Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness

Episode: 12-09-25 (“Tim Walz Asked People To Stop Calling Him Retarded In Public - John's Campaign To Litter Until Recycling Programs Get Fixed”)

Date: December 9, 2025

Overview

In this lively and irreverent episode, John Holmberg and his co-hosts Brady Bogen and Brett Vesely dive into two major themes: the viral news of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pleading with the public to stop calling him "retarded" in front of his house, and John's tongue-in-cheek campaign to protest Arizona's recycling programs by encouraging listeners to litter. The hosts use their trademark biting humor to dissect social media pile-ons, public decorum, hypocrisy in environmental activism, and frustrations with “jobs programs” masquerading as recycling efforts. The show is filled with banter, edgy jokes, and audience interactions, keeping the atmosphere raucous and unfiltered.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tim Walz and the Power of “Don’t Feed the Trolls”

(Starts ~06:40)

• The News: John recounts how Minnesota Governor Tim Walz went on TV asking people to stop driving past his house and yelling "retard," after Trump used the term against him. Holmberg points out why this was a tactical mistake.
• Holmberg’s Take:
  • “If people are driving past your house calling you a retard, the last thing you need to do to stop that is go on TV and say, ‘Please stop calling me a retard.’ Guess what’s going to happen? Yeah, everybody’s going to start calling you a retard.” (07:05)
  • He mocks the flawed logic of engaging hecklers publicly, noting, “You just invited the rest of the city to do it. What a moron.” (09:24)
• Comic Escalation: The crew riff about how if any of them went public with such a plea, it would instantly provoke an even larger (if juvenile) campaign.
• On Political Trolling:
  • “The only person that would say, ‘please stop calling me a retard at my house’ is a retard.” (09:49)
  • John and Brett imagine staging drive-bys for fun, emphasizing the point: attention only fuels mockery online and off.
• Ethical Perspective: John admits it’s “hilarious, but you’re being dicks,” drawing a blurry line between comic cruelty and genuine concern. (07:05)

2. The Comedy and Cynicism of Public Outrage

(~10:25 onwards)

• Discussion of camera activism, online outrage, and the dangers of becoming a viral clip.
• Reddit & Social Media Reactions: John shares and mocks both left- and right-wing responses, focusing on the futility of “can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen” logic for public officials.
• Call for More Creative Insults: John describes how, if people must insult, at least do it anonymously or creatively, “like the lady from Cinnabon,” not with confrontational identification. (10:25)

3. The Environmentalist Rant: Littering as Political Protest

(Transition: 14:58; Deep dive starts @ 15:47)

• John’s “Findings” About Recycling:
  • “The United States is exactly 3.8 or 3.9—let’s say 4%—of the world’s population. So even if everyone in the United States was 100% compliant on the environment, 96% of the world is not.” (15:09)
  • He argues this makes most personal environmental behavior almost pointless in the bigger picture.
• Littering as Satire:
  • “I started littering a lot. As a point. I’m trying to be the anti-environmentalist to prove that environmental causes are money business scams...” (14:58)
  • Rants that recycling programs are “jobs programs”—not genuine environmental solutions.
• Listener Backlash & John’s Response:
  • Listener Kelly emails criticizing John for promoting littering, accusing him of being hostile to eco-friendly people.
  • Holmberg clarifies: his anger is at the hypocrisy and futility of recycling campaigns, not the intent to hurt the planet.
  • “If you really want this to end, stop driving, turn off your air conditioner, don’t have fire, don’t use gas products...” (20:05)
  • He points to the prevalence of plastic bottles and their incremental environmental impact: “We have an island of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific that’s as big as Australia. And they keep pumping out more plastic…” (20:46)
• Call to Action (Tongue-in-Cheek):
  • “I’m going to start a new jobs program where the city can take our taxes to clean up all the trash I shoot out my car window. I think it’s brilliant.” (21:34)
  • “The recycling thing is just a jobs program. So I’m creating a new one. We litter, then every night at 3am, the freeways close and trucks go through and we’ve hired hundreds of people to drive trucks and suck it all up…It’s a beautiful thing.” (29:53)

4. Problems With Recycling: Hypocrisy, Futility, and Economics

(Multiple timestamps: 16:42, 22:31, 23:31, 25:19, 26:47, 34:08, 35:31)

• Rules Are Arbitrary and Confusing:
  • “When you read the rules of how to recycle, you’re not—you’re doing it wrong. Pizza boxes with pizza in it or out, capped bottles are out…” (16:42)
  • No robust gatekeeping; much of what is “recycled” is simply dumped.
• Outsourcing and Market Realities:
  • “The US sold recycled byproducts to China, and China started to refuse the world’s trash…so much more expensive to process once the money wasn’t there. Small cities ended it. It’s about money.” (34:08)
• Wind Energy Critique:
  • Discussion of windmill blades being un-recyclable and disposed into landfills: “They can’t be refurbished or recycled, so they just bury them.” (26:47)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Time | Quote | Speaker | |--------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------| | 07:05 | “If people are driving past your house calling you a retard…say, please stop calling me a retard. Guess what’s going to happen? Yeah, everybody’s going to start calling you a retard.” | John Holmberg | | 09:49 | “The only person that would say, please stop calling me a retard at my house is a retard.” | John Holmberg | | 14:58 | “I started littering a lot. As a point. I’m trying to be the anti-environmentalist…” | John Holmberg | | 15:09 | “Even if everyone in the United States was 100% compliant…96% of the world is not.” | John Holmberg | | 20:05 | “If you really want this to end, stop driving, turn off your air conditioner, don’t have fire, don’t use gas products, don’t wear shoes with rubber on them because they have to be manufactured through oil and all this other stuff.” | John Holmberg | | 21:34 | “I’m going to start a new jobs program where the city can take our taxes to clean up all the trash I shoot out my car window. I think it’s brilliant.” | John Holmberg | | 25:01 | “Unless it’s glass. Don’t do glass. That’s bad for tires. But aluminum can wrappers…get it out of there. Water bottles, everything must go. They’ve never stopped on cigarette, but cigarettes keep flying out. Cars, get rid of them all.” | John Holmberg | | 29:53 | “The recycling thing is just a jobs program. So I’m creating a new one. We litter, right? And then every night at 3am, the freeways close…trucks go through and we’ve hired hundreds of people to drive trucks and suck it all up…” | John Holmberg | | 34:08 | “The US sold recycled byproducts to China…so much more expensive to process once the money wasn’t there. Small cities ended it. It’s about money.” | Emailer quoting recycling industry | | 41:08 | “It isn’t because I want the world to be dirtier. It’s because the current system is so broken. We need to Boston Tea Party this thing a little bit. Stop making plastic bottles.” | John Holmberg |

Segment Timestamps (approximate)

• [06:40] – Tim Walz segment: The dangers of amplifying hecklers and why the plea backfired.
• [14:58] – John introduces his “littering as protest” campaign, citing recycling’s futility and the U.S. share of world pollution.
• [16:42] – Details on convoluted recycling rules (and how everyone does it “wrong”).
• [20:05 & 22:31] – Rant on convenience vs. environmentalism and proliferation of plastics.
• [23:31] – Issues with lithium and Tesla battery disposal.
• [25:01] – John encourages “littering,” but not with glass.
• [26:47] – Discussion on unrecyclable windmill blades.
• [29:53] – Littering as a “new jobs program.”
• [34:08 & 35:31] – Inside info about how much recycling is actually sorted, and why it’s mostly about money.
• [41:08] – The Boston Tea Party analogy: attack bottle producers, not average consumers.

Tone & Style

The hosts’ style is provocative, unapologetic, and satirical. John uses shock value and absurdity as a tool for social criticism but balances it with moments of self-awareness and outright parody. The humor is frequent, edgy, and often layered with irony—particularly in calls to “litter” as a mode of protest.

Conclusions & Takeaways

• The show skewers public figures who inadvertently magnify their own ridicule.
• Recycling and eco-initiatives are portrayed as failed, profit-driven systems that offload blame on individual action while real change is thwarted by corporations and global indifference.
• Holmberg’s “littering campaign” is intended as a satirical protest—a reflection of his frustration with the gap between messaging and meaningful action.
• Listeners are encouraged to question surface-level activism and to recognize where genuine change should be demanded.

For First-Time Listeners:

This episode is quintessential Holmberg—irreverent, daring, and biting in its commentary on both politics and pop culture. It’s not for the easily offended but offers plenty for those who enjoy a cynical, comedic slant on social issues.