Podcast Summary
Podcast: The Nightly
Host: Hatch Podcasts
Episode: Selena Gomez in My Dreams + Embarrassing Spotify Wrapped | Cozy Bedtime Talk
Date: December 14, 2025
Overview
This episode of The Nightly is all about pop-culture confessions and dreamy banter in the cozy "pillow fort" with hosts Sophia and Kristen. The pair share vulnerable laughs about their embarrassing Spotify Wrapped results, explore the strange world of musical "listening age," and swap amusing stories about their top podcast topics, dream interpretations, and surprising celebrity cameos in the subconscious—namely, Selena Gomez. The mood is light, friendly, and tailor-made for winding down before bedtime.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Humiliations and Surprises of Spotify Wrapped
- Sophia's Musical Shame: Sophia laments how her Spotify Wrapped always feels like an annual embarrassment. This year, it told her she had a "listening age" of 74, supposedly due to her mix of contemporary pop and 1960s music.
- "[Spotify Wrapped] told me my listening age was 74, which I don't even know what that means. I think that was a new feature this year." (00:54 – Sophia)
- Listening Age Oddities: Friends and family had wildly different “listening ages”: Sophia’s brother, age 31, had a listening age of 19. They joke about what era of music an 87-year-old listening age means.
- Role Model Shame: Sophia sheepishly admits to having Role Model as one of her top artists, even though she “didn't think the album was that good,” but she listened a lot.
- "I don't feel like I thought the album was that good, but I just listened to it a lot. I guess that's what happened." (03:40 – Sophia)
- Kristen Opts Out: Kristen doesn’t use Spotify anymore, partly to avoid the “judgment.”
- Musical Catch-Up: Kristen says she’s “always two years behind on music,” and music choices are often dictated by reading celebrity memoirs—e.g., binging on '60s Ronnie Spector’s music after her memoir.
2. The Podcast’s Own “Nightly Wrapped”
- Producer-Compiled Most-Talked-About Topics:
- Kristen is "guilty" of constantly bringing up Minnesota—whether through Midwestern connections or pop-culture references (e.g., Little House on the Prairie).
- "I go back to Minnesota at least once a year. So, yeah, Minnesota comes up a lot." (05:41 – Kristen)
- Sophia’s cats are the running stars in her anecdotes.
- "I can talk about them all the time. There's always something to say about them." (06:16 – Sophia)
- Kristen is "guilty" of constantly bringing up Minnesota—whether through Midwestern connections or pop-culture references (e.g., Little House on the Prairie).
- Cat Obsessions: Kristen shares a story about her mother-in-law’s extremely talkative cat in New Zealand, leading to an amusing riff on animal personification.
- "This cat enters the room and introduces herself to everybody… I'm gonna walk up to each person and keep talking. Like, she never shuts up." (06:36 – Kristen)
3. Bedtime Game: Dream Interpretation Swap
Kristen’s Dream: The Mystery Celebrity
- The Dream: Kristen dreams of hanging out with a very famous, "white, middle-aged, blonde, huggable" woman whose name she can't place. The entire dream, she tries (and fails) to identify her, while they enjoy easy rapport and the celebrity radiates kindness.
- "There was just some sort of sparkle about her. And when she smiled, she just lit up the whole room." (09:54 – Kristen)
- Speculation: The hosts wonder if you can invent faces in dreams. Sophia jokes about building faces “Mr. Potato Head” style in her mind.
- Interpretation: Sophia suggests the celebrity could be a representation of Kristen’s own qualities ("she's your inner star"), or that it encourages openness to unexpected friendships.
- "To me, my initial reaction is that I'm like, she's part of you." (12:07 – Sophia)
- "Maybe I should just keep an open mind about doing the unexpected and meeting unexpected people more." (14:10 – Kristen)
- Memorable Bit: Kristen does a desperate Google image search for "59-year-old blonde white women with soft bodies" (10:25).
Sophia’s Dream: Falling in Love with Selena Gomez
- The Dream: Sophia unexpectedly dreams of falling in mutual love with Selena Gomez, though she doesn’t have a real-life crush on the singer-actress and even finds the dream odd.
- "I had a dream that we met and we fell in love. Which was really funny because I don't have those feelings at all in my conscious life..." (15:04 – Sophia)
- The scenario unfolds in a "sprinter van" en route to glamorous events, with people constantly interrupting their moments alone.
- Why Selena?: Sophia finds her attraction in the dream perplexing, as her actual taste in celebrity crushes tends toward creators whose work she strongly admires.
- Kristen’s Rave for Selena: Kristen advocates for Selena Gomez as an admirable, “rags to riches” figure who takes professional risks and has sidestepped the “nepo baby” curse.
- "Selena Gomez is legit rags to riches… I love that. I find that so admirable and so rare in the entertainment industry." (17:38 – Kristen)
- They both fondly remember and recommend the movies "Princess Protection Program" and "Emilia Perez," laughing at how delightfully over-the-top the latter is.
- Relationship Sympatico: Sophia and Kristen realize they’re even “dreaming in the same universe,” after remembering dreams involving Benny Blanco, Selena's real-life partner.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Spotify’s “Listening Age”:
- “They told me my listening age was 74… All of my top musicians and songs were like contemporary pop music.” (00:54 – Sophia)
- "I saw my brother got 19, which was making me laugh as his listening age. He's 31." (01:55 – Sophia)
-
Role Model Shame:
- “I don’t feel like I thought the album was that good, but I just listened to it a lot. I guess that’s what happened.” (03:40 – Sophia)
-
On Cat Obsession:
- “I just can’t help it. Every day it’s something new, you know.” (07:21 – Sophia)
-
Kristen’s Mystery Celebrity Dream:
- “There was just some sort of sparkle about her. And when she smiled, she just lit up the whole room.” (09:54 – Kristen)
- “She’s your inner star or something.” (12:22 – Sophia)
-
On Selena Gomez:
- “I had a dream that we met and we fell in love, which was really funny because I don’t have those feelings at all in my conscious life…” (15:04 – Sophia)
- “Confess: I like both of those movies. I know not everybody likes both those movies.” (18:20 – Kristen)
- “Selena Gomez is legit rags to riches… I love that. I find that so admirable and so rare in the entertainment industry.” (17:38 – Kristen)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Spotify Wrapped Embarrassments: 00:45 – 04:55
- Podcast’s Most-Talked-About Topics (Nightly Wrapped): 04:59 – 07:40
- Cat Stories: 06:10 – 07:40
- Transition to Dream Interpretation: 07:44
- Kristen’s Mystery Celebrity Dream: 08:14 – 14:34
- Sophia’s Selena Gomez Dream: 14:45 – 19:47
- Fun with Selena and Dream Connections: 19:47 – 20:44
Tone & Style
The episode’s atmosphere is warm, gently self-deprecating, and genuinely conversational—balancing easy humor with sincere friendship. Sophia and Kristen riff off each other, keeping the listener engaged and amused, perfect for a lighthearted, pre-bedtime listen.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
Expect a laughter-filled pop-culture pillow talk: cringe-worthy Spotify confessions, love letters to Minnesota and cats, wild dream analysis, and a hilarious fantasy romance with Selena Gomez. Add in reflections on why we relate to certain celebrities (or dream about them out of nowhere), and you have a heartfelt, slumber party-style unwind.
