The Nightly — "Pilot Matt & The Voynich Manuscript"

Podcast: The Nightly (Hatch Podcasts)
Episode Date: November 28, 2025
Hosts: Matt (A), kp (B)

Main Theme

This cozy late-night episode blends gentle humor, sleep advice, and pop culture curiosity. Hosts Matt and kp share their sleep tips, riff on quirky bedtime routines, and take a deep, lighthearted dive into the strange mystery of the Voynich Manuscript. The episode winds down with confessions of niche obsessions—including Matt’s belief in his ability to fly a plane thanks to “flight simulator”—creating a warm, whimsical tone ideal for bedtime listening.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sleep Strategies & Bedtime Habits

• Heated Blanket Hype

  • Matt shares his discovery of the joys of heated blankets and recounts a local event for "pat testing" electric blankets—a process to check their safety.

    “It turned out the fire brigade were doing a talk there on how to pat test your electric blanket. It was a lot of old people.” (01:11)

  • Both hosts joke about the lengths people go for coziness.

• Sleeping Positions & Sleep Training

  • kp details her struggle to train herself to sleep on her back (supposedly healthier and better for jaw issues).

    “How do I subliminally teach myself how to sleep in my sleep?” (03:03)

  • Lighthearted speculation about using the podcast as a sleeper’s audio reminder:

    Matt: “Just one of us just on a loop saying, stay on your back. Stay on your back.” (03:13)

• Pre-Bedtime Instagram Trends

  • Recent sleep and relaxation trends: lying on the floor with legs up against the wall (“right angle time”) and “tummy time” like a baby, allegedly to help neck alignment.

    kp: “I think it’s all a ploy to get us to look silly.” (05:04)

2. The Voynich Manuscript: A Deeply Enigmatic Mystery

• What is the Voynich Manuscript?

  • kp introduces the audience to this 15th-century illustrated book, notorious for its completely undecipherable script and strange, alien-looking plant illustrations.

    “It’s complete gibberish … The language isn’t used in other texts of the time. … Or they’re like, okay, perhaps this was like a code to hide what they were really trying to say.” (06:27, 06:49)

• Speculating Theories about Its Authorship & Purpose

  • The duo spins theories ranging from alien origin to ancient code, with a preference for “warlock doctor” or “the world’s first comedian.”

    Matt: “So probably on drugs. A lot of free time. Loads of thoughts that don’t really make sense. … I reckon that could be the first comedian.” (10:53, 11:01)

  • kp’s favorite idea: a mad genius or someone with “full time” devotion to cryptic nonsense.

• Details, Fun Facts, and the Manuscript’s Oddities

  • Found in a Southern European castle; written with some recognizable, some invented characters; no one has yet deciphered even a passage.
    • “The drawings are very like ... there’s a lot of horticulture, there’s a lot of plants, there’s a lot of fauna ... but the order makes no sense at all.” (06:49–08:40)
    • “With 300 pages, you would for sure have to get other people helping you write it, but it stays consistent the whole time.” (13:39)
  • Name given to its language: “Voyna cheese.”
  • Recruited top code-breakers (even rumored to distract them from global warfare), to no avail.

• Notable, Memorable Quotes:

  • kp: “It was such My Roman Empire that I was thinking about getting a tattoo of one of the flowers in the book because I find it just so enigmatic.” (07:16)
  • Matt: “That sounds like the notes app in my phone.” (11:01)

3. Matt’s Flight Path Obsession & Everyday Expertise

• Matt’s “Toxic Trait”: Believe You Could Fly a Plane

  • Matt spies on planes overhead using a flight tracker and believes (with enough simulation gaming and perhaps some coaching) he could land a commercial airliner.

    “I do regularly see, like, watch them go over. And I’ve got a little flight tracker as well. … I reckon I could fly one.” (15:49)

  • kp questions this confidence, but is generally supportive if autopilot is included.

    “If you were like, oh, I’m doing this one, I’d only feel a little nervous as I put my bag in the plane.” (17:37)

• Could You Be Talked Through Surgery—or Anything?

  • This spirals into a tongue-in-cheek debate about whether, with expert instructions, you could perform surgery, cook Michelin meals, or land a plane.
    • Matt: “If you had someone to talk you through it as well and just say, right, just turn that on. I don’t think there’s actually that much …” (18:02)
    • kp: “I almost think I could probably do a quick surgery if someone’s talking me through it.” (18:14)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Matt on the pat testing event:

  “A ginormous queue of elderly people getting their electric blanket pat tested. I didn’t sell a single ticket.” (02:12)

• kp, on Instagram sleep trends:

  “I think it’s all a ploy to get us to look silly.” (05:04) “Matt Bragg was spotted doing tummy time. On his Heated Blanket TMZ article.” (05:25–05:27)

• kp, on the Voynich mystery:

  “It was such My Roman Empire … I was thinking about getting a tattoo of one of the flowers in the book because I find it just so enigmatic.” (07:16)

• Matt, theorizing about the author:

  “That sounds like the notes app in my phone.” (11:01)

• Matt, describing his confidence:

  “I think autopilot would have a pretty big role to play in this fantasy.” (17:32)

• Sign-off (gently winding down):

  Matt: “I’m actually getting pretty sleepy and I’ve got big dreams that I need to … I tend to. So I think I’m gonna turn in.” (20:07)
  kp: “A classic dream of flying and you’re gonna, you’re gonna do it in real life. I can tell. I’m turning in. Good night, Matt.” (20:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:54–05:25 — Sleep habits, heated blankets, sleep position struggles, and Instagram trends
• 05:55–15:29 — Deep dive into the Voynich Manuscript: description, theories, fun facts, personal obsessions
• 15:44–19:46 — Matt’s flight path fixation, everyday expertise, “being talked through” complex tasks
• 20:07–end — Wind down, sleepy sign-off

Tone & Language

The episode’s tone is warm, playful, irreverent, and self-deprecating, with friendly jabs and silly tangents. The language is casual, full of gentle banter, and perfectly pitched for winding down—never taking itself too seriously, even when poking at history’s mysteries.

Summary Takeaway

“Pilot Matt & The Voynich Manuscript” serves up the perfect bedtime companion: sleep talk, weird history, and endearing, meandering conversations. By the time Matt and kp sign off, listeners are primed for odd dreams—maybe about decoding ancient scripts, flying airplanes, or just finding the coziest blanket around.