Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode: 01-19-26 – FULL SHOW – MONDAY
Aired: January 19, 2026
Host: John Holmberg
Co-hosts: Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Special guests: Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, Norm Macdonald (comedy bit)

Episode Overview

This classic episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness is a wild, no-holds-barred tour through history’s harshest punishments, pop culture debates, sexual hang-ups, and irreverent comedy. John Holmberg and his crew deliver their signature blend of uncomfortable questions, dark humor, and biting social commentary, joined by wrestling legends Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart, and featuring absurd re-enactments, like the "Crackhead Medley" with Norm Macdonald. The tone is raw, irreverent, and peppered with playful insults, inside jokes, and outright mockery of themselves, pop culture, and the news.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brutal Ancient Punishments

• Roman "Sack" Punishment (Poena Cullei)
  • John describes an ancient Roman punishment for patricide—being sewn into a wolf skin sack with a monkey, dog, chicken, and snakes, after being whipped. The group debates the horror and symbolism of each animal.
  • Quote [06:25]:
    “That's why they always listen to their dad, grandfather. It rarely happened.” — Brady
  • John emphasizes how this practice continued shockingly late in history—1762 in Italy.
  • The crew riffs about which animal they'd try to befriend to survive, and how the legend likely curbed bad behavior.

2. Penis Size & Sexual Insecurities

• John reads a listener email challenging the importance of penis size, insisting scientifically it shouldn’t matter, but maintains—socially and visually—it does.
• Quote [14:17]:
  “They don't sell, when you go to Fascinations, tiny little wieners on the wall. So ladies stop it. And men stop caring.” — John
• Discussion transitions to the role of wealth and personality in attraction—if you’re “lacking below,” money and humor can compensate.

3. Kennedy, Sex, and Hidden Histories

• The team jokes about the enduring Kennedy family mythology, secret affairs, and the media’s selective memory. They draw parallels with modern scandals (Epstein, Clinton, Trump), proposing that society never gets “the whole truth”—and maybe that’s for the best.
• Quote [21:22]:
  "She was the original gold digger. She came from some cash, but, I mean, she cashed in on life..." — John

4. Epstein List & Hypocrisy

• Tongue-in-cheek speculation about who’ll appear on future “Epstein lists,” with the hosts admitting how easy it is to be charmed by money and status—no one’s above temptation.
• Quote [28:19]:
  “You get a billionaire friend that wants to take you places. You don't start thinking what's illegal here. You're doing it.” — John

5. Gypsy Scams and Funeral Fundraising

• A segment explores “gypsy scams,” focusing on people (often not genuinely in need) soliciting donations at street corners, especially those claiming to need money for funerals.
• The team debates moral versus practical implications, with plenty of Arizona-specific context.
• Quote [32:40]:
  "But who's getting hurt if the person's funeral isn't, like, extravagant, right?... There are options there. I can almost guarantee you." — John

6. Interview: Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Hart [46:00–56:40]

• John and Brady excitedly interview wrestling icons Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart.
• Hogan outlines his vision for "old-school" wrestling in TNA, decrying overproduced, writer-driven wrestling in WWE and emphasizing character, charisma, and live spectacle.
• The hosts express nostalgia for 80s wrestling’s larger-than-life characters and stereotypes.
• Both guests banter in wrestling persona, plug their new Spike TV run, and riff on old spats and storylines.
• Notable Quotes:
  • [49:48] “You need drama, we need edginess, we need confrontations, we need violence, we need comedy…we’re going to prove we can put out better programming, brother.” — Hulk Hogan
  • [52:31] “Showmanship and charisma will always overshadow athletic ability in wrestling. Now, if you’ve got the athletic ability, that's cool. But you're right, the characters..." — Jimmy Hart

7. BK Sings: Comedy Phone-In Bits [58:25+]

• Recurring bit featuring a character “BK” (a brash, over-the-top parody of a famous local athlete) roasting the cast and listeners, challenging them to finish song lyrics and TV themes for prizes.
• Full of mock egotism ("How many rings you got?"), sexual jokes, and intentionally dicey language.

8. Crackhead Medleys with Norm Macdonald [97:15+]

• A series of humorous song quizzes: Norm interviews real homeless individuals, who “perform” medleys of 80s hits for listeners to guess and win tickets.
• John and the team banter about the crackheads’ song choices, exaggerated personalities, and the absurdity of the challenge.
• Quote [99:14]:
  “There’s your contestants. And now let’s have the Crackhead medley of the day." — John (in Norm's voice)

9. Medical Paranoia & Wikipedia Diagnoses

• The dangers (and commonality) of self-diagnosing with Wikipedia and WebMD—leads to accidental self-diagnoses of cancer or AIDS, much to the hosts' amusement.
• Quote [125:07]:
  “It’ll be like telling me I won the lottery if I thought I had AIDS and it was just syphilis.” — John

10. Odd News & Human Oddities

• Segments on:
  • Overzealous farting in the workplace designated as “hostile.”
  • Miraculous face of Jesus appearing in a church door.
  • A faith healer who claims his shoe cures "vaginal pimples."
• Each story leads to off-color jokes, mock outrage, and irreverent speculation.

11. More Sex & Aging: Listener Dilemmas

• The guys respond to emails about career changes and dealing with a mom dating someone younger—fielding the latter with escalating raunch and ridicule.
• Quote [141:03]: "She is though now, Brady, because I've put her through the paces now that I've knocked a silly. Did you know your mom was a squirter? I do." — John (mocking the imagined scenario)

12. Miscellaneous Ridiculousness

• Rants on testicle size anxiety, fortune tellers making clients become prostitutes, large celebrity families, and their own inability to read charts or finish sentences.
• Constant self-deprecation and correction (e.g. lampooning Brady’s mangled phrasing: “Brady’s aborted more sentences than Planned Parenthood.”)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [06:25] Brady: “That's why they always listen to their dad, grandfather. It rarely happened.”
• [14:17] John: “They don't sell, when you go to Fascinations, tiny little wieners on the wall. So ladies stop it. And men stop caring.”
• [21:22] John: “She was the original gold digger. She came from some cash, but, I mean, she cashed in on life...”
• [28:19] John: “You get a billionaire friend that wants to take you places. You don't start thinking what's illegal here. You're doing it.”
• [49:48] Hulk Hogan: “You need drama, we need edginess, we need confrontations, we need violence, we need comedy… we’re going to prove we can put out better programming, brother.”
• [52:31] Jimmy Hart: “Showmanship and charisma will always overshadow athletic ability in wrestling.”
• [99:14] John (as Norm): “There’s your contestants. And now let’s have the Crackhead medley of the day."
• [125:07] John: “It’ll be like telling me I won the lottery if I thought I had AIDS and it was just syphilis.”
• [141:03] John: “She is though now, Brady, because I've put her through the paces now that I've knocked a silly. Did you know your mom was a squirter? I do.”

Timestamps – Select Segments

| Time | Topic / Segment | |---------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:30–10:45 | Roman “Sack” punishment: brutal history, wild speculation | | 13:14–16:00 | Penis size debate and the lies we tell ourselves | | 19:40–22:45 | JFK, Jackie O, political scandals, the myth of full truth | | 46:00–56:40 | Interview with Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Hart (wrestling, TNA, 80s nostalgia) | | 58:25–67:30 | "BK Sings” phone-in comedy bit | | 97:15–104:51 | Crackhead Medleys with Norm Macdonald (song quiz games) | | 125:07–126:57 | Wikipedia self-diagnosis and medical paranoia | | 135:53–141:03 | Listener email: “My mom’s new boyfriend is younger than me” |

Tone, Style & Takeaways

• Unfiltered, abrasive, fearless—topics shift quickly from historical horror to dick jokes to politics to pop psychology, always laced with sarcasm and insults.
• Highly topical—listeners are expected to have a high tolerance for dark humor and a thick skin.
• Camaraderie—though relentless in teasing each other, the chemistry is clear and the in-jokes fly.
• Pop culture nostalgia—demonstrated passionately in the wrestling segment.
• Buried sincerity—beneath the jokes, there’s the occasional real insight: about status, human motivation, and social pretense.

For New Listeners

If you missed this episode, you’ll get:

• A smart but savage take on taboos and absurdities, from ancient history to morning news.
• Raucous segments with legendary pop culture guests who play along with the show’s anarchic style.
• Over-the-top recurring bits (“BK Sings”, “Crackhead Medley”) lampooning local and national figures.
• In-your-face honesty about everything from sexuality to class status to tragedy—often mined for comedy before compassion.

Skip if you’re easily offended, but if you want freewheeling banter, brutal honesty, and a no-topic-off-limits ride through American pop culture, Holmberg and the crew deliver.