This week, we take a haunted stroll through the cobwebbed halls of pop culture history to uncover the true roots of The Addams Family. Before the catchy theme song, finger snaps, and Wednesday’s deadpan glare, there was Charles Addams — the cartoonist who dreamed up America’s spookiest, strangest household in The New Yorker.

We explore:

• How Charles Addams’ single-panel gags in the 1930s evolved into the family we know today.
• The leap from cartoons to the 1960s TV sitcom (and why Morticia and Gomez became the gold standard for spooky romance).
• Memorable cameos in shows like Scooby-Doo.
• The Addams Family vs. The Munsters: two spooky sitcoms, one cultural moment.
• A tease of what’s to come in Part Two: the big-screen revivals of the 1990s and the lasting influence of everyone’s favorite gothic clan.

Whether you grew up snapping along to the theme song or just discovered Wednesday on Netflix, this is the perfect entry point into the world of all things creepy and kooky.

Get ready to hum along, because once these songs start… they never leave your head! This week, we take a nostalgia-packed trip back to Schoolhouse Rock, the beloved Saturday morning shorts that taught us multiplication, grammar, science, and American history—all with the help of some ridiculously catchy tunes.

From Three Is a Magic Number to I’m Just a Bill, we revisit the songs that shaped our childhoods, share the funny ways they stuck with us (yes, we all sang the Preamble in class), and test each other’s memory with a fill-in-the-blank quiz. Along the way, we talk about how the series came to be, the surprising musicians behind the music, and why Schoolhouse Rock still resonates today.

Warning: you may leave this episode singing about nouns, gravity, or mashed potatoes. You’ve been warned.

This week, we’re phoning home with one of the most beloved films of the 80s: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. We swap Halloween memories (fairy princess + ET = iconic sibling duo), dig into behind-the-scenes trivia (why Mars turned down the candy cameo, how Drew Barrymore punked her way into the role, and what happened to Harrison Ford’s deleted scene), and ride through the legacy of Spielberg’s blockbuster that made us all want a glowing fingertip. Plus, we revisit the worst childhood movie outing (sorry, Chariots of Fire), the best arcade disaster (hello Atari), and the most 80s crossover you’ve never heard of—Michael Jackson narrating ET’s story. Grab your Reese’s Pieces, hop on your BMX, and let’s talk about the film that defined an era of movie magic.