Goodnight Kelly Clarkson

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Nightly – “Goodnight Kelly Clarkson”
Date: June 19, 2026
Host: Josh Gondelman (solo for this episode)
Guest: Jason, a Nightly listener

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Nightly is a cozy, conversational bedtime chat hosted solo by comedian Josh Gondelman. The episode blends reflections on New York’s recent NBA championship, the city’s unusually jubilant mood, and a charming, nostalgic discussion with listener Jason on decluttering childhood memorabilia—particularly old concert tickets and T-shirts collected over the years. The episode wraps with a playful tribute to pop diva Kelly Clarkson, in keeping with the lighthearted, sleep-friendly tone of the show.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Josh’s “Good Mood” New York City Monologue

• (00:01–06:27)
  • Josh welcomes listeners, discusses inviting audience participation, and sets the sleep-friendly, chatty tone of the show.
  • He notes the unusually positive mood in NYC following the Knicks’ NBA Championship win:
    • “There has been kind of an unprecedented good mood in the city.” [02:10]
  • Shares a humorous anecdote about greeting a stranger who responds less than warmly:

    “She looked back in my face, like perturbed, I think is the word. And she goes, ‘Well, who the... are you?’” [04:43]

  • Segues to a new topic, mentioning shifting attention to the New York Liberty’s WNBA winning streak.

2. Introducing Listener Jason: NYC Vibes & Wild Knicks Celebrations

• (06:28–08:42)
  • Jason, calling from Manhattan but living in Brooklyn, joins the show.
  • They trade stories about the city’s reaction to the championship:

    Jason: “...It was like the loudest I've ever heard the city before. It was nuts.” [07:34]

  • Discussion about fireworks, noise complaints, and how obvious the Knicks fever has been across the city:

    Jason: “Did you happen to see the amount of noise complaints increased right after they won?” [08:09] Josh: “I kind of feel like, hey folks, noise complaints are suspended tonight.” [08:18]

3. The Challenge of Letting Go: Childhood Memorabilia & Sentimental Clutter

• (08:42–14:04)
  • Jason introduces his ongoing project: decluttering childhood mementos after parents moved out of his childhood home.

    Jason: “I've been in the midst of decluttering my apartment and I've been going through the motions of thinking about getting rid of childhood mementos and how difficult that is.” [08:48]

  • They detail specific types of memorabilia: books, childhood ID cards, learner’s permits, lanyards from old jobs, and above all—T-shirt collections.
  • Both share the struggle of parting with sentimental yet unused items, especially event and band T-shirts with strong emotional value.

4. Music Memorabilia: The Concert Ticket Box & Kelly Clarkson

• (14:04–17:30)
  • Jason reveals his habit of saving concert movie tickets and discovering just how many artists he’s seen.

    Jason: “I've seen Kelly Clarkson a lot of times.” [14:52]

  • The tally: Kelly Clarkson (5 or 6 times), tied with Kacey Musgraves (“I think I've been to every tour that she's done.” [15:30]), and runner-up JoJo (“I've seen her, like, five or six times.” [15:39]).
  • Both discuss arena shows, ticket prices, and the spectacle versus authenticity debate in live music experiences.

5. Arena Shows, Big Pop Concerts, and the “Vegas Sphere” Fantasy

• (17:13–20:19)
  • Conversation shifts to comparing pop concerts (Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Madonna) to more conventional bands (Death Cab for Cutie), emphasizing pop concerts’ spectacle:

    Josh: “When we saw Beyonce, I really was like, oh, this is—the money we paid is all there on stage.” [17:29]

  • Debate about what makes arena/stadium shows “worth it” and which artists justify sky-high prices.
  • Amusing speculation about which artists could command the Las Vegas Sphere, with Jason’s pick being Beyoncé:

    Jason: “I would spend thousands of dollars, for sure.” [19:59] Josh: “Her shows are so visually spectacular, like every tour, that I feel like she would do something that is like, exactly what that technology was designed for.” [20:01]

6. Goodnights & Lighthearted Farewells

• (20:19–20:45)
  • Josh offers Jason an opportunity to say goodnight to anyone in the world:

    Jason: “I will say goodnight, Kelly Clarkson.” [20:41]

  • Josh echoes the sentiment, then adds:

    “I'm gonna say good night to Casey Musgraves. I don't want her to feel left out.” [20:52]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Josh’s philosophical encounter on the street:

  “It was like too deep an existential question for me to really ponder. So I just kept walking. But I really laughed about it all day.” [05:20]

• Jason on concert tickets:

  “Oh, yeah. I think it's the concert and movie tickets that I've collected, particularly the concerts, because... it's nice to have that jog of memory.” [14:29]

• On sentimental T-shirts:

  Jason: “I have a box in my closet that's just T-shirts I've collected that I could technically wear, but they're old and kind of ugly, and I don't want to wear them. So I'm just like, Oh, just keep them.” [13:23]

• Jason’s parting words:

  “Goodnight, Kelly Clarkson.” [20:41]

• Josh, not wanting to leave anyone out:

  “I'm gonna say good night to Casey Musgraves. I don't want her to feel left out.” [20:52]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01–06:27 — Josh’s solo intro, NBA/NYC vibes, anecdote about NYC stranger.
• 06:28–08:42 — Jason joins, discussing post-Knicks win energy, NYC celebrations.
• 08:42–14:04 — Decluttering talk: mementos, IDs, T-shirts, personal nostalgia.
• 14:04–17:30 — Music memorabilia, favorite artists, and concert habits.
• 17:13–20:19 — Arena shows, “is it worth it,” best concert spectacles, Sphere dreams.
• 20:19–20:45 — Goodnight segment: tributes to Kelly Clarkson, Casey Musgraves.

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Final Thoughts

This sleep-friendly episode blends city insights, a dash of basketball-induced euphoria, and warm nostalgia over music memorabilia, all wrapped up by a heartfelt (and slightly cheeky) “goodnight” to pop stars who’ve soundtracked the hosts' and callers' memories. The humor, warmth, and gentle meandering are ideal for winding down, especially for anyone who’s ever struggled to toss out a sentimental T-shirt or who feels a dose of comfort in looking back at favorite concerts past.

Transcript

[A]

Audio for sleep by hatch. Hello and good evening, everyone. I'm Josh. Welcome to the Nightly from Hatch, where your late night thoughts go to rest. I am solo hosting tonight. I'm alone in the pillow fort, but in a little while I will be opening up the lines and I'm going to talk to a listener. So I always love to do this. I always love hearing what's on the mind of someone who listens to the nightly what's keeping them up at night, what they're fascinated with, what they're excited about. And if you ever want to come on the show, you, that's right, you listening right now. Don't look around. I mean, if I could, I would be making direct eye contact with you, the person hearing this. And if you ever want to come on and talk with any of our hosts about something that's on your mind, please email us or send a voice memo to thenightlyach. Co. That's thenightlyach. Co. You can send us a little text message there. You know, an email in the format of text, not a telephone text message. I guess you can email from your phone and you can also leave a voice note if you just want to drop a note and hear the host react to it. But we would love, if you wanted to call in and chat with us, it could be anything from a TV show that you've been watching and are obsessed with or a place that you'd love to travel that you just learned about. Or like a weird animal fact I heard recently. I had heard this fact, but a friend of mine brought it up on a different podcast that honey, like from bees doesn't go bad. And like, that's fascinating. Any kind of thing that you just want to talk about something that's been like on your mind and you haven't had somebody to share it with. We would love to have you talking about it with us on the nightly. You can hear it in my voice. I'm in a pretty good mood. I live in New York City, as has been brought up numerous times. Probably people are a little sick of it, of hearing about New York stuff. I understand. I'm originally from Massachusetts. I lived in Boston for many years. So when people, people talk about New York like it's the only place in the western hemisphere or northern hemisphere. It does. It can be a lot. But it has kind of been a focal point New York City for sports lately because the New York Knicks recently won the NBA championship and there has been kind of an unprecedented good mood in the city. It's Been really nice. People have been out at night. People have been polite and generous on the subway, just like strangers have been chattier. There's kind of a natural topic of conversation. And I'm not even a Knicks fan, which I did say at a standup show in Brooklyn recently and the audience booed me. But I knew that they were fake fans and I told them so they left because they knew I got them. But it's just this kind of citywide good mood and I've really been loving it and I overextended. The problem is it didn't apply. The good mood in the city doesn't apply to everyone equally. And I took it for granted that everyone was kind of abuzz. About three days ago in kind of the peak good vibes era, I was walking to meet a friend in my neighborhood and I was walking past or crossing the street towards an older woman who was crossing the street towards me with her two little dogs. And I have a little dog as well. Her name is Maggie. She's a pug. She's the sweetest. She doesn't actually get along with other dogs. So it was good that I was alone, but I thought maybe she could feel the kind of ambient little dog energy coming off of me. So I just feeling the kind of exuberance of Brooklyn, I looked across the street and I said, hello, good morning. And she looked back in my face, like perturbed, I think is the word. And she goes, well, who the. And then cursed are you?

[B]

And.

[A]

And I had headphones in, so I wasn't sure that she was saying what I thought she was saying. So I turned back. I had passed her and I turned back and she turned back thinking maybe I hadn't heard her. And she went, no, really, who the curse word are you? She emphasized are this time. And it was like too deep an existential question for me to really ponder. So I just kept walking. But I really laughed about it all day. Just like, gosh, New York, it's a great mood. Everybody's just happy to live in the bustling metropolis with the thriving NBA team. Except for this one lady who I came across on my walk. The NBA season is over. I'm excited now. I'm locked into the WNBA season. I am a New York Liberty fan. They are really coming on strong. As of this recording, they're on a seven game winning streak. I love the Liberty. Excited to go see them play live in Brooklyn and. And hopefully that will cheer up my cranky neighbor. That's what I've been up to and I'm so excited to hear what our caller has to say. I'm going to bring on a the Nightly listener and I'm going to hear what their late night thoughts have been all about. Jason, hello. Welcome to the Nightly.

[B]

Hello. Thanks for having me.

[A]

Thanks for being here. Where are you calling from tonight, Jason

[B]

from New York City.

[A]

Ooh, what borough, if you don't mind my asking?

[B]

So calling you from Manhattan, but I live in Brooklyn.

[A]

Okay, right on. So this is kind of a cross river experience that we're having, which I'm very excited about. How have you been? I was talking earlier kind of in the opening of the show of the excellent post NBA championship energy around the city. Have you been noticing that at all?

[B]

Oh, yeah, that's. I work very close to Penn Station, so it's like a wild party over. My gosh, it's been.

[A]

Yeah. Have you seen anything especially wild? Like what's the wildest thing you've seen?

[B]

So I'm not a big basketball person, but I had a friend's going away party on Saturday and we ended at a bar to watch the Knicks game. So I got to see them win. And then so the bar went nuts. And then we went outside and it was like the loudest I've ever heard the city before. It was nuts.

[A]

Wow. Oh, that's amazing. I was home in Brooklyn when that happened, but it got pretty noisy over here. My neighbors, for the last two games of the series, there was someone in my neighborhood that was ready shooting off fireworks literally three seconds after the game ended both times.

[B]

Which is funny because shooting off fireworks is like any normal day in Brooklyn.

[A]

That's true. Yeah. But I could tell from the timing that it was related. But I'm with you. That could happen in the summer. Any night can be a fireworks night.

[B]

Totally. And did you happen to see the amount of noise complaints increased right after they won? No.

[A]

That's so funny. I kind of feel like, hey folks, noise complaints are suspended tonight.

[B]

Yeah. I just can't imagine being the person who's not aware that the game is happening.

[A]

Yeah, totally. Especially all the businesses have had little. Local businesses have had nick stuff up in their windows. Like it's like an election endorsement.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Jason, thank you so much for calling in. What is on your mind tonight that you'd like to discuss?

[B]

So I've been in the midst of decluttering my apartment and I've been going through the motions of thinking about getting rid of childhood mementos and how difficult that is. Yeah, it's Just there's so much stuff I have.

[A]

Do you live in the same home you grew up in, or have you moved these mementos from your childhood home to where you live now?

[B]

They've all moved with me to different apartments. And then when my parents moved out of our childhood home, I had to take a bunch of stuff and then also try to get rid of stuff because my apartment's too small for everything.

[A]

Yeah. What kinds of. Well, first of all, how much stuff are we talking? Just, like, volume wise,

[B]

you know, dozens and dozens of books. There's, like, things I collected all through childhood. Middle school, high school, blah, blah, blah. So it's like boxes of stuff.

[A]

Wow. And what. So what kind of collections are we talking? Because that could mean anything. That could be baseball cards, that could be seashells that, you know, that could be butterflies pinned to a cloth backdrop.

[B]

Yeah. Trying to, like, catalog everything. And there's, like, things from just random T shirts collected throughout the years, and movie and concert tickets. I have, like, middle and high school IDs. I found my learner's permit the other day.

[A]

Whoa.

[B]

Which is the closest I ever got to getting my driver's license.

[A]

You never got your license?

[B]

No.

[A]

The permit, I have to imagine, has expired by this point.

[B]

Yeah, it's about. It could be in high school at this point.

[A]

Right on. Wow. I have in. In my wallet, behind my active driver's license, I have my first driver's license ever. And it's vertically oriented, like portrait mode, not landscape mode, because that's what they give you in Massachusetts when you're under 18, at least at the time. And I have, like a big, fluffy, like, almost like a fro. Like, I got a lot of hair going on, and I keep it. Cause it's so funny. My face looks so young. And I have not had. I mean, I was gonna say that amount of hair. I have not had hair in, like, two decades.

[B]

I think you have to keep that.

[A]

I do. I've had it. I've had it for legitimately between 23 and 25 years, I think. And it's like I switch it wallet to wallet. Yeah.

[B]

You have gotten new photos since then?

[A]

I have, yeah. So I have a New York driver's license that looks. Oh, it looks a lot like me. Although I showed up to get my real id. This is very boring. But I showed up to get my real ID because it makes it easier to fly and stuff now. And I just assumed it was a paperwork thing. And they were like, okay, time to take your new picture. And I was sweaty and, like, I was all disheveled. So my new picture is maybe my worst of all time.

[B]

I totally understand because my passport photo looks like a mugshot.

[A]

I was gonna ask, are you, like, a passport for all things or do you have a different, like, please let me into bars and airports id?

[B]

Yeah, it's like, I have a beard. I don't look 13 anymore because I have a state ID. Since I don't have a license, I use. I got a passport card along with my actual passport to use. That cool? Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So with the childhood memorabilia and mementos, I have the same thing as I have a real trouble prioritizing what to give away, what to throw away, what to keep. Was there any stuff that when you found it, you were like, well, this can go in the trash. Easy peasy.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I had lanyards, multiple lanyards from a job I had, like, 10 years ago. And I just. I was like, I don't need three. I'll just keep one and I can get rid of two.

[A]

That's nice when you've got stuff you can pare down. I have the worst trouble with T shirts, though, especially when they're like, oh, this is a band T shirt that's, like, a little ripped up. But I love this band. And they haven't made this t shirt in 15 years. Or like, this is from an event, and it was never a very comfortable T shirt, but I remember the event so fondly, and I want to have this as. As like, a memento. Do you. Is that. Do you have that with the T shirts as well?

[B]

100%. I have a box in my closet that's just T shirts I've collected that I could technically wear, but they're old and kind of ugly, and I don't want to wear them. So I'm just like, oh, just keep them.

[A]

Yeah. What are the ones that you're like? I really treasure this T shirt, but I don't. I won't wear it ever.

[B]

Oh, yeah, these are, like, very silly. It's like a Hershey Park T shirt I got for an 8th grade field trip. There's like, the tie dye T shirt I made in chemistry class, 11th grade. My sister made me a 21st birthday T shirt so that I obviously have to keep.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, gosh, that's so hard, though. They all sound like winners to me.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

And then what's the other stuff like of the collections and books? Is there anything that you've. While you've been doing this kind of Sorting. What has really struck you? Is there anything you've been like, whoa, I forgot about this, and I'm so glad that I still have it?

[B]

Oh, yeah. I think it's the concert and movie tickets that I've collected, particularly the concerts, because it's just. I don't have a running list of every concert I've ever been to, so it's nice to have that jog of memory.

[A]

Were there shows that when you saw the tickets or whatever, you were like, whoa, I forgot that I went to that show, and it was awesome.

[B]

Maybe a little bit. It's probably just like, oh, wow. I've seen Kelly Clarkson a lot of times.

[A]

Wow. How many times do you think you've seen Kelly Clarkson?

[B]

I think at this point, it's been like five or six, which doesn't sound like a lot, but amongst everything, it's a lot.

[A]

I think so too. I think five or six is a lot. Is she the artist you've seen live the most times?

[B]

I think she's tied for first. Ooh.

[A]

With whom?

[B]

I think I've seen Casey Musgraves five times. Whoa. And I think I've seen. Yeah. And then.

[A]

Well, that's. And that's in a much shorter window.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I think I've been to every tour that she's done.

[A]

Cool. And sorry, you were gonna say I cut you off.

[B]

Do you remember Jojo?

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Too little, too late. I've seen her, like, five or six times.

[A]

Cool. So you've seen Casey Musgraves on every tour she's come through in New York City. That rules. That's so interesting, too, because I was gonna say, either you're, like, a day one Casey Musgraves fan, or you just got into Kelly Clarkson.

[B]

No, no, no. No fans since day one. Just, you know, poor.

[A]

Yes, totally. And I also find my appetite for big arena shows is really, do I love this artist, or is it someone that I'll only ever get to see in a room this big? Because I know some people that go see Springsteen or Pearl Jam whenever they come through, but I don't know that there's any artist I've seen in a room that big more than once,

[B]

especially these days, because it's so expensive.

[A]

Yeah, it's so expensive. My wife and I talked about it on, like, two summers ago when Taylor Swift and Beyonce had those kind of not dueling tours. They weren't, like, competitive, but the two kind of big tours of the summer. And we. I've seen. We went together to see Beyonce on the Lemonade Tour at Citi Field in Queens. But like have never seen Taylor. And I'm not like a die hard Swifty, but I was like, you know, I would like to see the biggest recording artist of an era of American music live, but certainly not at those prices.

[B]

Yeah, I was like, I did go to both of those shows, so I did spend an insane amount of money. Yeah, but it's well worth it. It is when especially stadium shows because it's such a spectacle, you're really getting your money's worth.

[A]

When we saw Beyonce, I really was like, oh, this is the money that we paid is all there on stage. I could see it. And the same with. We saw Madonna a couple years ago at the Barclays center and that was like a tremendous spectacle and was like, this is a really cool show. But then, you know, we saw. I took my wife to see Death Cab for Cutie for her birthday a couple years ago and they were playing MSG and, and I was like, this is a good show, but they are not a must see in an arena band.

[B]

No. Yeah, it's definitely like, are you going to have dancers? Are you going to put on a full performance for me?

[A]

Totally.

[B]

That will justify the price or not.

[A]

Yep, that's exactly it. And so I do think like those. It's so funny because when I was young I feel like there was a little bit of a stigma of like the big pop stars kind of like, oh, they don't play instruments or whatever and it's just kind of like, it's like kind of a cutesy thing. But I also have come to appreciate like when you go to see, you know, these Vegas residencies, you see Britney Spears or Usher or whoever, like it is a show and like a lot of the bands that like I feel like get credit for like, you know, real rock and roll music. It's like they do just kind of stand there and play the songs real loud, which I also love. But. But that doesn't, that doesn't necessitate, you know, a 15,000 seat arena.

[B]

We're flying all the way to Vegas and spending like.

[A]

Totally. Yeah. I just can't imagine flying to Vegas to like sit in the sphere and like hear Bob Dylan mumble for three hours.

[B]

What kind of like AI things do you think you put on the screen?

[A]

Oh my gosh. I feel like it would be like kind of surreal interpretations of his songs, old concert footage. Who do you. Is there anyone that you're like, gosh, this would get me to go to the sphere. Like, I would fly to Las Vegas to see this band because I know I have a couple friends that went for no Doubt, a few that went for Backstreet Boys, a few that went

[B]

for

[A]

a bunch of people who've seen Fish and the Dead there. I'm trying to think of who else. I know I have other friends that went to Vegas just to see, like, Shania Twain or Rod Stewart. But, like, who do you think would put on a good show in the sphere?

[B]

I mean, the obvious answer is Beyonce.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

I would spend thousands of dollars, for sure.

[A]

I mean, and she, her shows are so visually spectacular, like every tour that I feel like she would do something that is like, exactly what that technology was designed for.

[B]

Yeah, I think she would last like a decade just at that performance.

[A]

Totally. Jason, thank you so much for calling in to the nightly tonight. I'm going to say good night to you, but also, if there's anyone out there in the world listening or not that you'd like to say goodnight to, it could be someone who lives in your home with you that you want to shout out. It could be Kelly Clarkson herself. This is your opportunity to say goodnight to anyone in the world.

[B]

You took the words out of my mouth. I will say goodnight, Kelly Clarkson.

[A]

Goodnight, Kelly Clarkson. I hope you're having a good night. You deserve it. And again, if there's anyone listening tonight that wants to come on the show and talk about anything or even just leave us a voice note, email us at thenightlyatch. Co. We would love to hear from you, myself, our other hosts. We're just always so delighted to hear from listeners and to get to chat with them. So good night to you all. Good night to Jason. And I'm gonna say a good night to. I'm gonna say good night to Casey Musgraves. I don't want her to feel left out. So good night, Casey Musgraves. Get some. Get some good sleep.

[B]

Sa.

[A]

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