Podcast Summary: My Momma Told Me – "Homunculus for the Rest of Us" (with Jamel Johnson)

Podcast: My Momma Told Me
Hosts: Langston Kerman & David Gborie
Episode: Homunculus for the Rest of Us
Guest: Jamel Johnson
Release Date: November 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This lively episode dives into the Black conspiracy theory surrounding the government’s supposed attempts to create "homunculi" (small artificial humans)—in particular, the notion that mainstream society’s real plan is to "make niggas little." Through jokes, personal stories, and a surprising amount of historical research, Langston, David, and their guest Jamel Johnson explore the myth’s roots, its cultural echoes, and how Black folks have interpreted and passed down these ideas. The result is a fun and insightful banter about suspicion, folklore, and the places where sci-fi meets street wisdom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebration and Banter ([01:48]–[11:00])

• The hosts and Jamel celebrate the podcast reaching #1, riffing on their “DraftKings bets” and trading jokes about pirates, Hollywood representation, and dancehall culture.
  • Memorable riffing on alternate versions of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the lack of Black pirates in Hollywood ([03:23], [04:27], [05:13]).
  • Quote: “I think it's 'cause he was Black... Tom Cruise was excommunicating all the little [guys]” – Langston ([06:16]).
• Jamel’s hilarious T-shirt with an ambiguous date and MLK that “looks like KD,” sparking jokes about cultural identity in Black apparel ([09:16]–[10:35]).

2. The Origin of the Homunculus Conspiracy ([11:07]–[15:30])

• Jamel shares his personal connection: His mother used to warn him that "they trying to make niggas little," a variant on the homunculus myth.
  • For years he thought she was warning him about getting "humongous" until he realized she meant the opposite ([15:03]).
  • Quote: “She would say they was trying to make niggas little. Not like little niggas, but average-sized niggas, little niggas.” – David ([12:21])
  • Connection to foods and brands ("no Chick-fil-A sauce, no bang bang"—lest you become a homunculus) ([13:09]).
• Discussion of maternal folklore and family conspiracy culture: The impossibility of challenging or tracing the source (“You can’t press her... that's just who you are.” – Langston, [16:08]).

3. What Is a Homunculus? Competing Definitions ([19:35]–[24:00])

• Pop culture vs. folk belief:
  • Langston’s touchstone is Fullmetal Alchemist (anime), where homunculi are artificial humans but not necessarily smaller ([19:37]).
    • Quote: “They’re not little people—they’re abnormal humanoid creatures... some of them quite sexy.” – Langston ([21:44])
  • Jamel’s family version: just “littler Black people.”
• Jokes about the “downsized” version: Running gag—“the dick is still regular size,” which the group finds both troubling and unintentionally flattering ([23:08]–[23:36]).
  • Quote: “Everybody's meat looks bigger if they cut six inches off the top of their head.” – Jamel ([23:27])

4. Visual Tropes and Satirical Commentary ([24:03]–[26:44])

• Jamel presents images (for the YouTube version):
  • An old, racist caricature of a “homunculus” with exaggerated features ("Looks like a drawing on a bathroom wall" – Jamel, [24:24]; “3 parts remain the same: big old hands, big old meat, and big old lips.” – Langston, [24:33])
• Comparison to 90s streetwear mascots: The “School of Hard Knocks” logo resembling the folk homunculus ([25:01]).
  • Quote: “There’s already a couple of homunculus in the hood... a couple niggas fell through the fine print.” – David ([25:04]–[25:21])
• Cultural rejection: Why Black folks never embraced certain brands that trafficked in such racist imagery.

5. Homunculus in History and Alchemy ([30:34]–[38:32])

• Langston provides researched context:
  • Originates from Latin for “little parts,” later “small artificial human being” ([31:58]–[32:04]).
  • Cites Paracelsus (16th c. alchemist) recipes: “Putrefy sperm in a sealed vessel for 40 days, then implant in a horse’s womb...[and] a living human child...but much smaller” ([34:04]–[35:27]).
    • Reaction: The group jokes (and recoils) at the “putrefied nut, horse womb” methods, agreeing Paracelsus “just wanted to fuck a horse” ([35:31]–[36:08]).
  • Alchemy as more fiction than science: “It’s like time travel”—wild ideas but not real methods ([37:17]–[37:23]).
• Purpose: To create special servants—“carnival slaves”—and more controllable, expendable workers ([38:10]–[38:39])

6. Modern Parallels & Russian "Experiments" ([39:19]–[44:41])

• Viral video hoax: The Russian “injecting sperm into a chicken egg” (debunked as a hoax) ([42:32]–[42:59]).
• Reflection on origins: Why would anyone want more bodies? They joke now, “we already have enough crash dummies—people will self-identify as them for YouTube views” ([44:04]–[44:13]).
• Space race angle: Tongue-in-cheek suggestion that homunculi would be useful as tiny astronauts ([44:23]).

7. AI as Digital Homunculus ([45:07]–[47:00])

• Langston’s insight: “AI is homunculus shit”—we’re “fabricating humanity” in new forms ([45:07])
  • Quote: “We’re just watching it...making a not-real person eat spaghetti.” – Langston ([45:28]–[45:32])
• Social media critique: Group shares frustration with “fake” content (AI-generated movie posters), the feeling of being manipulated into engagement ([46:07]–[47:41]).

8. Listener Voicemail: "White People Decompose Faster" ([55:31]–[63:32])

• Listener voicemail: Black belief that “white people have funerals faster because they decompose quicker” ([55:31]).
  • The hosts confirm—Black families often take weeks for funerals, joking about long waits for headstones and “black preservatives” ([57:23]–[58:07]).
  • Funeral homes as exploiters: Industry upcharges, particularly in Black communities ([60:06])
  • Jokes comparing funeral packaging to “all that paper in a McDonald's” Uber Eats order ([63:06]).
• Conclusion: Fun and poignant wrap-up, calling out how poverty and resources—rather than race or biology—explain differences in funeral timing ([61:58]–[62:25]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They trying to make niggas little. Not like little niggas, but average-sized niggas little niggas.”
  – David Gborie ([12:21])
• “Everybody's meat looks bigger if they cut six inches off the top of their head.”
  – Jamel Johnson ([23:27])
• “AI is just humunculus shit. We are fabricating humanity…”
  – Langston Kerman ([45:07])
• “Carnival slaves...they try and make carnival slaves out of nigga.”
  – David Gborie ([38:34])
• On funeral homes:
  “Industry probably one of the most racist, right up there with car sales.” — David ([60:06])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [11:07] – Jamel introduces the “making niggas little” conspiracy from his mother
• [19:37] – Comparing anime’s homunculus to the folk version
• [24:03] – The racist visual tropes of the homunculus
• [30:34] – Alchemic origins and methods for creating a homunculus
• [38:34] – Discussion of “carnival slaves” as homunculus utility
• [42:32] – Russian “chicken egg” hoax story
• [45:07] – The AI parallel: digital artificial humans
• [55:31] – Voicemail: “white people decompose faster” folklore unpacked

Closing & Recommendations

The episode closes with the group agreeing that while no government is actually making “homunculi,” the urge to control and diminish Black people is real and manifests in subtler ways—and that every community has that “one little guy” that might just be the escaped homunculus the world could never bottle up ([51:14]). The episode finishes with shoutouts, social media info, and loving appreciation for their weird, wonderful audience.

If you want a blend of laughter, folklore, social critique, and creative Black conspiracy history, this is an unmissable listen.