Episode Overview

Episode Title: WWBD - His Tall 14yo Son Told Him He's Done w/Baseball And Basketball And Only Enjoys Poetry - His Wife Is Addicted To Going To The Doctor Even When Nothing's Wrong
Podcast: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona
Date: January 20, 2026
Main Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo

This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness delves into two listener dilemmas: a father struggling with his tall, athletic 14-year-old son quitting sports to focus on poetry, and a husband worried about his wife's costly addiction to holistic medicine and wellness doctors. The show brings its trademark irreverent humor and candid, offbeat advice, with the hosts riffing on fatherhood, masculinity, and modern “wellness” culture.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Athletic Teen Who Loves Poetry

Listener Letter:
A father ("Seth") writes in distress—his 6'2", 14-year-old son, described as a potential "meal ticket" for the family, has lost interest in sports (baseball and basketball) and now only enjoys poetry. Seth asks for advice on whether to push his son back toward athletics or nurture his literary side.

Hosts' Reaction & Discussion

• Shock and Humor

  • The hosts are amused and surprised by a teen boy who prefers poetry to sports or gaming.
    • "You have the only teenage kid in all of America that doesn’t want to be famous. Wow. Poetry. Who got to him, man?" (John Holmberg, 02:57)
  • Jokes about the type of friends influencing the kid and insinuations about what sparked the interest in poetry.
    • “Which one of his twink friends got to him?” (Holmberg, 03:04)

• Advice to the Father

  • Holmberg playfully suggests blending the dad’s passion for sports with the son's love of poetry:
    • “How about you try to talk him and say, hey, your poems are great. Why don't you write your old man a poem about football … make him watch a game with you and then write a poem about that?” (Holmberg, 03:17)
  • Discusses the nature of giving "assignments"—let the kid channel poetry into sports themes as a compromise.
    • “Give him little assignments. He's like, ooh, I love prose. And then get him in there … Prose is so just mouthwateringly delicious words that taste like food.” (Holmberg, 04:00 - 04:11)

• Relatable Experiences & Realism

  • Discussion about the natural age (14) when kids quit sports and whether it’s productive to push them further.
    • “That’s about time when kids stop trying sports… He doesn’t want it.” (Dick Toledo, 04:50)
  • Emphasizes not forcing sports and pokes fun at boredom, with tongue-in-cheek recommendations to “drive the passion away” by attending a lackluster sports event (e.g., Mercury WNBA game).
    • “Instead of trying to make him like sports, try to take your passion away. And nothing strips the passion from a man faster than going to a Mercury game live.” (Holmberg, 05:28)
  • Conclusion: Embrace the poetry, maybe get him into “Brit lit” for scholarships (06:06), and joke about the economic futility of poetry as a career unless he’s posthumously famous.

• Personal Anecdotes

  • Holmberg shares a comedic story about writing poetry for an old girlfriend, focusing mainly on her anatomy rather than her personality.
    • “I just need. I need that back. You can. I don’t care what your personality is. I had no. No connection to her as a human outside of that thing.” (Holmberg, 08:58)

Notable Quotes

• Holmberg (03:17): “How about you try to talk him and say, hey, your poems are great. Why don't you write your old man a poem about football and like make him take his passion and put it towards like… Will you watch this game with me and then write a poem about it?”
• Holmberg (04:00): “Give him little assignments. He’s like, ooh, I love prose. And then get him in there to do prose. Poets like saying prose. I even know what it means.”

2. The Wife Addicted to Wellness and Holistic Doctors

Listener Letter:
A husband writes seeking advice after his wife spent $100,000 in a year on “health,” mainly involving wellness doctors and supplements, but with no improvement. He wants to cut the budget while still appearing supportive.

Hosts' Reaction & Discussion

• Satirical Take on 'Wellness' Culture

  • The hosts joke about women being “addicted to being unwell” and the pseudoscientific aspects of wellness treatments.
    • "You can't talk to women about this...They feel fine. They go to the doctor. No man understands that.” (Holmberg, 12:16)

• Comparing Generations

  • Humorous contrast between tough grandmothers who smoked and took aspirin and today’s supplement-hoarding wellness fans.
    • “My grandma smoked 400 cigarettes a day, took some bare aspirin in the morning and swore that that was going to keep her healthy forever. She lived to be, like, 86.” (Holmberg, 12:59)

• Placebo Effects and Escalating Costs

  • Joke proposal: inventing "Dr. Placebo" to sell fake treatments.
    • “I wish he could call, you know, not making it obvious, but like, Dr. Placebo. This guy is like, I got these things for you.” (Dick Toledo, 13:27)
  • Criticism of wellness treatments that never validate a patient as “healthy”: “No holistic or wellness doctor has ever said, hey, you’re ship shape. Get out of here. They’ve always got something to sell you.” (Holmberg, 16:52)

• Male Perspective on Health Spending

  • The hosts discuss their typical minimal health care expenditures, contrasting with their wives or exes.
    • “You know how much money I spent on doctors last year? Throw a number at me. Lower Bob. … Zero dollars.” (Holmberg, 19:30 - 19:34)
  • Solution for the letter-writer: threaten to stop paying, suggest she pays out of her own pocket, and bet she’ll spend less if financially responsible.
    • “Without results, you cannot keep going... Make her get a job and pay for that herself. And then she’ll start feeling better, I betcha.” (Holmberg, 22:06 - 22:55)

Notable Quotes

• Holmberg (12:16): “You can't talk to women about this...They feel fine. They go to the doctor. No man understands that.”
• Holmberg (16:52): “No holistic or wellness doctor has ever said, hey, you’re ship shape. Get out of here. They’ve always got something to sell you.”
• Holmberg (19:34): “Zero dollars. Zero dollars. Guess how much I plan on spending this year without injury. I’m holding up the same zero. There’s a lot of boys out there jealous of that number.”

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• "Who got to him, man?" (Holmberg, 02:57)
  On the poetry-loving son.

• “How about you try to talk him and say, hey, your poems are great... Will you watch this game with me and then write a poem about it?” (Holmberg, 03:17)
  Blending sports with poetry for bonding.

• “If you feel good and you’re going to someone who’s not even a real doctor, they’re going to make you pay for something. No. No holistic or wellness doctor has ever said, hey, you’re ship shape. Get out of here.” (Holmberg, 16:52)
  On the holistic medicine racket.

• “I just need. I need that back. You can. I don’t care what your personality is. I had no... No connection to her as a human outside of that thing.” (Holmberg, 08:58)
  On misguided attempts at romantic poetry.

• “Zero dollars. Zero dollars. Guess how much I plan on spending this year without injury. I’m holding up the same zero. There’s a lot of boys out there jealous of that number.” (Holmberg, 19:34)
  Bragging about not going to doctors.

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:00-06:00] – Listener letter about the poetry son, initial reactions, and advice.
• [06:00-10:00] – Further discussion on poetry, sports, and personal anecdotes from the hosts.
• [10:05-23:10] – Listener letter about wife’s wellness addiction, hosts’ takes on health spending, generational comparisons, and proposed solutions.

Tone and Language

The episode is marked by irreverent humor, bold takes, snarky insights, and an underlying vein of real-life experience. The hosts don’t shy away from politically incorrect jokes and sarcasm, but underlying it all is a candid, if unorthodox, attempt to offer real advice.

Summary Table

| Segment | Main Issue | Hosts’ Advice/Commentary | Timestamps | |------------------------------- |------------------------------- |----------------------------------------------------------- |-------------| | Teen son quitting sports | Dad torn between sports/poetry | Blend passions, set fun assignments, don’t force sports | 02:00-06:00 | | Misguided romantic poetry | Holmberg’s anecdotes | Laughter at misplaced efforts, lessons in self-awareness | 06:00-10:00 | | Wife's wellness addiction | Financial & emotional toll | “Cut her off,” compare to male approach, generational talk | 10:05-23:10 |

Takeaways

• Parents must adapt to kids’ real interests, even if it means shelving personal dreams of athletic stardom.
• Wellness and pseudoscience can become costly hobbies, with men’s and women’s approaches to health care starkly different.
• Sometimes humor and raw truth are the best medicine—even for uncomfortable life issues.

Recommended For:
Anyone navigating parental expectations, marriage finances, or skeptical of modern health trends will find catharsis (and plenty of laughs) in this episode.