Holmberg’s Morning Sickness — November 18, 2025

Episode Theme: Customer Service, Community Giving, and a Wild Night with William Shatner Featuring Frank Caliendo

Overview

In this episode, the HMS crew—John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo—dives into their trademark blend of humor, local Arizona flavor, and offbeat storytelling. They kick things off with tales of odd customer service at local big-box stores, discuss Operation Holiday Giving for military families, and unveil details for the new KUPD Concert Pass. The highlight is a vivid, play-by-play recount from John Holmberg and comedian Frank Caliendo of their surreal, high-stakes night hosting William Shatner’s stage event. Caliendo brings his signature impressions and wit as he and John swap stories about sharing a stage (and nearly an EMT call) with the legendary Shatner.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Target, Home Depot, and the “Lokes” (Listeners of Color)

• Customer Service Comedy: The show opens with a riff on the culture of customer service, comparing the energy at Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s.
  • Listener Andre suggests: “Problem is over at Target, John, it’s for whites only. That’s just the vibe. The name Target even sounds white. ... No black person is going to put khakis and a bright red shirt on like that and feel comfortable. It immediately feels like ... that’s nerdy.” (01:39)
  • The concept of “Lokes”—listeners of color—comes up: “That’s what. Yeah, that’s 25 years, we finally got a name. Our listeners of color are known as Lokes.” (01:49)
• Store Differences: The team jokes about Home Depot employees being serious and helpful, while Lowe’s is painted as a "ghost town" with staff who hide from customers. (03:00–04:59)

2. Giving Back: Operation Holiday Giving & Military Assistance

• Community Spotlight: Holmberg lays out KUPD’s work with Lerner & Rowe and AMCO for Operation Holiday Giving.
  • “If you can help out, I think that’s awesome. ... You see this thing in action and the literal hundreds of military families that show up at the National Guard every year to take advantage of this Operation Holiday Giving thing. Yeah. You’d be blown away.” (06:12)
• Addressing Skepticism: John clarifies, “I was probably as cynical as you when it first started. ... but I am also a cynic who is open minded enough to recognize I was wrong and now I saw the need for it and I’m like, whoa, this thing is ... a very healthy operation.” (07:48)
• How to Help: Listeners can text “gift” to 97936 for info on how to contribute. (06:50)

3. KUPD Concert Pass & “Tap That Track” App Promotion

• How It Works: John details the Tap That Track app campaign, with a grand prize of tickets to every KUPD concert in 2026.

  • “You tap that track promotion. ... This one, for instance, starting today is Shinedown. You hear Shinedown on your app ... you hit it. And that’s it.” (09:41)
  • “The grand prize for this is you get to win tickets to every KUPD concert in 2026.” (09:50)

• App vs. Radio: Joking riffs on management’s obsession with pushing the app:

  • “The Bobs are losing their minds over the app. ... They’re throwing traditional radio away and ... busy beating your Bob dicks over the app.” (09:01)

• Edgy Humor: Various tongue-in-cheek asides about controversial musicians and the state of radio. (10:41)

4. Frank Caliendo Joins: The William Shatner Story

Setting the Scene

• Frank’s Entrance: “Frank Caliendo’s here. ... He’s my EMT buddy. ... It’s you and I’ve shared experience of death.” (13:15)
• Backstory: John and Frank recount how they were tapped to host a William Shatner event, including back-of-house antics: planning, question selection, and Shatner’s idiosyncrasies.

Backstage with Shatner (19:00 – 39:00)

• Arriving Early: John’s comically neurotic scheduling, Frank’s laid-back attitude; both feel like interns again.
• The Fans: Wide-ranging audience demographics surprise Frank (“I thought that’s all it was going to be, but it was a lot of young women. ... There were middle aged women who wanted to meet Bill or get the meat. I’m like Arby’s, I’ve got the meat.”) (23:08)
• Handling Questions: Producers toss out audience-supplied questions for being too nerdy or risky; some are “super safe unless he had his own” (27:08).
  • Memorable Miss: “My plan ... was if we’re going to use audience questions, is to have a little flippant section and some lady wrote on there ... ‘How married are you?’” (25:28)
• Shatner’s Memory: “He had no idea who we were. He’d forgotten me completely.” (27:29)
  • “I haven’t watched anything on TV for years.” —Shatner, after failing to recognize Frank’s credits (28:12)

Dinner & Antics

• Difficult Dinner: “He says it tastes like a goldfish and he pushes it away.” (32:19)
• Apple vs. Pear: A hilarious, Abbott & Costello-style bit where Shatner can’t grasp he’s eating a pear, not a “yellow apple.” (33:38)
• Shatner Rest Breaks: Shatner dozes backstage: “He was in back of you. So I saw the eyelids go down like a garage door.” (37:48)

The Fall: Shatner’s Collapse (42:16 – 55:01)

• Elevator Incident: As they prep to go on stage, Frank and John notice Shatner wobbling and then collapsing in what at first seems like a slapstick, vaudeville bit, but quickly becomes serious.
  • “I saw a collapse. I saw what I would describe ... as a controlled demolition on a Vegas high rise.” —Frank Caliendo (45:03)
  • “I’m running ... I kept looking at his corpse. … He’s a corpse on the ground saying, I’m fine.” —Holmberg (49:55)
• Immediate Recovery: Shatner abruptly says, “I’m fine. Pick me up.” (49:15)
• No Medical Pause: Despite witnessing what could be a medical emergency, Shatner’s handlers and he himself insist the show must go on:
  • “He wants to do everything he’s doing and it’s him driving this. ... There’s no way he’s playing this week.” (51:00)

Onstage Surprises & Knock-Knock Jokes (55:18 – End)

• Back on Stage: Both hosts are nervously watching for signs of collapse, but Shatner rallies for a full hour.
  • “He went on with a full hour. No problem, man. ... I was walking, we walked toward each other and I thought, he's not gonna make it.” (55:56)
• Knock-Knock Bits: To lighten the mood, they prompt Shatner into telling knock-knock jokes, which he repeatedly reprises as both running gag and memory-jogger:
  • “He did that joke about eight times before. ... He used them very well. Maybe a few too many times.” (56:48)
• Audience Unaware: For the crowd, the night appears flawless, with Shatner just a little dazed but entirely himself. Only Frank and John (and now listeners) know how close the brush with disaster was.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “That’s 25 years, we finally got a name. Our listeners of color are known as Lokes.” (01:49) —John Holmberg
• “No black person is going to put khakis and a bright red shirt on like that and feel comfortable.” (01:39) —Andre (Listener email, read by Holmberg)
• “If we’re going to say we support the troops, keep your fingers off your keyboard right now and don’t participate if you’re angry about it.” (08:08) —Holmberg
• “The Bobs are throwing traditional radio away and ... beating your Bob dicks over the app.” (09:01) —Holmberg
• “Frank Caliendo’s here ... he’s my EMT buddy ... It’s you and I’ve shared experience of death.” (13:15) —Holmberg
• “He had no idea who we were. He’d forgotten me completely.” (27:29) —Frank Caliendo
• “I’m fine. Pick me up.” (49:15) —William Shatner (after his collapse, quoted by both John and Frank)
• “You could use any animal. Do it again!” (56:22) —Frank Caliendo (prompting Shatner’s knock-knock act)
• “I was so glad you were there because like I said to you, TMZ is going to talk to you. They won’t care about me. This is your story.” (52:10) —Holmberg to Caliendo

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:00–01:13: Sponsor Ads / Show Intro (skipped for content)
• 01:35–05:02: Customer service humor & “Lokes” concept; Target vs. Home Depot/Lowe’s
• 06:00–09:27: Operation Holiday Giving for military families, details, and how to help
• 09:28–13:26: KUPD Concert Pass, app-based contests, app vs. radio jokes
• 13:27–16:31: Frank Caliendo joins—therapy talk, setting up Shatner story
• 19:00–39:00: Backstage with Shatner: arrival, demographics, prepping for Q&A, food incidents
• 42:16–55:01: The fall: elevator, Shatner’s collapse, crisis and recovery
• 55:18–End: The show goes on—onstage survival, knock-knock jokes, audience perspective, wrap-up

Tone & Style

Conversational, irreverent, and quick-witted; the hosts riff off one another with natural camaraderie. Frank Caliendo’s impressions and comedic delivery add a meta layer, especially when recounting the surreal William Shatner event, balancing both near-tragedy and farce.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a hilarious, layered blend of everyday Arizona quirks, community involvement, and a truly one-of-a-kind celebrity mishap. From sharp commentary on customer service in big-box stores to a detailed account of what could’ve been William Shatner’s Last Voyage (featuring real terror, rapid recovery, and knock-knock jokes), it’s classic HMS—equal parts community radio, stand-up storytelling, and podcast absurdity.