The Latchkey Kids

The ubiquitous Hot Wheels car: it's flashy, fun, and affordable! The popular little model cars were an overnight sensation when they first came out in 1968 and they're still making grocery store toy aisles more fun for kids today. But what about Matchbox cars, you say? Learn all about the bloody, decades-long war between Matchbox and Hot Wheels on this episode of The Latchkey Kids!

Do you remember Rainbow Brite (or Regina Regenbogen, as she was known in Germany)? She was the yarn-headed, moon bootin' Punky Brewster of dolls and she was Dr. Amy's absolute FAVORITE! Why? We're not exactly sure. Perhaps it was the rainbow-themed wardrobe. Perhaps it was the awesome responsibility of controlling the world's supply of colors. Perhaps this week's episode of The...

Your favorite 80s nostalgia podcast has big plans for the future! Tune in to this week's Very Special Announcement to learn what's in store for our hardcore Latchkey Kids listeners ...

Aaron and Dr. Amy are here to pump you up with muscular icons of the 1980s! From Sly Stallone to Mike Tyson to a certain Austrian bodybuilder-turned-action hero-turned-governor, the 1980s was a glorious time of pumping iron, being sweaty, and taking copious amounts of steroids! Let's get physical, everyone!

What better way to celebrate the 100th episode of The Latchkey Kids than with a long-promised deep dive into our parents' divorce? Tune into this episode to hear how it all unfolded, the different ways we reacted, and how the events of that fateful day in 1987 shaped the rest of our lives. It's a divorce-themed "Very Special" episode!

Of course, the Wonderful World of Disney has been around for 100 years (even longer then The Latchkey Kids!) and is going stronger today than ever before. But did you know that during the 1980s, The Mouse actually went through a bit of a "dark" period, when experimental Disney films, often with darker themes, failed to excite audiences? Listen to this week's Happiest Podcast Episode...

Grab your junk food, Ouija board, and Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag, latchkey kids, because it's time to head over to your bestie's house for an all-night binge of MTV and Domino's Pizza! It's sleepover time on this week's episode. Or is it called a slumber party?

Marco ... Polo ...... Marco ........ fish out of water! It's summertime, latchkey kids, and it's time to hit the pool! What kinds of pool games did you play? Beach ball toss? Diving board shenanigans? An elaborate system of poolside basketball fashioned out of a lawn chair and a bucket of water? Well, if you were Aaron and Dr. Amy, you did ALL of those things AND you played ... bumper butt...

WOW WOW WOW. There is a point in this podcast episode (we're not going to tell you where; you'll have to find it for yourself) where Dr. Amy belts out an absolutely soaring, majestic rendition of the classic Poison tune "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Amy DOES NOT HOLD BACK. It's inspirational. You're not going to believe it.

Eighties dads were the coolest! They all had mustaches, chest hair, and red Ferrari Testarossas that they drove home form their cool jobs at the high-paying advertising firm. It's hard to pick the best 80s dad with all the great competition - Jason Seaver, Cliff Huxtable, Phillip Drummond, and many more - but for Aaron and Dr. Amy, there's only one King of the Dads - Kenny Selbig!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... there was a guy named George Lucas who had one of the most brilliant, creative minds the world has ever known but ALSO had a terrible penchant for making dumb decisions regarding the space world he created ... like almost cutting Yoda OUT of Return of the Jedi! Can you imagine?! Listen to this episode to hear Aaron once again go completely nuts over th...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ... there was a movie studio that needed to capitalize on a surprise hit space opera film that featured light sabres and weird creatures and perhaps the greatest, scariest movie bad guy of all time. So what did they do? They made a sequel where the bad guy is THE DAD OF THE GOOD GUY! Can you believe that?! Isn't that ridiculous? Tune into this episode...

WE MUST! WE MUST! WE MUST EXPRESS OUR LOVE AND ADMIRATION FOR JUDY BLUME IN THIS EPISODE OF THE LATCHKEY KIDS!

The 1980s truly was a golden age for great gadgets and gizmos. Did you ever send a fax while listening to your Walkman? Return a call from your beeper only to get an answering machine? Clap off your lights after you're done using your Dustbuster? If you know what these things are, this episode is for you!

Were you an early bird like Dr. Amy or a night owl like Aaron? If you stayed up late, you probably remember when TV used to actually SHUT DOWN at midnight every night. But before midnight, we would be entertained by the kings of late night TV — woof woof-ing with Arsenio Hall, doing stupid human tricks with David Letterman, or getting tucked into bed by Johnny.

From Phil Donahue running frantically around with his microphone, to the salacious spectacle of Geraldo Rivera and Jerry Springer, to The Queen herself, Aaron and Dr. Amy recount the rise of the daytime talk show during the 1980s. So if you're home sick from school and there's nothing else on right now, give this week's episode a listen!

Of course everyone knows about Madonna and Sean Penn, or Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, but thanks to the tireless, painstaking research of Dr. Amy we now know that for a little while in the 1980s, Tom Cruise dated Cher! I mean HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! Isn't she like a foot taller than him? Did he need a stepladder to kiss her?!

Are you - like Sheena or Judy from Ramones fame - a punk rocker? Who was your favorite punk band back in the day? Did you mosh to the political satire of the Dead Kennedys? Did you pogo to the gritty sounds of The Clash? Do you know what "gobbing" is, or do you even want to know? Then listen to DJ Aaron and Dr. Amy reminisce about the punk rock movement of the 70s and 80s.

In part two of our "Battle of the Sexes" toy competition, G.I. Joe is coming in hot! The Joes are sweaty, muscular, and ARE DEFINITELY NOT DOLLS! They have supercool tanks, Jeeps, and helicopters, and they ARE ACTION FIGURES, NOT DOLLS!!! Anyway, enjoy this episode, which covers the history and legacy of G.I. Joe (which is definitely not a doll).

She's blonde. She's plastic. She's 5'9" and 110 lbs. (not making that up). She's a former flight attendant, fashion editor, astronaut, surgeon, military officer, and presidential candidate. She's Barbie! The most popular doll of all time that has been going strong since she first arrived on the toy scene in 1959. Listen to this week's episode for facts (fun and oth...

Did lawn Jarts ever put you in the emergency room? What did you do with all your Shrinky Dinks? On this week's episode, Aaron and Dr. Amy remember all the bad toys of our childhoods — the disappointing, the creepy, and the downright dangerous. 

Do you remember your first VCR? The awesome power that came with the ability to rewind, pause and fast forward? When Aaron and Dr. Amy were first introduced to the mind-blowing concept of the neighborhood video store, they knew what to do — watch "Howard the Duck" and "The Neverending Story" on loop for an entire weekend. Get your popcorn and listen to episode 47. 

The year 1985 had the best of everything. It was the year "Back to the Future" came out. It was the year parachute pants became a craze with teenage boys all over the country. And it had some of the biggest music moments of the 1980s. From Madonna to Tears for Fears to "We Are the World," let's explore the auditory delights of 1985.

Put on your puffy vest, slide into your DeLorean, and pop some Huey Lewis and the News into the cassette player because we are going back ... TO THE FUTURE! Join Dr. Amy and brother Aaron for a deep dive into possibly the most 1980s movie ever made. And remember — where we're going, we don't need roads. 

Aaron and Dr. Amy wrap up a weeklong visit, during which they discovered In-N-Out Burger's "secret" menu, hit the roller rink for TWO nights of retro fun, mastered the fine art of the mall walk, and spotted an ultra rare silver DeLorean in the wild! All that plus some profound life advice on this week's episode of The Latchkey Kids.