Pop Culture Preservation Society

Friday the 13th. Halloween. Amitytville Horror. Poltergeist. The Wizard of Oz. In this Halloween-week episode we're diving into the very first horror movies that basically broke our kid brains—the ones we dared ourselves to watch through our hands, that made us sprint up the stairs in the dark to the safety of our bedrooms but then we had to check and double-check under our beds and in our closets every night. The horror movies of the 70s and 80s that we first saw — most likely at a sleepover —gave our pre-pubescent brains everything we needed to fill our nightmares for life, and we’re not only sharing our own memories but those of many of our listeners’. Which 1970 blockbuster tops the list? The answer might surprise you!Subscribe to our Substack newsletter hereClick here for a year of Remind Magazine for only $12.Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.Subscribe to our YouTube channel hereFollow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTokSupport the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation hereSubscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" hereSend us an email at [email protected] Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today’s episode, we’re finally getting to the movie "9 to 5," a revolutionary, rebellious, and brazenly political movie that had the whole world laughing – while also giving birth to a new vocabulary word: sexual harassment. The movie "9 to 5" has always been about one thing – discrimination of women in the workplace – but as time goes on, we have a much bigger appreciation for how truly radical it was. With fantasy sequences about job sharing, flexible work hours, and onsite childcare, "9 to 5" created aspirations for the modern day workplace while also exposing the oppression, discrimination, and predation many women experienced at the hands of their male bosses. And they did it all via the medium of comedy. Join us as we compare our perceptions of the movie in 1980 versus 2026 and struggle with the question “so are we better off today? Or not?”Subscribe to our Substack newsletter hereClick here for a year of Remind Magazine for only $12.Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.Subscribe to our YouTube channel hereFollow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTokSupport the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation hereSubscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" hereSend us an email at [email protected] Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We’re giving you a sneak peek into our 20th SEASON … and trust us, it’s worthy of that monumental distinction! We’ll kick off the season with an in-depth look at the movie “9 to 5.” Did we comprehend how truly radical and political and IMPORTANT that 10/10 comedy was in 1980?! And then we’ll give you the inside scoop on the other pop-culture nuggets we hope to be saving over the next few months, including not one but TWO celebrity interviews (if one of them is with two people, can we count that as THREE??). It’s a good time to be 20, and the Pop Culture Preservation Society knows it!Subscribe to our Substack newsletter hereClick here for a year of Remind Magazine for only $12.Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.Subscribe to our YouTube channel hereFollow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTokSupport the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation hereSubscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" hereSend us an email at [email protected] Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We dug this recording out of the vault, recorded long ago, after the finale of Stranger Things aired on New Year's Eve 2025. But the timing didn't work out and the recording got shelved. Today -- what seems like old news is relevant again as gen x bashing (or what we like to call "Gen X Misunderstanding") bubbles up on social media alongside myriad rants and hilarious Gen X clapbacks. What happened as the closing credits rolled on The Stranger Things finale was an outpouring of love from Gen Xers. Whether or not the creators intended the show to be a love letter to Gen X, it definitely felt that way. It lifted up a whole generation of people who took to social media to express all the ways the show made them feel seen. So with no planning or forethought, Carolyn and Kristin sat down at the mics to quickly capture how the show made them feel -- how the music of the 80s shaped who we are, how Gen Xers get sh*t done, or how the single moms of the 80s kept the whole world afloat and definitely deserve the opportunity to whack some bad guy with an ax. You don't have to be a Stranger Things fan to feel those things deeply. You don't even have to watch the show yourself! Just know that we see you. And so does Stranger Things.Generations by Jean TwengeSubscribe to our Substack newsletter hereClick here for a year of Remind Magazine for only $12.Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.Subscribe to our YouTube channel hereFollow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTokSupport the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation hereSubscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" hereSend us an email at [email protected] Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This episode is a recap of Kristin's experience at STAND BY ME LIVE, a screening of the 1986 movie followed by a Q&A with the film's stars, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell and Corey Feldman. As the movie celebrates its 40th birthday, we now see it through an adult lens that reveals a far more profound and emotional story about young boys and friendship, a perspective we didn't have as teens in the 80s. The film's stars clearly shared a bond forged in childhood and they held up Rob Reiner as one of the few directors they worked with who cherished them and allowed them to be children. Stand By Me Live felt like a tribute to childhood friendships and a memorial for the dearly departed Rob Reiner. Visit standbymelive.com to see if there's a show near you.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter hereClick here for a year of Remind Magazine for only $12.Shop our link at bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and the PCPS.Subscribe to our YouTube channel hereFollow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTokSupport the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation hereSubscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" hereSend us an email at [email protected] Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands