Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona

Episode: 12-20-25 – Squirrel Drama, Brady’s Arkansas Wildlife Revelations, and the Chaos of Backyard Animal Rescue

Air date: December 30, 2025
Host(s): John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo

Main Theme & Purpose

The episode kicks off with John Holmberg offering his hot take on the recent controversy surrounding "Peanut the Squirrel" – a domesticated squirrel seized by authorities in a social media–fueled legal/ethical furor. The conversation rapidly evolves (and goes off the rails) when Brady Bogen confesses to a jaw-dropping series of wildlife "rescues" as a kid, dragging the discussion into personal anecdotes of illegally transporting animals across state lines, the difference between pets and wild animals, and the dangerous lines between compassion, meddling, and absurdity.

The episode is a hilarious, at times chaotic meditation on humans' weird fixation with wild animals (especially making them pets), the ethics of intervention, regional kid shenanigans, and the role of government in policing people's backyards. Laced with characteristic sarcasm, banter, and escalating stories, Holmberg's crew turns a viral squirrel incident into a comically outrageous confessional.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Peanut the Squirrel Fiasco and OnlyFans Drama

• [01:13] John recaps the news: Mark and Daniela Longo (OnlyFans creators) had their pet squirrel, Peanut, and raccoon, Fred, seized and euthanized by authorities after a neighbor's tip.
• The debate arises around the neighbors’ possible motives (jealousy, moral outrage at the Longos' online activities), TikTok animal stardom, and the ethical reality of keeping wild animals indoors.
• John is unapologetically direct: “I think Peanut should have been put down...this dude used to put cowboy hats on the squirrel and make him dance around on TikTok.” ([01:30])

2. When Is a Wild Animal a Pet?

• [02:14] The crew discusses their own childhood interactions with wild animals. Brady admits to multiple "rescues," leading to an avalanche of crazy backyard animal stories.
• John’s stance: “If this squirrel wasn’t an Instagram sensation and was just in your neighbor’s house, and you’re like, that thing’s drooling and it’s rabid...officials have to come by and take the squirrel. It’s a rat with a tail.” ([03:10])
• The difference between compassion, naivete, and public health gets blurry – especially as Brady confesses to ever-escalating "rescues."

3. Brady’s Wild Childhood: "Muckrat Ray" and Wildlife Smuggling

• [06:08] Brady reminisces about trying to capture a flying squirrel as a high-schooler in Arkansas, plotting to bring it back to Ohio: “We were in the woods...going along the Buffalo River.”
• He confesses to transporting a venomous copperhead snake across state lines, keeping it as a pet until his dad put an end to it – literally: “My dad killed it, because he’s a decent man..." ([08:39])
• Other stories include catching raccoon babies after the mother was trapped, catching and releasing injured owls and crows (“Muckrat Ray did a catch and release on an owl and a crow…” ([40:28])), and even once keeping a black widow in a jar.

“What’s wrong with you? What did you do with the poisonous snake?”
— John ([08:19])

“I also brought back a black widow home, same haul.”
— Brady ([11:50])

4. The Ethics (and Legalities) of Keeping Wild Animals

• [13:17–15:00+] The group debates legal and moral boundaries:
  • Should social media’s “cute” wild pets be treated as exceptions?
  • Are people’s instincts to help ultimately dangerous?
  • “Don’t pick up wild animals and take them.” — John ([05:15])
• Brett Vesely provides the city-slicker “WTF” perspective, repeatedly expressing shock over Brady’s stories.
• A caller shares a parallel story of being fined for keeping an injured mountain lion cub for a couple of weeks: “If the fine for the HOV lane’s $400, but it’s $150 for a mountain lion cub...we need to boost that fine.” — John ([43:04])

5. The Great American Tradition of Kid Animal Chaos

• The host's childhoods are contrasted: "We didn’t have these lifestyles, John." ([42:23])
• John's ex-wife once tried to domesticate a lynx, thinking it was a normal cat ("Herbie"): “Herbie was about 61 pounds. This thing was fierce...” ([32:46])
• The segment is peppered with both awe and horror as the hosts and listeners reel at Brady's willingness to bring home venomous snakes, black widows, and raccoons.

6. Domestication Debate: Dogs vs. Squirrels (and Why the System Exists)

• [19:00+] Ongoing argument: Where do we draw the line between pet and pest? Is it hypocrisy to celebrate dogs while condemning squirrel-keepers?
• “They don’t have squirrel stores. There’s nothing at the Humane Society.” — John ([20:08])
• “We domesticated dogs thousands of years ago.” — John ([23:39])
• “That is not a valid argument.” — John, cutting off Brady’s slippery slope reasoning ([23:36])

7. Community (and Listener) Reactions & Ridicule

• [28:42+] Flood of texts and calls, with listeners adding their own animal stories, roasting Brady for his "domestication pioneer" mindset, and joking about outrageous situations (like bringing a black woman to show and tell as a kid — a brief digression late in the episode).
• Listeners oscillate between delight and disbelief at Brady's "cutting edge" of animal domestication ("He’s the one who’s going to do it. He’s the pioneer." — John, [34:48])

Notable Quotes & Moments by Timestamp

The Squirrel Saga Begins...

• “Now let’s get into the real thing that’s going on in the world. Nuts out for Peanut.” — John ([01:13])
• “They took away the squirrel and the raccoon that lived there. Let’s not forget Fred.” — John ([01:17])

Brady’s Animal Adventures

• “You splinted a squirrel’s leg?” — John ([03:01])
• “What are you going to—why, if a rat’s injured, do you help it?” — John ([05:29])
• “No, that was...less dog. You confirmed it.” — John, on a friend infamous for beheading cats ([41:45])
• Brady, proudly: “I brought back a poisonous snake from Arkansas.” ([08:08])
• “You had a poisonous snake and a black—You’re a serial killer.” — John ([11:54])

The Legal/Moral Pivot

• “I don’t think you have. What’s wrong with you?” — John ([08:19])
• “We have to say that...Ronnie you’re doing God’s work over there keeping this thing in order, because if it wasn’t for… it would look like the lobby of the Bates Motel except for they’d all be alive. Hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot. Yeah, I don’t… you can’t just go and grab a squirrel and say this is a pet now and put a cowboy hat on.” — John ([28:16])

Domestication Riff: The Great Debate

• “You can’t domesticate wild animals and then start saying, well, we did it with dogs. It’s just not normal.” – John ([23:56])
• “What’s stopping you from grabbing a mountain lion?” – John ([24:15])

Listeners Join In

• “[Text]...I, for one, understand what Brady is saying. Because as someone who has gotten 150-dollar fine in Dewey for taking a wounded mountain lion cub…” ([42:23])

Memorable Tangents

The Ostrich Egg & Show-and-Tell Saga

• Brady reminisces about taking "Olive," a black woman who worked for his family, to his fifth-grade show-and-tell.
  • “She brought an ostrich egg with her. Showed the…” ([44:11])
  • The conversation devolves into playful but edgy banter about “parading” her and her decorative gifts at school, mocking vintage National Geographic stereotypes.

Herbie the 61-Pound Lynx

• John’s ex-wife’s attempts at lynx domestication: “Herbie was not nice to anyone but her...it would run on the walls like it was a velodrome.” ([32:46])
• “If I came over, I’m like, where’s the cat? First words.” — John ([35:36])

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:13–05:15: Peanut the Squirrel backstory, government intervention, debates over wild animal "rescue"
• 06:08–09:50: Brady's high school animal-collecting confessions & copperhead snake story
• 13:17–15:00: The ethics of keeping wild animals and what happens to them after “rescue”
• 28:41–31:47: Brady’s defense of “domesticating” animals; texts/calls light up with animal tales and scorn
• 32:46–36:49: John’s lynx cat story (Herbie), wild cats vs pets, more off-the-rails animal stories
• 44:01–47:03: Ostrich egg and African housekeeper show-and-tell tangent—Brady’s youthful cross-cultural awkwardness on full display

Tone & Style

The episode is quick-witted, irreverent, and full of sardonic ridicule—especially from John toward Brady’s earnest but misguided animal antics. The crew’s dynamic alternates between wisecracks, exasperation, and genuine amazement at Brady's stories, with frequent interruptions from listeners intensifying the fun. While the cringe and the compassion ebb and flow, it’s ultimately a comedy-of-errors about animal misadventures and the wild, unpredictable human instinct to “save” nature (and dress it up for Instagram).

Conclusion

The episode takes a planned discussion about the ethics and legalities of keeping wild animals and transforms it into a sidesplitting confessional of backwoods (and backyard) wildlife shenanigans, revealing the blurred boundaries between animal rescue and animal interference. Brady’s revelations (from copperheads to black widows to ostrich eggs) upstage the central Peanut debate, much to the amusement (and dismay) of John, Brett, and the audience.

“Don’t pick up wild animals and take them.” – John’s lesson, hammered home in vintage HMS banter style.

(For full effect, listen for the wild pivots, laugh-out-loud incredulity, and Brady’s dazzling honesty—you’ll never look at backyard squirrels (or second-grade show-and-tell) the same way again.)