Send us a text Details from a breathtaking road trip to Northern New England. 1980s diet and exercise fad fails. Another Top 5 with an AI challenger. Episode 162 runs the gamut of past, present, and future. It begins with Part 1 of a recent 3-day road trip into New Hampshire, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. What places are worth visiting? What …

Send us a text A movie so bad my grandmother made us walk out? Passing fads of the 1970s? A remix from the first episode of the podcast? Episode 161 looks ahead toward the fall while looking back with a heavy dose of nostalgia. It kicks off with a movie widely considered to be one of the worst of the 1980s. Howard the Duck was a somewhat popular Ma…

Send us a text Famous and infamous tabloid talk shows. Some of the myths you believed growing up. How school was different in the 1980s. Episode 160 of the podcast is a trip back in time as kids go back to school. It begins with some shows that might have been on rotation during school sick days in the 80s. With the recent death of pioneering talk …

Send us a text What was Grunge Culture? What were some of the most memorable commercial jingles of the 1980s? What were some of the most dangerous toys ever made? Whose birthday is the same day as when this podcast drops? Episode 159 attempts to answer these questions. It begins with a look at Grunge music. However, this goes far deeper into the cu…

Send us a text Fights to the death between clay versions of celebrities? Some of the weirdest but true news stories of the 1970s? My favorite athletes of the 90s? How could so much fun nostalgia be stuffed into one show? Carefully. Episode 158 starts with news stories from the 1970s that are weird for different reasons. Some are hilarious, some are…

Send us a text Getting paid full-time to sit at home for 9 months. The brief resurgence of Swing music in the 1990s. The top-ranked 80s movies as chosen by the people. Episode 157 of the podcast ranges from the unbelievable but true, to the meta nostalgia of nostalgia itself. It kicks off with Restaurant Storytime 9. In this installment, I tell the…

Send us a text A sequel to a beloved music festival. The OG of reality TV shows. Some of the weirdest video games Atari could create. Episode 156 of the podcast will combine the warm and fuzzy with the confusing as we travel through the halls of nostalgia. It kicks off with a trip back 30 years. The original Woodstock was a seminal moment of the 20…

Send us a text Memories of visiting local county fairs. The 1970s teach you about bus safety. Some classic 1970s teen movies. Episode 155 of the podcast is making a pit stop in the swinging 70s. It all starts with the history and memories of county fairs. On Cape Cod, the Barnstable County Fair has been a summer staple for well over 150 years. What…

Send us a text 50 years ago in July 1974, Ruth Marie Terry, the woman who would be known as The Lady of the Dunes for most of that time, was murdered and left in the remote dunes of the Province Lands in Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Longtime listeners of the podcast know of my connection to this case. I wrote a book, Searching for the L…

Send us a text Don't catch dysentery on the Oregon Trail. What spelled doom for McDonaldland? Some of the most accomplished musicians nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award. Episode 153 brings all the nostalgia you could possibly want. The show kicks off with a favorite memory of many school-aged kids of the 1980s and 1990s. Oregon Trail was more t…

Send us a text The anniversary of the OG of found-footage movies, Blair Witch Project. The trailblazing but ultimately failed attempt of the Sega Channel. The best As-Seen-On-TV products. Episode 152 is like an infomercial for nostalgia. We start with the ingenious trauma caused by the Blair Witch Project. 25 years ago this groundbreaking film expe…

Send us a text A look back at the second half of 1994's year in music. Some beloved children's clothing brands of the 1980s. Iconic ice cream truck treats. Episode 151 of the podcast is diving headlong into the Fourth of July weekend with boatloads of nostalgia. It starts with a look at how we dressed in the 1980s. Several quintessential brands ado…

Send us a text It's Listener's Choice as we celebrate 150 episodes of the podcast! All that is a part of this week's show was chosen by you, the listeners. Episode 150 kicks off with a new edition of the vintage employee training videos segment. This time we are going all the way back to 1988 to find out what goes into making pizzas at Pizza Hut. S…

Send us a text The brief time when Boston had it's own music television station. The financial catastrophe of the bursting of the dot-com bubble. The highest-rated television show episodes ever. Episode 149 of the podcast turns up the heat with nostalgia as summer kicks off. As MTV was conquering cable television in the early 1980s a Boston-based r…

Send us a text A pet story that needs to be heard to be believed. The anniversary of the world's most popular Napoleon. Some people who had their 15 minutes of fame in the 1980s. Episode 148 of the podcast is a crazy collection of nostalgic fun. We kick the show off with an anniversary. 20 years ago this week a small, low-budget indie flick burst o…

Send us a text Could a mascot really tank a fast food franchise? Some of the weirdest jobs ever, including ones you can apply for today. The parody stickers Gen-X kids loved. Episode 147 starts June off with some fun and unusual nostalgia. Some advertising mascots become iconic. They seep into the very fabric of our consciousness. Then there's Mr. …

Send us a text A new battle for supremacy with AI. A time before bloopers and practical jokes went viral. TV shows that were here and gone in the blink of an eye. Episode 146 ushers in the unofficial start of summer with plenty of blistering nostalgia. It kicks off with the return of Blink & You'll Miss It Retro. In this installment, we look at a s…

Send us a text Sharpening young minds with some 1980s kids' television shows. Melting young minds in the 80s with Tetris. Some television channels that are no longer around. Episode 145 rings in summer (unofficially) as Memorial Day Weekend approaches. The show kicks off with some of the shows that helped teach the youth of the 1980s. Spanning math…

Send us a text The 30th anniversary of the movie The Crow. Some amazing diet and exercise fad fails of the 1970s. MTV shows that came and went in the 1980s. The very first McDonald's restaurant. Episode 144 will super-size your nostalgia cravings. It kicks off with a look back at the movie The Crow on the week of its 30th anniversary. Marred somewh…

Send us a text The beloved Sweet Pickles books. Some forgotten 90s musical acts. The most toxic workplace I've experienced. Episode 143 of the podcast has a bit of everything. It begins with the return of a podcast staple, Restaurant Storytime. This 8th installment is a segment 143 episodes in the making. Toxic workplaces are unfortunately all too …

Send us a text Celebrating the 90th anniversary of the iconic comedy group The Three Stooges. An educational short film about life in 1800. Some long-forgotten discontinued sodas. Episode 142 of the podcast covers a lot of ground. It begins with a look at the Three Stooges and their legacy in comedy as their very first short film Woman Haters debut…

Send us a text Was the Winnebago Man truly the Angriest Man In America? Were any of these board games on your family fun nights in the 1980s? How about some of the forgotten 1970s cartoons? Episode 141 of the podcast is unique in a few ways. It includes a first, that being a review of a full documentary, The Winnebago Man. Jack Rebney became a vira…

Send us a text The rise and fall, and rise again(possibly) of Ames Department Stores. Old school trips to the mall to get professional photos taken. The best-selling Atari 2600 games ever. Episode 140 returns after a week off filled with fun nostalgia. It begins with the story of a Northeast staple for decades. Generations of those who grew up in t…

Send us a text The death of a Gen-X icon 30 years later. Memories of Old Country Buffet plus tips on how to be a meat carver. Some heavy-hitting stores that closed in the 1980s and 1990s. The legacy of TV Guide magazine. Episode 139 of the podcast runs the gamut from heavy to light but is filled with nostalgia. 30 years ago this week the world of m…

Send us a text Some of the biggest failures of 1990s products. Some of the most dangerous vehicles ever created. The rise of Napster and the dawn of music downloading in general. The nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island. Episode 138 of the podcast has warm and fuzzy nostalgia, horrific and scary events, some laughs and some head-shaking all in one…

Send us a text Products that were here and gone in a flash. A serious 70s educational short film with some underlying humor. One of the most infamous unsolved crimes of the 20th century. Some of the best long songs. Episode 137 has nostalgia in bloom as the calendar turns to spring. It begins with a look at some products that were here and gone so …

Send us a text Memories of when a trip to the video store was a must on a Friday night. What were the original games released with the Nintendo Entertainment System? How about the bad guys of advertising? Episode 136 is chock full of all of that and more! It begins with a time when renting movies was as much fun as watching them. In the days before…

Send us a text The Goonies as writing inspiration. Urban legends 1980s kids will remember. What music played on MTV's first day? Everyone has their origin story, how they ended up where they are or doing what they are doing. In Episode 135 of the podcast, I share my story of how I first got interested in being a writer. It goes all the way back to …

Subscriber-only episode Send us a text Hello subscribers! It's March, spring is arriving. The sun will bring some warmth and so will a new subscriber-only bonus episode of the podcast! This is the 6th monthly installment in the series where I review a blog I had written called Initial Impressions which I began in 2010. For those who might be new he…

Send us a text Some of the most memorable commercial jingles of the 90s. A trip back to Cape Cod's beloved Bassett's Wild Animal Farm. Historical Leap Day events. Episode 134 takes a trip back to simpler times. First, it begins with a trip back to the days when a petting zoo was popular entertainment. In the time before the Internet and smartphones…

Send us a text A driver's ed film that scarred children of the 1960s. Stories of my time as a degenerate Las Vegas gambler. Some of the best 1980s teen movies, and more. All of this is front and center on Episode 133 of the podcast. Las Vegas is called 'Sin City' for a reason. All of the excesses that you could want are within arms reach. Even if y…

Send us a text Happy Valentine's Day! Love is in the air on Episode 132 of the podcast. Helen Keller was an icon of the 20th century and a true testament to the will of the human spirit due to her achievements despite being rendered both bling and deaf at an early age. One of the loves of her life was the many trips that she made to Cape Cod during…

Send us a text It is the dead of winter and Episode 131 will try to bring the warmth. It begins with a trip back to a long-since-forgotten Cape Cod establishment. The Chequesset Inn of Wellfleet, the Grand Resort of the Outer Cape, was an oasis of luxury in the late 19th and early 20th century. However, it has been all but lost to time. We'll look …

Subscriber-only episode Send us a text Hello subscribers! It's February so here is a Valentine from me to you with a new subscriber-only bonus episode of the podcast! This is the 5th in the series where I review a blog I had written called Initial Impressions which I began in 2010. For those who might be new here this blog was meant to be a behind-…

Send us a text The first day at a new job can be exciting, it can also be nerve-racking. In Episode 130 of the podcast we look at a day of work that was a mixture of both. In Restaurant Storytime VII: A Great First Impression I share the details of my first shift ever in the hospitality industry. For it to be on the podcast you know it was not an o…

Send us a text Let's go to the mall! Words that were always music to the ears of anyone who grew up in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. A visit to the mall was always a special and exciting time back then. The indoor mall is still a popular destination today, however, its heyday was definitely the '70s through the '90s. You didn't need much money as the '…

Send us a text An AI Therapist? A Pixelated Talking Parrot? Ruining the Lives of Sims? These are just a few of the possibilities one could have found 30 years ago during the rise of the MS-DOS computer game. Episode 128 of the podcast will reminisce about some legendary titles that helped pave the way for the modern wonders of gaming. Mill Hill in …

Send us a text Have you ever wondered how to cook McDonald's Chicken McNuggets in excruciating detail? I know you have. Well, Episode 127 has the answer. It comes in the form of a wacky McDonald's training video from 1983 complete with classic food item puppets, ominous music, cheesy jokes, and stereotypes galore. Healthcare and hospitals are a 24-…

Send us a text Happy New Year! Throughout history there have been some odd ways to make money. For a time in the 19th century one such way was the collection and selling of bird poop, otherwise known as guano. In Episode 126 we will take a deep dive into the Pacific Guano Company of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, luckily from a safe distance. Why were …

Subscriber-only episode Send us a text Hello subscribers! It's a new year and a new subscriber-only bonus episode of the podcast! We begin 2024 by continuing to review a blog I had written called Initial Impressions. This blog was meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at my travel trips but ended up as a fever dream mix of random quotes, predictions…

Send us a text Happy Holidays! Episode 125 of the podcast is going to have your fill of warm, fuzzy memories. We will take a look back at what the holiday season was like in the 1980s and 1990s from Thanksgiving all the way through the day after Christmas. Looking through the Sears Wish Book, daydreaming of the toys seen in the commercials for Toys…

Send us a text Annoying Christmas Songs? A Kraft cooking infomercial disguised as a children's Christmas movie? Drunk nighttime photography? It's a fever dream masquerading as a winter wonderland on Episode 124 of the podcast. We begin with a new Dedication to the Craft segment dealing with nighttime photography. There will be some helpful tips on …

Send us a text Relationships can bring out the best and worst in people. On Episode 123 of the podcast, we look at an urban legend about the worst. The oddly placed Pink House of Plum Island, Massachusetts has two stories behind it. One is said urban legend, while the reality is far sadder. For those that love a winter wonderland this week's Road T…

Subscriber-only episode Send us a text Hello subscribers! Thank you for coming back for another subscriber-only bonus episode of the podcast. These are currently monthly episodes but that is always subject to change. We are continuing to review a blog I had written called Initial Impressions. This blog was meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at my…

Send us a text AI choosing the best 1980s professional wrestlers? Nostalgic grocery store trips? The internet is now retro? No, it's not a side effect of the Thanksgiving food coma, it's Episode 122 of the podcast! We kick off the episode with a look back at a Southern New England staple of decades past. For those in the area of a certain age, Ange…

Send us a text New Englanders it's time to pat ourselves on the back and humble-brag a little. Episode 121 of the podcast is chock full of some of the greatest inventions to ever be developed within the borders of the six New England states. This special bonus episode includes hugely important inventions like the sport of basketball, the telephone,…

Send us a text Episode 120 is chock full of fun, facts, and foolishness. We go way Back In the Day to look at an informative and well-intentioned, yet slightly fever dream-ish 1977 educational short film starring environmental PSA icon Woodsy Owl. Give a hoot and check the full video out here: Help Woodsy Spread the Word Today automobiles are commo…

Send us a text It is another special episode of the show this week as Episode 119 marks the 3-year anniversary of the podcast. We take a look back at the genesis of the show including a clip of my first intro in Episode 1, and how my sobriety was interwoven into the creation of the podcast. I also share words of encouragement for those who might wa…

Subscriber-only episode Send us a text Hello subscribers! Thank you for coming back for another subscriber-only bonus episode of the podcast. These are currently monthly episodes but that is always subject to change. We continue reviewing a blog I had written called Initial Impressions. This blog was meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at my trave…

Send us a text It's Birthday Week on Episode 118 of the podcast! There's a cause for celebration as I make another trip around the sun. What better way to reminisce than by looking at how a birthday evolves and changes as we age? Oh, and also there will be a makeshift Top 5 as I share some of the best(worst) birthday memories! From a celebration to…