles written together often). We get some more context for Lloyd Alexander’s process developing The Chronicles of Prydain, Victoria shares how her high school orchestra experience was just like...

We’re back from our Season 3 hiatus (check out Ghost InSpectors, now available on all podcast platforms) and we’re diving right into Part 1 our recap episodes! From life-changing Avatar: The Last Airbender concerts to alternate outcomes for The Hunger Games to the very random tangents in between. And for the first time ever, we also briefly discuss the new media we’ve been reading lately! No nosta...

Squeak!! To wrap up Season 3 on a chaotic note, we’ve decided to talk about Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (no, we did not watch the 1st movie), where several singing chipmunks take the stage to… conquer high school? Jino was astounded by the all-star cast, which included legends like Bridgit Mendler, Sean Astin, and Eda the Owl Lady??? Victoria found the movie to be extremely stressful,...

Courage friends, as we take up our sewing needles and descend into The Tale of Despereaux. This little book packs a lot of heart, so much so that Jino walked away bamboozled by its themes. Luckily Michael and Victoria are here to help examine the book’s nuanced approach to empathy and forgiveness, while comparing and contrasting this heroic mouse with Mattias of Redwall fame. Join us as we discuss...

Today we’re paying homage to some of the most memorable picture books that were read to us as kids, and we’ll do our best to describe the illustrations to you in audio! Jino wonders if the union of cows in Click, Clack, Moo gave up their form of communication too quickly. Michael’s reading of The Runaway Bunny has us reflecting on times we threatened to “run away” before realizing we’d never make...

Rooooollliinnnnggg Thunnderrr!!! Brush up on your volleyball knowledge because today, we’re talking about Haikyuu!! This iconic sports anime is one of Victoria’s all-time favorites and she’s very excited to launch her co-hosts into the fandom with the power of an ace spiker! Jino was reminded of his high school athletics days and recognized the passion of his teammates in the show’s characters (ev...

Calling this meeting to order, because this week’s episode is all about The Baby-Sitters Club! Victoria frequently read the books and graphic novels as a kid and she loved how the characters and town felt like a living, breathing place. Michael appreciated how the series addresses serious topics like bodily autonomy with grace and empathy, and Jino had a personal epiphany about his own psyche than...

This week we’re trying something brand new: diving into 2 series that we’ve never read before! The Meg Mackintosh Mysteries by Lucinda Landon follow the titular character as she solves cases with the help of the reader. That’s right, we’re trying to solve a mystery on the fly! Will we succeed? Or will the true culprit escape our observation? We also discuss the first book in The Dragon Slayers Aca...

We’re visiting the spirit realm in this week’s episode about Spirited Away by Studio Ghibli! Hayao Miyazaki’s movies are intensely nostalgic for all three of us. Victoria watched Spirited Away three times in a row the first time she rented it, while the piano score always blasts Jino back to quiet childhood mornings. Michael fawns over the incredible attention to detail, especially during Haku’s f...

Dear listener, we’ve arrived at the end of our journey through The Chronicles of Prydain. And what a delightful time it’s been! In this episode, we talk about Book 5: The High King (check out Episodes 29 & 39 for Books 1-4) with a heartwarming conclusion to Taran’s character arc. Michael reflects on Eilonwy’s portrayal in the series and how an adaptation could further explore her story. Jino a...

We’re delighted to be returning to The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, and this time, we’ve read all the way through to the end! In this episode, we go over Books 3 and 4: The Castle of Llyr and Taran Wanderer (Part 2 is coming next week, we just had so much to say!). Jino compares the enchantress Achren to a cat and Victoria discovers a character even more unlikeable than Gwystl. Meanwh...

BWAAMP. We’re stomping into today’s episode about Pacific Rim (2013), the best mecha monster film this side of the Breach. Jino and Michael interview Victoria about her deep love for this movie and her mysterious fandom backstory. Michael and Victoria investigate an alternative universe with Mako as the main character, and Jino complains about what the sequel did to his two sciency boys. Join us a...

We’re back with part two (three?) of our Suzanne Collins extravaganza: The Hunger Games! Victoria explains how the theme of love isn’t just marketing, but crucial to the message of the books. Michael appreciated the additional Gamemaker scenes in the movies and the political complexity they presented, and Jino still can’t get over the official Hanging Tree Club Remix. Join us as we discuss our tra...

The prophecy foretold we’d return to The Underland Chronicles… if you believe in that sort of thing. We’re visiting the rest of this incredible book series we first discussed all the way back in Episode 2, and Jino’s ready to atone for some summarizing sins. Michael returns to finish a story he began as a child, and Victoria is left devastated by the depressing yet poignant conclusion. Tune in to...

Some… BODY once told me that we’re talking about Shrek (2001), origin of the Dreamworks Smirk and ten-thousand cursed memes. Victoria watched the first movie regularly growing up and was particularly fascinated with Fiona’s explosive singing. Michael praises the movie’s quiet contemplation and excellent dialogue, and Jino recounts the time he was forced to watch Shrek 2 upon threat of social ostra...