Pop Culture Preservation Society

Pop Culture Preservation Society
  • 4.8 (440)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

The Pop Culture Preservation Society is a podcast dedicated to preserving and elevating the unsung pop culture nuggets of the classic Gen X childhood. Were you there when Marcia broke her nose? Tiger Beat delivered the news? And John Travolta was stuck in that plastic bubble? Then this is the podcast for you! Join enthusiastic fangirls Carolyn, Kristin and Michelle — die-hard members of the Big Wheel Generation — as we discuss and dissect the crushes, clothes, books, movies, songs, tv and toys that shaped our youth. We’ll also chat about the role nostalgia plays in our lives and how recalling these positive memories increases our sense of connectedness and well-being. And really, isn’t that something we could all use a little more of right now? We hope you’ll join us as we wrap ourselves in the comfort of many of the pop culture moments that defined us when we were younger … and still bring us joy all these years later. Nanu nanu, keep on truckin', and may the force be with you all!

  1. 3d ago

    "9 to 5" - It Was Just The Beginning

    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 here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    "9 to 5" - It Was Just The Beginning

  2. Oct 12

    Season 20 Preview!

    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 here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Season 20 Preview!

  3. Oct 5

    PCPS LIGHT: The Gen X Outcry After The Stranger Things Finale

    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 Twenge Subscribe to our Substack newsletter here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS LIGHT: The Gen X Outcry After The Stranger Things Finale

  4. Sep 28

    PCPS Light: Revisiting "Stand By Me" on its 40th Birthday

    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 here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS Light: Revisiting "Stand By Me" on its 40th Birthday

  5. Sep 21

    PCPS Light: How Costco's ESPRIT Sweatshirts Caused a Gen X Pandemonium

    How Costco’s ESPRIT Sweatshirts Caused a GenX Pandemonium and Why It’s About So Much More Than a Sweatshirt As we navigate the complexities of mid-life and menopause, the recently-available Costco ESPRIT sweatshirts are wrapping us up in more than (moderately) cozy fleece. They’re hugging us with their colorful joy and, as most nuggets from our childhoods do, connecting us. Join us today as we talk about our own ESPRIT memories, and discuss why we're not only all here for this recent hysteria, but why it's all been about so much more than a sweatshirt. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS Light: How Costco's ESPRIT Sweatshirts Caused a Gen X Pandemonium

  6. Sep 14

    PCPS Light: Netflix's "Little House on the Prairie" and How We Feel About It

    At last, the episode so many of you have been waiting for...the PCPS take on the new Netflix "Little House on the Prairie" series. Which one of us thought it "was lacking"? Who fell in love with the cinematography and the music? And, who pronounced it the best tv series she has watched in years? Join us as we discuss what we loved and didn't about the series and how we felt about the very "hot" Mr. Edwards. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS Light: Netflix's "Little House on the Prairie" and How We Feel About It

  7. Sep 7

    PCPS Light: WHAM!'s "Ten Days in China" and How It Helped Them MAKE IT BIG

    The Cold War meets “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” Michelle dives into WHAM!: 10 Days in China, the fascinating documentary about the duo’s historic 1985 tour behind the Iron Curtain—where bewildered teens encounter Western pop for the first time, government officials keep a VERY close eye on the dancing, and George and Andrew bring maximum hair, blazers, and cool factor to a decidedly monochrome scene. Join us as Michelle shares her experience and what she learned when she saw the documentary during its one-night showing in movie theaters. Read Michelle's Substack piece about her experience here Subscribe to our Substack newsletter here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS Light: WHAM!'s "Ten Days in China" and How It Helped Them MAKE IT BIG

  8. Aug 31

    PCPS Light - Dolly Parton: We Will Always Love You

    The world lost Dolly Parton, and the Pop Culture Preservation Society is not okay. In this very un-light PCPS Light, we process the loss of a woman who somehow felt less like a celebrity and more like a favorite aunt. We talk collective grief, childhood memories, Dolly’s quiet activism and extraordinary philanthropy, her unapologetic approach to beauty, and the uncanny way her songs seem to find us exactly when we need them. It’s funny, heartfelt, a little messy, and very, very Dolly. Dolly, we will always love you. Listen to the podcast, Dolly Parton's America here Purchase "She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs" by Sarah Smarsh here Click 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 here Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook an TikTok Support 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 here Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    PCPS Light - Dolly Parton: We Will Always Love You
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4.8
out of 5
440 Ratings

About

The Pop Culture Preservation Society is a podcast dedicated to preserving and elevating the unsung pop culture nuggets of the classic Gen X childhood. Were you there when Marcia broke her nose? Tiger Beat delivered the news? And John Travolta was stuck in that plastic bubble? Then this is the podcast for you! Join enthusiastic fangirls Carolyn, Kristin and Michelle — die-hard members of the Big Wheel Generation — as we discuss and dissect the crushes, clothes, books, movies, songs, tv and toys that shaped our youth. We’ll also chat about the role nostalgia plays in our lives and how recalling these positive memories increases our sense of connectedness and well-being. And really, isn’t that something we could all use a little more of right now? We hope you’ll join us as we wrap ourselves in the comfort of many of the pop culture moments that defined us when we were younger … and still bring us joy all these years later. Nanu nanu, keep on truckin', and may the force be with you all!

Information

  • Creator
    Pop Culture Preservation Society
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    299
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Pop Culture Preservation Society

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