Podcast Summary: Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – Arizona
Date: January 12, 2026
Episode Theme:
A lively, irreverent Monday morning show blending NFL playoff chatter, CES tech marvels (highlighting the ultra-thin wallpaper TV), smart Lego bricks, and bizarre news about a man hoarding human bones. The hosts riff on fandom, nostalgia, the march of technology, and Arizona cultural field trips with biting wit.
1. NFL Playoffs: Irrational Fandom & Emotional Schadenfreude
00:38 – 10:25
- John Holmberg opens with ultra-candid reflections on playoff rooting habits—sometimes wanting rival fans, not teams, to suffer.
- Quote: "I realized I was rooting, not for this game, but the outcome to lead to a couple people I know wandering off onto the freeway and some sort of rage." – John, 02:12
- The guys discuss their emotional investments:
- John supports the Steelers, hates the Ravens; Brett is a Bears fan but found himself rooting for the Packers purely to see friends’ misery.
- They joke about wanting domestic disturbance and personal meltdown among rival fans.
- Quote: "When I don't have a horse in the race, I root against humanity." – John, 03:29
- They debate when it’s the uniform (Dylan Brooks, Rodman) versus when it’s really about someone you know.
- Gambling frustrations: the crew recounts a parlay lost because George Kittle was injured mid-game, launching conspiracies about the NFL being rigged just to spite them.
- Brett and John commiserate about rooting for outcomes just to tease or torment certain friends.
- John delights in the "sad Harbaugh" trope—loving the sight of coaches (especially the Harbaughs) flustered and failing on the sidelines.
- "There's nothing better than a sad Harbaugh." – John, 07:20
2. College Football: Indiana’s Miracle & NIL
09:16 – 10:25
- Indiana Hoosiers football’s late success, aided by “adult men” (average age 23-25) due to transfer rules and NIL (name-image-likeness).
- Quote: "It's like a softball beer league team in Indiana. They're just crushing people." – John, 09:24
- Discussion about how the new rules enable building a "grown man team."
3. CES 2026 – Tech of the Future
10:34 – 18:56
A. The Wallpaper TV
10:34 – 13:03
- CES' biggest buzz: a TV just 9mm thick (the “wallpaper TV”).
- Quote: "Throw your TVs away. Chuck them. They're done. CES unveiled the wallpaper television. 9mm thick. Right on your wall—unbelievable." – John, 10:40
- Exclaims over how fast home entertainment tech has evolved from huge console TVs to today’s paper-thin displays.
- "We had a 27-inch television that the neighbors came over to see...Now 9mm TV."
B. Wearable & Interactive Tech
11:49 – 13:03
- John recalls his ex’s brother working on fabric screens and electronic T-shirt tech—wearables decades ahead of their time.
- "He had shirts that had screens on them—shirt material—and you could change it." – John, 12:56
C. Smart Legos, AI Pets, and Home Robots
16:19 – 18:47
- Smart Legos: New bricks that light up and guide kids through construction.
- "Now Legos has smart bricks...they help you out, like light up to say that's the right move." – John, 16:32
- AI Robo-Dogs/Pets: The rise of non-allergenic electronic companions.
- Next-Gen Vacuums: Devices that can climb and clean walls, plus self-replacing Swiffer mop-bots.
- "Vacuums that go up walls too...climbing vacuums is pretty awesome. Bachelor dreams. Replacement of all women is right around the corner." – John, 17:34
- Jokes about automation and "replacing women" with cleaning and sex robots.
- Quote: "They're being replaced. Change their own pads. If we can get the sex dolls to...they are changing their own pads for the realism, I suppose." – John & Brett, 18:21
4. Tech Nostalgia: How Far We’ve Come
14:40 – 15:24
- Storytime: John remembers heavy-as-lead Trinitron TVs, entertainment centers, and now-redundant media furniture.
- Quote: "Think of the furniture we don't need anymore because of technology. Every room had an entertainment center." – John, 15:12
- Musings about book collections—now often decorative, not functional.
5. Bizarre News: The Philly Bone Collector
24:05 – 29:36
- News Break: Pennsylvania man arrested after stealing 100+ skulls (and more body parts) from cemeteries.
- Quote: "He got to a hundred skulls before anybody caught him." – John, 24:05
- Hosts lampoon the lack of cemetery security (“just put up a Ring!”), speculate about the collector’s motives (hoping it’s not ‘for sex’ but suspecting worse), and riff on grave-robbing history.
- Quote: "This dude was into...when we find out what he was doing with them, ‘cause we will, you're all going to throw up 'cause he's boning...he's boning your grandparents so bad." – John, 29:03
- Jokes about famous bodies (Waylon Jennings, Rocky Balboa—if real) being most at risk, and estimate that “25-30 people” in Phoenix may have illicit human remains at home.
- Quote: "Somebody’s got a human bone. 20 or 30 people in this city have a body part they shouldn't..." – John, 26:25
6. Arizona/Kid Culture: The Heard Museum & Uninspiring Field Trips
35:02 – 39:47
- The Heard Museum Rant: Painfully dull field trips—“cartoons covered all this!”—focusing endlessly on corn grinding and Native American dioramas, lack of excitement.
- Quote: "If IKEA was a museum for Swedes, you’d say the same thing. I wouldn’t even fight you." – John, 36:41
- Calls for more engaging content (mock weapons, fighting, fake history) and genuine storytelling, not just “corn and squash.”
- Critiques forced culture and lack of hands-on, truthful exploration.
- Quote: "Your legs will fall off you if you're there for more than 30 minutes. If I hear the word corn one more goddamn time..." – John, 37:10
- Field trip nostalgia, sleeping in tents, misbehavior, and comically bad memories.
7. Archaeology vs. Grave-Robbing
32:00 – 35:28
- The blurred line between “archeology” (science) and collecting bones—sometimes it’s just treasure hunting.
- "We do it all the time. Some people do it and it's considered science." – John, 32:00
- Tales of bones unearthed during construction (Superdome, Phoenix freeways), and the effort to keep such finds hidden to avoid project delays.
8. Notable Quotes (with Timestamps):
- "I realized I was rooting, not for this game, but the outcome to lead to a couple people I know wandering off onto the freeway and some sort of rage." – John, 02:12
- "When I don't have a horse in the race, I root against humanity." – John, 03:29
- "There's nothing better than a sad Harbaugh." – John, 07:20
- "Throw your TVs away. CES unveiled the wallpaper television. 9mm thick. Right on your wall—unbelievable." – John, 10:40
- "They're being replaced. Change their own pads. If we can get the sex dolls to...they are changing their own pads for the realism, I suppose." – John & Brett, 18:21
- "He got to a hundred skulls before anybody caught him." – John, 24:05
- "Somebody’s got a human bone. 20 or 30 people in this city have a body part they shouldn't..." – John, 26:25
- "If IKEA was a museum for Swedes, you’d say the same thing. I wouldn’t even fight you." – John, 36:41
- "Your legs will fall off you if you're there for more than 30 minutes. If I hear the word corn one more goddamn time..." – John, 37:10
9. Memorable Moments & Tangents
- Laugh-out-loud banter on rooting against frenemies, measuring TVs in millimeters, and confusion about conversions.
- The playful-yet-morbid debate about cemetery security, town body-part hoarders, and why anyone would rob Waylon Jennings’ grave.
- Spirited takedown of Arizona’s “cultural” field trips—“I’d rather just learn.”
- Enduring confusion, mock outrage, and the show’s trademark combination of wit, irreverence, and dark humor.
For listeners: Even without catching the episode, this recap delivers the show’s vibe—raucous, self-deprecating, and fearlessly comedic, with playful takes on sports, the absurdity of tech progress, and the quirks (and crimes) of humanity.