The Teens Are Playing Hacky Sack episode artwork

EPISODE · May 17, 2026 · 23 MIN

The Teens Are Playing Hacky Sack

from The Nightly

Wils Pelton and Josh Gondelman trace the unexpected return of hacky sack and revisit the playground games that shaped them.What You’ll Hear:The Teens Are Alright: Josh brings shocking cultural news from the youth front: hacky sack is back. Wils helps unpack the surprisingly timeless energy of crunchy outdoor games, Tevas included.Gym Class Flashbacks: From wall ball to knockout to strategically getting eliminated as fast as possible, the conversation drifts through schoolyard memories, competitive streaks, and the fine art of sitting on the sidelines chatting.Naming Things Correctly: A brief but deeply satisfying detour into Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and the joy of finally figuring out what exactly you’ve been thinking of all these years.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro & hacky sack returns02:17 Spikeball and playground culture04:10 Are kids actually playing hacky sack07:21 She’s All That and makeover movies11:25 Wils on avoiding gym class forever14:35 Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! nerves16:00 Whose Line confusion resolved16:56 Spotify comments and listener shoutoutsFor the fully immersive, phone free light + sound experience, learn more at hatch.co. Follow us on TikTok @hatchpodcasts and YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wils Pelton and Josh Gondelman trace the unexpected return of hacky sack and revisit the playground games that shaped them.What You’ll Hear:The Teens Are Alright: Josh brings shocking cultural news from the youth front: hacky sack is back. Wils helps unpack the surprisingly timeless energy of crunchy outdoor games, Tevas included.Gym Class Flashbacks: From wall ball to knockout to strategically getting eliminated as fast as possible, the conversation drifts through schoolyard memories, competitive streaks, and the fine art of sitting on the sidelines chatting.Naming Things Correctly: A brief but deeply satisfying detour into Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and the joy of finally figuring out what exactly you’ve been thinking of all these years.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro & hacky sack returns02:17 Spikeball and playground culture04:10 Are kids actually playing hacky sack07:21 She’s All That and makeover movies11:25 Wils on avoiding gym class forever14:35 Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! nerves16:00 Whose Line confusion resolved16:56 Spotify comments and listener shoutoutsFor the fully immersive, phone free light + sound experience, learn more at hatch.co. Follow us on TikTok @hatchpodcasts and YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Teens Are Playing Hacky Sack

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This episode was published on May 17, 2026.

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Wils Pelton and Josh Gondelman trace the unexpected return of hacky sack and revisit the playground games that shaped them.What You’ll Hear:The Teens Are Alright: Josh brings shocking cultural news from the youth front: hacky sack is back. Wils...

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