Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness (01-12-26)
Theme:
This episode centers on darkly hilarious reflections about famous graves (and whose bones they'd want as "trophies"), how award shows have become boring and obsolete, and the comical futility behind lifelong quests—highlighted by the story of the 70-year-old Scottish man giving up his 52-year search for the Loch Ness Monster. The tone is irreverent, irrepressibly sarcastic, and delightfully morbid, staying true to HMS's style.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. "Single" Elephants and the Dark Comedy of Headlines (00:40-05:50)
- The crew riffs on a news headline: "Single elephant suspected to have killed 13 people in a week," amused by the humanizing (and misleading) use of “single.”
- They jokingly suggest the elephant's marital status is to blame: “He’s an incel. Elephants are incels there.” (Adrian Shine, 01:13)
- Comparison to American assumptions: “If we had an elephant in the parking lot… at 2am at a bar, when there’s an elephant, you dodge it.” (Adrian, 03:56)
- Jokes about Americans teasing wild bison for photos and how, in India, people just grudgingly accept the risk of wandering elephants.
2. Famous Graves, Bone Collecting, and Arizona’s 'Celebrity' Dead (06:09-18:42)
- The team reacts to the “Philly Bone Collector” story, pondering whose bones they'd want if grave-robbing celebrities was acceptable.
- They speculate that Ben Franklin’s bones are probably in a Philly basement:
“There is no way that those weird Philadelphians… haven’t got Ben Franklin’s skeleton, Eagles jersey, Pat’s beef sandwich, and a Wawa hat in their basement.” (Adrian, 07:13–08:47)
- They speculate that Ben Franklin’s bones are probably in a Philly basement:
- Arizona’s lack of "good" celebrity graves is bemoaned:
- “I don't think we have many good graves in Arizona.” (Adrian, 09:19)
- Musings on who’d actually want the bones of Frank Lloyd Wright, Sandra Day O'Connor, or Irma Bombeck for the "novelty."
- Morbid thought experiment: does fame make owning human remains a museum curiosity instead of a crime?
- “If I had Ben Franklin… it’s a museum. If it’s random lady, I’m a criminal.” (Adrian, 16:28)
- A surreal brainstorm on which grave they'd "dig up," with jokes about sports icons, mobsters (Al Capone), and the Rat Pack ("Frank, Dean, Sammy–that’s a party").
3. Why Did Award Shows Get So Lame? (18:42-31:19)
- Panel laments how award shows (Golden Globes, Oscars) lost all cultural cachet.
- “Remember when there used to be Oscars parties? It was almost must-see…now? No one watches them. The ratings are zero.” (Adrian, 19:15–21:50)
- The only draw is the hope the host will eviscerate celebrities, a la Ricky Gervais or Nikki Glaser.
- Blame is placed on social media for demystifying celebrities:
- “The internet made you know your celebrities…We started to not like them because we got to know them.” (Adrian, 21:50–22:19)
- “You used to want to go to dinner with De Niro. Now you know you don’t.” (Adrian, 30:31)
- They note the Golden Globes now have a Podcast category (the first, won by Amy Poehler)—but real podcast kings like Rogan aren’t nominated.
4. The Absurdity of the Loch Ness Monster Hunt (31:19-50:13)
- Extended absurdist tribute to Adrian Shine, who after 52 years has finally declared the Loch Ness Monster…doesn’t exist.
- “I’ve spent no money at all, had that same conclusion when I was about 5.” (Adrian, 32:22)
- Details on Shine’s lifelong "hunt," money spent, and community reactions.
“Could you imagine dedicating your life to something—to find out it was never there?” (Adrian, 33:17)
- Their Scottish impressions mock Shine’s ongoing hope: “It was a great exploration and I’m not giving up hope. She could just be elusive…” (Byron, 35:53)
- Discussion of the Loch’s commercialization and legendary sighting photos, plus a tangent on how the Scottish national animal is—no joke—the unicorn.
- “National animal for Scotland is the unicorn. Yeah, yeah. Oh, no. They’re delusional!” (Adrian, 38:26)
- They compare Shine's quest to Arizona's own "Lost Dutchman" gold mine legend.
- The futility is compared to being a Suns/Cardinals fan searching for a championship:
- “Imagine rooting for 52 years that the Phoenix Suns would win a championship…but they never existed in the first place.” (Adrian, 46:50)
- They wrap up with black-humor morbid fantasies about Shine’s eventual death and possible Nessie encounter.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On “Single Elephant” headlines:
“Don’t read the headline: Single elephant suspected to have killed 13 people in a week—because his marital status should have nothing to do with it!”
(Adrian Shine, 00:58) - On Ben Franklin’s remains:
“I want somebody to reveal the Ben Franklin bifocals. Eagles jersey. Got his little Tom’s Almanac…sitting there just laughing. Every time you go down: ‘Dude…he’s eating a hoagie.’”
(Adrian Shine, 07:13–08:27) - On award shows:
“Used to be: that's the only time you saw them—all these celebrities in one room, except for at award shows. Now they're just all over the place.”
(Adrian Shine, 29:15) - On social media & celebrity mystique:
“He [De Niro] used to be so cool when he was doing something. Like, there's De Niro, and he very rarely said anything. And now he won't shut up…”
(Adrian Shine, 29:52) - On Adrian Shine’s Nessie search:
“I've spent no money at all, had that same conclusion when I was about five.”
(Adrian Shine, 32:22) “Imagine dedicating your life to something—to find out it was never there.”
(Adrian Shine, 33:17) - On Scottish national animal:
“National animal for Scotland is the unicorn. Yeah, yeah. Oh no—they’re delusional!”
(Adrian Shine, 38:26) - Podcasting and award shows:
“I bet you they gotta make sure a star, like a celebrity, would get the first podcast award.”
(Byron, 23:29) - On local sports futility:
“Imagine rooting for 52 years that the Phoenix Suns would win a championship…but they never existed in the first place.”
(Adrian Shine, 46:50)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:40-05:50 – “Single elephant” headline; animal rampant stories and cultural comparisons
- 06:09-18:42 – Philly bones, Arizona famous graves, and morbid grave-robbing hypotheticals
- 18:42-31:19 – Award show nostalgia, celebrity culture decline, and the effect of social media
- 31:19-50:13 – Adrian Shine’s 52-year Nessie quest; Scotland's unicorn; analogies to local sports futility; final jokes and black-comedy wrap up
Tone & Takeaway
Irreverent, quick-witted, and unfiltered, the show blends pitch-black comedy with satirical commentary on contemporary pop culture and history—themes of fame, futility, and our weird collective obsessions. Beneath the punchlines is a real critique: whether it’s idolizing celebrities, searching for monsters, or rooting for cursed teams, everyone’s chasing something that’s probably not there…and the punchline, as always, is on us.