This Edmonton podcast has featured some massive names in 1990s music
If you didn’t know that “Gangsta’s Paradise” was originally built around a Stevie Wonder song, it’s just one of countless facts about the 1990s that you’ll likely learn listening to the Dope Nostalgia podcast.
The Edmonton-based podcast recently surpassed its six-year anniversary, launched as a passion project by host and creator Naomi Carmack. And while Edmonton might be far from the music epicentres of the world, it hasn’t stopped Carmack from landing interviews with some massive names of the ’90s to talk music, memories, and even times touring through Edmonton.
This includes artists and groups like Right Said Fred, Color Me Badd, Ace of Base, Alannah Myles, Naughty by Nature, Wheatus, and many more.
It began as a fun side project rooted in Carmack’s love of ’90s music and quickly grew during the pandemic, when touring artists suddenly found themselves at home and more open to virtual interviews. Six and a half years later, the podcast has grown into a platform with more than two million cumulative views across YouTube and social media.
“A lot of podcasts fade out and die within the first, like 50 episodes easily, it’s because it’s a passion project for me and the fact that there’s been a slow and steady growth,” she said when explaining what keeps her going.
“I get that feedback from other people who are like, ‘I’m so glad I remember those guys, I’m so glad you told me what they’re doing now,’ and it’s just fun to talk to people about something that you love.”
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Alongside major music guests, Carmack also brings younger guests onto the show to react to and discuss ’90s culture, from floppy disks and Blockbuster Video to discovering that some of their favourite songs were actually covers or samples of older tracks.
For Carmack, the appeal of revisiting the 1990s comes down largely to nostalgia.
“The ’90s is a decade that was bookended by pop music and then an explosion of grunge, and you, around 1991 to 1993, so many different types of genres had their heyday, and not only that, nostalgia is just hot right now,” she said.
“It could be because you know we’re wishing for simpler times. We’re reflecting on our childhoods. Especially the [Gen Xers] and the millennials.”
Despite being based in Edmonton, Carmack says technology has made it possible to connect with artists around the world, with most interviews happening over Zoom or by phone from her home studio.
The podcast has also become a way to spotlight Edmonton and Canada in conversations with international artists, many of whom still remember touring through the city.
Fully leaning into its retro identity, Carmack even created a dedicated 1-888 voicemail line where listeners can call in and leave messages like an old-school radio show.
“I try to keep it as retro as I can with a modern twist,” she laughed.
You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, orĀ on its website.