The Nightly – “A Splash Pass & The Taskmaster Tour”

Date: January 27, 2026
Podcast: The Nightly by Hatch Podcasts
Hosts: Kristen (C) & Josh (A)

Episode Overview

In this cozy, late-night episode, Kristen and Josh reunite in the “Hatch Pillow Fort” for playful pop culture conversations and gentle grievances. The main themes include:

• Josh sharing experiences from the U.S. Taskmaster tour with hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne
• Kristen’s new reading project: selecting one quintessential book for every U.S. state
• Airing lighthearted “grievances”—with an emphasis on gyms, pools, and customer frustrations The tone is relaxed, friendly, and full of genuine camaraderie, ideal for unwinding and bedtime listening.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Josh’s Travels & Taskmaster Tour (00:42–04:37)

• Travel Recap: Josh has been on the move, spending time in Los Angeles and connecting with fellow “Pillow Fort” co-hosts.
• Taskmaster U.S. Tour:
  • Josh hosted Q&As at shows with Greg Davies and Alex Horne for the U.S. Taskmaster tour.
  • What is Taskmaster?
    • UK comedy game show “where comedians are put to challenges. The challenges are sometimes so silly… Like, you have to hide in a garden” (02:06).
    • Josh highlights its cross-generational appeal: “It's not like squeaky clean but… a grown up thing that's okay for like kids who are starting to enjoy grown up things.” (01:28)
• Kindness in Comedy:
  • Kristen: “One thing I love about it is it’s so goofy and it’s so funny, but it’s never mean.” (03:02)
  • Josh: “Greg, as the taskmaster can be really mean about the contestant's performance, but… he's never cruel. He's just mean about, like, 'Oh, so you thought you were going to—'” (03:21)
  • They agree Taskmaster’s “kind heart” makes it special.

2. Kristen’s 50 States Book Project (05:08–12:57)

• Project Goal: Read one book from each U.S. state that couldn't belong anywhere else (“almost like the state is a character in the book” – 05:13).
• Listener Involvement: Kristen asks listeners to share suggestions for their state: “Can you write to us and tell us what books best epitomize various states?” (05:54)

Books Discussed:

• Maine: Olive Kittredge by Elizabeth Strout
  • “So quintessentially Maine… in my imagination, it couldn’t be anywhere other than Maine.” (06:36)
• Mississippi: Trees by Percival Everett (suggested by Josh, via his wife)
  • “It’s really kind of bleak, but also really funny. And there’s this kind of light supernatural thread, but it’s also really grounded. I don’t know, it just really, really rules. It’s so good.” (08:49)
• New York (upstate): The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  • “I thought it would be interesting to read a New York book that doesn’t take place in New York City… it really explores old money and classism and a different version of New York.” (09:38)
• Other States: Discussing the challenge of finding books for places like Delaware or South Dakota; mentions of Louise Erdrich for North Dakota.

Notable Moments:

• Kristen shares she read 240 books last year and is unfazed by the 50 State challenge, looking to finish by year’s end (11:38).
• Running joke on the overrepresentation of Maine (Stephen King, etc.).

3. Grievances: The Pool That Wasn’t (12:58–22:37)

Kristen’s Grievance (13:32–15:44):

• The gym across the street advertises a giant pool with images of adults – but when Kristen tried to join, she learned, “Only children are allowed in the pool.”
• “Why did you have these giant billboard sized posters… showing people my age in the pool?...That’s clearly adults in your posters!” (14:04)
• She misses doing Aquazumba with “some 80 year old gals dancing underwater” but feels “it seems so unfair that I cannot go in that pool” (15:02).

Josh’s Grievance/Joke (17:41–21:54):

• As consolation, Josh shares a long-running “gym fail”:
  • Paid for a gym membership for over a decade at a place he hadn’t attended or even lived near.
  • “I paid monthly for a gym that I hadn't gone to in...over a decade.” (17:41)
  • “They called me and were like, well, you owe us for this month because the account stopped working. And I went, I think you've gotten quite enough gym membership from me, a person who has lived 200 miles away… for 13 years.” (18:46)
  • “I think I spent, like, eighteen hundred dollars over a period of thirteen years.” (20:37)
• The trouble of quitting gyms and the inertia that keeps people paying.

Solutions & “Splash Pass” (21:32–22:24):

• Josh suggests looking for “one-off” classes elsewhere:
  • “Maybe there's a place nearby you can do a one off... and if you feel like you have that momentum, maybe it's worth going to the gym a little further.” (21:32)
  • Jokingly coins: “A splash pass, if you will.” (22:13)
  • Kristen: “You need to trademark that. That’s a trademark name for Josh.” (22:14)
  • Josh: “We trademarked it. This is trademarked. If you're a gym, you can't use that. That's ours.” (22:18)

4. Cozy Closing & Bedtime Wrap-Up (22:24–23:09)

• Kristen: “I am feeling way better about it. I have a game plan. I'm gonna look for splash pass. We know what needs to happen.” (22:24)
• Josh: “I'm sorry that you were thwarted by your local gym. But I think there's a way forward after all.” (22:37)
• As the episode winds down, both note feeling sleepy and ready for bed:
  • “Well, Josh, after all that, I'm feeling so much better. So much better about life. So much more. Ready for bed? Feeling pretty sleepy, actually. So I'm gonna turn in.” (22:54)
  • “I'm gonna pass out myself. So I'll talk to you soon. Good night, Kristin.” (23:05)

Memorable Quotes

• On Taskmaster:
  • “It's mean in the way, like, it's fun to watch the Roadrunner be mean to Wile E. Coyote.” — Josh (04:16)
  • “Because that's kind of how I think of you two. Just like a big heart... and your humor punches up, it doesn't punch down.” — Kristen to Josh (04:25)
• On the 50 States Project:
  • “You try to read one book from each state in the U.S...it's almost like the state is a character in the book.” — Kristen (05:13)
  • “If you have ideas, can you write to us and tell us what books best epitomize various states?” — Kristen (05:54)
• On False Gym Advertising:
  • “Well, why did you have these giant billboard sized posters on the outside of your building showing people my age in the pool?” — Kristen (14:04)
  • “We have the sign. It misrepresents what we offer, but… we’d rather inconvenience and annoy the people of our community than print up a new sign... there’s so much of that attitude ambiently lately.” — Josh (16:47)
• Classic Line:
  • “A splash pass, if you will.” — Josh (22:13)
  • “You need to trademark that. That's a trademark name for Josh.” — Kristen (22:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:42 – Josh returns & Taskmaster tour
• 01:17 – What is Taskmaster?
• 03:02 – Kindness in comedy
• 05:08 – Kristen’s 50 states book project introduction
• 06:36 – Olive Kittredge (Maine)
• 07:57 – Trees by Percival Everett (Mississippi)
• 09:38 – The God of the Woods (upstate NY)
• 12:58 – Introducing “airing grievances”
• 13:32 – Kristen’s gym pool grievance
• 17:41 – Josh’s gym membership saga
• 21:32 – “Splash pass” and solutions
• 22:54 – Cozy bedtime wind-down

Final Thoughts

This episode of The Nightly blends warmth, nostalgia, and gentle humor. Themes of fairness, kindness in entertainment, and small injustices give way to supportive camaraderie and playful invention (“splash pass”). Listening feels like a heartfelt chat with friends before drifting off to sleep.

Listener Call to Action:
Send your book suggestions (one per state!) to thenightly@hatch.co.