Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – Nov 7, 2025 – FULL SHOW Summary

Episode Overview

Theme:
A signature blend of irreverent comedy, personal stories, Arizona happenings, and listener interactions. The crew—John Holmberg (host), Brady Bogan, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo—riff on everything from emotional listener emails and celebrity mishaps to local events and car talk, keeping the humor front and center while occasionally veering into heartwarming honesty.

Key Segments & Highlights

1. Listener Email: Early Onset Alzheimer’s (05:00–14:00)

• Content: John reads a touching email from a listener, Vince, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at 44 and credits John's show for making him laugh during a tough time.
• Discussion:
  • John is moved but comically uncomfortable with this emotional responsibility:
    "I show up here every day and just goof around... Now I'm gonna want to go know you and hang out and talk to you and maybe end up, you know, cleaning your body... Vince, it's too much pressure on me for this." (04:40)
  • The team riff on disease diagnosis, the pressures of meaning, and how jokes can impact listeners beyond their intention.
  • Recaps other memorable listeners (ALS Matt, Gary and the neighbor drama).
  • Hilarious, if dark, speculation about sex and memory loss:
    • Brady: "Does that mean when you got Alzheimer's, you can go around banging all you want because you don't remember?" (11:21)
      • John: "That's exactly right. That's how it's. A lot of times guys abuse it for that." (11:22)
  • Brady tries to lighten the mood: "Just gotta embrace it. Patch Adams." (08:11)
  • John resists: "I'm not Patch Adams. I don't like my words to have meaning..." (08:13)

2. Comedy from Real Life: Rah Rah Room, TV’s Doug Hopkins, and Friendship (16:10–21:00)

• Story: John tells a story from the previous night at the Rah Rah Room:
  • Friend Dorsey/Dean's name change: Humor in introducing a friend now using his middle name.
  • Waitress wants to come on the podcast to ‘flame her boyfriend’ (16:12). The guys agree sad waitresses ruin the bar vibe.
  • TV’s Doug Hopkins incident: Someone thought John was Doug’s son in commercials, despite Doug being just a year older (18:15). Both are hilariously annoyed.
    • "Some guy thought you were my son in those commercials. ... That's because not. I look good. You look horrible." (18:35)
    • Brady: "It's a 20 year gap." (19:14)
    • John: "I'm gonna show up at the door. Dad!" (19:15)
  • John aims to ride this joke on future commercials—“Hopkins and Son.”

3. Strange Friendship Dynamics & “Suspicious Relationships” (24:10–26:54)

• Odd Suns Game Pairing:
  • John reacts to a 50-year-old friend bringing his best friend’s daughter’s ex-boyfriend (a much younger guy) to a game and then the Rah Rah Room.
  • John teases the scenario wildly:
    • "I'm like, you look like you're boy-stealing." (24:19)
    • Even jokes about himself and Doug Hopkins being perceived as couple.
  • Themes: Generation gap awkwardness, bromance jokes, and social expectations.

4. More Audience Interaction, “Meaningfulness” Anxiety, and Hand Modeling Aspirations (27:25–34:00)

• John’s struggle with audience vulnerability:
  • "I am an emotional, empathetic human being. Ew. I don't want to be that. I like not being that. But I have feelings." (27:25)
• Hand model rabbit hole: John sees an article about hand modeling (“$3K/day!”) and momentarily aspires to it:
  • "My left hand is an 8. My right hand... I've busted up..." (31:23)
  • Brady: Suggests “Knight Rider Jewelry” for rugged modeling gigs.

5. Celebrity & Listener Drama: Antonio Brown, Ralphie May, and Inevitable Downfalls (34:00–39:32)

• Antonio Brown Legal Trouble:
  • John reflects on how Brown’s arrest for attempted murder “was inevitable,” echoing similar predictions with his late friend comedian Ralphie May’s passing.
  • "Ralphie May was my first friend I knew was gonna die. I knew why he was gonna die and how he was gonna die. I knew it." (34:52)
  • Discussion on “parlaying” big events for celebrities of declining health/mental state.

6. Local Music, Miss Chile, and Metal: Palladio & Ignacia Fernandez (43:10–52:00)

• Palladio Contest: Local band contest updates; discussion on Miles to Nowhere, notable past winners, and amusing band names.
• Wild segue: Discovery of Ignacia Fernandez—a Miss Chile finalist who’s also a death metal singer.
  • Much ogling from the crew; heated debate on whether she has “enough ass,” with Brett (and John) launching into a detailed, comedic breakdown of women's Instagram poses and anatomy (50:00+).
  • Quote: "A girl with a nice ass always shows you that ass. Every picture, they're looking over their shoulder. They lead with it." (51:55)
  • The team spiral into a cultural analysis of butts, Instagram, celebrity body types, and Taylor Swift.

7. Car Talk: Ford Bronco Faux Engine Noises (60:00–72:00)

• John buys a new Ford Bronco:
  • Comedy ensues when he (and Brett) discover the fake, deafening engine roar piped into the interior—purely for the driver’s ego:
    • "It's not happening outside at all. It's totally quiet outside. In the car, it's deafeningly dumb." (62:43)
  • Debate: The absurdity and “douchebag trim package” of automaker sound design.
  • John: "That's a fantasy car. In my car, the engine isn't that huge." (64:39)
  • Joking about customizing it:
    • "Every time I step on the gas, two giant cans inflate on the dashboard. I get to squeeze them for a second..."* (67:19)
  • Tech talk: You can “for scan” software to disable the fake noise.

8. Wake Up Song and Action Ride Shop Promo (76:27–79:18)

• Wake Up Song picks: Playful banter as the crew shouts out local bike shop promotions and muses on “douchebaggery” in auto accessories.
• Song Request for Doug Hopkins: “Cats in the Cradle” for Doug Hopkins and John, furthering the “father/son” joke. (79:18)
• "That bothered Doug quite a bit. And it should, because it's not like he's looking at me saying, man, that guy looks like he's in his 20s. Nope. It just made him older." (79:19)

9. Harlan Williams In Studio (115:30–144:17)

(The Harlan Williams block—some of the densest comedic energy in the show.)

• Gig Report: Stories from his Tempe Improv set, including a nose-shooting audience member (!).
• Is Harlan a billionaire? John brings up a rumor that Harlan is now absurdly rich. Harlan denies it (“I’m not a billionaire by any means. No.” (118:49)), but describes his billionaire fantasy: buying a vintage movie theater, seating it with animatronic mannequins, and having mannequin ushers.
• Movie project: Harlan details his new film “Wingman,” a comedy about a professional wingman with bizarre methods (e.g., using an albino koala to attract women) (136:42–139:07).
• Absurd wordplay & segment:
  • Long tangent about "eating commas," Canadian vs. American brackets/parentheses, sea cucumbers as exclamation points, etc. (132:27–135:09)
  • Words of wisdom: "Live life, don't let life live you." (143:56)
• “Closest you’ve come to getting AIDS?” Incredible segment: Harlan riffs on movie-AIDS from touching Tom Hanks (131:10+) and invents the “AIDS vampire”—a running bit.

10. Brady Report, Science News, and Local Blues (83:00–114:17)

• Cancer Awareness Day, fun facts, and NFL trivia: Musings on football kickers and MVPs, favorite Thanksgiving sides, etc.
• More true crime/oddity stories: From cashless bank robbers and naked chainsaw neighbors to a German couple caught having highway sex.
• Science News:
  • Comet “Three Eye Atlas” possibly being “jet-propelled” and could be aliens (95:01+).
  • More jokes about aliens targeting the sun to destroy Earth.
• Viral TikTok ‘health hack’—3 by 3 by 12pm: Three “minigoals” (steps, water, protein) before lunch.

11. Guadalupe Squares & Show Close (157:28–end)

• The Guadalupe Squares: Signature segment—a raucous Arizona-style “Hollywood Squares” with meta-humor, celebrity impressions (Trump, Shatner, etc.), local references, and live calls.
  • Square content includes: David Lee (conspiracy theories), Jimmy Fallon, OJ Simpson, Gordon Ramsay, Alien Fighter Brady, and more.
• Prizes: Tickets to see William Shatner.
• Closing absurdity:
  • Cows with accents, leftover jokes from earlier, another round of “Corey Feldman planet” jokes, and light ribbing of women’s volleyball radio broadcasts.
  • John: “Not one. Am I right? We get some. Hit the mic. In the middle of the whole game… [crickets].” (181:40)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• John, on Vince’s emotional email:
  "I'm glad you're gonna forget that I say this, but come on, man... I can't know this is out there. Now I'm gonna want to go know you and hang out and talk to you and maybe end up, you know, cleaning your body..." (04:40)

• On being Patch Adams:
  Brady: "Just gotta embrace it. Patch Adams." (08:11)
  John: "I'm not Patch Adams. Stop it. I am not Patch Adams. I don't like my words to have meaning…" (08:13)

• On Ford Bronco’s fake engine sound:
  "It's not happening outside at all. It's totally quiet outside. In the car, it's deafeningly dumb." (62:43)

• On influencer/brand relationships:
  "I see him every day. And we got through that with flippant nonsense and laughs. And that's how you do it. Can't take that responsibility." (34:00)

• On Miss Chile/Death Metal Singer:
  "A girl with a nice ass always shows you that ass. Every picture, they're looking over their shoulder. They lead with it…" (51:55)

• Harlan Williams, on his billionaire fantasy:
  "I would buy like a vintage movie theater... I'd get mannequins. I'd put mannequins in the seats. Some animatronics. So at some points, maybe some get up and go somewhere. Some of them clap. Celebrity mannequins. And then I'd have maybe like two aisles empty for friends and family." (121:02)

• John, words of wisdom:
  "Live life, don't let life live you." (143:56)

Episode Tone

• Language: Energetic, irreverent, self-deprecating humor with moments of real empathy.
• Vibe: A rollercoaster between goofy, raunchy “morning zoo”-style gags, local news stories, and genuinely touching audience interactions—often with John playfully rejecting any heartfelt feedback, all while subtly reinforcing community connection.
• Pace: Fast, with frequent tangents and callbacks. Joyful willingness to explore whatever topic emerges—be it pop culture, listener lives, or the inside of a Ford Bronco.

For Listeners Who Missed It:
You’ll get outrageous laughs, a touch of heart, a vivid sense of Arizona, and the feeling you’re part of the banter at Holmberg’s table—whether you’re here for the crude jokes, the local flavor, or just for the way these guys can riff on anything and make it engaging.