Podcast Summary: The Nightly — “For the Love of Baseball & Mario Kart”

Host: Hatch Podcasts
Date: January 16, 2026
Guests: Josh (A), Jacques (C)

Episode Overview

This episode of “The Nightly” is a cozy, late-night unwind in the Hatch Pillow Fort, where hosts Josh and Jacques chat about the joys and quirks of pop culture—specifically night reading habits, sports fandoms, and favorite Nintendo games. With mellow banter, the duo reflect on personal stories, friendly debates ("Spoon, Snore, Shove on the Floor"), and nostalgic moments, making it a perfect bedtime listen for insomniac pop culture lovers.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Nighttime Reading Rituals (00:30–04:05)

• Josh’s Reading Habits:

  • Wishes to be a more habitual nighttime reader, last engrossed by “Trees” by Percival Everett. Enjoys getting hooked by a good book.
  • “I'm always really excited when I have a book that I'm like, oh, I don't want to put this down…” (01:05, Josh)

• Jacques’s Background with Reading:

  • Not much of a pre-bed novel reader; prefers scripts, plays, and non-fiction research.
  • Childhood marked by mandatory summer book reports by his mom, leading to a lasting aversion to leisure reading (01:27–02:30).
  • “When I got old enough to say, like, leave me alone, then I was like, I'm never doing this again. I'm never reading for, like, leisure again because everybody else was outside playing and I'm in the house reading books.” (01:45, Jacques)

• Family Influences:

  • Josh’s wife and mom are voracious readers; his wife even works in publishing and “books straight to the dome three times a week.” (02:30)
  • Jacques’s mother is an avid reader who tried to instill that love.

• Admitting Attention Issues:

  • Jacques brings up attention challenges with reading novels but finds scripts intuitive due to their practical structure (03:04).

2. TV vs. Books — No Shame Anymore (03:53–05:41)

• Jacques laments the cultural stigma around TV being “less valuable” than reading and stresses the creativity and emotion in visual storytelling.

  • “We gotta stop looking down on people who enjoy television more than books…seeing human emotion and all these things is also just as valuable, in my opinion.” (04:05, Jacques)

• Both agree the “I don’t even own a TV” pseudo-intellectual phase should be over. TV, film, and stage offer their own forms of engagement and inspiration (04:47–05:41).

3. Live Theatre in Their Lives (05:41–07:44)

• Both hosts appreciate live theater, sharing experiences seeing “Hadestown,” “Groundhog Day: The Musical,” and “Chess.”
• Jacques hasn’t performed a play in over 13 years but has a yearning to return to the stage.
• “My soul needs it. I would love to do it back in Chicago.” (06:06, Jacques)

4. Spoon, Snore, Shove on the Floor: Sports Edition (07:44–13:49)

The Game’s Premise (07:44–08:16)

• "Spoon" = your comfort pick, "Snore" = long-term companionship, "Shove on the Floor" = cut from your life.

Jacques (Chicago Sports Fan):

• Follows: Bears (football), Bulls (basketball), Cubs (baseball).
• Shove on the Floor: Football (“I hope you land softly… I’m gonna go ahead and have to kick you out of the bed.” – 09:44)
• Spoon: Basketball—first sports love but now less attached due to fandom shifting from teams to individual stars (10:34).
• Snore: Baseball—“my love.” Recalls near-violent reactions to Cubs playoff heartbreak (“I almost punched my grandma over the Cubs.” – 10:38) and the deep feelings sports evoke.

Josh (Boston Sports Loyalist):

• Also chooses to Shove football (“much to everyone’s anger… A Patriots fan, of course…” – 12:05).
• Spoon: Baseball, for the daily rhythm and long season.
• Snore: Basketball, finds it enjoyable to play casually, though admits not playing baseball much recently.
• Both hosts reflect on the “parasocial” relationships fans form with teams and the difference between football (less player visibility) and other sports (12:47–13:11).

5. Sports Fandom Pet Peeves & Loyalty (13:49–16:44)

• Team Hopping:

  • Both disdain fans who “trade up” when moving cities, especially abandoning long-time loyalties for famed franchises like the Lakers or Yankees.

• Notable Quote — Jacques:

  • “I think Dodger fans, Yankees fans, Lakers fans, and Knicks fans are the worst fans in sports. And throw in the Cowboys in there too. … Can't stand them.” (14:53)

• Knicks Fans:

  • Josh finds their emotional volatility oddly endearing, recalling moments from his time on “Desus and Mero” (15:23).
  • Jacques: “Knicks fans are funny… Like always think, like, we gonna do it this year. But like, they're not as worse. They're in the bottom of the worst.” (16:00)

• Legendary Quote/Moment (Kristaps Porziņģis draft):

  • Jacques retells the “Tingus Pingus” viral Knicks fan rant:
    • “Who is Tingus Pingus? What did you do?” (16:44, Jacques)
    • Both agree the fan’s outrage achieves comedic genius.

6. Spoon, Snore, Shove on the Floor: Mario Edition (17:26–19:58)

Choices:

• Super Smash Brothers, Mario Party, Mario Kart.

Josh:

• Shove: Mario Party — “I just kind of missed it, maybe. I wasn’t playing a lot of video games.” (17:37)
• Spoon: Super Smash Brothers — loves the fighting game, especially with friends.
• Snore: Mario Kart — “that’s great with other people, but it’s also very fun and kind of relaxing to play alone. … a nice meditative video game experience.” (17:53)

Jacques:

• Admits not being a “Nintendo kid”—more of a sports game and GoldenEye player (18:27).
• Shove: Mario Kart — finds it fun but ultimately “more annoyed with” the item-throwing dynamic.
• Spoon: Super Smash Brothers — likes fighting games.
• Snore: Mario Party — appreciates party mini-games in groups, “that’s gonna be my boo that I take to every Mario party.” (19:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On reading and TV:
  “The creativity and the effort and the work that goes into film and…seeing human emotion…is also just as valuable…as people who read in a book.” (04:05, Jacques)

• On sports heartbreak:
  “I almost punched my grandma over the Cubs. Oh my gosh. Not really. Like it was 2003 and the famous Steve Bartman incident…” (10:38, Jacques)

• On sports fandom loyalty:
  “I cannot stand it. Especially people who…actually are a fan of the team from your city. Like, have some loyalty.” (14:13, Jacques)

• On Knicks fans’ comic frustration:
  “Who is Tingus Pingus? What did you do?” (16:44, Jacques about viral Knicks draft reaction)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Nighttime Reading Rituals: 00:30–04:05
• TV vs. Books: 03:53–05:41
• Live Theatre: 05:41–07:44
• Spoon, Snore, Shove (Sports): 07:44–13:49
• Fandom Pet Peeves: 13:49–16:44
• Knicks Fans/Laughter: 16:44–17:17
• Spoon, Snore, Shove (Mario): 17:26–19:58

Tone and Style

True to the show’s “pillow fort” vibe, the chat is friendly, laid-back, and laced with pop culture references, personal anecdotes, and candid confidences. The banter alternates between gentle teasing and heartfelt sharing, perfectly suited for late-night unwinding.

In summary:
This episode invites you into an affectionate and funny night-time conversation about the joys—and occasional frustrations—of favorite books, sports allegiances, and Mario games. It’s a pop culture slumber party with plenty of nostalgia, relatable rants, and endearing vulnerability about the little things that keep us up at night.