1980s Christmas nostalgia, lovingly overexamined.
Totally Rad Christmas! treats 1980s holiday culture like a shared attic full of VHS tapes, toy lines, soundtracks, and half-remembered specials. Jerry D and rotating guests move from sincere affection to quick jokes without losing the warm Christmas-center-of-gravity.
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Totally Rad Christmas! is a holiday nostalgia show with one foot in the toy aisle and the other in front of the family TV. Its center is 1980s Christmas culture, especially the movies, specials, music, fads, toys, and seasonal oddities that still spark strong memories. Jerry D appears across its episodes as the guiding voice, often opening with a quick year-setting burst before bringing in guests or moving into a minisode. The pace is casual but busy. Episodes can move from Ronald Reagan, Toto, and Rankin Bass to a childlike Easter-rabbit riff in a matter of seconds. That jumpiness usually works because the show treats holiday culture as lived memory rather than museum material. A Wayback Wednesday episode can pause for an 80s slang word such as “mondo.” A Christmas Carol conversation with Ed Daly can compare brief references, straight adaptations, and the sheer sprawl of the Dickens template. A watchalong for Santa Claus: The Movie becomes part film commentary, part Santa-performance shop talk, and part friends catching up. The show is happy to be sincere. It is also happy to laugh at wigs, beards, costumes, strange plot turns, and questionable holiday choices. Music gets its own spotlight through episodes like Motown Merry Christmas, while wrestling, specials, and childhood toy hierarchies broaden the definition of Christmas media. There are also occasional odd side corridors, including Easter-themed material and Christmas light installation business talk. The guest bench gives the show a reunion feel. Mike Westfall, Ed Daly, Ken Kessler, Joe Martinez, C.J. Belanger, Matt Spaulding, Jeremy Phelps, and others appear as people with specific memories, niches, or seasonal expertise rather than interchangeable interview slots. The result is not polished criticism. It is warmer and more associative than that. Listeners get a guided hangout where deep-cut holiday references sit beside quick jokes and practical details. The best fit is someone who likes old specials, vintage toys, Christmas music, seasonal performance, and the small production choices that become strangely important after decades of rewatching. It is for people who hear “1980s Christmas” and immediately want the long version.
Made for: Best for listeners who love Christmas media, 1980s pop culture, vintage toys, seasonal music, and conversational deep dives into old specials. It especially suits fans who enjoy affectionate nitpicking as much as pure nostalgia.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by treating holiday nostalgia as a living conversation, not a tidy recap. Its mix of watchalongs, guest memories, slang bits, toy tiers, music episodes, and odd seasonal side trips gives familiar Christmas subjects a loose collector’s-table energy.
It's a show about the raddest time of year in the baddest decade ever! That's right! We talk all things Christmas in the '80s to the max! Toys, movies, specials, music, books, games, comics, decorations, food, fashion, and fads--if it was gnarly during Christmas in the '80s, we got it covered!
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Jerry D turns Christmas nostalgia into convivial cultural memory, pairing detailed watchalongs with curious conversations about traditions and seasonal work.
Jerry D treats Christmas nostalgia as something to examine in company, with guests bringing affection, jokes and close observation to movie watchalongs.
Christmas-movie night gets better when your second audio track worries about beard crumbs and overloaded outlets.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
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Totally Rad Christmas gives Santa Claus the Movie a loose, friendly watchalong, with Jerry D joined by C.J. Belanger, Matt Spaulding, and Jeremy Phelps.
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Jerry D.
Host Jerry D.
Jerry D kicks off another Totally Rad Christmas watchalong with Santa Claus the Movie.
Host Jerry D and guest Ken Kessler discuss 1987 Motown Christmas music and the 80s holiday season.
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Jerry D counts down his favorite 1980s Christmas toys, categorizing them into tiers of personal significance.
A nostalgic podcast discussing all things Christmas in the 1980s, including toys, movies, music, and fads.
Host Jerry D.
Totally Rad Christmas gathers Jerry D, Anthony Caruso, and CJ Belanger for a watchalong of the 1989 film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.