Podcast Summary: Holmberg’s Morning Sickness — 01-29-26

Episode Title: Down The Rabbit Hole Of 1900s Tale Of Baron Trump And Tesla Has John Once Again Wondering About The Simulation And Wanting To Possibly Start Reading Books
Date: January 29, 2026
Host(s): John Holmberg with Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo

Main Theme

In this episode, John Holmberg delves into bizarre, intriguing coincidences linking century-old books (“Baron Trump’s Marvelous Underground Journey” and “The Last President” by Ingersoll Lockwood) to modern figures like the Trump family, Nikola Tesla, and Elon Musk. These connections revive conversations about simulations, time travel, the nature of coincidence, and Holmberg’s conflicted relationship with reading books.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Baron Trump Books (“Marvelous Underground Journey” & “The Last President”)

• Weird Literary Coincidences:
  • John introduces the topic: Ingersoll Lockwood's obscure children’s novels from the 1890s, one featuring "Baron Trump" (a precocious wealthy child in New York guided by "Don," living in "Castle Trump" on Fifth Avenue—eerily close to Trump Tower).
  • Lockwood’s second book, "The Last President," features a chaotic US election, a character named Trump who wins, society’s collapse, and a Pence-like cabinet member.
  • Multiple panelists marvel at how these old books mirror names and circumstances in contemporary US politics.
  • “[The author] was an occultist...they thought he was dabbling with black magic and could see the future... Baron Trump is this mischievous, Dennis the Menace type, grew up in New York, super wealthy, guided by someone named Don.” — John (02:15)

2. The Tesla/Trump/Musk Conspiracies

• Tesla’s Death Ray, Government Seizure, and John Trump:
  • After Tesla’s death, government agents (led by John Trump, Donald Trump’s uncle) supposedly took Tesla’s secret documents, including speculative blueprints for the "death ray" (05:00–05:56).
  • Connection is drawn: “...John Trump was the one that Nikola Tesla kind of gave the information to... Tesla, of course, is the connection back to Elon Musk...” — John (04:20)
  • Wernher von Braun’s "Project Mars" is brought up, which predicts a Martian colony led by someone called "Elon."
  • The crew jokes about the layers of coincidence and the tenuous nature of conspiracy theories.

3. Simulation Theory & Historical Synchronicity

• Holmberg relates all these coincidences to the feeling “the simulation broke,” referencing the Lincoln/Kennedy similarities and using video game analogies (MLB The Show, Madden) where the computer “recycles” names and histories for future seasons (06:48–08:48).
• “That’s what this feels like. Because that is a simulation—the game is simulating [the future], and it’s crazy made-up names...it cycles names. That’s what this feels like.” — John (06:52)
• The team dives into solipsism (philosophical idea that only one’s own mind can be known to exist), relating it to how new information “doesn’t exist” until you experience it personally (14:34–16:53).

4. Reluctance to Read & The Book vs. Movie Debate

• Holmberg is comically resistant to reading the Baron Trump books, preferring that “a smart reader” Cliff’s Notes it for him (09:23–11:03, 26:07–27:14).
• “The biggest waste of time in my life has been reading. You meet people who read all those books and then they tell you the good parts. They do the heavy lifting, you do the learning.” — John (08:48)
• The cast mocks book-lovers for being “indignant” when movies shortcut the work:
  • “If it’s a good book, it’ll be a good movie… Oh, ‘the book is always better.’ No, you wasted a week and a half reading it, and you gotta justify your time.” — John (23:01)
• Discussion on audiobooks, modern attention spans, and the decline of libraries/bookstores supplanted by the internet and convenience (29:42–30:53, 40:00 onward).

5. Pseudoscience, Occult, and Conspiracy Pileup

• The higher power, simulation, or “Matrix” idea comes up—are we just living out a script? (13:07–15:48)
• The show veers into other conspiracies: Nostradamus’s writings (“blind squirrel” effect), pyramid power, and the evolving nature of knowledge and belief. Everyone laughs at the escalation of claims and audience reactions.
• “You can’t simply say you find something interesting without people saying you claimed it’s a fact...I sent something I found interesting about pyramids to my asshole stepdad…and he loses his mind like you just tried to send him facts or papers.” — John, reading a listener comment (35:04)

6. Notable Anecdotes & Asides

• Holmberg references a friend Tommy Mallow, a self-made millionaire whose impressive achievements are, in Holmberg’s eyes, related to having read loads of books—a topic providing comic tension with John’s anti-reading stance (08:48–11:03, 41:33–42:18).
• The conversation brings in real-life technology: laser “death rays,” palm tree climbing inventions, and the trade-offs between human labor and automation (31:51–34:13).
• Quips and banter about growing old, generational differences, and the never-ending “good book/good movie” argument.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Odd Coincidences:
  • “A chaotic election in New York City where Trump gets elected... the downfall of American society... appoints a man named Pence to his cabinet. So that's... the weird parts.” — John, (03:45)
• On Reading:
  • "The biggest waste of time in my life has been reading. Although...he [Tommy] has billions... it's nothing but books. My brain got mad. See, that is how you learn. No, it's not how you learn. You meet people who read all those books, and then they tell you the good parts." — John (08:48)
• On Simulation Theory:
  • “That’s what this feels like... you blow through [video game] seasons, and it cycles names. That’s what this feels like — like the simulation broke and started recycling.” — John (06:52)
• On Religion and Coincidence:
  • “If the Bible had names that matched now? If the Bible said here's a dude you want to look out for, here's his son's name, and then real people from our time are also tied to it, you'd be like WHOA, that stepped out of fiction.” — John (18:04)
• On Pseudoscience and Audience Reactions:
  • “You can't simply say you find something interesting without people saying you claimed it’s a fact...” — John (35:04)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:15]—Introduction to Ingersoll Lockwood, Baron Trump books, and weird parallels to the Trump family.
• [04:20]—The Tesla/Trump/Musk/Elon connections; Nikola Tesla’s "death ray" and US government intrigue.
• [06:48]—Video game simulation analogy, historical coincidence (“simulation recycled names”).
• [08:48]—John’s aversion to reading, “smart people should just Cliff’s note it for me.”
• [12:17]—Speculative connections (time travel, simulation, cyclical history).
• [14:34]—Solipsism: Your reality vs. unknown history.
• [23:01]—The Book vs. Movie debate escalates; old attitudes about reading.
• [26:07]—Cast recounts their rare, reluctant reading experiences and book club jokes.
• [29:42]—Rise of convenience: Libraries and bookstores dwindled since the internet.
• [31:51]—Laser death rays, technology, and practicality.
• [35:04]—Listener reactions: how sharing “interesting coincidences” triggers outrage.
• [39:22]—Joking about reading subtitles on adult sites as “good reading.”
• [43:05]—Episode wraps up, John recaps fascinating people he’s met via the show.

Overall Tone & Style

• Lively, irreverent, conspiratorial, self-deprecating.
• Panelists riff continuously, mocking themselves and each other, taking outlandish ideas just seriously enough to consider them—before undercutting everything with skepticism or a joke.
• The group is united in a broad skepticism toward “book people,” while expressing genuine curiosity about weird coincidences and speculative history.
• Listeners’ feedback is woven in real time for hilarity, disbelief, and audience camaraderie.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a riff-laden, skeptical deep-dive into how strange old books and real-world events can intersect, tempting conspiracy and simulation theorists. Holmberg’s dry aversion to reading is a recurring punchline, but beneath the jokes lies a genuine curiosity about coincidence, consciousness, and the way we process reality—laden, as always, with Arizona’s top-tier morning radio banter.

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