Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona

Episode: 02-10-26
Date: February 10, 2026
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Main Topics: Malfunctions at the Italy Olympics, Eileen Gu's Olympic stardom, a Chandler man’s Stranger Things memorabilia record, and reflections on pop culture collecting.

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively blend of topical jokes, pop culture commentary, and trademark HMS banter. The hosts launch into discussions on embarrassing Olympic mishaps in Italy, segue to the awe and allure of superstar athlete Eileen Gu, and dive into the psychology (and perceived romantic perils) of obsessive collectors — all with their irreverent, comedic tone.
Listeners get a healthy dose of opinions on everything from streaming Olympic events to the social downsides of having 2,300+ Stranger Things collectibles in your home.

Key Discussions and Insights

1. Italy Olympics Mishaps ([01:05]–[03:36])

• Olympic Breakdown: The Italian Olympics are suffering frequent, embarrassing malfunctions — medals breaking, podiums collapsing, raising eyebrows about the event’s construction quality.
  • John: “The same people that built this building did all the work over there in Ital. The Olympics, because I don't know if you're paying attention to what's going on over there, but the medals are breaking. And then there was a podium and the team ice skating thing that just collapsed.” [01:15]
  • Brady: “I'm just wondering who decided to, you know, let's save some money.” [01:44]
• Quality Control Jokes: Jabs are made about cut corners, possible use of cheap suppliers like Temu, and insurance payoffs.
  • John: “It's just blowing up another one. They're just. Just give them gold chocolates and a. Give them promissory notes that they own. Now however many ounces of gold a gold medal would be...” [02:25]

2. Eileen Gu – The Must-Watch Olympic Superstar ([03:56]–[10:14])

• Eileen Gu’s Appeal: Eileen Gu, the Chinese-American freestyle skier, captures the crew’s attention with her talent, appearance, and remarkable life.
  • John: “Eileen Goo. Man, oh man, Goo is the right thing. She's gorgeous.” [04:13]
  • Brady: “The goo's a superstar.” [06:52]
• National Allegiances: There's recurring fascination (and mild frustration) over Gu's choice to compete for China despite being American-born and living the Californian lifestyle.
  • John: “I don't like her. She's an American and she's skiing for China...Every picture of her is in America...but if China produced more of that, I'd be a communist tomorrow.” [06:53]
• Her Phenomenal Skillset: They describe her tricks — multiple flips, backward skiing — and express awe at the athleticism on display.
  • John: “Chicks were...going six, seven spins and flips on one jump, landing backwards and then hitting the next ramp backwards. And I'm like, well, cancel the ski jump because that's the dumbest thing I've ever seen compared to this.” [08:27]
• Olympics vs. Modern TV Consumption: The hassle of streaming different events vs. just flipping on TV in the past is lamented.
  • John: “With the Olympics...you turned on the TV...whatever they sent you to, you did. Now it's like, oh, you want to go to Peacock? You got to pay for that.” [04:33]

Notable Quotes

• John (on Eileen Gu): “She's kind of my Chinese Dua Lipa. You know, if she came over and said, 'Xinjiang Ping Ping Ping has a lot of good ideas,' I’d be like, 'Yeah, I think so too.'” [08:53]
• John (on simping for Eileen Gu): “Will you go get me a donut? ... Okay, I'll be back tomorrow. No problem. Your donut. Because I love you.” [09:25]
• Brett: “She is tall.” [09:39]
• Brady: “The goo's a superstar.” [06:52]

3. Collectors, Obsessions, and Romantic Red Flags ([17:18]–[38:38])

• Stranger Things Mania in Chandler: Spotlight on Joey Avalos, who holds the world record with 2,301 Stranger Things collectibles, prompts the hosts to roast collecting habits.
  • John: “You have basically just checked your dick out of the game from normal broads.” [18:22]
  • Brett: “What do you think the last time he got laid was? Oh, season one.” [19:50]
• Collecting = Romantic Downfall? The hosts argue that extreme pop culture obsessions are a surefire romantic red flag, especially if they take up an entire room.
  • John: “You go. You have a house filled with collectible anything. It's a red flag to every normal girl.” [20:40]
  • John: “You need the one friend that goes through and goes, we got to help these guys out.” [33:41]
• But What About Sports Memorabilia? John draws a “clear” line between sports rooms ("chicks dig the bar") and collection shrines to shows, poking fun at his own Steelers bar.
  • John: “Steelers are different. It’s a live sporting event, and I built a whole room in the back, and it's a bar, and we get drunk. If he had a bar dedicated to Stranger Things... It's Vecnaar's Den.” [25:35]

Notable Quotes

• John (on Funko Pops): “Do you hate your dick? Like your dick is filing for separation.” [22:14]
• Brett: “Sounds like you're talking about the 40 year old virgin when they go into Steve Carell's...” [24:53]
• John (on women and collecting): “You can't comp sports stuff to a Stranger Things death kill den. You just can't. It's weird.” [28:54]
• John (on gender and collecting): “Hot girls aren't gonna collect stranger things stuff...Hot girls aren't collecting no WWE stuff either.” [35:55-35:58]

4. Gender Dynamics & Success ([30:29]–[33:39])

• Double Standards in Dating: The hosts ruminate on how wealth and collecting habits play out differently for men and women.
  • John: “Again, you show a woman a picture of a man in a suit who's incredibly handsome and show that same man in a Burger King outfit, she's gonna be like, man in a suit's better.” [30:28]
• If You Have Money, It's Eccentric — If Not, It's Creepy:
  • John: “When you have a billion dollars and you have a Stranger Things room, oh my God. He's a collector. He's eccentric...but if you had a billion dollars, you'd just have the girl that played 11 in your house all the time on display.” [30:09]

Memorable Moments & Running Gags

• Rapid-Fire Imagined Dialogues: The hosts break out into role-playing bits, improvising conversations like Eileen Gu asking for a donut [09:25], or a WWE-obsessed woman inviting a guest over. [36:14]
• Mockery of Newsworthy 'Records': “Guinness gave a guy he folded 250 functional paper airplanes in an hour. At least it's only an hour of his day...” [25:05]
• Collecting Across Genders: Anecdotes about men and women, both, crossing the line from casual fan to “potential future Dateline feature.” [34:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:05] – Malfunctions and construction quality at the Italy Olympics
• [03:56] – Introduction of Eileen Gu; Olympic streaming complaints
• [05:12] – The appeal of Eileen Gu and her background
• [07:21] – Fascination and jokes about Gu's hybrid national identity
• [08:27] – Details on freestyle skiing tricks, athletic awe
• [17:18] – News about the Chandler Stranger Things collector
• [19:50] – The intersection of collecting and romantic possibilities
• [25:35] – Comparing sports memorabilia collections to TV show shrines
• [30:28] – Gender, wealth, and dating double standards
• [33:41] – The need for friends to offer collecting 'interventions'
• [36:14] – Imaginary dialogue of a WWE superfan woman

Tone and Language

• Irreverent and Playful: Consistent with HMS brand, conversations are roasted, exaggerated, and peppered with mock voices and hypotheticals.
• Candidly Crude: Off-color jokes and playful jabs abound, particularly regarding gender, collecting habits, and attraction.
• Conversational: The episode feels like a group of friends bantering at a bar—as much riffing and inside jokes as there are structured topics.

Takeaways for New Listeners

• The hosts blend topical humor, local stories, and pop culture—expect tangents, but every subject is delivered with quick wit and pointed commentary.
• If you have an eccentric collection, or opinions on the value of gold medals, you'll find yourself both laughed at and in on the joke.
• Eileen Gu is now officially an HMS-approved way to get people to watch the Olympics—just don't mention it to your spouse if you have a Stranger Things room.

End of Summary