Podcast Summary: The Nightly – "Stranger Empathy & Sticker Jealousy"

Date: December 1, 2025
Hosts: Matt and Josh (Hatch Podcasts)

Episode Overview

In this cozy, lighthearted episode of The Nightly, Matt and Josh invite listeners into the "Hatch Pillow Fort" for late-night unwinding, swapping relatable stories, gentle grievances, and pop culture riffs. This episode focuses on the social etiquette of everyday life, especially empathy for strangers (as showcased by returning shopping carts) and the surprisingly strong feelings triggered by voter sticker distribution during election season. Their conversation blends humor, mild venting, and fondness for the little things that knit people together—or get under their skin.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Office Life, Productivity, and “Working” from Anywhere

• Matt’s New Office: Matt excitedly shares that he's gotten an office, ostensibly for productivity, but admits to mostly doodling and watching Oasis concerts instead.
  • "Under the guise of being more productive. And so far, I have doodled on the whiteboard and I watched Oasis at Nebworth on my new big screen." [00:55]
• Josh's Upcoming Office Experience: Josh is about to receive office space as a gig perk and jokes he'll similarly feign a hard day’s work.
  • "Going to the office, accomplishing very little, coming home to my wife, acting like I just spent a day in an iron mine or something." [01:44]
• Both muse about holding fake Zoom meetings to watch Monsters, Inc., poking fun at remote work culture.
  • "Are you guys working on a project? Well, Sully and Mike Wazowski did, and we kind of supervised." [02:29]

2. Halloween Costumes and Tracksuit Music

• Josh & His Wife’s Costume Adventure: Dressed up as Oasis's Liam and Noel Gallagher for Halloween, but few recognized them—most thought they were Run DMC.
  • "Many people were like, love your costume. Run DMC is so great." [03:13]
• At parties, karaoke covers of "Don't Look Back in Anger" (Oasis), "It's Tricky" (Run DMC), and "Intergalactic" (Beastie Boys) cemented the vibe as “tracksuit music.”
  • "I did all three parts of Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys, which I think is a tracksuit song." [04:10]
• Reflection on how specific pop culture references aren’t always universally understood, needing context to land.

3. Petty Grievances: Shopping Cart Etiquette ("Stranger Empathy")

• Matt's Gripe: Matt is deeply annoyed by people who leave shopping carts in parking lots instead of returning them to their corral, considering it a societal ill.
  • "The worst thing I think a person can do is ... leave their shopping trolleys ... not in the designated space for shopping trolleys but just out in the car park." [05:47]
  • "It gets so under my skin that my girlfriend had to stop me getting out the car ... to just go and say ... 'You forgot your shopping cart.'" [06:13]
• Josh’s Agreement: Both agree it’s an explicit social rule and sign of basic decency; laziness isn’t a good excuse.
  • "We live in a society." [07:28]
  • "Without rules, Josh, chaos reigns." [07:30]
• Psychological Spin: They discover (humorously, via internet research) that people who return shopping carts possess traits like conscientiousness, empathy, delayed gratification, deep values, and trust.
  • "According to psychology, we likely share these 8 admirable traits because of our stance on shopping carts." [09:06]
  • "I think I might be one of the greatest people to ever live." [10:11]
• Memorable Quote:
  • Josh: "We're kind of the backbone of society, is what I'm learning from this." [10:07]
• Underlying Theme: Small acts reflect or erode community trust (“A pension of community”—[11:11]), but they’re proud, if a bit tongue-in-cheek, of their own habits.
  • "You can't have your sticker and your convenient voting day." [19:25]

4. Sticker Jealousy: Civic Rituals and Unexpected FOMO

• Josh’s Grievance: After voting on Election Day in New York, Josh laments missing out on a special, collectible "I Voted" sticker—only distributed to early voters.
  • "I didn't get the good stickers. ... I don't get the good sticker. I think that's garbage." [15:34]
  • "[My voting location] was a 3-minute walk ... the early voting place is ... a 15, maybe 20 minute walk ... and there are always way worse lines." [13:56]
• Sticker Culture in the US: Matt asks for context, as voting stickers aren’t common in the UK; Josh explains how “I Voted” stickers are standard, but elaborate ones serve as both a memento and motivator.
  • "You get one, you vote and it's like a nice, you wear it and people go, ah, me too. ... reminds you that you're again, part of a community, part of a society." [16:36]
  • "I've seen them in the past ... there was like a special one with pumpkins if you go in on Halloween and it's like, oh, that's just cute." [17:34]
• On Accepting the Trade-off: Josh admits maybe prioritizing convenience over swag is okay: “The sticker was the tax. I paid for convenience and that's okay. And I'm happy to live in that world.” [19:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Matt on Shopping Cart Rage:
  • "You must have forgotten. And she grabbed my arm and was pulling me back in the car. Please don't do this. I was like, he's got to learn. He's got to learn." [06:13]
• Josh, dryly triumphant:
  • "We're kind of the backbone of society, is what I'm learning from this." [10:07]
• Josh on Good Deeds:
  • "I love doing a good favor for someone because I don't have a lot of money, but I do like feeling that people owe me something." [10:41]
• Matt on Restorative Justice:
  • "You've just got a whole sort of Filofax full of IOUs, and you can just cash them in at any point." [10:55]
• Josh on Stickers vs. Convenience:
  • "I think maybe I have to take a deep breath and realize that all the people who prioritized the good sticker over convenience deserve the nice sticker. And my reward is not having to travel farther on a chilly day and wait in a long line." [17:54]
• Closing Sentiment:
  • "I feel like we've sorted a lot of problems out tonight. I certainly feel better for it." —Matt [19:54]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:55 – Matt shares his new office lifestyle
• 01:44 – Josh on anticipated office antics and fake productivity
• 03:06 – Halloween costumes and misidentification as Run DMC
• 05:47 – Matt’s shopping cart grievance
• 09:06 – The 8 traits of shopping cart returners
• 13:56 – Josh introduces voting sticker jealousy
• 16:36 – Sticker culture explained for non-US listeners
• 19:32 – Accepting trade-offs: sticker FOMO versus voting convenience

Episode Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is warm, witty, and gently self-mocking, evoking that late-night camaraderie between friends. Both hosts spin minor annoyances into cathartic, philosophical observations about community, responsibility, and the quiet rewards (and small injustices) of everyday civic rituals. The episode is light on structure and heavy on relatable storytelling, creating a soft landing for listeners’ days.

For cozy commiseration and a laugh about both life’s small annoyances and its strange social rituals, this episode delivers exactly the kind of gentle, communal bedtime content "The Nightly" promises.