The Nightly

Josh Gondelman talks with guest Jamie Doktor, aka Miss J, about bartending her way into her first striptease, performing eight months pregnant, and building Buffalo's longest-running burlesque troupe on instinct, whiskey, and a little bit of fate. What You'll Hear: Three Dollars and a Thursday Night Gap: Jamie returns to Buffalo nearly broke, takes a bartending job, and notices one empty night on...

Greta Johnsen talks with caller Kassey about a Halloweekend quandary: a cover charge and a costume line, a cozy night in by the fire, and a 7 AM flight to Puerto Rico the next morning. What You'll Hear: The Halloweekend Quandary: Kassey used to treat Halloween as a Thursday-to-Sunday event, but a long line in a costume now sounds less appealing than a night at home. Greta, who hasn't gone out for...

Matt Bragg talks with caller Kelsey about her nights as a Busch Gardens scare actor, the unwritten etiquette of jump-scaring strangers, and why she still sleeps with the lights on. What You'll Hear: A Newly Diagnosed Halloween Fan: Matt kicks things off by admitting he's more into Halloween than he ever realized, even though scare mazes still terrify him. Life Inside the Haunted House: Kelsey shar...

Josh Gondelman talks with caller Joy about her ever-expanding costume room, the night she cried during her very first burlesque class, and the train conductor hat she's still trying to justify buying. What You'll Hear: A Costume Room Comes to Life: Josh checks in on Joy's Airbnb before she shares what's happening in the costume-and-aerial-arts room she's been building at home. From Six-Week Class...

Greta Johnsen talks with caller Sahar about trading hustle mode for five-minute walks, kitchen squats, and the radical idea that rest doesn't have to be earned. What You'll Hear: Squats While the Coffee Brews: Sahar explains how she finds movement in tiny pockets of her day, proving that five minutes can count just as much as a full workout. The Season of Being Less Useful: Greta brings up a favor...

Matt Bragg and Deanna Ortiz trade notes on the Kelly Clarkson & Brooklyn shop showdown, the new seasons of It's Crime For Bed, and the strange legend of the Pez Outlaw. What You'll Hear: A Herb Garden Crime Scene: Matt confesses to a drone mishap that left his girlfriend's herbs in ruins, and the flimsy cover story he's still trying to sell her on. The Bird That Cost $15 Million: Deanna breaks dow...

Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Sarah about embracing daylight saving time, finding the clear umbrella that changed her rainy days, and feeding peanuts to a flock of blue jays. What You'll Hear: Sweater Weather Math: Josh opens with his yearly scramble to wear every cardigan and light jacket before the Northeast's brief, beautiful autumn disappears. Springing Forward, On Purpose: Sarah explains h...

Greta Johnsen talks with writer Fern Watt about the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade and why dogs make the best icebreakers with strangers. What You'll Hear: A Parade Grown Too Big for the Park: Greta learns how a scrappy dog run tradition outgrew its space to become the 36th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. Gumshoe and the Odyssey: Fern walks through some of this year's most glori...

Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Nicole about Halloween costume-making for her daughter, from a papier-mâché submarine to this year's sparkly, spandex-heavy Boo. What You'll Hear: From Dolly Parton to Boo: Nicole walks Greta through her daughter's costume history, including a full Dolly Parton era complete with bedazzled boots and street performances. The Papier-Mâché Deep Dive: The two trade notes...

Matt Bragg talks with caller Mike about father-daughter Halloween costume pairings, the economics of trick-or-treating candy, and the surprisingly spooky history of turnip jack-o'-lanterns. What You'll Hear: A Very Expensive Feather: Matt kicks things off with a frantic vet trip, a questionable hairball, and a bill steep enough to rival a nice dinner out. Eevee, Ash, and the Art of the Pairing: Mi...

Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Tim about his elaborate October movie marathon, from Witchy Wednesday to Sequel Saturday, and the campy gems most people have never heard of. What You'll Hear: A Calendar Built for Spooky Season: Tim explains the themed structure he's refined since the COVID days, complete with alliterative names like Macabre Monday and Fleshy Friday. The Deep Cuts Worth Digging Up...

Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Lauren about turning her wedding dress into a zombie bride costume and planning a Dracula-themed murder mystery for her husband's Halloween birthday. What You'll Hear: Zombie Bride and Groom, COVID Edition: Lauren tells Greta about the Halloween she and her new husband decided to reuse their wedding attire. Six Years, Two Daughters, One Dress: Looking back at those...

Matt Bragg talks with caller Alex about her Halloween wedding, two guests in hyper-realistic pigeon heads, and the great debate over what percentage dead is appropriately spooky. What You'll Hear: The 30% Dead Rule: Matt lays out his personal Halloween philosophy, which involves a strict minimum level of decomposition for any costume to count. An Aspen Tree Walks Down the Aisle: Alex describes her...

Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Kathryn from Wichita, Kansas about her neighborhood's over-the-top Halloween traditions, from giant skeletons and fog machines to buses full of trick-or-treaters pouring in from out of town. What You'll Hear: A Childhood of Tinfoil and Felt: Josh remembers his mom's scrappy homemade costumes, from a cardboard robot to a Where's Waldo win that made him the talk of t...

Greta Johnsen catches up with friend, book critic and crafter Liberty Hardy about the art of bedazzling. What You'll Hear: A Bedazzled Bucket Begins It All: Liberty traces her sparkly obsession back to a cracked drag-show confetti bucket that sat in her house for years before it sparked a whole new hobby. Eighteen Hours, One Neon Dog: Liberty walks through the surprisingly long, strangely meditati...

Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Abbie about giving herself permission to waste time, falling for hobbies she's bad at, and the bedazzled dog portrait that proves a gift doesn't have to be useful to be perfect. What You'll Hear: The Myth of Earned Downtime: Greta and Abbie dig into why rest keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list, and what happens when you stop waiting to deserve it. Bad at...

Matt Bragg talks with caller Alejandro about the upright bass, from its car-shopping logistics and toddler-inflicted scratches to its secret role in rock and roll history. What You'll Hear: Oasis Ticket Grumbling: Matt kicks off the night a little salty about missing out on Oasis tickets, though a consolation trip to Vegas softens the blow considerably. Meet the Doghouse, the Bull Fiddle: Alejandr...

Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Heather about her elaborate Oscars-night food pun contest, from a falafel crime scene to a rotisserie chicken nun. What You'll Hear: Anatomy of a Falafel: Heather recalls the deconstructed hummus crime scene that launched her into competitive food-pun hosting, sumac blood pooling and all. The Fruitalist Takes Brutalism to the Fruit Bowl: Watermelon staircases, grap...

Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Allison about Baby-G watches, Delia's catalog pages, and the magic of waiting for the bus with nothing but your own thoughts. What You'll Hear: Life Before Google Existed: Greta and Allison swap stories about commercial breaks, VHS tape limits, and the lost art of arguing about trivia with no way to look it up. The Joy of Being Unreachable: Allison confesses what sh...

Matt Bragg and Greta Johnsen trade transatlantic small talk about Fairbanks winters, fancy hotel gyms, anti-umbrella philosophy, and the eternal confusion of "pushing a meeting back." What You'll Hear: Two Hosts, One Overdue Introduction: Matt and Greta realize they've never actually spoken before, despite both hosting shows for Hatch, and fall into easy, wandering conversation almost immediately....

Josh Gondelman talks with caller Tomas about trading the Swiss school system for Texas sunshine, a seventeen-hour bus ride across the Alps, and the shawarma shop near his house in Houston. What You'll Hear: From Basel to Houston: Tomas explains how he ended up finishing high school in Texas a year early, and why his mom thought it made sense to skip ahead. Grading on a Curve, Swiss Style: The two...

Matt Bragg tracks down Yashi, the original owner of Big Goose (the four-foot stuffed goose that caller Julia chat with him about), to learn its true origin story. What You'll Hear: The Goose Heard Round Facebook Marketplace: Matt replays Julia's original call about the puzzling purchase that's been bugging him ever since, and sets off to find out where in the world a $15 goose that siz...

Greta Johnsen talks with Caller Natalie about her six-hour flight habit of scrolling through 40,000 photos, the vulnerability of reliving a decade of screenshots, and why some memories are better left uncleaned. What You'll Hear: The Attention Hostage Situation: Greta explains her overprepared flight survival kit, including a knitting project and downloaded podcasts, while Natalie admits her go-to...

Matt Bragg talks with Caller Anita about her love of ASMR role-play videos, ten-hour boxed fan loops, and rewatching Frasier in Spanish to drift off. What You'll Hear: A Case of Mistaken Fame: Matt kicks things off with a tour support story that ends in the most polite kind of being ignored, and what it teaches him about staying in unfamiliar hotel rooms. The ASMR Confession: Anita calls in wonder...

Josh Gondelman talks with Caller Elani about renting her event space while Paula Abdul sat in the next room and later spotting her own hallway on a reality TV show. What You'll Hear: A Celebrity Who Had No Idea Who Josh Was: Josh opens with his favorite brush-with-fame story, one where an actor's polite nod said everything about anonymity in show business. Paula Abdul, Tupac, and a Chicano Art Sho...