The Nightly podcast

The Teens Are Playing Hacky Sack

5/17/2026
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23:02
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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 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.


CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro & hacky sack returns

02:17 Spikeball and playground culture

04:10 Are kids actually playing hacky sack

07:21 She’s All That and makeover movies

11:25 Wils on avoiding gym class forever

14:35 Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! nerves

16:00 Whose Line confusion resolved

16:56 Spotify comments and listener shoutouts

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