Advent Calendar House
A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.
Episodes
🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story. Join us as we fire up the Mystery Machine and take a drive back to 1984 for Scooby-Doo’s very first Christmas special, in which the gang tries to save an orphanage with the power of pageantry, and stop the mysterious Ghost of Christmas Never.
****
🎙 Guests:
Adam Pope (Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics, Remember That Show?, Bluesky)
🦃 This Thanksgiving in July, I’ve decided to treat y’all to a feast of a special I’ve had tucked away in my memory for decades, but it’s finally time to cross those Bridges, so let’s back this barely-running hayride tractor back to 1986 for a very special Disney family movie directed by Beau Bridges and featuring 3 generations of his family, along with teenage Jason Bateman and Courtney Thorne-Smith, and an injured goose named Che...
🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as we spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing about Taz’s attempt to spread Christmas cheer in a land that’s way under Down Under.
****
🎙 Guests:
Sammy Hain (Sammy’s Easter Tails, Bluesky)
Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
Tasmania was once home to the world’s tallest decorated Christmas tree.
John Astin (Bull Gator) in “Return ...
🎄 This episode is stuffed with surprises, so get your propeller spinning and take off back to 1987 as we nosedive into the history of Santabear, a Midwest Christmas tradition we wish found a place to land elsewhere.
At press time, you can find “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” on the Internet Archive, or a recording with the original commercials on YouTube.
****
🎙 Guests:
🎄 Now it’s time for a Muppety holiday fix, so let’s turn the clock back to 1996, to a show I’m excited to reintroduce: it’s “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.” So go get your fanciest Jingle Bells on for “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton.”
You can watch it on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel.
****
🎙 Guests:
Tony Whitaker (Muppet Wiki, Bluesky)
Shane Keating (ToughPigs.com, MuppetWiki, Bluesky, Letterboxd)
...
🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re killing two birds with one garbage disposal as we journey back to 1992 to watch Roseanne endure a haunting by the Ghosts of Halloween Past, Present, and Future.
At press time, the episode “Halloween IV” is available on Peacock.
****
🎙 Guests:
Gerry Davila (Totally Rad Christmas)
Brandon Medley (Instagram)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
🎄 Hey, remember the Christmas episode of that show on ABC where Snow White and Prince Charming are transported by the Evil Queen to a land without magic and have to adjust to modern-day America? No, you don’t, because you’re thinking of “Once Upon a Time,” which didn’t have a Christmas episode, which was rude. But we’re going back an even longer time ago to the enchanted year of 1987 to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas...
🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode.
Join Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase as they save a truckload of stolen Little Orphan Alien dolls meant for a group of little orphan human Earthlings, all while Splinter makes a sewer full of guests wait for Mikey to arrive before they eat.
🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode. In 1971’s “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” the first Rankin/Bass non-Christmas holiday special, it’s a race across the calendar to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price.
You can watch it on Tubi, or this restored version on the YouTube channel “The Rankin Bass Archive...
🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world. Our colleagues from the newsroom upstairs are less than enthusiastic, but that’s not stopping us from enjoying this 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
****
🎙 Guest:
Alonso Duralde (Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, The Film Verdict, Linoleum Knife, Maximum Film,...
🌴 In Part 2 of our “Futurama” Xmas double-header, we meet the only thing worse than an evil robot Santa… two evil robot Santas.
****
🎙 Guests:
Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Culture Retrofit, Bluesky)
Erin Evans (Bluesky)
Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)
Donnie Storms (Bronwen’s Ghost, Bluesky)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
“Box Car Blues” (1930).
Santa’s Death Fortress sure looks like Elsa’s ice palace.
🌴 The Advent Calendar House has awoken from what feels like a thousand-year slumber and a lame April Fool’s joke. As a peace offering, here’s the first of two back-to-back episodes celebrating Xmas as imagined by “Futurama.”
Up first is “Xmas Story” from 1999, in which we’re introduced to the annual tradition of gift-giving and shelter-taking from a killer robot Santa Claus that awaits our descendants in the year 3000.
****
🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man.
In honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year, we’re revisiting some old Friends, an escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new m...
🎄It’s 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati.
From director Clive Donner comes a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball.
****
🎙 Guests:
Molly Patton (MollyPatton.com)
Becca Petunia (ToughPigs.com, Bear in the Big Blue Podcast, Bluesky)...
🎄It’s 2010, and I’m hiding in a closet from a flying shark that ate half my screwdriver.
I’ve finally caught up with the timeline of people who have been requesting that I watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas specials, particularly this twisted take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Michael Gambon in the Scrooge role and the 11th Doctor as at least 2 ghosts of Christmas.
****
🎙 Guests:
Andre Bennett (Bluesky)
Jack Ford (Tot...
🎄It’s 1970, and a couple of bear cubs have jumped through my window and are eating all my marshmallows.
Join us on a deeper than expected dive into a Christmas special by former Hanna-Barbera animator Tony Benedict that almost wasn’t released till the owner of a now-defunct Florida theme park swooped in and saved it.
CONTENT WARNING: No animals were harmed in the making of this podcast. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about ...
🎄It’s 2003, and nothing puts me in a festive mood quite like a bar fight.
Join us as we spend Christmas break with the Justice League — well, most of it. Wonder Woman’s off doing something else, and Batman… you know, smells.
****
🎙 Guests:
Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)
James Riley (Twitter)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
1. Mike talks “Comfort and Joy” on Tis the Podcast.
2. Paul Dini’s notes on “Comfort and J...
🎄It’s 1986, and Santa looks different after arriving late to the mall due to a flat reindeer.
Unfold that TV Guide you crafted into an angel centerpiece and join us for a semi-festive Christmas episode of “Mama’s Family” that will have you believing in either Santa or ghosts at the end of it.
****
🎙 Guest:
Joe Fulton (Christmas Aficionado)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
🎄It’s 1990, and Santa’s lost in my confusing network of chimneys.
Prepare yourself for a more silly than spooky Christmas special that takes us from Castle Duckula to a concussion-induced space adventure and back.
****
🎙 Guest:
Adam Parker Sibun (Merry Britsmas)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
1. “A Christmas Quacker” on the Internet Archive (it’s mislabeled as another episode).
🎄It’s 2020, and a gift-wrapped puppy licked my face and made my skin turn blue.
From the Chiodo Brothers comes a charming stop-motion Christmas special about how an alien invasion of the North Pole almost ruined Christmas — and the entire planet’s gravity, but also Christmas. Plus: A “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” Easter egg, some cameos from “Elf,” and Santa with nunchucks.
****
🎙 Guests:
Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Cul...
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
The Megyn Kelly Show is your home for open, honest and provocative conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures today. No BS. No agenda. And no fear.