Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – Arizona’s #1 Morning Show
Episode: 10-13-25 - FULL SHOW - MONDAY
Date: October 13, 2025
Host(s): John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo

Episode Overview

This lively Monday episode, airing on both Indigenous Peoples Day and National M&M Day, delivers Holmberg and crew’s signature Arizona-centric blend of humor, irreverence, sports banter, media nerdery, and offbeat social commentary. The team doles out big rants about sports heartbreak, laundry incompetence, confusing social holidays, media job woes, app contests, and the absurdities of modern radio ratings. The hosts blend local flavor, personal anecdotes, and rapid-fire bits with tongue-in-cheek takes on the state of sports, society, workplace culture, and, as always, one another.

Main Themes and Key Segments

1. Indigenous Peoples Day / Columbus Day Confusion

[00:11–01:30, 92:53–96:28]

• The crew riffs on the “rebranded” holiday, questioning the purpose and effectiveness (“This is apology day to Native Americans for terrible white behavior. Here’s a day. If you really cared…you’d give some stuff back.”—John, 00:59)
• Jokes about the day being shared with Eminem (“Congratulations, Marshall.”—Brett, 00:59) and confusion over Native American/Indigenous distinctions.
• Later, John and Brady return to dissect the origins and “pointlessness” of Columbus Day, with some earnest agreement that the switch still leaves the holiday weird and unresolved.

2. Phoenix Mercury Bet Fallout / Women’s Sports Ratings Skepticism

[01:41–09:50]

• Recap: John’s lost bet (if Mercury had won the WNBA championship, he’d get breast implants)—now joking regret.
• The gang imagines celebratory rituals involving John’s hypothetical implants (“I’d be the most responsible breast owner of all time.”—John, 04:03)
• Sarcastic commentary on WNBA TV ratings, questioning the legitimacy due to bars/restaurants running games as “background noise.”
  (“I’ve never been asked to turn the TV to a W game. …that counts for ratings, right? …No effing way.”—Manager’s email, 06:43; John replies, 07:56)
• Discussion about sports bar staff struggling to operate TV remotes—leads into a tangent on cornhole championships.

3. Arizona Sports Roundup: Desert Disappointments and Points of Pride

[10:11–27:10]

• Seahawks/Mariners (Toledo’s teams) get rare dual wins; John and Brett grumble as dying Cardinals/Cubs/Bears/Lions fans.
• Extensive riffing on Cardinals’ new “quarterback controversy” and fanbase malaise:
  (“Let that sink in: You now have a quarterback controversy with Jacoby Brissette. …Like, why am I wasting my Sundays?”—John, 11:23)
• John shares his process of “sports heartbreak recovery,” urging Arizona fans to “give up and enjoy weekends away.”
• Extended metaphor comparing back-up QBs to the “fat neighbor wife”: “At first, it seems great… but you realize it’s not what you want.”
  (“Jacoby is a fat ugly neighbor wife. She may blow your lights out, but don’t be fooled.”—John, 22:22)
• NFL banter: Bengals, Bears, Jets, Lions, and “season ticket lottery”—lots of local shade thrown.

4. Radio Industry / App Contest Satire

[39:06–56:46]

• The team mocks the convoluted rules for their new “Take It In The App” $1,000 contest and the outdated, bizarre radio audience measurement system.
  (“It only counts for ratings if you listen on Bluetooth speakers … not your headphones. …If you listen quietly, it doesn’t count. …We’ve made ourselves the tree in the forest.”—John, 39:19)
• Widespread confusion among listeners about contest entry, contest instructions, and the fallibility of “the Bobs” (radio execs).
• Rant about how podcast/app numbers don’t reliably count toward ratings, how management doesn’t understand modern media habits.
• Vein-popping tangents on technical problems, listener emails, and how “stupid” the system is, with recurring jokes about “the Bobs” and the “WKRP” chaos in the studio.

5. Personal Anecdotes & Odd Arizona Observations

[59:08–62:21]

• John suspects he’s developing dementia after waking up and searching for an old clock he hasn’t owned since 2011.
• The team compares morning alarm choices, with humorous bits about their respective irritating alarm sounds and partner reactions.
• Brady shares fun facts (Peanuts’ Linus, Ian Fleming’s typewriter, eye color stats), which spark sarcastic asides.

6. Fat Babies, AI Weirdness, and Childhood Ugliness

[68:22–80:20]

• John gets nostalgic for ‘90s talk show “monster-baby” segments (huge babies), referencing recent viral stories about record-breaking baby weights.
• Explores the oddly comforting resurgence of “giant lumbering babies,” AI-generated weirdness (sexy Bob Ross, Mr. Rogers memes), and the enduring strangeness of talk-show culture.
• John and Brady discuss ugly babies and social etiquette for responding to newborns: “If I don’t say anything, it’s ugly.”

7. News and Social Commentary: Hostage Deal, Gaza, Jesus, and Arson

[32:32–38:11, 112:08–121:14]

• The hosts touch on the political news of the day: the hostage-prisoner release deal in Gaza (“At what cost? I don’t know, but we traded Brittney Griner for the Merchant of Death. Still a better deal.”—Brett, 35:01).
• Sarcastic takes on how political “deals” are made, and uncharacteristically earnest appreciation for families reunited.
• Recurring gag about people seeing “proof of Jesus” in family photos saved from a burned house (“If Jesus wanted to prove himself, he wouldn’t need to burn your house down…Jesus is an arsonist.”—John, 112:26)

8. Listener “Advice” (What Would Brady Do?)

[127:31–146:39]

• Brady fields classic show emails about meddling mothers-in-law, DNA test pranks, a wife seeking more sex with women (“Gay!” becomes the recurring unsympathetic answer), and other relationship conundrums.
• Panel jokes about Italian mothers, cooking roles, and the classic “mama’s boy” dynamic.
• Realistic (sometimes unsentimental) takes on infidelity, open marriages, and household division of labor, with much brutal honesty:
  (“If you’re not giving your wife pipe, what a jerk you’d be to say, ‘Here’s nothing for you.’”—John, 142:40)

9. Music & Entertainment Bits

[88:01–89:42, 152:18–158:36]

• Song talks for contest themes—Pink Floyd’s “Money,” Anthrax’s “Indians,” Slayer’s “Raining Blood” as the Indigenous Peoples Day song.
• Brief entertainment drill: Celebrity deaths (LostProphets’ singer, Diane Keaton—erroneously, in a joke), true crime TV (Ed Gein), commentary on media violence and gun scenes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Indigenous Peoples Day
  “Bottom line, this is apology day to Native Americans for terrible white behavior.”
  —John, [00:59]

• On WNBA Ratings
  “How many were just background noise? I’ve never been asked to turn the TV to a W game.”
  —Listener email (read by John), [06:43]

• On Sports Suffering
  “Let that sink in: You now have a quarterback controversy with Jacoby Brissette. …Why am I wasting my Sundays?”
  —John, [11:23]

• Fat Neighbor Wife Metaphor
  “Jacoby Brissett is a fat, ugly neighbor wife… At first it seems great, but then you realize what you’re stuck with.”
  —John, [22:22]

• On App Contest Confusion
  “If you listen quietly, it doesn’t count. We’ve made ourselves the tree in the forest…”
  —John, [39:19]

• On Modern Radio
  “You know, we made it so easy for you to listen to 45 different things... and hopefully the one piece of spaghetti that sticks to the wall…”
  —Brett, [44:16]

• Alarm Song Bizarro
  “You felt like a God because you could turn the sun off.”
  —John, [62:21]

• On Fat Babies
  “If you’ve got one of those fat giant ones, I’m in heaven. I might start crying. I might finally get it, why you want one.”
  —John, [80:20]

• On “Proof” of Jesus
  “If Jesus wanted to prove himself and he had to burn your house down and the only thing you had left was a picture, Jesus is an arsonist.”
  —John, [112:26]

• On Marriages Without Sex
  “If you’re not giving your wife pipe, what a jerk you’d be to say, ‘Here’s nothing for you’… If you flipped it, what would any man want his wife to say?”
  —John, [142:40]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:11] – Holiday banter: Indigenous Peoples, M&Ms, Columbus confusion
• [01:41] – Mercury bet fallout & rating skepticism
• [10:11] – Sports misery & Cardinals QB woes
• [21:02] – Cardinals fans & “fat neighbor wife” digression
• [39:06] – App contest rules & radio industry frustration
• [59:08] – John’s “dementia” clock story
• [68:22] – Fat babies nostalgia / AI talk
• [88:01] – Music segment, song picks
• [127:31] – “What Would Brady Do?” listener emails
• [152:18] – Entertainment drill, celebrity deaths

Summary and Flow

The episode delivers its typical mix of local sports suffering, super-sarcastic commentary on holidays and social “progress,” biting deconstructions of modern radio’s business struggles, and plenty of off-the-cuff bits about life in Arizona and beyond. The hosts' banter is fast, sometimes crass, punctuated with personal stories, and always self-aware about the absurdities of their own medium.

They’re at their funniest when poking holes in sacred cows (app ratings, sports fandom, holidays), and at their most endearing when admitting their own failings, whether as fans, husbands, or just oddballs struggling through a surreal world.
There’s also a through-line of meta self-mockery—literally airing their own technical failures and making their listening contest part of the in-show jokes.

Longtime listeners will appreciate the sharpness of the Monday roundtable, while newcomers get a crash course in the show’s core: Arizona pride, sports pain, eternal skepticism, and the art of making workplace misery hilarious.