Pop Culture * Podcasts * TV & Movies * Comics * Toys * Pro Wrestling History * Nostalgia * Horror
DragonKingKarl Stern’s 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus book is now available from Amazon. The paperback book is over 600 pages (also available on Kindle!). Every major event, show, incident, and item of historical significance to take place in pro wrestling in 1984-1985! Check it out!
Where in the World is When It Was Cool?
From April 16-April 30, 2024 Karl and Tonya will be traveling across the U.S. on a National Parks tour celebrating Karl’s retirement from his law enforcement career. We have set our Patreon Page to automatically upload podcasts in our absence. However, the free feeds won’t be updated until May 1st when we return home. This is a great time to not only hear these new shows but to check out the over 2,000 retro pop culture and pro wrestling history shows already on our Patreon feed! Thank you for your support and we look forward to making 2024 our biggest and best year ever!
The Burbs (1989) Retro Movie Review Podcast
Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool review the 1989 Tom Hanks movie The Burbs! Somehow, despite seeing this movie at the movie rental store for years and years he had never seen it. This film is actually pretty great and very fun! Carrie Fischer, Corey Feldman, and a host of other familiar faces from the 1980s appear in this movie. This was a fun one and worth checking out!
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whenitwascool/The_Burbs_1989.mp3
DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show - MSG History, Bruno Sammartino, and more!
On this episode of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, host Karl Stern continues his look at wrestling history at Madison Square Garden in New York in the year 1931, he also continues his look back at Dave Meltzer's epic biography on the life and times of Bruno Sammartino from the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, plus tons of news and notes. More pro wrestling history than you can shake a preverbal stick at!
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/06_DragonKingKarl_Classic_Wrestling_Show.mp3
Butterscotch Lush Cake: A delicious creamy smooth Butterscotch Lush Cake with homemade crust. This dessert is easy to make and quick to fix. For a rich pie-like dessert dish try this easy to make Butterscotch Lush Cake with Tonya! Get the recipe.
Dream Scenario (2023) Movie Review Podcast
Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool sit down to discuss the strange and conflicting 2023 drama Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage. This bizarre movie presents a pretty novel storyline of an unremarkable teacher who begins appearing in the dreams of people all over the world in passive situations. He becomes a viral celebrity and soon the dreams take a darker turn. This all sounds amazing, but the movie seems to lose its sense of where it is going. Join us as we discuss this very odd film.
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whenitwascool/Dream_Scenario_2023.mp3
The Crow (1994) Retro Movie Review Podcast
There is a new Crow movie coming out later this year, so Karl and Tonya decided this was a great time to go back and refresh ourselves on the cult classic The Crow from 1994 starring Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, who was killed while filming the movie. This movie was actually pretty great. Originally a comic book property, The Crow adapted well to the big screen and both Karl and Tonya agree this was a really good film. Join us as we discuss The Crow! Click Here for Show.
DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show - Strangler Lewis, Bruno Sammartino, and More
On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, historian Karl Stern takes a look at a great retro article from a 1972 wrestling magazine asking the question if Ed "Strangler" Lewis was the greatest wrestler of all time. Then we continue taking a look at Dave Meltzer's biography of Bruno Sammartino from the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter plus much more!
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/05_DragonKingKarl_Classic_Wrestling_Show.mp3
Fireside Chat with Karl and Tonya Podcast - Going to California
We are a week away from a cross country adventure and Tonya and I are getting excited. We are going to California and should be as out of place as the Beverly Hillbillies. Then we are driving back across the country and visiting numerous National Parks along the way, and we are looking for tips and suggestions! Also, we had our first public selling event, and it was quite successful. Thank you to all of you for your continued support. We have a TON of retro (and new) movie and TV reviews coming up and we are going to have some fun around here! Click Here to Listen.
1000 Hours Podcast - Great Lakes Wrestling in the Pioneer Era
The pioneer era (pre-1900) of pro wrestling flourished in the Great Lakes area. While initially the northeast, especially New York and Vermont were the early hotspots, by 1970 Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and the entire Great Lakes region became very important in pro wrestling. The 1870 Detroit International tournament was a real ignition point for the popularity of pro wrestling nationwide and the Detroit Opera House became a shrine for the genesis of American pro wrestling. Join historian Karl Stern as he looks at the Great Lakes region in the pioneer era. This is hour 43.
YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put “1000” in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 60.
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/43_1000_Hours_Great_Lakes_Wrestling_in_Pioneer_Era.mp3
Feature Article
Feature Article
Batman in Order - Detective Comics Issue 32 - The Sixth Appearance of The Batman
The sixth appearance of The Batman took place in the October 1939 issue of Detective Comics. This issue did not feature Batman on the cover, instead a police officer putting a criminal in a chokehold. How times change. Detective Comics issue 32 followed up on the story of the mysterious Monk who is hypnotizing people, including Bruce Wayne’s fiancé Julie Madison. Since this is the October issue of Detective Comics, I suppose it is appropriate that this has a vampire theme to it. The ending of the last issue promised us Batman chasing the Monk to Hungary where he would battle werewolves, however, the henchmen of The Monk end up being vampires instead which made far more sense for this story. Read More.
Long Form History of Wrestling Podcast - April 1984 (Patera and Saito Arrest)
Wrestling historian Karl Stern returns with another in-depth look at a month in pro wrestling history. Today he looks back at April 1984 and a lot was going on. The WWF was accelerating their national expansion by stealing the AWA's TV spot on the west coast, Jumbo Tsuruta is still the AWA World champion, and a new monster named Lord Humongous is challenging Jerry Lawler in Memphis, but the big news of the month happened in Waukesa, WI when Mr. Saito and Ken Patera fought multiple police officers and were arrested and ultimately sent to prison.
From Dusk Til Dawn (1996) Retro Movie Review Podcast
Karl and Tonya return with a retro movie review from 1996. George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, and others star in this bizarre movie which switches from being solid crime escape action movie into a B-Movie vampire film about halfway through. This is one weird movie. Parts of this movie are fantastic in both scope, story, and scenery, while parts of it were straight out of a direct to video monster movie. I dunno... let's talk about it.
Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whenitwascool/From_Dusk_Till_Dawn_1996.mp3
Feature Article
Feature Article
Film Review: Shari and Lamb Chop (Make Believe 2024)
Multiple generations of children grew up watching television shows starring ventriloquist/puppeteer Shari Lewis and her beloved puppet Lamb Chop. I can state this from first-hand experience, because as a child I did so — I even saw her live show at the Stockton Civic Auditorium back then — and my son, as a wee youngster, watched her comeback series Lamb Chop’s Play-Along decades later. Lewis lived a life, that’s for certain, and it is explored wonderfully, with all its ups and downs, in director Lisa D’Apolito’s new documentary Shari and Lamb Chop. Read More.
