Holmberg's Morning Sickness (98KUPD) – Episode Summary

Date: August 19, 2025

Episode: Megan Scheduled Her Colonoscopy Today Making John Think Women Like Seeing The Doctor For No Reason - Wondering If People Really Are Offended By The Cleveland Indians Name And Logo

Overview

This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness is a typically irreverent and wide-ranging conversation led by John Holmberg and his crew (Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo). The episode blends crude humor and social observation as John riffs on why women seem to enjoy going to the doctor, the cultural meaning (and supposed offensiveness) of the Cleveland Indians name and mascot, and recent rebranding decisions in media. The tone is unfiltered, observational, and playfully provocative.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Women and Doctor Visits: The “Doctor Play” Theory

[00:45–18:15]

• John brings up that Megan (his significant other) scheduled her own colonoscopy, seeming to enjoy the anticipation, which sparks his theory that women love going to the doctor "for no reason."
• Holmberg muses that this attitude is rooted in childhood: “Playing doctor as a kid starts off the women's simple brains and mushes them into these people who can't get enough of going. So she's going. If you ever told me, like, yeah, we'll just take a look around in your anus for a while … hard no.” (B, [03:43])
• He contrasts men and women’s attitudes:
  • Men avoid the doctor unless something is clearly wrong.
  • Women, in his view, treat medical appointments as almost recreational.
  • Notable Quote: “Dudes go to the doctor when something hurts. Women go just for fun. For fun.” (B, [06:56])
• The crew jokes about role-play and childhood experiences of “playing doctor,” often veering into crass territory.
  • John's anecdote about being introduced to “playing doctor” by his cousin is used to suggest a lifelong difference in attitudes toward the medical world.

2. Probing Humor and Medical Anxiety

[04:50–15:20]

• John claims that men are pressured by “Big Pharma” and masculine-themed advertising into getting uncomfortable prostate exams.
  • Notable Quote: “Be a man, David. Be a man, David. Get in there and have somebody dig around in your butt. That’s the opposite of being a man.” (B, [06:03])
• He describes his own avoidance of unnecessary medical checks, sharing stories about Megan pushing him to get moles checked, which his doctor dismissed.
  • Megan’s response: “You need to go get checked more often.” (D, [17:31])
  • John’s retort: “You’re just gonna keep sending me to doctors until one of them says I’m dying.” (B, [17:19])
• General skepticism about “wellness specialists” and the growth of wellness culture.
  • Notable Quote: “If you could go to Sprouts to fix what's wrong, you didn't go to a doctor.” (B, [13:51])

3. The Cleveland Indians Name and the Notion of Offense

[24:15–32:00]

• John observes a high number of Native Americans at the Diamondbacks game wearing Cleveland Indians gear, despite the team's name change to the “Guardians.”
  • Notable Quote: “They were never mad about the name. They loved that team. And they had Guardians gear.” (B, [24:24])
  • “It was never offensive. The Indians thing was never offensive to anyone. And if it was, you were just sensitive.” (B, [26:46])
• Discussion about American sports team names:
  • The old Indians mascot “Chief Wahoo” and its depiction.
  • Holmberg and the crew question why, if the name was so offensive, old Indians gear is still allowed in stadiums.
  • Notable Quote: “Wouldn’t they ban the old Indians gear if it was so egregious? … If it was that egregious and that offensive, right? Nothing but Indians gear going in. Tons of it.” (B, [25:24])
  • Comparison to hypothetical team names with actual racial slurs to push the point about the perceived level of offense.
• They conclude that the name change was driven more by pressure from white women than the Native American community itself.
  • “I don't think we should be mad at Native Americans. I don't think they're the ones who tried to change the name ever… Always the culprit. White women. That's always the culprit.” (B, [32:04])

4. Baseball Nostalgia and Generational Gaps

[18:10–24:15]

• John recounts sitting next to an old baseball coach at the Diamondbacks game—a man who embodies the old-school, hard-nosed, “chewing and spitting” persona of classic baseball coaches.
• The coach laments how attitudes have shifted:
  • “These kids, you can't yell at them. They start weeping. The next thing you know you're talking to a dad.” (Coach story via B, [20:55])
• Threads on the sentimental attachment to baseball traditions and how new generations handle criticism and celebration differently.

5. Media Rebranding: MSNBC's Shift to “MsNow”

[33:13–38:35]

• The group discusses media companies' penchant for rebranding without changing the actual product, mocking HBO Max becoming Max, and now MSNBC becoming “MsNow.”
  • Notable Quote: “MSNBC in a couple months will be known as MsNow. … You want to talk about a group of people alienating men now it's the Ms. Now station.” (B, [33:13])
  • And with the logo: “All I see is PMS now.” (Email from Joanna read by B, [38:31])
• They find humor (and some annoyance) in how media companies don't foresee the unintended implications of their rebrands.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On women and doctors:
  “Women love going to the doctor. They can't get enough of it, most of them. And I have to think it's from playing doctor as a kid… It's this deal to go to the doctor all the time starts as a child…”
  — John Holmberg, [02:40]

• On men and medical exams:
  “I'm the anti Luigi Mangione. I'm getting that CEO a few more dollars in his pocket because I'm not spending it with any doctors probing around in my anus.”
  — John Holmberg, [06:13]

• On the Indians gear at the stadium:
  “A vast majority of people I saw going in the gate were Native American. They were never mad about the name. They loved that team.”
  — John Holmberg, [24:24]

• On the Chief Wahoo logo:
  “Wahoo is the smiling, happiest Indian I've ever seen in my life. He's not a warring Indian…”
  — John Holmberg, [30:28]

• On white women leading the charge for name changes:
  “Blame the… Always the culprit. White women. That's always the culprit. White women did this. They weaponized it.”
  — John Holmberg, [32:02]

• On the new MSNBC rebrand:
  “MSNBC in a couple months will be known as MsNow. … It’s the WNBA of news.”
  — John Holmberg, [33:13]
  (And the audience email: “Now I'm never not going to see PMS now.” — [38:31])

Quick Reference: Timestamps for Major Segments

• Women’s Doctor Visit Theory / Colonoscopy Anecdote: [00:45–13:51]
• Probing/Medical Humor, Wellness Culture: [04:50–15:20]
• Baseball Nostalgia and Old-School Coaching: [18:10–24:15]
• Cleveland Indians/Guardians Name Debate: [24:15–32:00]
• Media Rebranding (MSNBC / MsNow Discussion): [33:13–38:35]

Summary

This HMS episode features John Holmberg’s unfiltered meditations on gender and medicine, nostalgia for “old school” sports, and skepticism toward cultural trends and media rebranding. The primary throughline is a wry, absurdist (and sometimes edgy) skepticism at modern sensibilities—whether it’s attitudes about health, cultural appropriation, or what counts as offensive. The show is peppered with self-aware jokes, plenty of banter, and memorable takes that keep the dialogue quick, contentious, and funny.

Listeners can expect boundary-pushing humor and insight into both Holmberg’s personal life and larger cultural conflicts—always delivered with the show's signature irreverence.