Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Oct 17, 2025

Episode Title: Holmberg Keeps Trying Coffee But Still Doesn't Like It Prompting His Shared Food Rant Again
Podcast: Holmberg's Morning Sickness | 98KUPD, Hubbard Radio
Date: October 17, 2025

Overview

In this lively episode, John Holmberg and his co-hosts (Brady, Corey, Bret, Toledo) steer through a series of rants and conversations ranging from failed attempts at drinking coffee, personal pet losses, and deep gripes about homemade food at work, to passionate exchanges about emails, marches, and local “dirty dining” restaurant reports. The show is packed with sarcastic humor, personal anecdotes, and lighthearted digs at each other and Arizona life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Remembering a Beloved Dog and Worrying About Pet Cancer

• John opens the show by paying tribute to his friend Mark’s lab, Rudy, currently battling cancer.
  • He discusses how dog cancer seems increasingly common, with even young dogs often affected. Speculates on causes, mentioning food and environment.
  • Notable Quote:
    • "That we got to figure that cancer thing out with dogs. It’s everywhere. And all this healthy dog food... you got to wonder how come cancer is getting them?" — John (02:34)
• Brady joins in, sharing that zoo animals also die of cancer more often than people realize (03:08).

John’s Ongoing Coffee Debacle and Food Rant

• John shares his attempt—yet again—to “grow up” and enjoy coffee, especially after seeing his best friend drink it.
  • "I tried and... I want to try a new thing. Coffee’s my new thing, and I hate it." — John (05:09)
• The group roasts John for not liking coffee, comparing it to feeling “juvenile.”
• John derides the “community coffee” at work, likening it to sketchy potluck drinks.
• Segues into a signature rant: his distrust of homemade food brought into the office.
  • "I just don’t like a pot of coffee that everybody has access to and it sits out like... If you had just lemonade in a pitcher in the kitchen, no one would touch it." — John (05:42)
  • He refuses to eat even trusted colleague Jill’s donuts, fearing “booger hands” from her kid. (06:30–07:00)
  • Notable comedic exchange when John contrasts eating raw meat from a trusted package to avoiding a co-worker’s donut:
    • "I'll shove meat in my mouth, but I’m not eating your donut hole, lady." — John (07:38)

Philosophy on Office Food

• John, consistently, won’t eat any food from a colleague’s kitchen unless it’s monitored production or delivered from an establishment (“you can sue a pizza place!”).
• Jokes about paranoia—“majority of attacks happen at workplaces!”—and brings up a story about a coworker, Debbie, who was openly hostile but still brought in food for staff (08:33–09:38).

Listener Feedback & The “No Kings March”

• The gang reads a series of emails reacting to John’s on-air comments and Corey’s previous angry messages about protests and John’s financial status.
  • Amusing debate ensues about whether money has “changed” John’s views on things like marches.
  • "All that money changed you." — (09:45)
  • John feigns nostalgia about his “marching days” (Zombie Walks, etc.), but insists he’s always disliked protest marches, regardless of income.
  • "Remember, Brady, how I before I changed, how I was always organizing marches? Remember that? Oh, I was a march machine." — John (10:49)
• Entertaining side stories about childhood family trips to Sedona and Jerome, Arizona, mining towns, and how “forced tourism” felt growing up (18:13–20:20).

On Mobs, Protests, and “No Kings March”

• Philosophical yet comedic banter about why they dislike marches (“mob mentality,” “pat yourself on the back”), turning each gathering—left or right—into a “Jimmy Buffett-like thing.”
  • Corey: "It’s mob mentality, unlike any group of people." (16:15)
  • John: "I probably agree with like something all of them think, but in a group they become weird. I don’t like mobs." (16:24)
• Mentions seeing a “No Kings March” in Jerome, Arizona—satirizing protests in tiny towns.

Dirty Dining: Jason Barry vs. Pacino’s and the Kicking Crab

• The team riffs on Channel 3’s Jason Barry and his “Dirty Dining” segment, which has again targeted Pacino’s (22:10).
  • Corey: "He’s done. Pacino’s is back on the bad boy list."
  • John: "Why would you want to attack the Italian restaurant twice? ... Pacino’s, stop it." (22:21)
• The group reviews health-code violations at several Arizona restaurants, lampooning the idea that most listed problems (“employee food stored above customer food,” “raw shrimp above potatoes”) are overrated or understandable.
• Hilarious debate about how you know if a clam is dead, with speculation about seafood handling in the desert:
  • Corey: "Who’s got live clams, and how do you know?" (25:10)
  • John: "If you asked me, how do you know when a clam is dead? I think she just lays there." (25:23)

Ongoing escalation:

• Discusses the process of “purging” clams, why you don’t actually want dead clams, and how rare it is to get truly fresh, live seafood in Arizona.
• Kevin (from Alaska Airlines) emails to confirm that really, only high-end places get daily live seafood shipments (39:00).
• Running joke: If a restaurant serves cheap “live” clams in Mesa, John wants them either ultra-expensive or "definitely dead".

Listener Humor and Inside Jokes

• Stories and emails lampoon disgruntled or departing listeners, especially Coreys who complain then vow to stop listening.
  • "I’m leaving, okay? You better know it." — Corey (21:14)
• Multiple callbacks to inside jokes about staff, ex-wives, and food handler cards.
  • Corey: "How would a booger apple pancake cup eating, Mariner jinxing ass Toledo know anything about good clams?" (42:23)
  • Sex jokes about “clam” and cornmeal, mocking food inspection language (43:02–43:11).

Longstanding Comedy on Radio Show Practices:

• Quick hits on:
  • Old listener contests (“MILF contest”), and listener Miranda’s wish for “less politics, more T&A.”
  • Roast of Channel 3’s Jason Barry, envisioning his home life as obsessed with health code compliance ("Can you imagine if he came into Tony Roma’s back in the day?" (40:29))
  • Multiple recurring jokes about dead clams, Pacino’s veal, and whether Toledo is a real seafood expert.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On dog cancer:
  "That we got to figure that cancer thing out with dogs. It’s everywhere... Cancer is prevalent in dogs now where it used to not be constant, and it’s constant." — John (02:34)

• On office food:
  "I'll shove meat in my mouth, but I'm not eating your donut hole, lady." — John (07:38)

• On workplace trust:
  "If you had somebody wandering around going, 'I hate every last mother in this building,' ... And then she brings in this beautiful seven layer dip... Only a killer would do that." — John (08:56)

• On marches and money:
  "Remember, Brady, how I before I changed, how I was always organizing marches? Remember that? Oh, I was a march machine." — John (10:49)

• On protests:
  "It is. It becomes a pat yourself on the back. I was there. Picture on your Instagram ... It’s mob mentality, unlike any group of people." — Corey (16:15–16:21)

• On Dirty Dining and Jason Barry:
  "He’s done. Pacino’s is back on the bad boy list." — Corey (22:09)
  "Why would you want to attack the Italian restaurant twice?... Pacino’s stop it." — John (22:21)

• On clams in the desert:
  "Who’s got live clams, and how do you know?" — Corey (25:10)
  "If you asked me, how do you know when a clam is dead? I think she just lays there." — John (25:23)

• On listener departures:
  "I’m leaving, okay? You better know it." — Corey (21:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:34] – Tribute to Rudy, pet cancer conversation
• [03:50 – 06:45] – John’s coffee misadventure, segue into rant about office coffee and food
• [06:45 – 09:38] – Homemade food at work, potluck paranoia, "donut hole" joke
• [09:45 – 10:49] – Listener email about "marches" and John's wealth
• [16:15 – 16:24] – Mob mentality and protest topics, "No Kings March"
• [22:10 – 29:45] – Jason Barry’s “Dirty Dining,” Pacino’s, and Kicking Crab violations; comedic clams segment
• [39:00] – Alaska Airlines listener confirms flying in live seafood
• [43:02–43:11] – Jokes about food inspector language and "cornmeal in the vagina"
• [45:12–47:18] – Kiss/Ace Freely tribute, musical outro

Tone and Language

• The episode is highly conversational, unfiltered, and sarcastic with a tone typical of morning shock-jock radio:
  • Lots of playful name-calling (“booger hands,” “march machine”)
  • Running inside jokes and recurring characters/targets
  • Self-deprecating humor, gallows humor (especially around food and illness)
  • Minimal censorship; rough language and sexual innuendo throughout

Memorable Moments

• John eating raw ground beef for lunch at work, but refusing a homemade donut from a trusted colleague.
• The group’s extended confusion and banter on how restaurant clams are handled and whether anyone in landlocked Arizona actually has live seafood.
• Outlandish jokes about food inspector Jason Barry, imagining him as a humorless home tyrant.
• Satirical, good-natured derision of “marching for causes,” evolving into nostalgia for silly events like zombie walks.
• Mock “listener breakup” emails providing fuel for laughter and light roasting.

Conclusion

This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness is a classic display of witty banter, absurd tangents, and pointed rants about office food, local news, and odd Arizona life. John’s inability to appreciate coffee leads to a larger meditation on aging, quirks, and distrust of community food. As always, listener emails, local controversy (Dirty Dining!), and frenetic tangents keep the show unpredictable and funny.

For listeners, this summary provides the arc of the show and the best moments without the need to endure the ads, intros, or non-content interludes.