Podcast Summary:

Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona’s #1 Morning Radio Show Episode: 08-26-25 – Meeting Matt The ALS Guy At Feldman Show Whose Wife Is Cheating On Him
Air Date: August 26, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo

Episode Overview

This episode centers around an extraordinary and deeply personal listener story shared at a Feldman concert. The hosts discuss their encounter with "Matt," a man diagnosed with advanced ALS who discovered his wife was cheating on him. Through dark humor and honest conversation, the show delves into themes of adversity, resilience, betrayal, and their signature irreverent take on tragedy. The episode also includes comic asides about listener relationships with the show, workplace affairs, and the peculiarities of restaurant culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Stories: Outrageous Tales of Infidelity

• Holmberg recounts prior wild listener emails, including a memorable story of a woman catching her husband with her brother (01:39).
• He sets the stage for Matt's story: “The best story I’ve heard—and we’ve had some doozies. This one tops the lady walking in and her husband having sex with her brother…” (01:39, John Holmberg).

2. Meeting Matt: ALS Diagnosis & Confronting Betrayal

• At the Feldman show, the crew meets Matt, introduced by his friend as having aggressive ALS, yet radiating positivity (03:16).

• Despite communication difficulties, Matt maintains humor and grace in the face of adversity:

  "Everything about the guy was just electric energy of positivity and no sadness..." (03:18, John Holmberg).

• The gut-punch: Matt just caught his wife cheating and filed for divorce.

  • “Like, wait, ALS guy just caught his wife cheating on him? ...he filed divorce papers today.” (03:26, John Holmberg)
  • Matt's friend repeatedly (and crassly) reminds everyone, “He’s dying” much to the discomfort of the hosts.

• The hosts react with empathy, dark humor, and astonishment at the wife's actions:

  “She couldn’t wait a year? ...It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be that much longer.” (04:09, John Holmberg)

3. Processing Matt’s Response

• Discusses Matt’s unexpectedly upbeat attitude:

  “I said, how are you feeling? And he goes, 'amazing. Every day is a gift, especially now...'” (05:47, John Holmberg)

• Holmberg asks the practical (and crude) questions about care after divorce amidst declining health:

  “Who’s going to wipe you? ...That was her job for a year, you know, clean out the sack and stuff.” (06:02, John Holmberg, [05:47-06:22])

• On "inspiration":

  “I’m not one of those people that goes, he’s such an inspiration. No, he’s not. I don’t want what he’s got.” (06:23, John Holmberg)

4. Wicked Humor and Ethical Debate

• Brief debate on the morality of the wife’s actions—Holmberg suggests that under such tragic circumstances, maybe he'd "give her a pass."

  “I got the ALS. I’m giving a pass to her. Yes, I get it...” (07:01, John Holmberg)

• The crew jokes about divorce strategy with ALS:

  “If I get ALS and have to get divorced, I’m maxing out every card we’ve got...I need a pre-death jet ski.” (11:26, John Holmberg)

5. Restaurant Infidelity Culture

• The team relates Matt's story to the prevalence of workplace affairs in restaurants, using anecdotes from Brady's Porkopolis days and their own observations.
  • “If you’ve got a waitress for a wife, somebody’s banging her you don’t know about.” (09:35, John Holmberg)
  • “Brady’s Place is a perfect example of that...she got knocked up by one of the cooks.” (09:55, John Holmberg)

6. Absurdist Listener Relations

• Introduces listener “Katie,” a dental assistant reportedly so enamored of Holmberg she might “orgasm and die” if they met (14:26).

  “Meeting me, you immediately orgasm and then pass away...Which I happen to think is scientifically impossible.” (15:05, John Holmberg)

• The group extrapolates about the mythical power of giving someone a “coma-inducing orgasm,” shifting to jocular self-deprecation.

  “If you destroy a woman through sex…You’re thrilled. And women, you’re probably the same...that’s bragging rights.” (17:19, John Holmberg)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“The best story I’ve heard—and we’ve had some doozies. This one tops the lady walking in and her husband having sex with her brother…”
—John Holmberg (01:39)

“Everything about the guy was just electric energy of positivity and no sadness.”
—John Holmberg about Matt (03:18)

“He just caught his wife cheating on him… ALS guy, Lou Gehrig, just caught his wife cheating on him?”
—John Holmberg (03:28)

“I’m not one of those people that goes, he’s such an inspiration. No, he’s not. I don’t want what he’s got. That’s not inspiring at all.”
—John Holmberg (06:23)

“If you’ve got a waitress for a wife, somebody’s banging her you don’t know about.”
—John Holmberg (09:35)

“Meeting me, you immediately orgasm and then pass away...Which I happen to think is scientifically impossible.”
—John Holmberg (15:05)

“...If you destroy a woman through sex, there isn’t—you’re not sad about it. You’re not—you don’t have any PTSD. You’re thrilled...And women, you’re probably the same.”
—John Holmberg (17:19)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Favorite listener story setup: 01:39
• Meeting Matt at the show: 03:16–05:12
• Matt’s ALS, cheating wife, and filing for divorce: 03:29–05:47
• Discussion of inspiration and caregiving logistics: 05:47–06:37
• ALS spouse’s infidelity ethics & black humor: 06:37–07:41, 11:26
• Restaurant worker affairs anecdotes: 09:25–09:55
• Listener Katie’s over-the-top fandom: 14:26–15:03
• Coma-inducing orgasms and male ego: 17:06–19:44

Summary Flow & Tone

True to the show’s candid and irreverent nature, the episode is both shocking and darkly funny. The hosts use Matt’s story as a lens through which to riff on mortality, betrayal, and the absurdity of daily life, never hesitating to lean into uncomfortable humor. Their banter about cheating, restaurant culture, and listeners’ intense attachments to the show provides comic relief, making the heavy themes more accessible.

Despite the personal and emotional content, the episode never veers into sentimentality, maintaining the show's trademark blend of outrageous empathy and roast-style sarcasm.

For listeners new to the saga, this episode captures the raw, roller coaster energy of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness—where life’s tragedies and ironies are material for laughter as much as for empathy.