We Race Through The Final Three Years Of The Eighties And Admit We Still Can’t Remember What Happened When

Send us a text

Three years. Zero restraint. We dive headfirst into 1987, 1988, and 1989—the final rumble of the Eighties—where U2, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Guns N’ Roses, Madonna, and N.W.A battled for airtime while movies like Die Hard, Batman, and When Harry Met Sally reset what a blockbuster could be. It’s a season finale recorded on a strangely warm Christmas Eve porch in North Carolina, complete with the usual laughter, side quests, and uncomfortable truths about who really bought those neon cheese balls.

We sort through the top albums and singles that dominated radio and memory, then challenge the idea of “one‑hit wonders” by calling out the bands that never fit the label. Expect detours into snack history—Crystal Pepsi, Planters’ glowing cheese balls, ecto‑cooler—and the infamous fads that filled every mall: acid‑wash denim, shoulder pads, stirrup pants, and bucket hats. We also revisit the headlines that stuck: the Max Headroom signal hijack, the Exxon Valdez spill, and the ’89 Bay Area earthquake that stopped the World Series mid‑breath. On TV, The Simpsons went from sketch to institution as Seinfeld launched quietly and Baywatch sprinted down the beach, setting up a new era of pop culture touchstones.

Sports fans get quick hits from Giants‑Broncos to 49ers‑Bengals, Lakers dominance, and Gretzky’s seismic move to LA. Through it all, we’re honest about what we loved, what we skipped, and why these years still punch above their weight. To cap it off, we tease season three: a looser, artist‑driven format with sharper takes, deeper dives, and the same refusal to stay neatly on topic.

If you enjoy smart nostalgia with some porch‑level candor, tap follow, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review. Which late‑Eighties year wins your vote—1987, 1988, or 1989? Tell us and join the conversation.

Support the show