Encarta & Chill | A 90s Podcast

E47 | Todd Douglas: Boy Wizard [ audiobook ]

World Book Day is proud to present 'Todd Douglas: Boy Wizard' in association with Pinbury Town Council, Pinbury Rotary Club and Southwestern Railways.
Written and narrated by the author, P.G. Spalding.
Any resemblance to existing boy wizards is purely coincidental.
© Funk & Wagnalls, 1999.

E46 | Christmas [ insert disc 2 ]

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!
After being visited by three ghosts in the night, Tom and Tomek have been spooked into doing an Encarta and Chill Christmas special and you better believe it's packed with more unnecessary filler than a turducken.
'Tis the season to reflect upon the legend of Graggle Simpson, Batman and Robin's wildlife crimes and THE most 90s cameo you will ever find in a pantomime.
Gifts are exchanged, poems are shared and a giant Portuguese bird is marvelled at.
...Oh, and keep your eyes on your podcast app of choice tomorrow for an extra little treat nestled beneath the proverbial tree - don't worry, Mum's got the receipt!

E45 | You've Got Mail IV

It’s time once again to dial up and clear out the Encarta & Chill AOL inbox before it exceeds its 5MB of storage.
When you’re as lackadaisical about research as we are, it’s always a ducksend to be able to turn to our unofficial team of experts with a penchant for penning emails more promising than if they carried the subject 'Pictures of Anna Kournikova, definitely not a virus...'
In our fourth correspondence special, you help us uncover the raunchy secrets hidden within the Spice World video game, ponder the purpose of popper tracksuit bottoms, and recoil at the thought of being burdened with a pile of nugget buddies (as easily as they may be remedied by a comfortable pair of said popper tracksuit bottoms).
John Wark, Dexter Holland’s decoy, and the Princess Diana Beanie Baby round out a stellar lineup of whimsy to draw the curtain/Rachel on 2025.

E44 | Sky Sports: A Whole New Ball Game [ watchalong ]

If your grandad ever tries to bore you with talk of the Preston North End 'Invincibles,' point him in the direction of the latest Encarta and Chill watchalong.
This episode sees Tom and Tom attempting to make sense of the “unprecedented sports television machine” that was Sky Sports in the early ’90s - an operation of Death Star proportions that left fans in no doubt that the beautiful game was, in fact, invented in 1992.
“A whole new ball game” was the mission statement as the Premier League burst into life amidst a flurry of quasi-erotic shower sequences, giant Bart Simpsons, and breakfast in bed courtesy of Anders Limpar’s wife.
It's time to go football crazy, podcast mad, but can you really do a watchalong of a 90-second TV advert? When it’s the greatest 90 seconds ever committed to film, you can.

E43 | Fashion

Grab your best Kangol bucket hat, throw on your United Colours of Benetton sweater, and slip into your freshest pair of Reebok Classics – or whatever your mum’s laid out on the bed (Donnay, probably) – because it’s time to talk fashion!
The Toms may only wear red and blue jumpers, but this week they’ll be reminiscing about a time when their drips gave Dennis Taylor and Princess Diana a run for their money.
They’ll also be discussing alternatives to 'The Rachel', exploring the origins of Mufti Day, and presenting evidence that could blow one of the world’s most notorious Mandela Effects wide open.

E42 | Video Games [ insert disc 2 ]

Did Mariah Carey write the music for Wario Land? No.
Did Michael Jackson write the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3? Quite possibly...
And that’s not even the most fascinating piece of video game folklore Encarta and Chill has to offer this week - because this is a podcast that dares to accuse Geri Halliwell of committing high treason in her own video game!
Join Tom and Tomek for their second look back at ’90s gaming in an episode that - much like Metal Gear Solid - is best enjoyed from inside a box.

E41 | Finland

Hei! Tervetuloa Encarta ja Chill. Jos pystyt lukemaan tämän, älä tuhlaa aikaa tämän tekstin kääntämiseen, vaan paina play-nappia...
Have Tom and Tom run out of ideas, or is this actually the most fitting 90s topic of all?
Far from the distracting colours, shapes, and sounds exported to British shores from across the Atlantic, one particular Nordic republic quietly set about changing how we communicate about the former forever.
No era-appropriate mood board would be complete without a Nokia handset and it's the Finnish pulp-mill-turned-telecommunications giant that provides the backbone of this episode.
Sure, it was assumed the fourth-largest listener base would be Canadian. Yes, a Due South watchalong was already in the works to celebrate that fact. But instead, here's an episode about Moomins and Mika Häkkinen.
Just don’t make the same mistake as Kelly Rowland by trying to listen to this through an Excel spreadsheet.

E40 | Birthday Parties

The Toms are planning a birthday party — and you’re all invited… although you will have to fight them for Colin the Caterpillar’s face.
Encarta and Chill is celebrating its very first podcastiversary, so expect the passing of anticlimactic parcels, orange squash weaker than a kitten, and of course, a McDonald’s balloon on a stick.
Set against a backdrop of sickly Dalmatian cakes, sticky ball pits, and shticky bugs voiced by Woody Allen, this promises to be the ultimate 90s kinder soirée.
And don’t forget to grab a party bag on your way out (translation: stay tuned until the end of the episode for some BONUS AUDIO — which, frankly, doesn’t deserve the capital letters it was just announced in).

E39 | Goosebumps [ watchalong ]

If - like many - you consider Ryan Gosling's best on-screen outing to be The Notebook, Half Nelson or Bladerunner 2049, you're DEAD wrong.
Say cheese and DRIVE as Tom and Tomek fire up the Ford Taurus to revisit one of Gosling's first major roles fresh out of The Mickey Mouse Club... a 1996 episode of Goosebumps!
It’s officially spooky season, so what better way to celebrate than with another Encarta and Chill watchalong? Expect a haunted camera, a porcelain goose, and the most disappointing family barbecue of all time. But how much of that will steal focus from Canada’s finest thespian/hammer-wielding stuntman?

E38 | Charity Singles

Noble cause, questionable content - a fitting appraisal of both Comic Relief and the podcast that is about to spend half an hour talking about said charity.
This episode of Encarta and Chill focuses on three singles that sum up fundraising in the ‘90s better than if Tomek had recorded the whole thing from a bath of beans.
David Bowie invents Y2K Futurism, Elton John’s funereal tributes are upstaged by Ed the Duck, and Tom loses the will to live.