Stay ConnectedThe longest-running ’80s podcast—featuring interviews with music legends, movie stars, and MTV icons. Deep dives, debates, and Gen X nostalgia every week.
Hosted by Steve Spears and Brad Williams, the show blends sharp takes with insider stories from the people who lived it. From ’80s music and movies to MTV culture and pop culture history, each episode goes deeper than nostalgia to uncover what made the decade unforgettable.
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There are certain moments in pop-culture history when everything suddenly changes. For Gen X, one of the biggest arrived on Aug. 1, 1981, when MTV launched and forever transformed the way music, television and celebrity culture worked. This week on the Stuck in the ’80s Podcast, Spearsy and B-Rad take a deep nostalgic dive into the birth of MTV and reflect on how one cable channel reshaped an entire generation’s relationship with entertainment.
The episode revisits those surreal early years when music videos still felt experimental, strange and wildly exciting. Spearsy and Brad discuss what it was like discovering artists visually for the very first time and how MTV suddenly turned musicians into full-blown cultural icons whose fashion, personalities and videos became just as important as the songs themselves.
Along the way, the gang reflects on the artists who defined the network’s early years, including Duran Duran, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince and countless others who helped transform MTV into the center of youth culture during the 1980s. The discussion explores how music videos changed everything from fashion and hairstyles to movie marketing and advertising.
The conversation also becomes deeply personal as Spearsy and Brad revisit the emotional experience of growing up during a genuinely shared media era — when millions of kids watched the same videos, discovered the same songs and talked about the same pop-culture moments the next day at school. Long before social media and streaming fragmented audiences into endless niches, MTV created a common cultural language for an entire generation.
Like many classic Stuck in the ’80s episodes, the discussion blends humor, nostalgia and thoughtful reflection while asking a bigger question: Could any single media platform ever again have the kind of cultural impact MTV had during the 1980s?
If you love music-video history, Gen X nostalgia, classic MTV and revisiting the defining moments of ’80s pop culture, this episode belongs in your playlist.
The Stuck in the ’80s Podcast has spent nearly 20 years celebrating the music, movies, television and pop culture of the greatest decade ever. Support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive livestream hangouts, behind-the-scenes content and merch for longtime listeners.
And don’t forget: Spearsy and Brad will once again be part of The 80s Cruise, the ultimate floating celebration of ’80s music and nostalgia. Use promo code STUCK when booking your cabin to receive up to $250 in onboard cabin credit while sailing with fellow Gen X fans and enjoying performances and appearances from many of the decade’s biggest artists.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Are you planning on seeing the new Ghostbusters movie? Brad, Jen and Spearsy did on opening weekend and give their report. Plus, full seggies.
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You won't believe the movies that SOME hosts think are bad. Be ready to sound off after listening to Brad, Drew, Jen and Steve on this week's weird topic. Plus full seggies and news about '80s In The Sand, a new '80s vacation to Punta Cana in 2017.
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We wrap up some news this week on Highlander, Ferris Bueller and more. Plus, we reveal the Theme Nights for the 2017 '80s Cruise. And another podcast time machine letter for reader mailbag.
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Spearsy, Brad, Drew and Jen each pick a personal fave album that turns 30 years old this year. Plus a mysterious fan letter recently uncovered after sitting at the bottom of our inbox for six years!
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Steve and Brad try out a new format for album reviews - starting with ABC's new record "Lexicon of Love II."
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Talk to almost any Gen Xer about the most iconic movies of the 1980s, and sooner or later the conversation lands on Top Gun. With fighter jets, leather jackets, volleyball scenes and one of the most unforgettable soundtracks of the decade, the movie became a full-blown cultural event during the summer of 1986. This week on the Stuck in the ’80s Podcast, Spearsy, B-Rad and special guest “Jeff in Cuba” revisit Top Gun on its 30th anniversary and ask the question every Gen X movie fan eventually wrestles with: Does it still live up to the hype?
The episode dives deep into the movie’s lasting appeal, from Tom Cruise’s star-making performance as Maverick to the high-speed aerial action sequences that changed blockbuster filmmaking forever. Spearsy and the gang revisit memorable characters like Goose, Iceman and Charlie while discussing how the movie blended military action, romance and pure MTV-style cool into one giant cinematic adrenaline rush.
The conversation also explores the enormous cultural footprint left by Top Gun during the 1980s. From Ray-Ban sunglasses and bomber jackets to soundtrack hits like Danger Zone and Take My Breath Away, the movie influenced fashion, music and pop culture in ways that extended far beyond the theater.
Along the way, the gang debates whether the film’s storytelling, pacing and macho energy still work decades later or whether some aspects feel frozen in time as pure ’80s excess. Like many classic Stuck in the ’80s movie episodes, the discussion balances affection, humor and honest critique while celebrating the emotional role blockbuster movies played in Gen X life.
If you love ’80s movies, fighter-jet action, iconic soundtracks and revisiting the pop-culture landmarks that defined the MTV generation, this episode belongs in your playlist.
The Stuck in the ’80s Podcast has spent nearly 20 years celebrating the music, movies, television and pop culture of the greatest decade ever. Support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive livestream hangouts, behind-the-scenes content and merch for longtime listeners.
And don’t forget: Spearsy and Brad will once again be part of The 80s Cruise, the ultimate floating celebration of ’80s music and nostalgia. Use promo code STUCK when booking your cabin to receive up to $250 in onboard cabin credit while sailing with fellow Gen X fans and enjoying performances and appearances from many of the decade’s biggest artists.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
For many Gen X movie fans, Deborah Foreman will forever represent the quirky charm, humor and cool-girl energy of 1980s cinema. From Valley Girl to cult classics like April Fool's Day, Foreman became one of the most recognizable faces of the decade’s teen-movie explosion. This week on the Stuck in the ’80s Podcast, Deborah returns for a funny, candid and wonderfully unpredictable conversation about horror movies, Hollywood memories and the strange realities of online dating in the modern world.
The episode celebrates the 30th anniversary of April Fool's Day, the cult-favorite horror-comedy that still holds a special place among fans of 1980s slasher films. Spearsy and Deborah revisit the movie’s unique blend of mystery, dark humor and playful twists while discussing why it remains beloved decades later among horror fans who grew up during the VHS era.
Along the way, the conversation naturally drifts into Deborah’s broader career during the 1980s and what it was like navigating Hollywood during the height of teen-movie culture and MTV-era celebrity. Spearsy and Deborah reflect on how movies like Valley Girl helped define a generation’s image of youth culture, romance and California cool.
But one of the funniest parts of the episode arrives when Deborah shares stories about her experiences with online dating — a topic that quickly turns into comedic gold as she compares modern dating culture with the far less digital social world Gen X grew up experiencing in the 1980s.
Like many classic Stuck in the ’80s interviews, the episode balances nostalgia, humor and genuine warmth while revisiting the movies and personalities that helped shape Gen X pop culture memories.
If you love ’80s teen movies, cult horror films, Hollywood stories and hilarious conversations with one of the decade’s most beloved actresses, this episode belongs in your playlist.
Warning: This episode contains some profanity that was simply too adorable to censor.
The Stuck in the ’80s Podcast has spent nearly 20 years celebrating the music, movies, television and pop culture of the greatest decade ever. Support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive livestream hangouts, behind-the-scenes content and merch for longtime listeners.
And don’t forget: Spearsy and Brad will once again be part of The 80s Cruise, the ultimate floating celebration of ’80s music and nostalgia. Use promo code STUCK when booking your cabin to receive up to $250 in onboard cabin credit while sailing with fellow Gen X fans and enjoying performances and appearances from many of the decade’s biggest artists.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Some artists become popular. Others become part of the emotional DNA of an entire generation. Prince belonged firmly in the second category. His music, style, creativity and fearless individuality helped define the sound and spirit of the 1980s in ways that still feel impossible to measure. This week on the Stuck in the ’80s Podcast, Steve and Brad come together to process the heartbreaking loss of Prince and celebrate the extraordinary legacy he leaves behind.
The episode revisits Prince’s remarkable rise from musical prodigy to one of the most influential artists in pop-culture history. Spearsy and Brad reflect on the first time they heard songs like 1999, When Doves Cry and Purple Rain and discuss how Prince managed to blend funk, rock, pop, soul and electronic music into something entirely his own.
The conversation also explores Prince’s revolutionary visual style and his impact on MTV-era culture, where his music videos, fashion and performances constantly challenged expectations about gender, artistry and celebrity itself. Along the way, the gang revisits iconic moments from Purple Rain and discusses how Prince created art that felt deeply personal while still becoming massively popular around the world.
Like many fans processing the news at the time, Spearsy and Brad reflect on the shock of losing an artist who always seemed larger than life — someone whose creativity felt endless and whose influence touched nearly every corner of music and pop culture. The episode becomes both a celebration and a moment of collective mourning for Gen X listeners who grew up with Prince as one of the defining artists of their youth.
More than anything, this memorial episode serves as a reminder that Prince wasn’t simply one of the great musicians of the 1980s. He was one of the great artists of any era.
If you love ’80s music, funk, pop innovation and revisiting the artists who shaped the emotional soundtrack of a generation, this episode belongs in your playlist.
The Stuck in the ’80s Podcast has spent nearly 20 years celebrating the music, movies, television and pop culture of the greatest decade ever. Support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive livestream hangouts, behind-the-scenes content and merch for longtime listeners.
And don’t forget: Spearsy and Brad will once again be part of The 80s Cruise, the ultimate floating celebration of ’80s music and nostalgia. Use promo code STUCK when booking your cabin to receive up to $250 in onboard cabin credit while sailing with fellow Gen X fans and enjoying performances and appearances from many of the decade’s biggest artists.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
So much new to cover! Plus, we have the saddest Podcast Time Machine letter ever. And we have a fresh new "Let's Get Trivial" seggie with Eric from Cincinnati. And Spearsy forgot to ask him about chili!
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