09-11-25 - Opening The Phones To Listeners To Share Their Thoughts On The Charlie Kirk Shooting

Summary

---

Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode: 09-11-25 – Opening the Phones to Listeners to Share Their Thoughts on the Charlie Kirk Shooting
Date: September 11, 2025
Host: John Holmberg with Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo

Episode Overview

This emotionally charged episode departs from the usual “flippant nonsense” as the crew opens the phone lines to listeners, inviting the Arizona community to share their reactions and perspectives on the shocking public shooting of political commentator Charlie Kirk. The hosts encourage candid dialogue, a range of opinions, and mutual respect—even across deep political, religious, or generational divides. The episode becomes a moving forum grappling with collective trauma, the role of free speech, the impact of violent content online, political polarization, and the fragility of civil society in today’s America.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Pitfalls of Broadcasting Tragedy

• Community Connection in Crisis:
  John reflects on radio's unique ability to unite and process difficult events in real-time, something podcasts can't replicate.

  “We also have this awesome thing called radio that unites a local community...The objective of this is to hear people you might disagree with. And that’s gotta get...something you get used to.”
  (01:10 – John Toledo)

• Social Media Trauma:
  A listener email highlights the damage of viral violence:

  “A nine-year-old kid just watched Charlie Kirk get half his head blown off on Instagram… What is this psychologically doing to regular people?...As a society, we’re normalizing stuff like this because we get to see it. Think about that for a minute.”
  (02:00 – Listener Email Read by John)

• Children & Exposure:
  Brady and others wrestle with protecting kids in this digital landscape:

  “You still see her as a 9-year-old kid…you want to just kind of smother that and protect it as a parent.”
  (03:32 – Brady and John Toledo)

  “Let's talk about it.”
  (03:35 – Brady)

• Permanence of Violent Images:

  “If those things live on the Internet, Charlie Kirk’s kids will eventually get to [see them].”
  (03:43 – John Toledo)

2. Motives, Division, & the Dangers of ‘Othering’

• Speculation vs. Fact:
  The hosts urge caution about jumping to political conclusions before motives are confirmed:

  “We don’t know [the shooter’s] motive…that is part of the issue—the assumptions we make based on the words we’ve heard.”
  (12:53 – Brady)

• Political Blame & Both-Sides Arguments:
  Multiple listeners challenge each other and the hosts on whether acts of violence are partisan, pushing back on “both sides” narratives.

  “If Republicans ever do this, it's 1% of the violence the left does. See this is what we got to stop doing. Your side didn’t win or lose yesterday. Some nut shot a guy.”
  (05:47 – John Toledo, reading email)

• Celebrating Violence as a Slippery Slope:

  “When you start othering people and when you start celebrating [death], that's how you end up people getting loaded on the box cars being shipped to camps, and it's terrifying.”
  (09:11 – Donovan, Listener Caller)

  Holmberg cautions against constant Nazi/Hitler comparisons, urging focus on dehumanization itself.

3. The Human Cost and Psychological Fallout

• Veteran Perspective:
  Donovan, a veteran of the last Iraq combat operations, gives a raw account:

  “If people saw what I saw, we would all be a lot calmer…There is nothing glorious about it. It’s disgusting…I lost my faith in Iraq...if there’s a malevolent being that loves me and lets that happen, they don’t deserve to be worshiped. That’s just my personal opinion.”
  (09:42 – 11:09 – Donovan)

  “Don’t be scared. You have to just recognize the world sucks a lot of the times and just got to bravely walk through it. You'll be all right.”
  (11:42 – John Toledo)

• Intergenerational Trauma & Desensitization:
  Jake (age 25) reflects on receiving the shooting video, being desensitized by the internet, but still shaken by the violence:

  “I'm pretty desensitized to a lot of things that I see on the Internet, sadly. But I saw that, and I'm like, man, that is horrifying."
  (21:52 – Jake)

4. Freedom of Speech, Respect, and its Limits

• Respectful Disagreement:
  The hosts demonstrate, and explicitly discuss, facilitating open but civil disagreement about religion, politics, and morality:

  “I have no issue with that. And if it, you know what, to quote the song, ‘Whatever gets you through the night, I'm fine with that.’…I admire anybody who has a belief so long as it doesn't make it so they react violently or angrily towards me not having one.”
  (17:41 – John Toledo)

  “This isn't hard. It's just we got to pull our heads out of our asses and stop saying Toledo so wrong, even though he is.”
  (20:32 – John Toledo)

• Limits of Speech and Responsibility:
  Brady draws a line:

  “The Constitution gives us a freedom of speech, but not the freedom to say whatever. When it incites violence or causes damage, there are consequences, or at least there used to be.”
  (12:59 – Brady)

  The team references the example of shouting “fire” in a theater, emphasizing context, intent, and consequence.

5. Religion, Transformation, and Faith

• Faith Amidst Tragedy:
  A self-described late-life Christian calls in, explaining how faith and Charlie Kirk’s articulate defenses of belief changed his life:

  “I wasn’t a believer in God for the first 35 years of my life… I feel that God spoke to me…And I got baptized soon after and left the sport of bodybuilding. Cleaned up my act…”
  (16:32 - 19:14 – Late Life Christian Caller)

  “[Kirk’s] faith…and he would pull from just the verses and…it just solidified my belief even more. And I just really enjoyed the dialogue."
  (19:20 – Late Life Christian Caller)

• Coexistence of Belief and Nonbelief:

  “I am a staunch atheist…I didn’t once—and he didn’t once—sit back and say, ‘You’re an idiot. You’re wrong.’ I heard him. He heard me, and we both are fine. We can do this.”
  (20:32 – John Toledo)

6. Media, Viral Video, and Collective Grief

• Video’s Impact vs. News Alone:

  "The Kennedy assassination made everybody sad and miserable...I've never known the Kennedy assassination without having seen it...video changes things.”
  (28:01 & 29:41 – John Toledo)

  “The [Ray Rice video]...before they saw it...he's suspended for a game or two, and then they saw the video, and they're like, he's gone...the video is pretty extreme. It changes things.”
  (30:33 – John Toledo)

  “Yesterday, you heard Charlie Kirk got shot...you see it [on video]…"
  (30:33 – John Toledo)

7. Humor, Coping, and the Need to ‘Exhale’

• The show’s trademark dark humor appears, even in the midst of tragedy, as a source of release.

• John repeatedly thanks listeners for “getting it off your chest” and notes the communal benefit:

  "This is a little experiment...I kind of like the idea of saying, hey, everybody should have a voice. Let's let him have it on a day like this crappy day. And it's starting to make me feel a little better."
  (16:07 – John Toledo)

  "Hopefully we can walk away at least for 24 hours and say I had to exhale and reset."
  (32:54 – John Toledo)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dehumanization & Violence:

  “When you start othering people and when you start celebrating [death], that's how you end up people getting loaded on the box cars being shipped to camps, and it's terrifying.”
  (09:11 – Donovan, Listener Caller)

• On Accepting Disagreement:

  “You have to hear people you disagree with, roll your eyes, and then recognize: If I’m getting mad, I have to get a better foundation of what I believe.”
  (05:07 – John Toledo)

• On Speech & Consequences:

  “You do have a right to say whatever you want, but that doesn’t mean it’s consequence free…That’s what they mean by freedom of speech.”
  (14:10 – John Toledo)

• On Seeing Tragedy:

  “This one actually got me. I was—put on my ass. It was a 10 count. I didn't get up. I just sat and took it. I don't like this for one...”
  (30:54 – John Toledo)

• On Hope and Football:

  “You know what? I just got an email that said, thank God for football, because that'll make us all feel a little better later.”
  (25:50 – John Toledo)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:10 — Opening: The role of radio in crisis and initial emails.
• 02:00 — Listener email: Child exposure to violence; normalization concerns.
• 03:35 — Parental reactions; talking to children about tragedy.
• 05:07 — On tolerating disagreement and developing personal foundations.
• 09:04 – 11:41 — Donovan’s veteran perspective: dangers of dehumanization, trauma of war, loss of faith.
• 12:53 – 15:38 — Limits of freedom of speech; inciting violence; intent and consequence.
• 16:19 – 20:22 — Calls: Late-life faith journey; coexisting respectful disagreement.
• 21:13 – 26:11 — Jake, age 25: Desensitization, shock, and fear for personal safety after seeing the video.
• 28:01 – 30:33 — The unique impact of viral video vs. traditional news, historical analogies.
• 32:54 — Reflecting on collective exhale, returning to normalcy.

---

Tone & Style

The conversation toggles between serious, raw vulnerability; heated but respectful debate; dark humor; and occasionally irreverent banter. The hosts champion openness, self-reflection, and the messy process of community dialogue, openly confronting their own discomfort and confusion to model the very discussion they're inviting from their listeners.

---

Conclusion

This episode stands as a powerful example of why live, open radio remains vital in moments of societal crisis. By amplifying a range of listener voices, the Holmberg crew fosters honest conversation about trauma, grief, freedom, and the shared need for compassion—even when opinions clash. The day ends not with answers, but with a collective exhale, a reminder that talking—and truly listening—is itself healing.

---

Transcript

[Mike]

You're listening to the HMS Podcast, brought to you by mmpguns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories.

[Ad Host]

Wherever you go, whatever they get into, from chill time to everyday adventures, protect your dog from parasites with Cridellio Quattro. For full safety information, side effects and warnings, visit cordelioquattrolabel.com consult your vet or call 1-888-545-5973. Ask your vet for Cordelio Quattro and visit quattrodog.com.

[Brady]

And Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual, but now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music, Limu.

[John Toledo]

Save yourself money today. Increase your wealth. Customize and save. We save.

[Brady]

That may have been too much feeling.

[John Toledo]

What you need@liberty mutual.com.

[Brady]

Savings very under by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[John Toledo]

Morning sickness. There's another thing is that I. Look, I. We're flippant nonsense most of the time, but we also have this awesome thing called radio that unites a local community. Like, you can't do this with the podcasting thing, which is great. We got people waiting online and stuff like that, but I, I don't know how people are going to do the. The answer is c Consultant radio this morning. I just don't know how you do it. And that's just a fear of being in this mix. But, you know, I don't know how anybody does that. I don't know how you're. You can't be human and come out and go, oh, my, my daughter's paper. Let's read kids papers from school. Like I. You do that on fun days where there's nothing else going on. And you're gonna. Now, I think from this, and this is the objective of this is to hear people you might disagree with. And that's gotta get. That's gotta be something you get used to and you don't get mad about it. I'm getting a lot of emails already to tell Toledo to shut the f up. And it's. It's not. That's not the goal. Although sometimes I agree. This guy says, Jeremy says, I've been listening to you since I was a teenager and I'd like to email from time to time. I'm 37 years old now. I'm a father of two. Is that possible? He's a teenager and now he's 37. Now. I admire your stance on politics. You and I are nearly identical. In that aspect, I despise a division and refuse to take sides because I have a brain in my head. But I'd like to address something Brady said at the beginning. Cell phones. We all grew up at a time where our parents could protect us from some of this. It was an R rated movie. We couldn't watch it. None of us had cell phones. None of us had the Internet till the 90s. But in today's world, a nine year old kid just watched Charlie Kirk at half his head blown off on Instagram. Multiple views. How does this affect people? What is the psycho? What is this psychologically doing to regular people? Charlie Kirk's wife probably watched the video of her husband being brutally assassinated before anyone told her about it. As a society, we're normalizing stuff like this because we get to see it. Think about that for a minute. I'd like to hear that. And Brady as a father, like that had to be something. He had to.

[Brady's Co-host]

Well, she's, you know, like I said, it was a, it was weird because I had never felt that impact. Like this video right there, she's 17 years old. She's, you know, you still see her as a 9 year old kid and it, and, and it impacts you.

[John Toledo]

You want to just kind of smother that and protect it as a parent.

[Brady's Co-host]

But I, I know I can't put. And she needs to start seeing these things. She needs. The big thing is, hey, let's talk about it.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. She doesn't have to see it. She doesn't have. Fortunately, whether she wants to or not, she's probably gonna. And the thing you think about with that is, you know, I watched somebody very responsibly last night say, I'd like to talk to all the Internet providers and websites and everything else to make sure those videos get taken down because they're young now. But if those things live on the Internet, Charlie Kirk's kids will eventually get to.

[Mike]

That's what I was saying earlier. It's absolutely going to happen.

[John Toledo]

But it's just gross.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[John Toledo]

This one says John, I'm honestly heartbroken and I don't know why I did not know him. I'm angry. He was just talking. Not a police officer, not a soldier in combat. Just a guy trying to make the world a better place with words. And he got killed for it. What the f is wrong with us? I think that's how we all feel and that's the hopelessness and helplessness we kind of all feel when something stupid like this happens. This one says, please turn off that tool Toledo's mic. See that's the opposite of what we're trying to do here. You have to hear people you disagree with roll your eyes and then recognize if I'm getting mad I have to get a better foundation of what I believe. And then somebody said get ready guys says I think it's worth it. Quotes. In quotes it says I think it's worth it. It's worth. It's worth it to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so we can have the second amendment to protect our other God given rights. Charlie Kirk said that. That's his quote. And he did say that and that was his quote. And people are combining those two things saying he was for gun rights and one took him out. So how does he feel about it now? I think most gun people would say that doesn't change the argument. Andrew says it's not a both sides thing. John, none of us as Trump supporters or followers of Charlie Kirk have done any of this type of stuff. It's never our side. Never. Toledo trying to say it's both sides is disgusting and shows how far out of reality he is. Please name a right wing mass shooter. The right wing murderers. There are some. I can't name them right off the bat because you can't name them. There was a guy who tried to kill what's the governor of Pennsylvania tried to burn his house down. And things like there's been.

[Mike]

It's not getting their voting records.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, yeah. If Republicans ever do this, it's 1% of the violence the left does. And see this is what we got to stop doing. Your side didn't win or lose yesterday. Some nut shot a guy. You know and maybe, maybe it's left this right that. But what it was was a crazy person who can't understand how society works and kill the guy. Lewis says super sad. I think he's gone because that dude was intelligent and articulate and he might have been a great president someday. And people saw that as a threat. Maybe this one says it's sad no matter what your beliefs are, nobody deserves the that what happened. You actually enlighten me though. You're completely correct when you say people have the right to say that they're happy about this as well. Because I never thought of it that way. Yeah, that's the one thing you got. The one thing that you should walk away from and say is I'm watching people celebrate that guy's death and that's okay because that is the freedom of thought and expression that Charlie Kirk was doing and a lot of people didn't like it. So you can't get mad that somebody shot him for saying what he like and then watch somebody say something you didn't like and say, that needs to be stopped. All of it needs to be. Okay. This guy says, john, calm down. He was a YouTuber. He said if a surgeon was black, he'd think about getting surgery from that guy. How articulate is that? He believed Trump when Trump said transgender mice. Did I want the guy dead? Of course not. He had a wife and a couple of kids. That's sad. But praise him. We had two school shootings this this week. And it's amazing how the movie don't look up is so right. Conspiracy theory. Trump had a murdered to distract from the Epstein files. He can go, we'll make another one. Thank you. That guy's name, I mean, it's a point. The point don't have to agree with it. You can sit back and do it. That's Ray. That's just his feeling today while we.

[Brady's Co-host]

Got him on the phone.

[John Toledo]

Huh?

[Brady's Co-host]

While we have them on the phone before the phones go haywire.

[John Toledo]

Oh, that's a good point. Yeah. They're gonna go now. You're absolutely right. We should probably go to those immediately. Yeah. This one says John, it doesn't matter if you're left or right wing. We all belong to St. Bird over. Though he said you can label a political assassination. How do you do that without knowing the motives? And that email that I read there turned into this. What if it turns out Charlie Kirk was whoring around with some other dude's wife? And this isn't political. It's a personal vendetta that throws a wrench into things. And that is true, that you do have to say before. I mean, it's assumed a political. That's why cops are always like. We won't want to say the. You know the motives. We don't know them yet. Because you don't know. I don't see that being the case. That would be a real risk.

[Mike]

I think it'd be more a personal thing. But that's. I know.

[John Toledo]

This one says, my opinion is he was sacrificed. Another psychopath. The powers that be used death to scare an anger us, make the dummies more dumber.

[Jake]

Mmm.

[John Toledo]

It's a point. I don't, I don't buy that.

[Mike]

No, but I, I. But you can say that.

[John Toledo]

I can, I can see why you think it, but I don't believe it. All right, grab who's on let's start with Donovan. Donovan's always solid. Donovan, are you there?

[Donovan]

Good morning.

[John Toledo]

Hey, man. What's going on?

[Donovan]

It's living to love and loving the live.

[John Toledo]

There you go. What's up, Donovan?

[Donovan]

So this whole Charlie Kirk thing. I know how people feel. I have my feelings about him, too. But what is scary is these people celebrating and cheering and, like, happy that he's dead. I mean, I get they have the right to do it, but when you start othering people and when you start celebrating it, that's how you end up people getting loaded on the box cars being shipped to camps, and it's terrifying.

[John Toledo]

Why do you say that? Hold on. You say that that leads to a. Like a. Like a Nazi thing. I think we got to stop with that, too. I think we got to stop saying everything's going to turn back into Hitler.

[Donovan]

No, I'm talking. I'm not talking nothing. I'm talking genocide. If you other someone. If you. If you other them to the point where they're. They deserve to die, like celebrating it because he's subhuman, that's how you end up with genocide. And it's terrifying you. I saw in Iraq what people are capable of doing to other people. And I can't explain to you in words how terrifying that is and how scared I am that there's nothing glorious about war. Combat. It's. It's brutal, it's disgusting and should never happen. I. I can't even tell you how terrible it is.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. Oh, you and I have talked on the. On the emails a lot, and you've kind of opened up on some things and you've been through some stuff.

[Donovan]

I was part of the last combat. Last combat operation in Iraq in 2009-2000-2008-2009.

[John Toledo]

Yeah.

[Donovan]

And I mean, even the little that I saw, I mean, you know, I got. I didn't rocketed a couple of times and it wasn't much, but I never want to go back there. And everyone seems to be in a rush to start killing each other. And it hurts me. Like, it bothers me. If you. If people saw what I saw, we would all be a lot calmer.

[John Toledo]

You think?

[Donovan]

I think 100%. I know. Because there is nothing glorious about it. It's disgusting.

[Jake]

It is.

[Donovan]

It's a tragedy.

[Brady]

And.

[Donovan]

And I honestly. I lost my faith in Iraq. I used to be very faithful, but after what I saw, if there's a malevolent being that loves me and lets that happen, they don't deserve to be worshiped. That's just my personal opinion.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. And that's all we're here to do. Just let it off your chest and let people talk. And personal opinions are just that. And shouldn't make anyone mad because that means they don't have a very good foundation. Donovan, you. You're always fun to email with. And thanks for being like that, open about stuff, man. And I appreciate you, brother.

[Donovan]

Yeah.

[John Toledo]

All right. Thanks.

[Donovan]

I'm scared.

[John Toledo]

You know what? That's one thing we can't do. Don't be scared. You have to. You have to just recognize the world sucks a lot of the times and just got to bravely walk through it. You'll be all right.

[Donovan]

Thanks.

[John Toledo]

Thanks, buddy.

[Mike]

Can't imagine the stuff he see. No there, though.

[John Toledo]

I know.

[Mike]

And I don't want to imagine it, to be honest with you.

[John Toledo]

I know a couple people who came back from that a different man.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. Morning sickness. Medicate. Kupd. Holmberg's morning sickness. John's online too.

[Mike]

It's Tank.

[John Toledo]

Tank. Tank online. Two Tank. Go ahead. Get it off your chest.

[Brady]

Hey. Yeah, no, I appreciate Dominant Donovan and thanks for his service.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Brady]

I think war is stupid too, but. So there's two points that I want to make. Number one, as a human, I do not condone any sort of violence. I'm a tree loving hippie through and through, and that should never happen. And it's horrible. Now, as an American, yes, we have the freedom of speech, but it doesn't mean you can say whatever you want. And again, we don't know the shooter's motive. And that there's so many people already claiming. Including you, John. Yeah, but there's so many people claiming that this is political.

[John Toledo]

Yeah.

[Brady]

And that is part of the issue is the assumptions we make based on the words we've heard.

[John Toledo]

That's true.

[Brady]

And I think that at the end of the day, is really a function. People need to learn what the words are. And if I say as an American, we go back to that for just a second, which was the Constitution gives us a freedom of speech, but not the freedom to say whatever. When it incites violence or causes damage, there are consequences, or at least there used to be. Right now we live in a society where there are no. There's no accountability for one's actions from the highest level.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. Well, Tank, the thing for that to me is we've. We've lost that line for inciting something violent has dropped so low that it means that if I don't like what you say, I can punch you and that's different.

[Brady]

Well, yeah, I think I totally agree with you on that. And I think that's the problem is that because we've lost that line because there's no accountability again. I think this starts from the highest levels. Like, capitalism is the greatest system in the world, but when you remove the guardrails from it, then all of a sudden profit becomes more important than people. And that takes a really nasty turn. Like, I'm capitalist. I love it. But I also think we need to have gargoyle. Same thing with freedom of speech. You got to know what the rules are and we got to be willing to respect each other. Which is the whole reason I called in. You guys said, hey, if you have an opinion, like, shit, I got an opinion. Of course I got one of those.

[John Toledo]

Everybody's got one. That's the point. If you start shooting people with ones you don't like, you're gonna start shooting a lot of people. So, yeah, I agree. I think you hit something, you hit something on the head when you said you're. You should be able to say whatever you want and. And with respect. And that's the thing, and that's the deal. Like, a lot of people hear you talking and disagree with what you just said, but it doesn't mean you should be shouted down or screamed at or beaten up or physically assaulted. You have a thought, you expressed it, and somebody could maybe articulately change your mind or maybe make you feel crazy. But I do believe that the people who are celebrating this have a right to celebrate it. And you do have a right to say whatever you want, but that doesn't mean it's consequence free. You can go in a theater and scream fire. If there's no fire and it doesn't cause anything, it's just fine to do it. But if you try to tell everybody you don't see it, there's a fire and create something. That's what they mean by that. That's what they mean by freedom of speech. Unless you incite violence or riot, you can't entice people to believe this is actually happening when it's not kind of thing and make a frenzy and cause it. You can get in trouble for saying that. But it's totally legal to say fire in a crowded theater. But you can't. Yeah, it is. Bomb on a plane. It depends on the actions afterwards. Because if you scream fire in a theater and the place turns into a mess, you're responsible for.

[Brady]

Depends on intention. That's why men's in the courtroom is so important, what was the purpose by which you did it?

[John Toledo]

Yeah.

[Brady]

And I think that's where we really get into, like the motives on the left, the right, whichever, like, oh, I disagree because I'm this political whatever. Like, we start thinking we understand their mindset and why they're doing it and then we take offense at that and.

[Jake]

Then all hell breaks loose.

[John Toledo]

And that to me says you don't really even understand what you think you believe. So it's easier to just quiet a voice against you because it's going to make you question yourself. And that's where you lose me.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[John Toledo]

All right, Tank, you're the man. Thank you for calling. I appreciate it. Hope you got that off your chest. We're getting it off your chest.

[Mike]

Mike.

[John Toledo]

This is a little experiment. I did not intend to do this, but I kind of like the idea of saying, hey, everybody should have a voice. Let's let him have it on a day like this crappy day. And you know what? It's starting to make me feel a little better. Starting to move forward with it. Who you got? Mike.

[Mike]

Mike.

[John Toledo]

Mike's on three. Mike, go.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

Oh, hey, John, just want to say I listen to your guys show every morning and I really enjoy you especially, I think.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, I'm the best one.

[Brady]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

Your satire and our comedy, dark comedy kind of align very closely and I really enjoy it.

[John Toledo]

Thank you.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

But one of the, One of the things you said kind of stuck with me. I wasn't a believer in God for the first 35 years of my life.

[John Toledo]

Right.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

And I am a believer now. And one of the things you said is, you know, you know, people believe, or certain people believe that Charlie Kirk is with Jesus, you know, but you mentioned like his, his wife and his kids are not. And I just wanted to say as a believer, I'm a late life Christian and a new believer. But, you know, I think I know they believe that. I believe that. And I just, I believe they are with Jesus and the whole family. You don't believe that? Yeah, but I just, you know, I like you guys so much. And like I said, every time you say something in the morning, I've listened to you for the past. I don't know what it is, four or five years, but you raised some interesting points. And it makes me think like, man John, it thinks all the things I thought before. And I guess now that I'm a believer in God and in Christ that, I don't know, I felt like it just. You gave me the opportunity to call the radio station and Here I am.

[John Toledo]

Well, there it is. And I have no issue with that. And if it, you know what, to quote the song whatever gets you through the night, I'm fine with that. I don't mind anybody. I admire anybody who has a belief so long as it doesn't make it so they react violently or angrily towards me not having one. I'll have a conversation. Brady knows we'll have conversations about God and this net and it can get louder, but he knows that it's respect and I know that it's respect and we can be disagreeing because it's never going to end with, you're a jerk, I hate you, and I'm going to.

[Brady's Co-host]

Change you on this.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, yeah. And it's like, look, I'm challenging a few of the things you say because they don't make sense to me. And if you don't have an answer, it's not that I'm winning an argument, it's just like, think about it. Because when you get to me, I'll think about it, you know? And what was the thing that, what won you over? What happened that made you swear? Stop not believing.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

My personal story was I was a competitive professional bodybuilder for 20 years and I had a blood work done and you know, it was basically doctors would tell me, you know, kidney dialysis right down the road. And I decided to stop everything that I was doing and hang everything up and prayed to God. And I, I feel that God spoke to me. And I know that might sound hokey to you, but that was, that was a turning point in my. And I got baptized soon after and left the sport of bodybuilding. Cleaned up my act and cut. And it started my process of cutting all the drugs and bad things I was putting in my body. And it's been a long. It's been a long process. Like I said, I'm a late life Christian.

[John Toledo]

So you're a better person because. Yeah, you found this, right. It just made you a better person.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

Watching Charlie Kirk on those college campuses and hearing them scream and yell and all these things. And sometimes the college kids would come up and they'd give it and I'd be like, yeah, good point.

[John Toledo]

Answer that one, Charlie.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

And then he would answer in such a way and then his faith and he would pull from just the verses and. And it just solidified my belief even more. And I just really enjoyed the dialogue. So.

[John Toledo]

Well, keep speaking. And that's the thing. Just keep talking because that's what we need more of. And talk with respect. Be Respectful. And you can still be a jackass and be respectful. I've made a living out of that. I thought. Some people don't think I am, but for the most part, it's.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

You do a great job.

[John Toledo]

Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And good for you. I'm glad your life's on the right track, no matter how you get there. Yeah.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

Thank you.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

You guys make me laugh out loud every morning because I go. I work at a Christian organization, and driving to work, I listen to you guys.

[John Toledo]

Your python is in the room. All right. Thank you, brother.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

I'm originally from New Jersey.

[John Toledo]

I know. We. We can hear that. We hear that. Thank you, brother. Thanks, man. All right. Okay, one more and we'll be done, my peeps. That's your man.

[Mike]

Jake.

[John Toledo]

Jake, are you there?

[Jake]

Yes, sir.

[John Toledo]

All right, Jake, go right ahead. This is making me feel better, and I don't know why. It's just letting people have their moments. Now imagine. Just real quick, Jake, imagine that. Last caller. If I said, oh, he believes in Jesus. And I started to, like, you know, I. I don't believe. Listen to us. I am a staunch atheist. Yeah. I believe in the way I think, not the way I believe. That's the way I think that it makes sense to me. And I didn't once. And he didn't once sit back and say, you're an idiot. You're wrong. I heard him. He heard me, and we both are fine. We can do this. This isn't hard. It's just we got to pull our heads out of our asses and stop saying Toledo so wrong, even though he is. All right, go ahead. Sorry, Jake. So.

[Jake]

So, like. And I completely agree with you guys, like, whatever religious belief or whatever you have in your life, just if you can talk it out civilly, then that's how our society runs, and that's a good thing. And so with. For me and my mother were both caregivers, so we're no strangers to our rendezvous with death quite a bit. And so when I saw Charlie Kirk yesterday, my buddy sent me the video, which I wish he didn't.

[John Toledo]

Same for me. Four of them show up before I knew what happened.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[Jake]

And because I was just minding my business in my days, like, hey, did you see that Charlie Kirk died? I'm like, I've been watching that guy for. For years, just as I've been listening to you guys for quite some time. And he sent me the video. And I'm. I'm only 25, but I'm pretty desensitized. To a lot of things that I see on the Internet, sadly. But I saw that and I'm like, man, that. That is horrifying to see that that can just happen in an instant. And I got two different sides of views from my buddy. He's like, you know what? Like, I. It makes me. It completely very sorry.

[John Toledo]

That's the only one. I was going to let them all go today because I don't care. Find me, but it's. Yeah, I have to kill that one. Go ahead, start again. Not. Not from the beginning, just from your effort.

[Brady's Co-host]

Don't do it again.

[John Toledo]

Stop it.

[Jake]

I want to. Like, he was saying, like, oh, it makes me want to pick up my gun and like, we should destroy all the liberals. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, I don't know about that one. And then hearing my mom's side, I. I told her about it, and she goes, I know. I was listening to this, and I was in awe of how much he had a relationship with Jesus. And that's also my viewpoint as well. But with the whole, like, it's weird to see someone who is such an advocate for the first and Second amendment to be killed by someone who is utilizing their second amendment not in the correct way.

[John Toledo]

Right, but that's not the amendment. Yeah.

[Late Life Christian Caller]

Right.

[John Toledo]

To own it, sure.

[Jake]

But to see someone so. So just horrifyingly, in front of hundreds of students, their lives have been completely altered from today because they'll never get that out of their mind.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[John Toledo]

And some will use it for their own. Their. Their own kind of. Oh, my God, I was there. Make it about them moments. But there are people who witnessed what I, you know, what you said you saw also, Jake, was that video, the couple of them that popped up, like, I. I'm with you. I didn't know what happened. And I got a video from a friend I trust very much, and I clicked on it, and I'm like, this is. And then I saw. I'm like, you got to be kidding me. Like, this is how I find out about this. And right as it was. Right as I was popping in the car and I had popped the radio on, and it was on the NFL Network, and they were talking about it, and I'm like, oh, my God. Like. And I had just seen it. I didn't know what to do. And Brett, you said you thought it was AI. Yeah, but your brain doesn't want that to be a thing.

[Mike]

No.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, and that's. You're right.

[Jake]

Even I thought it was AI and I'M just like, there's no way. I mean, he's such a public figure. He's such. Like, he's always in the open. He's like, no, no, no. Like, this is real. And he. And he showed me, like, the. The really far shot and then the shot where it was like a kid that was like, they're in the third row, basically.

[John Toledo]

Saw that one, too. Yeah. And I think what you're saying is that it speaks to how fragile we actually are. I think that's why this scares everybody. I think that's why this hits so hard, is that somebody who really wasn't doing anything and a citizen just like you, just like me, speaking their mind in a public setting, and it can be snuffed. We are that fragile and we are that out of control that. That. That. That can be. You know, the dude was in the middle of a talk about gun violence, so that'll conflate into some sort of a conspiracy, I'm sure, soon. But it's. It's weird to feel that for.

[Brady]

Sorry.

[Jake]

Like, with you kind of saying, like, you know, this morning, I kind of, like, look behind me. Yesterday, even, I was in the comfort of my own home. Just like, am I at risk?

[John Toledo]

Yeah.

[Jake]

Of something like this?

[Brady]

Like, shoot.

[Jake]

Like, I like speaking my mind sometimes civilly, I try not to get angry at anybody.

[John Toledo]

I'm.

[Jake]

I'm human. It happens. But I'm like, have I pissed off anybody that much for them to want to do that to me, to take me away from. From my fiance, from my mom, from my family and all?

[Brady]

I'm just like, shoot, that's.

[John Toledo]

Yeah, it's. It's fragile.

[Jake]

Startling it open.

[John Toledo]

And you're only 25, you know, you don't need to feel this way yet. You don't need to feel like It's. I was 25 when Columbine happened, and it was the first time I took that punch in the nuts and felt like, what do I do? You know? And that's that fragility of Sandy Hook.

[Listener/Caller]

For me, when I. Oh, it's. I was dad at that point.

[John Toledo]

And that changes everything, too. It's. It's horrifying to think, oh, my God, at any given time, some lunatic can change the course of it all. And so. Yeah, but speak your mind. Keep that way. And it's. Yeah. And you know what? I just got an email that said, thank God for football, because that'll make us all feel a little better later. I agree. All right. Thanks, man. Thanks, Jake. See you, buddy. There you go. Yeah, a little exhale there. That's ah. You want to say anything good.

[Mike]

I don't have a lot to say.

[Listener/Caller]

No, I've been told not to.

[John Toledo]

People be telling you. You know what? After all is said and done, I think everybody should be allowed to say what they want except Toledo. I think that's probably a good idea. The listeners have spoken. We took a vote. Freedom of speech applies to all of us except you. You have to kind of fall in line, please. But it is true. Think about that next time you're fuming over Toledo's nonsense. Every boy's at it again. You start fighting on the Internet. Next time you start. That's the lesson we'll take next time you start firing off an email about how angry you are at someone. You don't even know who said something you didn't like. And now you're in a firestorm of comments on Yahoo. With somebody named, you know, Dick Swinger 69. You realize what you're doing is insane and stop thumbing out the letters. How about that? We start there. That's better. I think that's the smart thing to do because I've done it. I've been on Yahoo. Going, is this. And mostly it's Steelers talk. Pat Meyer is the worst offensive line coach. And I'm like, here we go. And you'll start seeing people. You're racist. Thanks a lot. Obama was the fourth comment all. I used to go through comments and count how long it took for any story to go into a politic kind of rant. 4.

[Mike]

That's pretty high.

[John Toledo]

Yeah. Yeah, that was. I got through three good ones. I can't believe that. I've seen a lot of people celebrating what happened. And I say to myself, seriously, a husband, a man trying to change things for the better died at the hands of another person. It doesn't matter what the problem was. The man died and will not be there to support his family. And it's sad when words have more impact than thought provoking ideas. That is a great way to put that. Crandall. And Crandall's insane. Yeah, that's a great way to put that. That words have more impact than thought provoking ideas. Thought provoking ideas should wake us up, not make us mad. And sometimes you hear things you don't like from someone and you're like, ooh, that stings. But I hear it. I see that point. And then you just. People. Sometimes I'm. That person says something just bananas and you just take it with a grain of salt. But I'm telling you, we all say the right thing. Remember September 12, 2001. Everybody was saying the right things. Everybody was like, I gotta do something about it. It's like losing weight. I gotta stop eating. I gotta start doing better. Tomorrow. I'm gonna start eating right. And then you just. You say all the right things, and you go, didn't do a thing. Yeah, this is. This is one of those moments. And I also wonder if it would be so poignant if we didn't see it. The Kennedy assassination made everybody sad and miserable. I'm from the generation that wasn't there, so I don't know what that was, but I do know that I've never known the Kennedy assassination without having seen it. That was 13 years before anybody saw the Zapruder film. All those people just went with it. Other than the people in.

[Listener/Caller]

You saw Oswald shot before you saw that footage?

[John Toledo]

Yeah, well, yeah, yeah. You saw Lee Harvey get taken out and people like, yeah, we got the guy before we knew any of this stuff. But it was this. This theory of, like, what just happened.

[Listener/Caller]

And RFK before you saw that.

[John Toledo]

Nobody knew how bad it actually was till they saw it. Video changes things. There's a weird comparison, but when Ray Rice punched that girl in the elevator before the video came out, the Ravens came out and said, we don't need to see any video to know this was wrong. He suspended for a game or two, and then they saw the video, and they're like, he's gone. Yeah, right. And one reporter said, I thought you didn't need to see a video to know how serious this was. And Harbaugh was like, the video is pretty extreme. It changes things. It changes your perception on what you saw. And it does. It does. Like this. Yesterday, you heard Charlie Kirk got shot. You're like, that's terrible. With no video. Like, this is a terrible story. You see it.

[Brady's Co-host]

And look what we've done with videos on the other side, where they just take a segment of it.

[John Toledo]

Sure.

[Brady's Co-host]

You know, and change things that, like.

[John Toledo]

But even if they didn't change it, even if it is exactly as you see it, it changes. Yeah, it changes. And, yeah, you can manipulate video with how much you show. So anyway, good job testing videos all.

[Mike]

The time on our videos. And this one just. This one actually got me.

[John Toledo]

Oh, I like, wow. I'm. I'm. I'm floored. I was. I was put on my ass. It was a 10 count. I didn't get up. I just sat and took it. I don't like this for One say it reminded me so much of how I felt after Columbine. It was so strange, that feeling like, I gotta get up and do this tomorrow. I don't want to, but you got to and keep going. And I promise you this, I'll continue being America's favorite jackass. I'll keep saying stupid stuff. And you guys either laugh or turn it off. That's the agreement. We'll make a little handshake with the city. Now, I say that today. I'm guaranteeing you in October, I'll be getting an email from somebody telling me that I want me dead. Or they're trying to get. I know where you are. You want to bow up to me, big boy. Those kind of things. And I'm like, I look, I made fun of something you didn't like. You've probably laughed at something that somebody else didn't like. There's 70,000 different topics. One hit you today, you've laughed at the other 69,999. But this one suddenly has made me the bad guy. And think about that every day. Somebody else is probably offended by something I say, but I don't. I can't say that's true. I was gonna say, I don't mean it in a way to offend. I mean it in a way to be thought provoking. But sometimes I mean it to offend. That's true. Just to be honest, sometimes I am trying to offend someone. Like our bosses, the Bobs. If I can offend them at all costs, I will. I think they're idiots.

[Listener/Caller]

You know what? You know, the irony of today is that we're gonna have all the Bobs look at this and go, you see?

[John Toledo]

What?

[Listener/Caller]

Homework? No, they want a great thing putting. Putting listeners.

[John Toledo]

They'll wait a couple weeks to see if there's any pushback on ratings and say, well, he went on and on about the child. I don't think people are interested. That's true.

[Listener/Caller]

That way they can be.

[John Toledo]

Right. If you.

[Listener/Caller]

If the meter doesn't move, there's a.

[John Toledo]

Group of people that can say what they want and aren't going to change my mind about anything. Yeah, we did some research. Did you? Good. Good for you. Do you have a thought in your head? No, not really. Papers have to tell me what to think. It's 708. We'll get to it. You have a wake up song at all? You want to just play something special?

[Mike]

Yeah, we don't have one.

[John Toledo]

All right, we'll just go to a. Come back, be normal. All right, thank you, everybody. That was nice of you for everybody to be respectful of each other. And hopefully we can walk away at least for 24 hours and say I had to exhale and reset. I think that's a nice thing. So other than Toledo, you all made great points. It's 98 Kup.

[Listener/Caller]

It's out of control now.

[John Toledo]

PJ.