The Con Men Show

The Con Men!

The Con Men Show is a weekly conversation between Dan w/ deckr.media and Adrian w/ Nerd @ Heart. From comics, movies, television, video games, conventions, toys, and technology... through unexpected rabbit holes... every episode is an honest, humorous exploration of the fandoms and stories that shaped us. It's less a lecture and more a conversation between friends—equal parts nostalgia, curiosity, and laughs. Pull up a chair and join us!

  1. 4d ago

    Nostalgia Philosophiæ

    Course Description PHIL 042: Nostalgia Philosophiæ is an interdisciplinary seminar examining the philosophical, cultural, and occasionally absurd nature of nostalgia, vintage media, and the collective memory of Generation X. Through case studies including Rush, Super Mario Bros. 3, The Wizard, Cheech & Chong, Popeye, The Honeymooners, Robin Williams, The Golden Girls, and the USS Flagg, students will investigate the criteria by which ordinary objects transcend age to become cultural artifacts. Primary questions include: When does something become vintage? Is nostalgia measured in years, craftsmanship, or emotional resonance? What distinguishes retro from vintage? Why do conventions exist, and what role do they play in preserving popular culture? Can Popeye simultaneously exist as a comic strip, radio serial, cartoon, feature film, arcade game, and nostalgic touchstone? Topics include the preservation of childhood media, inherited cultural memory, classic television, early video games, toys as historical artifacts, the evolution of counterculture into mainstream culture, and the strange realization that the things we grew up with are now museum pieces. By the conclusion of this lecture, students should possess a greater appreciation for the cultural archaeology hidden within everyday entertainment—and perhaps accept the uncomfortable truth that they, too, may now qualify as vintage. Required Listening: This episode. Recommended Reading: Whatever comic book, VHS tape, cassette, or game cartridge happens to be closest to your chair. Office Hours: Every Tuesday, wherever two nerds accidentally begin discussing something from forty years ago.

  2. Aug 7

    Marking Time...

    The people who shaped your childhood don’t stay forever — but the things they gave you do. The news of Sam Neill’s death sends Dan and Adrian down a winding road through the actors, musicians, comedians and cultural icons who became fixtures in their lives. From Jurassic Park and a 33-year-old movie ticket to James Earl Jones, Sean Connery, David Bowie, Leonard Nimoy, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, George Burns, Vincent Price, Princess Diana, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Neil Peart, Freddie Mercury, Alan Rickman and more, this isn’t really an episode about death. It’s about legacy. It’s about realizing that a voice, a movie, a song or a ridiculous joke can become a timestamp in your own life — and that sometimes losing the person behind it feels strangely like losing a little piece of your childhood with them. Naturally, somewhere along the way William Shatner becomes “Billy S***s,” Dragonheart is placed on trial, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen receives the faintest praise ever committed to podcast, and Dan reveals that Tom Clancy and Trent Reznor have something in common with the 40-year-old Macintosh currently sitting at his feet. Because this is still The Con Men Show. Who’s the actor, musician, creator or cultural icon you still miss?

  3. Jul 31

    SDCC 2026: Hype, Hope, & Hollywood

    San Diego Comic-Con 2026 has come and gone, and Dan and Adrian are unpacking everything that mattered—from Marvel's next big swing to DC's Lanterns, Spaceballs 2, Ghost Rider, Black Panther 3, Resident Evil, Rings of Power, and everything in between. Along the way they celebrate Rick Moranis' triumphant return, debate the future of interconnected cinematic universes, lament the lack of Star Trek news during its 60th anniversary, and somehow end up discussing GI Joe convention exclusives, Twilight Zone festivals, and why Comic-Con isn't really about comic books anymore.

    SDCC 2026: Hype, Hope, & Hollywood

  4. Jul 24

    The Games That Played Us

    From Pong to PlayStation. From Atari to Xbox. This week, we're taking a long walk through video game history... not as historians, but as the kids who actually lived it. Dan and Adrian swap stories about growing up during the golden age of gaming, remember the console wars between Nintendo and Sega, revisit the arcades that emptied our pockets, and celebrate the games that became more than entertainment. Along the way, they dive into Halo LAN parties, GoldenEye sleepovers, Mass Effect, Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Spy Hunter, Mortal Kombat, and dozens more classics that shaped an entire generation. Whether you remember renting a console in the blue plastic cases, reading Nintendo Power cover-to-cover, or arguing over which system was better, this episode is for anyone who ever picked up a controller and never really put it down.

    The Games That Played Us

  5. Jul 17

    Fusion Jazz, But Not As Smart

    What begins with Cotton Bureau notifications, AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail,” Jimmy Stewart impressions, and the Mandela Effect eventually becomes an exploration of the movie soundtracks and scores that permanently lodged themselves in Dan and Adrian’s brains. The pair dig into why people so confidently misremember pop-culture history, from “Luke, I am your father” to Sinbad’s nonexistent genie movie, before finally remembering that they intended to discuss soundtracks. From there, the conversation moves through the glory days when movies came bundled with original songs, genre-spanning compilation albums, and music videos that were nearly as important as the films themselves. Dan and Adrian revisit Prince’s Batman album, Weird Al’s UHF soundtrack, The Crow, Singles, Judgment Night, Spawn, Batman Forever, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I Am Sam, The Fifth Element, and plenty more. Along the way, they discuss Vanilla Ice’s suspiciously convenient Ninja Rap, Aerosmith’s revival through Run-DMC, the cultural power of “Kiss from a Rose,” and the lost art of giving heroes instantly recognizable musical themes. The conversation closes with an important statistical discovery: nearly every episode of The Con Men Show contains a Star Trek reference. The three that do not must either be repaired—or buried beneath enough future episodes to become statistically insignificant. It’s memory, music, movies, and nostalgia, played like fusion jazz—but not as smart.

    Fusion Jazz, But Not As Smart

  6. Jul 10

    The Toys That Made Us... Buy Them Again

    What childhood toy would you buy back today, regardless of how financially irresponsible the decision might be? Dan and Adrian rummage through the toy boxes of their youth, revisiting everything from Figment, Merlin, Speak & Spell, and Computertron to He-Man, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Boglins, Dino-Riders, Captain Power, and vintage Star Trek figures. They talk about the toys they kept, the collections they lost, the friends who owned the playsets nobody else could afford, and the brutal adult cost of replacing Optimus Prime’s missing hands. They also explore the wonderfully questionable safety standards of 1980s toys, including sparks, cap guns, slime, and toy weapons that looked considerably more convincing than they probably should have. It’s an hour of childhood memories, collector goblin behavior, thoughtful discussion about cartoons as storytelling, and the inevitable Star Trek reference. Tell us: What toy survived your childhood, what toy disappeared, and what toy are you still trying to buy back?

    The Toys That Made Us... Buy Them Again

  7. Jul 2

    The Comics That Made Us

    Every fan has an origin story. This week, Dan and Adrian trace the roots of comic conventions back to the 1960s before diving into the comics, characters, and moments that shaped their own fandoms. From the earliest Comic-Cons and the rise of San Diego Comic-Con to first comic books, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, MAD Magazine, and the changing landscape of collecting, the conversation becomes a nostalgic tour through decades of geek culture. Along the way they revisit the birth of cable television, remember growing up alongside MTV, Nickelodeon, and FOX, discuss why some 1990s comics never became retirement plans, and share what they’re currently reading and watching—including Spider-Man Noir, GI Joe, Robotech, and more. Whether you grew up reading comics until the staples gave out or discovered superheroes through Saturday morning cartoons, this episode is a trip back to where it all started.

    The Comics That Made Us

  8. Jun 25

    They Ruined Your Childhood

    This week on The Con Men Show, Adrian and Dan take a nostalgia-fueled run through the strange, glorious, and occasionally cursed world of cartoons that became movies, movies that became cartoons, and toy lines that became entire childhood operating systems. The conversation starts with Masters of the Universe, from He-Man lore and the Sword of Power to the 1987 Cannon Films live-action movie, Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella’s Skeletor, budget shortcuts, and why setting Eternia mostly on Earth still feels like a crime scene with shoulder pads. From there, the guys dive into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: The Movie, G.I. Joe: The Movie, The Smurfs, Star Wars animation and live-action crossovers, GoBots, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Super Mario Bros., and the long list of shows still begging for the big-screen treatment. Along the way: Optimus Prime trauma, Duke’s suspiciously convenient coma, Sergeant Slaughter, Smurfette discourse, Captain Lou Albano, ThunderCats, SilverHawks, BraveStarr, M.A.S.K., Robotech, and the eternal question: which beloved 80s property deserves another shot, and which one should have stayed in the toy aisle?

    They Ruined Your Childhood
See All (42)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The Con Men Show is a weekly conversation between Dan w/ deckr.media and Adrian w/ Nerd @ Heart. From comics, movies, television, video games, conventions, toys, and technology... through unexpected rabbit holes... every episode is an honest, humorous exploration of the fandoms and stories that shaped us. It's less a lecture and more a conversation between friends—equal parts nostalgia, curiosity, and laughs. Pull up a chair and join us!

Information

  • Creator
    The Con Men!
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Con Men!
  • Show Website
    The Con Men Show