Share

The Nightly
One-on-One vs. Group Hangs
Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Eleanor about ditching friend groups for deeper one-on-one connections, the quiet joy of a good double date, and the surprising magic of "one-on-two" friendships.
What You'll Hear:
The Case for the Phone Call: Josh opens up about being an unapologetic phone call guy, and why catching up voice-to-voice with far-off friends feels more intimate than any text thread.
Breaking Up with the Friend Group: Two years post-grad, Eleanor explains why the friend groups that worked in high school and college have started to feel more draining than fulfilling.
The One-on-Two Surprise: Eleanor and Josh dig into double dates, cycling buddies, and the unexpected joy of a friendship that somehow works as three.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Josh on being a devoted phone call guy
03:17 Welcome, caller Eleanor from Williamsburg
04:03 A post-grad friendship reordering
09:58 Why double dates hit different
14:13 The surprise of one-on-two friendships
20:08 Goodnight to Judy!
For the fully immersive, phone free light + sound experience, learn more at hatch.co. Follow us on TikTok @hatchpodcasts and YouTube.
More episodes
View all episodes

So Your Toddler Suddenly Loves Baseball
26:39|Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Corinne about her toddler's sudden baseball obsession, a kitchen spatula turned home run bat, and how to grow a family fandom without drowning in stats.What You'll Hear:A Bat Made of Spatulas: Corinne's two-year-old fell hard for baseball after one LA Dodgers game, and now every kitchen utensil in the house doubles as home run equipment.The Banana Ball Debate: Corinne asks about the wildly popular, trick-filled Savannah Bananas, and Josh explains why baseball purists have some very strong feelings about them.Fandom Without the Spreadsheet: Josh reassures Corinne that loving baseball doesn't require memorizing launch angles, just a hot dog, some sunshine, and maybe one favorite player to root for.CHAPTERS:00:00 Josh's lifelong sports fandom02:02 Welcome, Caller Corinne!02:46 The spatula becomes a baseball bat07:00 The great Bananaball debate17:23 Falling for Ohtani and Mookie Betts22:39 Good night, Grammy!
Highs & Lows of Hosting Strangers
27:24|Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Joy about turning a spare room into an Airbnb spot and the psychology of gray floors versus a sunny yellow wall.What You'll Hear:The Pillow That Was Too Much Pillow: Josh opens with hotel rooms gone wrong, from outlets hidden in closets to pillows the size of a human torso.Seven Guests, One Percolator: Joy calls in to share how their brand-new Airbnb (built in the room they rebuilt after a house fire) filled up with bookings almost instantly.Why Everything Is Gray Now: Joy explains how a year and a half of staying in sterile, whitewashed rentals convinced them a sunshine yellow room was the way to go.CHAPTERS:00:00 Hotel rooms that get it wrong02:17 Welcome, Caller Joy!04:17 From house fire to home renovation07:00 Mini fridges, percolators, and surprise bookings16:19 Gray floors, sterile walls, and the search for coziness23:03 Good nights
Sunday Edition: Cart Narcs w/ Agent Sebastian
26:13|Matt Bragg sits down with cart-return crusader Sebastian Garrett Davis (aka Agent Sebastian from Cart Narcs) to unpack entitled strangers and the surprising psychology behind refusing to return a shopping cart.What You'll Hear:A Disneyland Shove Heard Round the Cul-de-Sac: Matt kicks things off with Caller Amber's tale of an unexpected shoving match with a stranger, which somehow leads straight into tonight's topic.Enter Agent Sebastian of Cart Narcs: Matt welcomes the internet's most famous cart-return enforcer to explain how a small annoyance turned into a full-blown, magnet-wielding operation.The Cookie Jar Theory of Cart Abandonment: Sebastian breaks down the surprisingly deep psychology behind why a stray shopping cart can turn a perfectly nice stranger into someone ready to fight.CHAPTERS:00:00 Amber's Disneyland shove-off02:13 Welcome, Agent Sebastian of Cart Narcs!04:44 The cookie-jar psychology of getting caught11:01 Skipping confrontations with innocent bystanders16:50 Has society actually gotten ruder?21:22 Good night, sweet cart!
Let's Unpack Unpacking
22:31|Matt Bragg talks with caller Alicia about her chaotic New York move, her stash of mismatched Band-Aids and multiplying bay leaves, and the memory box she can no longer find.What You'll Hear:A Seal With a Splint: Matt opens the show nursing a wrist, an elbow, and a fridge-door incident courtesy of his girlfriend, setting the tone for a night of minor domestic chaos.Twenty Boxes and a Truckload of Band-Aids: Alicia calls in fresh off a sweaty, 91-degree move, unpacking a surprising number of duplicate Band-Aid boxes and an even stranger surplus of bay leaves.The Case of the Missing Memory Box: Somewhere in the piles is a decade-old container of letters, concert tickets, and stray poems, and Alicia has no idea where it went.CHAPTERS:00:00 Matt's one-armed, one-day disaster report02:13 Alicia calls in from New York City04:04 Did anything survive the move09:03 Band-Aids, bay leaves, and other mysterious multiples11:35 The elusive memory box18:17 Good night to Alicia's aunt in China
Trolley Parks and Vigilante Justice
18:49|Matt Bragg talks with Caller Amber about entitled strangers, airport etiquette meltdowns, and the strange thrill of calling out a guy who wouldn't return his shopping cart.What You'll Hear:The Great Disneyland Shove: Amber recounts getting physically shoved aside by a stranger at, of all places, the happiest place on Earth, and she and Matt debate whether courtesy has quietly left the building.The Trolley Park Showdown: Matt relives the supermarket parking lot moment that turned him into an accidental vigilante, and how it inspired his girlfriend to do the same.Making Peace With Airports: The two trade honest coping strategies for staying calm when travel brings out everyone's worst behavior, from breathing tricks to full-on dissociation.CHAPTERS:00:00 Self-help videos and contradictory advice02:03 Amber joins the call02:29 The Disneyland shove03:32 A hot take on entitled elderly behavior07:58 The trolley park showdown10:24 Airport etiquette and staying calm15:35 Good nights
Chasing That Late-Night Drive Feeling
26:29|Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Jonathan about chasing the magic of a late-night convertible drive, his homebody dog Felix, and whether a quarter-life crisis (or a convertible) might be the answer.What You'll Hear:A Late-Night Drive Down Memory Lane: Jonathan's recent convertible joyride down the coast sends him and Greta tumbling into nostalgia for corn fields, Portishead, and driving with nowhere in particular to be.The Case for a Quarter-Life Crisis: Together they brainstorm wholesome alternatives to another night at the bar, from paint-and-sip dates to small trips worth taking.Dogs Who'd Rather Stay Home: Talk turns to Jonathan's anxious dog Felix and Greta's beloved dog Scout, two homebodies who somehow still made the best travel companions.CHAPTERS:00:00 Magazine days at Fred Meyer02:21 Welcome, Caller Jonathan!03:33 A convertible and total freedom10:30 Recreating the moment in a soccer-mom SUV17:18 Introverted hobbies and one extroverted puppy22:52 Goodnight to Jonathan's future niece!
The Joy of Bumping Into People
27:30|Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Arielle about the meticulous list she keeps of every stranger and old friend she's ever bumped into, the math behind coincidence, and the particular high of an unplanned run-in.What You'll Hear:A Very Specific Kind of List: Arielle explains the running note she's kept since 2023, logging every chance encounter down to the circumstance, and why she's still chasing the pattern behind it all.Subway Cars, Sound, and Spontaneity: The two swap theories on memory triggers, from tracking subway car numbers to dedicating albums to a trip, and mourn the slow death of the spontaneous hangout.A Peek Inside the Notes App: Greta and Arielle trade the strange, wonderful ephemera living in their phones, from houseplant lists to potential company names, before saying good night to a total stranger named Max.CHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome to The Nightly02:01 Caller Arielle joins the show05:35 The origins of the run-in list10:26 Podcasts, albums, and memory triggers19:07 A tour of Arielle's other lists22:35 A Roulette Goodnight
The Doll She Bought Her Mom
26:34|Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Anne about her reverse nostalgia for wire-rim glasses and big jeans, her new obsession with friendship bracelets, and the American Girl doll she surprised her mom with this summer.What You'll Hear:Grown-Up Jokes Hidden in Cartoons: Josh opens with a little ode to Animaniacs and the strange thrill of catching adult humor you weren't quite ready for as a kid.Wire Frames, Big Pants, and Reverse Nostalgia: Anne calls in from LA to compare notes with Josh on the trends from their childhoods they truly never want to see again.An American Girl Doll Comes Home: Anne shares how a retired doll, a Christmas memory, and her mom's own childhood came together in one very sweet full-circle gift.CHAPTERS:00:00 Animaniacs and secret grown-up jokes02:51 Welcome, caller Anne!04:01 Reverse nostalgia for wires and big pants09:12 A sneaker collection sixty pairs deep17:26 Kit Kittredge comes home to Mom23:05 Good night to Molly