Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona
Episode: 12-01-25 - ENTERTAINMENT Drill - MON - Our Deaf Listener Josh Reads Transcripts Of The Show But We Wonder If It's Funny
Date: December 1, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness revolves around the unique experience of Josh Libby, a longtime deaf listener who enjoys the show via transcripts. The hosts dive into the challenges and humor of interpreting a comedy radio show through written words, question how their bits come across without context or vocal inflection, and riff on their own style of entertainment. The episode also features the usual “Entertainment Drill,” recapping celebrity news and odd auction items with the show's signature irreverence and banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Josh Libby: The Deaf Fan Experience

• The hosts open by discussing how Josh, a deaf audience member, consumes their show by reading transcripts.

• The team humorously debates whether their often sarcastic, accent-heavy, and voice-driven comedy translates to text.

  “You heard me. He didn’t. What? … I've been doing it for years … It's amazing.”
  — [03:09-03:12] John Holmberg & Brady

• Jokes about how transcripts might struggle to capture racial jokes, accents, sound effects, and emotional subtext.

• The hosts question whether reading “stereotypical accent” or “[laughs racistly]” in brackets changes the humor.

  “Does it say ‘in bad Indian accent’ in parentheses every once in a while? Or ‘Hello, my friend’? … It would just constantly remind you we're bad with all the subtext."
  — [03:43] John Holmberg

2. Celebrity & Entertainment News (“Entertainment Drill”)

• Dame Judi Dench’s Health: Discussion of Judi Dench’s worsening eye condition (macular degeneration), adding personal anecdotes about family experiences with the disease.

• Kim Kardashian’s Brain Scans: Commentary on a recent episode of “The Kardashians” where Kim's brain MRI shows “holes” indicating low activity.

  “Her frontal lobe is less now that you could read. That was a good one. You don’t need voices for it. You’re welcome, Josh.”
  — [06:46] John Holmberg

• Running jokes about Kim Kardashian’s life and career, with multiple puns about “holes” and her celebrity status.

• Mariah Carey's Christmas Royalties: Talk of Mariah earning $2.5M annually from “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and her songwriting partner pulling in over $100M.

• Strange Celebrity Auctions:

  • The safe that once held Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s infamous sex tape auctioned for over $100,000 (far above expectations).
  • Guitars from Kirk Hammett (Metallica) and Adam Clayton (U2) also sold, and the crew debates the relevance and worth of such memorabilia.

3. Meta-Jokes and Listener Feedback

• Listener Key Custer sends in a tongue-in-cheek message poking fun at Josh, riffing on Helen Keller references—showing the show’s willingness to joke with (not at) their audience.

  “I call him Josh Keller now because the only thing he isn't is blind. Because he's for sure dumb too. Well, don’t cancel that transcription. You’re not dumb, Josh.”
  — [10:11] John Holmberg reading listener email

• They speculate about Josh’s enjoyment level when reading “impressions” and how comedic timing is lost in print.

4. Country Music & World AIDS Day

• The hosts reflect on Reba McEntire’s song “She Thinks His Name Was John,” learning it's about AIDS—pondering its appropriateness for weddings and marveling at odd country song topics.

  “You can’t write a love song about a woman who did this to herself. Yeah. Am I supposed to be touched?”
  — [11:37] John Holmberg

• Allude to World AIDS Day and darkly joke about the theme in typical show fashion.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Transcripts and Deaf Listener Experience:

  “You couldn’t pay me enough money to read this show. It doesn’t make sense.” — [03:21] John Holmberg
  “Does it say ‘in bad Indian accent’ in parentheses every once in a while or… ‘Brett giggled racistly’?” — [03:43] John Holmberg

• On Kim Kardashian’s Brain Scan:

  “Her frontal lobe is less now that you could read. That was a good one. … You’re welcome, Josh.” — [06:46] John Holmberg
  “Her holes have been a problem for her for a while.” — [07:01] John Holmberg

• On the Tommy Lee/Pamela Anderson Sex Tape Safe Auction:

  “Tape safe? They’re selling that?” — [08:38] John Holmberg
  “Come on…That’s. You can buy a safe for that.” — [08:54-08:58] John Holmberg

• On Listener Josh (Helen Keller joke):

  “I call him Josh Keller now because the only thing he isn't is blind. Because he's for sure dumb too.” — [10:11] John Holmberg reading listener email

• Dark Humor on Reba’s Song & AIDS:

  “I may or may not have given Reba McIntyre's friend AIDS. That translates. You could read that.” — [12:30] John Holmberg

Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Start of Main Show, Event Plugs | 01:19-02:14 | | Discussion of Deaf Listener Josh & Transcripts | 02:14-05:32 | | Entertainment Drill Begins | 05:41 | | Dame Judi Dench’s Health | 05:41-06:12 | | Kim Kardashian MRI & Jokes | 06:14-07:18 | | Mariah Carey Royalties & Songwriters | 07:24-08:17 | | Celebrity Auction Recap | 08:24-09:55 | | Listener Feedback (Josh Keller joke) | 10:11-10:35 | | Reba McIntyre’s Song & AIDS Day Discussion | 11:22-12:59 |

Overall Tone & Style

• The show maintains its irreverent, quick-witted, and sometimes edgy comedic tone throughout.
• Humor is often self-deprecating or directed at pop culture and themselves, with frequent meta-commentary (“You couldn’t pay me enough to read this show”).
• They are inclusive and poke fun even at their fans—never mean-spirited, but always honest, sometimes darkly so.
• The banter is sharp, with bits building on each other's jokes and regular callbacks to earlier topics.

Summary Takeaway

This episode provides a window into the peculiar experience of reading—not hearing—a show built on vocal delivery, with the hosts poking fun at themselves and how their material might (un)successfully make the leap to text. Add in the typical flurry of irreverent entertainment reporting, interactive listener feedback, and a willingness to make light of even the darkest subjects, and it’s classic Holmberg’s Morning Sickness: noisy, original, and unfiltered—in any medium.