Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona

Episode Title: 10-09-25 - Remembering How Our Various Engineers Tackled Studio Problems - John Doubles Down On Mercury Bet Saying He'll Get Implants If They Win - People Taking Ozempic Are Reporting Surprise Pregnancies And Sulfur Burps
Air Date: October 9, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo

Episode Overview

This morning's episode centers around three main themes:

• Hilarious tales of the show's studio engineering woes and the colorful cast of engineers who've tackled them over the years
• John Holmberg's escalating on-air bet regarding the struggling Phoenix Mercury WNBA team and what he'll do if they win
• A comedic but critical discussion about Ozempic and other weight-loss injectables, focusing on bizarre side effects like surprise pregnancies and sulfurous bumps

As usual, the crew mixes sarcasm, dark humor, and genuine banter throughout, poking fun at each other, pop culture, and some personal experiences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Studio Engineering Disasters and Engineer Tales

[00:57–07:55]

• The show opens with technical difficulties—microphones acting up, boards misbehaving—prompting John to declare, "I'm an engineer at this point. I have to Fonzie so much stuff in here... punching the equipment and then lying about it later." (John, 02:11)
• The cast reminisces about various engineers:
  • Ray, the nocturnal, possibly drunken engineer: "Ray was a guy that he was never heard during the day. He'd show up at 3 in the morning when I was on the air smelling like the Jack Daniels distillery." (John, 04:58)
  • 'Super Queen', the gay engineer who solved issues by just ordering new gear: "Best part about having a gay engineer is they don't like old things unless it's shabby chic. Otherwise, they're going full modern, they remodel with new stuff and they overspend." (John, 05:37)
  • John shares a story about intentionally 'killing' faulty equipment to force upgrades: "I held it about six feet above the floor and dropped it on the concrete, knowing that would gut it. And then I said, yeah, it didn't work. Gotta get a new one." (John, 03:47)
• The segment is peppered with affectionate roasts, stories about karaoke at a Filipino birthday party (stereotypes and beyond), and reflections on radio station culture.

Notable Moment:
"Are you doing... you guys call about a computer issue? ... Can I punch it? I wouldn't recommend that. ... That's my theory. If you break something absolute, then they can't just come ham and egg it back together." (John, 03:11)

2. John Doubles, Triples, and Quadruples Down on Phoenix Mercury Bet

[07:56–13:38, 26:26–34:04]

• John reminds the crew of his on-air claim: "I would get a Mercury tattoo on the top of my head if... those women won the championship. Now down 0-3 to the Las Vegas Aces." (John, 07:56)
• He doubles down: "If they win the championship, I will grow out my hair and braid it like Brittney Griner and never cut it again in my life, ever." (John, 09:08)
• And then, in true radio stunt fashion, he ups the ante: "If the Mercury come back, I will have breast implants put into my body, and I will have them as the—whoever the biggest girl is on the Mercury, I will by one cup size get larger... Breast implants with the Mercury win. Girl power, we'll call it." (John, 12:34)
• The cast eggs him on, suggesting car wraps and wigs. John plays along, joking about what kind of implants he'd get ("nice clown cans" or "pouty Bs"), declaring that anyone who's ever played for the Mercury would get to touch them (27:28).
• He's supremely confident the Mercury won't manage a 4–0 comeback, humorously taunting the idea: "Congratulations to the Aces, by the way. World champions." (John, 30:03)
• Running joke: Only because of his outlandish promises is anyone interested in the WNBA outcome: "You know what it took to make people interested in the wnba? A man doing fun things." (John, 11:35)

Notable Quotes:

• "If they go 4 0, I swear to God, I'm gonna hang myself. But I will live on the air. Breast implant surgery." (John, 13:07)
• "Brady slapping my cans around would be the funniest video in the history of KUPD because his discomfort with it... but deep down kind of liking it at the same." (John, 26:25)

3. Ozempic & GLP-1 Side Effects: Surprise Pregnancies & Sulfur Burps

[13:38–26:09]

• The crew riffs on weight-loss drugs' popularity, poking fun at Americans' aversion to exercise: "How much do you people not want to work out? Ozempic side effects are becoming common... your breasts deflate. For women, that makes sense there. And then surprise pregnancies..." (John, 13:38)
• John is incredulous that people would risk bizarre side effects rather than just exercise:
  • "You'd rather take this... there's a chance it could make you susceptible to having a baby and not having any of the symptoms of pregnancy until it tumbles out of you, like six months later. What is wrong with you people? Take a walk." (John, 14:00)
  • "What do I do? You rub this on your face and I gotta let you know that if you even come close to a woman who's ovulating, you're gonna get her pregnant. You don't even have to touch her." (John, 15:07)
• The surprising side effect of sulfurous bumps gets extra ridicule:
  • "You smell like matches. Oh, gross. What is this? Oh, I take Ozempic. I've lost weight, but I smell like an ashtray." (John, 20:54)
  • "As soon as I hear bumps, I'm out." (Bret, 21:11)
• The team debates why Ozempic users are having "surprise pregnancies" (increased confidence, activity, or medical interactions?):
  • "You get confident, you're walking around, you're feeling good about yourself. But if your body isn't reacting with like loss of period or any sort of weird weight gain, because it's reacting to be like, you keep losing weight. That isn't normal with a pregnancy." (John, 18:35)
• Classic riffing involves references to smelly/sulfurous bumps, personal anecdotes, and wild hypotheticals about "back acne" and relationships.

Notable Everyday Quips:

• "Confidence is a dangerous drug. Side effects of confidence are unwanted pregnancies." (John, 20:09)
• "A dude with sulfurous bumps isn't getting laid. No. By anything of quality." (John, 26:06)

4. Brief Check-In: Brady's Trip & Ageing Parents

[30:24–32:09]

• Quick segment—Brady gives an update on his mom's hip surgery and the struggle of elderly parents with daily routines.
• John observes: "In your 80s, all you're trying to do is just get up right again... Running five miles is equal to getting dressed in the morning. Very tiring." (John & Brady, around 31:14–31:18)

Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• "I'm an engineer at this point. I have to Fonzie so much stuff in here..."
  —John Holmberg, [02:11]
• "Best part about having a gay engineer is they don't like old things unless it's shabby chic."
  —John Holmberg, [05:37]
• "If the Mercury come back, I will have breast implants put into my body... Girl power, we'll call it."
  —John Holmberg, [12:34]
• "How much do you people not want to work out? Ozempic side effects are becoming common..."
  —John Holmberg, [13:38]
• "You put this drug inside you to lose the weight, and there's a chance it could make you susceptible to having a baby and not having any of the symptoms... What is wrong with you people? Take a walk."
  —John Holmberg, [14:00]
• "Confidence is a dangerous drug. Side effects of confidence are unwanted pregnancies. Big fat girls who are too confident probably have a couple babies they didn't expect..."
  —John Holmberg, [20:09]
• "As soon as I hear bumps, I'm out."
  —Bret Vesely, [21:11]
• "Brady slapping my cans around would be the funniest video in the history of KUPD..."
  —John Holmberg, [26:25]

Conclusion

This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness delivers a rapid-fire mix of technology mishaps, outlandish sports bets, and satirical social commentary—with all the irreverence fans expect. The crew's willingness to escalate jokes (and bets!) to the ridiculous and their blunt, self-deprecating banter guarantees belly laughs, whether they're talking engineers, cosmetic surgery, or sulfurous side effects. If you missed the episode, this summary covers all essential laughs and moments.