02-05-26 - Entertainment Drill - THU - Bill Gates Apologizes For Being Involved At Epstein Island As We Just Want People To Admit It Was Cool To Go There Not Knowing About Crimes

Summary

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Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness centers on the public fallout from Bill Gates’ association with Jeffrey Epstein, the ongoing cultural debate about admitting “cool” social experiences before the criminal history was known, and musings about honesty, guilt, and gray areas in high-profile scandals. The crew also veers into entertainment news, traditional gender roles, and injects their usual irreverent humor and social commentary.

Hosts:

• John Holmberg
• Brett Vesely
• Brady Bogen (brief mentions)
• Dick Toledo (not directly heard in the transcript)

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bill Gates & The Epstein Island Controversy

[00:56 – 03:57]

• Holmberg and Brett discuss news of Bill Gates apologizing for attending Epstein’s infamous island. Holmberg expresses frustration at the way celebrities and billionaires backpedal after scandals are revealed.

Key Points:

• Holmberg argues it was “cool” to go to a private billionaire’s island before any crimes were public knowledge.
• There is skepticism around the sincerity of apologies like Gates’. Holmberg suggests people only feel regret because they got caught or criticized, not because they genuinely knew about wrongdoing at the time.
• Brett reinforces that many powerful people attended the island for its social perks, without awareness of the criminal activities.

Notable Quotes:

• John Holmberg: “Will somebody just come out and go, of course I was on the island. It was awesome. I didn't know anybody was underage. Just be honest. Quit saying you regret it.” (02:09)
• John Holmberg: “If another billionaire says, hey, come to my island, I'd go... I'd go three or four times before I stopped having so much fun that I'd look around and go, oh my God, everybody here's doing crimes.” (02:37)

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2. Guilt by Association & Retrospective Blame

[02:58 – 03:57]

• The hosts discuss how charitable work or other achievements don’t absolve someone’s associations, but also that not everyone connected to Epstein is automatically complicit.
• The consensus: those who knew and participated in wrongdoing deserve blame, but being “around” a shady figure isn’t always proof of guilt.

Notable Quote:

• John Holmberg: “It doesn't make everybody around him guilty. Now, the people who knew and participated, that'll come out.” (02:58)

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3. Entertainment Drill & Missing Persons Story

[05:26 – 07:05]

• The show pivots to a missing persons report and transitions into typical morning radio banter—questioning why someone with disabilities wouldn’t be kept track of electronically.

Discussion Highlights:

• Joking debate about “chipping” or tracking at-risk individuals, with satirical references to tracking devices and animal microchipping.
• The hosts keep a light tone, even with sensitive material, poking fun at helicopter parents and over-the-top safety measures.

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4. Outlandish Sports News – Ski Jumpers & Crotch Microchips

[07:27 – 09:53]

• In a humorous segment, Brett and John discuss an Olympic ski jumping scandal where microchips are being used to check if athletes enhance their suits (and crotch area) for aerodynamic gain.

Key Points:

• Commenting on attempts by athletes to “enlarge” their crotch area (even joking about erections and fabric-stuffing) to fly farther.
• Banter spirals into jokes about the competitive advantages and absurdity of resorting to such measures.

Notable Quote:

• John Holmberg: “I flew 12ft further when I had the hairdo dick. ... Then you give a guy, like a fluffer up there at the top and he goes down. Because I flew five feet farther with the harder deck.” (08:33)
• John Holmberg: “It's another sport. Black people are going to take over. ... How is Kenya winning all these gold medals in ski jump?” (08:59)

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5. Pop Culture: Chris Harrison’s Dating Show & Gender Roles

[09:53 – 13:08]

• Discussion about former Bachelor host Chris Harrison launching a new dating show that emphasizes traditional, marriage-minded values.
• Debate over “traditional roles” for men and women in relationships, and why some roles are seen as inherently demeaning or controversial.
• Holmberg and Brett question the shifting definitions and expectations around gender roles, and joke about artificial intelligence robots fulfilling those roles in the future.

Notable Quotes:

• John Holmberg: “Why are traditional roles for men never going to change, but the ones that are for women are?” (11:11)
• John Holmberg: “What roles are you bringing to the party that I can talk about that don't offend you? ... For men, we still have to adapt to the new rules.” (12:20)
• John Holmberg: “That's why Japan's working so goddamn hard on those robots. AI-powered girl robots that'll do some stuff and not yell at you all the time...” (12:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Comment | |-----------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:09 | John Holmberg | “Will somebody just come out and go, of course I was on the island. It was awesome. I didn't know anybody was underage. Just be honest. Quit saying you regret it.” | | 02:37 | John Holmberg | “If another billionaire says, hey, come to my island, I'd go... I'd go three or four times before I stopped having so much fun that I'd look around and go, oh my God, everybody here's doing crimes.” | | 08:33 | John Holmberg | “I flew 12ft further when I had the hairdo dick...” | | 08:59 | John Holmberg | “It's another sport. Black people are going to take over. ... How is Kenya winning all these gold medals in ski jump?” | | 11:11 | John Holmberg | “Why are traditional roles for men never going to change, but the ones that are for women are?” | | 12:35 | John Holmberg | “That's why Japan's working so goddamn hard on those robots. AI-powered girl robots that'll do some stuff and not yell at you all the time...” |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Epstein Island & Bill Gates Apology: 00:56 – 03:57
• Entertainment/Pop Culture News: 05:26 – 07:05
• Olympic Ski Jumpers & Microchip Controversy: 07:27 – 09:53
• Chris Harrison & Gender Roles Conversation: 09:53 – 13:08

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Tone & Style

• The show maintains its signature irreverence, blending sharp cultural critique with humor, sarcasm, and boundary-pushing banter.
• Hosts frequently employ hypothetical confessions, comedic exaggeration, and self-deprecating anecdotes.
• Sensitive topics are handled with a mix of candor and satire, which may be jarring or refreshing depending on listener sensibility.

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Summary

In this episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness, the hosts dissect the media cycle surrounding Bill Gates’ connection to Jeffrey Epstein, arguing that before criminal revelations, attending such exclusive retreats was tempting for almost anyone. While criticizing mealy-mouthed apologies, they debate the challenge of admitting pleasure versus responsibility. The show then veers into humorous discussions on missing persons and ski-jumping innovation (with microchip-monitored crotch areas), before ending with an animated debate over gender roles sparked by Chris Harrison’s new dating show. As always, the banter is unfiltered, provocative, and delivered with a heavy dose of Arizona morning show edge.

Transcript

[John Holmberg]

You're listening to the HMS podcast brought to you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories. It's John Holmberg here from the morning Cygnus and I'm absolutely thrilled to tell you about my [e-mail] youm've heard me mention Kevin Costner, Trey McBride, other countless celebrities and pro athletes and how they chose lifted trucks. But that doesn't mean it's only for actors and pro athletes. It's for all of you. Everybody who loves a cool adventure. So if you're a huge celebrity like me or just an average Joe who wants the best truck available, head on over to lifted trucks. They live up to being the number one custom truck dealer for over 30 years. 10,000 five star reviews can't be wrong. Lifted trucks.com work hard, play hard, drive harder. Still streaming Hberg's Morning Sickness online at 98kupd.com just had a big sneeze, everybody. I'm about. I got another one on deck coming too. It's got me.

[Brett]

Here's the pepper.

[John Holmberg]

This goddamn wind isn't going to help either, is it? We were just talking about that thing off the air of the Epstein deal and I read that same thing you read, Brett about Bill Gates saying, I feel like a fool I ever hung out with. Knock it off.

[Brett]

I want Linda saying I want Glad.

[John Holmberg]

Who cares? I want somebody to come out and go, yeah, I hung out with him. Of course I hung out. When they got an island with a Runway and a resort on it. Yes, you'd had to give most guy.

[Brett]

From CBS that has stepped away from covering stuff said, exactly.

[John Holmberg]

He said, of course I went to this.

[Brett]

He's like at the time, I want.

[John Holmberg]

Bill Gates to say it. You give me an invite to an island with a Runway and you get a private jet to go. It's going to take me two or three times to get out of my own way to look around and go, hey, something's going wrong here. Well, that and presidents are there, movie stars, everything blinded you're invited to. I've worked here for in this building for 10 years. I don't know anything that's going on with these people. I'm enjoying myself too much. If I look if you go someplace that's fun and there's drugs going on about. I went through all of high school for three years and when I was 30, my friend Todd Linkus came over and said, oh, I nailed her. I banged that. And I'm like, we were Doing that in high school. I didn't even know that was allowed.

[Brett]

I didn't. Now you're part of it, John.

[John Holmberg]

Well, yeah. And so just will somebody just come out and go, of course I was on the island. It was awesome. I didn't know anybody was underage. I. I made assumptions and I didn't have sex with people there. Just be honest. Quit saying that you regret it. It's not gonna fix anything. Bill Gates. I feel like such a fool. Well, yeah, in hindsight, but it's because you got caught. That's why don't. It's even getting caught. That's the thing. It seems like no caught Bill Gates is what I'm saying, but it seems like you're caught that you did. That you did something wrong when you're done. Oh, I shouldn't have ever done it. No, of course I would do it again. I'd say I would do it. Absolutely. If another billionaire says, hey, come to my island, I'd go. And I'd go three or four times before I stopped having so much fun that I'd look around and go, oh, my God, everybody here's doing crimes.

[Brett]

And you'd be surprised at how many people have reached out. This guy raised a lot of money and donated a ton of money to some research.

[John Holmberg]

And that doesn't make anything bad. You can't just lump everything into that pile. Of course he was a billionaire. Of course he gave money to charities. Of course, your charity benefit. Of course he did stuff that wasn't just. He's a terrible person who. For the one thing he did. But it doesn't make everybody around him guilty. Now, the people who knew and participated, that'll come out. But Bill Gates is a dumbass. I want to fix my reputation now. Yeah, you were friends with. We didn't know either. It's not like everybody was screaming, you shouldn't hang out with that guy right off the bat. A few people did later. Trump was one of them. And now they got some girl coming into that thing saying that Trump. That she was. She had to blow Trump and then she got smacked. I read the story. I missed that story. The press secretary is talking about it a couple days ago. That was interesting. But come on, if you're on Epstein Island, I'm going to give you some grace because I know for a fact I'd have gone. I know he'd have gone for sure. You'd have gone, oh, yeah.

[Brett]

I might have gone.

[John Holmberg]

You don't ask any. You wouldn't have known anything. You don't you don't go in there, you know, looking for clues and asking questions. You are all about making sure Brady is having a good time with all these people meeting and hobnobbing. Imagine the spread. Oh, the food. You'd be lost in your own tummy puddles most of the times. The best vacation ever. I have a friend who just told me he had a weekend with a guy who he became friends with. Gave him a Lamborghini to drive around for a little bit and then he ended up at somehow or another at Dan Bilzerian's house. It's like I didn't. I was just there for like a little. Next thing you know, I meet one dude and he said I don't know anything about his history. Could have been crazy. What a story. Anyway, it's time for the entertainment drills. If a billionaire asked you to do something, you're probably gonna go. Especially if he's foot in the bill because it's stuff you're never gonna see. It's pretty great. Now if you start doing bad things, that's on you. But that's true every day. It's the entertainment drill brought to bear friends at the Schwartz Laser Eye Center. Teamidoc.com they take care of the Suns in action tonight and the Diamondbacks coming up in a couple weeks got spring training. They take care of both those teams eyes and those are some precious eyeballs. They're getting paid a lot of money. There's a lot of value in the eyes of a professional athlete and they trust the Schwartz Eye center for that. So if you get out there, talk to Dr. Jay Schwartz. He's going to get you in your complimentary consultation, get you out of those glasses and contacts and have you seen clearer than ever the Schwartz Laser eye Center team. IDOC.com Brady Bill, John's 27 year old.

[Brett]

Son has been missing since Tuesday morning. Friends and family are concerned for safety. 27 year old Nathan Smith ran out of his home in Milton, Georgia around 6am hasn't been s seen since. Police say he left on foot, does not possess a phone. He may be disoriented and need and in need of some assistance.

[John Holmberg]

Is he. What's wrong with him?

[Brett]

I'm not sure. I don't have the details.

[John Holmberg]

Something weird there.

[Brett]

A rep from.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, that's the way it sounded. Yeah.

[Brett]

A rep from Little John said the family is asking for privacy at this time. We are also asking for continued prayers for Nathan to come home safe.

[John Holmberg]

Sure. Yeah. All right. Why isn't he allowed to have a phone.

[Brett]

And why wouldn't you? I don't know. He must have some kind of. Sounds like a disability mentally or.

[John Holmberg]

I don't know, any of that.

[Brett]

You think you'd want him to have something to communicate?

[John Holmberg]

You think?

[Brett]

You know, like if he is in a situation like that.

[John Holmberg]

What kind of. If you got a disabled person, you want to phone on them more.

[Brett]

Leaves the house and gets lost.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. They're more fragile. They're more susceptible. You think you'd want them to have phones? What's he doing with a phone?

[Brett]

You know if I would have a tracker on them.

[John Holmberg]

Sure. You want to chip them like a golden retriever?

[Brett]

Well, I mean, they wear those necklaces that has. Well, it's a couple years ago. That's right. Michelle Calendo had the kids wear cards. Oh.

[John Holmberg]

They were crazy, though.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

Admittedly, at school.

[Brett]

And she wanted to check it. Went through a phase where she thought, I don't want anything going wrong with him.

[John Holmberg]

She was insane. She admits that now. That was absolute insanity.

[Brett]

Yep. It was a face.

[John Holmberg]

But tracking a. Like what you say, the crippled tracking system. If you get a cripple that gets loose every once in a while, you probably put an apple air tag on that like a suitcase.

[Brett]

Remember that story on the Winter Olympics about the ski jumpers?

[John Holmberg]

No. Oh, yeah. Enlarging their crotch areas for aerodynamics.

[Brett]

Yep. Ski jumpers will now have to wear. Will be microchipped suits. The suits will be microchipped and they'll get scanned to measure the space between their legs to see if they. The crotch enlargens or there's crotch enlargening going on. On the jump.

[John Holmberg]

Is enlarging a word?

[Brett]

Crotch enlarging.

[John Holmberg]

Like in Spinal Tapper. He's got the cucumber wrapped in the tinfoil going through. Huh. So the snoot will know.

[Brett]

Yeah. If it expands.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, yeah. But it could expand just out of excitement. Yeah. What if Margot Robbie's walking by? So the key to this thing is to have a natural erection while you do the ski jump, which I couldn't.

[Brett]

Yeah. The Norwegian team got caught adding extra fabric to the suits that were worn right on the top. Male athletes.

[John Holmberg]

I wonder who came back like, oh, I flew 12ft further when I had the hairdo dick. They're like, I'll try, too. And then you give a guy, like a fluffer up there at the top and he goes down. Because I flew five feet farther with the harder deck. They had to do tests where soft dicks flew and hard ones flew. And they're like, the harder ones are waiting.

[Brett]

There have been reports that athletes have been employing other methods to increase their crotch size, including injecting.

[John Holmberg]

Great. It's another sport. Black people are going to take over. Wait a minute. What? You fly farther with that. All right, step aside. How is Kenya winning all these gold medals and ski jump. Hold my Hennessy. Hang on to this for a second. I'm gonna go jump something. Damn. Damn it. And get so high in the air. But he just won't go to the ceiling and fix that.

[Brett]

Filling their pants with modeling clay, huh?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Well, yeah.

[Brett]

What happens if a guy comes with big horn?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. He's carrying a big.

[Brett]

Have an advantage.

[John Holmberg]

Well, there you go. If you're busy playing in the G League in the NBA and you're like, this isn't going to pan out, start jumping and soon we'll have another. White men can't jump. And it'll be ski jumps. Great. And you're just going to see these floating dongs like. Like refueling planes in the air as they fly through the Olympics.

[Brett]

Former Bachelor host Chris Harrison is doing a dating show for people who want a traditional marriage minded partnership built on commitment and shared values. He was the one that got eliminated.

[John Holmberg]

So it's not the Bachelor.

[Brett]

It's because he went to. He sided with a girl that went to that.

[John Holmberg]

Well, he just. He just didn't fall into the trap of the girl who had antebellum parties at her Ole Miss.

[Brett]

He got accused College. Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And he said it wasn't a big deal. And then one of the old bachelorettes, Rachel, comes out of the woodwork and says, now he's racist. I'm like, wait a minute. And then ABC caved. He wasn't being racist. He was supporting someone who's like, I think you're being a little rough on a girl who was in college having an antebellum party. By the way, she picked the black guy. They're still together as far as I know. I don't know that for sure, but.

[Brett]

Yeah, she attended that party and she.

[John Holmberg]

Went to an antebellum party again. Give her some grace. It's the same thing as the Epstein Island. You're an Ole Miss and your sorority's having a party. And it's like, I don't even. I'm not from here. What is that? We dress up like it's 1850. That's dangerous no matter where you go.

[Brett]

And of course, some people are chapped at it. Of course he's doing this. He's trying to bring Traditional values. Well, that'll be making women, you know, demeaning the women to cook, clean.

[John Holmberg]

And why is that demeaning? Why are traditional roles for men never going to change, but the ones that are for women are?

[Brett]

One lady says, I'm sorry, this is giving maga.

[John Holmberg]

No, it's not.

[Brett]

Other. Others are asking for a definition of the clear roles he mentioned.

[John Holmberg]

We still have to provide, protect, be a man all the time or we're deadbeats. There are roles that you guys can have too. There's nothing wrong with saying, hey, she's an amazing, typical old fashioned, they call it woman who likes to cook and likes making cooking bad is dumb. We're. We have to eat. Why can't the man do it? Okay, we can, but then what are your services? What are you providing in the relationship? If he cooks, he cleans, he provides, he protects. I bring half in. All right. Do you clean? How dare you like. All right, what do I do?

[Brett]

We're giving you stuff and saying you're better at it, but if you want us to do it, we're going to end up being better at it.

[John Holmberg]

But if you're making it so you have all your roles are offensive.

[Brett]

You want us to cook?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, we'll do it. What, what roles are you bringing to the party that I can talk about that don't offend you? Because you keep like, all of ours are the same and we got to adapt to the new rules. We. Nothing's changed for men. We're still the providers. We're still the protectors.

[Brett]

We're still willing.

[John Holmberg]

We're not sitting. Yeah, we're just sitting there waiting, cooking and cleaning. How dare you like. All right, what is exactly I'm gonna need from you? If it keeps going this way, it's gonna ice themselves out. And that's why Japan's working so goddamn hard on those robots. AI powered girl robots that'll do some stuff and not yell at you all the time for. Hey, did you clean the house? Oh my God, look, you live there too. Don't you want it clean? You didn't lift a finger. Okay, I'm gone. The robot won't do this.

[Brett]

Can you imagine it's doing all that stuff? And then on top of that, my lawyer, my doctor.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, that's silly. We're done. Ten, oh, nine. Larry's coming up next and he's got himself all sorts of stuff. Boy, does Larry. He told me something yesterday. I can't let the cat out of the bag, but oh my God, wait until you hear what this radio station has planned for you guys starting next week. We got one thing after that. Let me just say this. For the 25th anniversary of this show, we're starting with the grand prize and it's a mother. It's great. Look at him over there just nodding away. John knows it's 10:09. Just stay tuned. Larry's not going to tell you a word about this but it's looming and he's done an amazing job hooking this up. Yay, Larry. Our king. Larry's next. Have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow on the Morning Sickness, Arizona's most powerful rock radio station. He said fully erect. My AMEX Blue Cash Everyday Card is my go to accessory. When I shop, I can earn 3% cash back on US online retail purchases. Try on the blue Cash Everyday card. Learn [e-mail] Explore BCE terms and cash back cap. Apply.