Joe Rogan Experience #1091 - Daniele Bolelli

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   Boom, and we're live.…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      Boom, and we're live. Daniele Polelli, the man with the most beautiful accent in the world.

   2. DBDaniele Bolelli0:09

      I just read, uh, iTunes review saying, "It's kind of weird listening to this guy describing this horror story with the accent from... it sounds like he's making you pizza while he's talking."

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:19

      (laughs)

   4. DBDaniele Bolelli0:20

      And the thing is, they don't know I am making them pizza while I'm talking. That is what's happening.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:24

      Yeah. And if they s- could see you, you look like a professor that was kidnapped by a biker gang-

   6. DBDaniele Bolelli0:29

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:30

      ... and for- forced to... came in here with this red brotherhood jacket on, this leather jacket from these Native Americans with his big red fist on it.

   8. DBDaniele Bolelli0:38

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:38

      He's got a bandanna on.

   10. DBDaniele Bolelli0:39

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:40

       You, you just... You're missing a motorcycle, that's all you're missing.

   12. DBDaniele Bolelli0:43

       Right? That's, uh, that's next.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       You could be in, like, some Easy Rider type movie.

   14. DBDaniele Bolelli0:47

       Right?

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:47

       I could see it.

   16. DBDaniele Bolelli0:49

       Just carrying a shotgun too. I dig that.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       Yeah. So, uh, are you digging doing this podcast?

   18. DBDaniele Bolelli0:54

       Are you kidding me?

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:54

       History on Fire.

   20. DBDaniele Bolelli0:55

       Oh, man. I'm, I'm loving it. I'm having fun. Well, let's put it away. I love doing it. It's a royal pain in the ass, the research. 'Cause the-

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       Well, your podcast, much like Dan Carlin's, is very different. I always feel ashamed calling my podcast a podcast 'cause it's just, you sit down and talk. But yours is like... It's an audio lesson on history, an in-depth audio lesson on, like, very extreme aspects of history.

   22. DBDaniele Bolelli1:21

       Yeah. It gets... A- and, you know, that part I enjoy because the storytelling part is awesome.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:26

       Yeah.

   24. DBDaniele Bolelli1:26

       You get to spin a story, make it exciting, connect it with pop culture, do something that's fun. That's the part that I love. It's the month prior to that of just brutal research, just combing through boring historical book after boring historical book to find those little nuggets that are amazing-

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:42

       Yeah.

   26. DBDaniele Bolelli1:43

       ... and then spin it into a narrative. That's the part that gets a little old sometimes where you're like, "Man, I... Do I really need to read 200 hours of stuff for this one thing?" It's like, that's a lot.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:54

       Yeah. I can only imagine. Now, when you do that, when you're going over, combing over all these different, uh, history books and all these different, uh, papers written on-

   28. DBDaniele Bolelli2:02

       Mm-hmm.

   29. JRJoe Rogan2:03

       ... various times, do you... are you, like, extracting chunks and, like, putting them in Microsoft Word and then going over it and then, like... How do you... Do you form it... Well, the question is kind of, like, do you form it as a script-

   30. DBDaniele Bolelli2:13

       Yeah.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Right. …

   1. DBDaniele Bolelli15:00

      little dogs were nasty rats, but I, I started liking this thing. So I'm like, "Okay, I, I, I'm changing my mind about it. This is a cool dog." But he's still like eight pounds or something.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:08

      Right.

   3. DBDaniele Bolelli15:08

      So I'm like, "You can't let him alone in the yard," not because there's ... Probably not coyotes in the yard, but there are definitely hawks around.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:16

      Mm-hmm.

   5. DBDaniele Bolelli15:16

      There's definitely owls.

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:17

      Owls, yeah.

   7. DBDaniele Bolelli15:17

      That thing look like a big rabbit.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:19

      Yeah.

   9. DBDaniele Bolelli15:19

      They're gonna snatch it in three seconds. Y- you cannot leave him in the yard like that.

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:23

       Yeah.

   11. DBDaniele Bolelli15:23

       And, uh ... 'Cause, yeah, I mean, that's how it is. That's when you have predators around, you need to keep your eyes open.

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:29

       Yeah. There's no getting around it. There's no getting around it. You know, and when we look at how horrific the wild world is-

   13. DBDaniele Bolelli15:37

       Mm-hmm.

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:37

       ... it's not a surprise that people who are just like recently civilized over the last, you know, like really realistically-

   15. DBDaniele Bolelli15:43

       But, but that's the thing, it's like-

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:44

       ... 10,000 years.

   17. DBDaniele Bolelli15:45

       Yeah. Everybody is like, there's this really dark thing, uh, in people's minds where it's an option on the table. Most people are never gonna pull the trigger and go down there.

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:56

       Right.

   19. DBDaniele Bolelli15:56

       But that's part of who we are as, uh, as human beings. And, and I think that's why I enjoy doing this, uh, The Sand Creek Meal Lie, because it's a story that's not trying to bash any side. It's not like, "Oh, look at those bad Americans doing these massacres."

   20. JRJoe Rogan16:09

       Mm-hmm.

   21. DBDaniele Bolelli16:09

       It's more there were horrible people there, there were also great people belonging to the same side.

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:14

       Yeah.

   23. DBDaniele Bolelli16:14

       So it, to me, is not about one particular group of people, that one nation or that one ethnic group or anything being the bad guys. It's on an individual level, what is it that makes one guy go down this horri- in these horrible directions and other people instead choosing? You know, 'cause that's what it boils down, is choice.

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:33

       Yeah.

   25. DBDaniele Bolelli16:33

       Choosing not to be that person, you know. That's what fascinates me.

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:36

       Yeah. You know, it's just, um, there's a, a great book by Sebastian Junger called Tribe.

   27. DBDaniele Bolelli16:42

       Tribe.

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:42

       Have you read it?

   29. DBDaniele Bolelli16:42

       Yeah, I read that one. Great.

   30. JRJoe Rogan16:43

       Wasn't it interesting when they talked about, when he talked about all of the people that were kidnapped by Native Americans that chose to live with them?
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Mm-hmm. …

   1. DBDaniele Bolelli30:00

      black and white type of approach. Now, I disagree with Dan because I think that still there is an enormous need for what it provides.

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:08

      Mm-hmm.

   3. DBDaniele Bolelli30:09

      And I don't think that just giving up is the solution, but I do get it because it really doesn't take much. You know, if you start screaming at very dogmatic, either super leftist or super conservative approach, you get automatically a bunch of followers.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:22

      Mm-hmm.

   5. DBDaniele Bolelli30:23

      If you are thinking on your feet and just going, "Hmm, this thing, yeah, you're right, but let's look at the other side," and constantly having, you know, what any decent human being should do, just being intellectually honest and thinking things through, not-

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:39

      Right.

   7. DBDaniele Bolelli30:39

      People don't respond to that because it's not that easy. Or rather, people do. Some people respond.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:43

      Yeah.

   9. DBDaniele Bolelli30:43

      But it's ... Number-wise, it's way a minority compared to what you get by being a, a black and white kind of guy.

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:50

       Yeah, people desire very clear a-... resolutions and very clear thinking in terms of, like, uh, enemy, friend.

   11. DBDaniele Bolelli30:58

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:58

       This is a black and white issue. There's ... But D- I think Dan also just felt overwhelmed by the times.

   13. DBDaniele Bolelli31:04

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan31:04

       He was like, "This just seems like everything's so fucked up, I'd rather not even talk about it and just sit back and- "

   15. DBDaniele Bolelli31:09

       I know.

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:10

       "... see what is, is really happening."

   17. DBDaniele Bolelli31:12

       We were on the phone, uh, I swear, I spent like an hour on the phone with you, where we went back and forth. I was playing, in my mind I was playing, uh, remember the second movie of Lord of the Rings where there's... Frodo carrying the ring, he's all like-

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:24

       Yeah.

   19. DBDaniele Bolelli31:24

       ... "I can't do this anymore."

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:26

       (laughs)

   21. DBDaniele Bolelli31:26

       And there's Sam going, "Come on! You need to..." I think I, I need to step up my game. I'm a shitty Sam, 'cause I was trying to do that for Dan, and just kind of-

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:34

       Yeah.

   23. DBDaniele Bolelli31:34

       ... motivate him, and I miserably failed, so.

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:37

       I respect where he's coming from. He said that when he was on the show recently, um, he w- he was talking about that sort of same thing, that he's kind of put that podcast on hold. Long as he keeps doing his podcast, Hardcore History is just so important, I think. I think him and you are providing, you guys are providing a, an entertaining and interesting history lesson that really wasn't available before. I mean...

   25. DBDaniele Bolelli32:01

       Mm-hmm.

   26. JRJoe Rogan32:01

       ... before you could get a book on tape, and if it was a really well-written book and it was read by someone with, like, good dramatic flair, it was exciting stuff, but nobody really got into it. I b- I bet the numbers, if you consider the numbers of people that have listened to his podcast and your podcast in comparison to, like, before you guys were around-

   27. DBDaniele Bolelli32:19

       Mm-hmm.

   28. JRJoe Rogan32:19

       ... there's probably a radically improved number of people that know a lot about history.

   29. DBDaniele Bolelli32:25

       Yep. For sure.

   30. JRJoe Rogan32:25

       Particularly at things like the Mongols. I never even thought-
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   I'm all of the,…

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

   2. DBDaniele Bolelli45:01

      I'm all of the, you know, between boring history and a fun legend or which side which fun legend. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:06

      (laughs)

   4. GCGuest (secondary, likely in-studio commentator)45:06

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:06

      Yeah, I would like to think that people were way more stupid than they were.

   6. DBDaniele Bolelli45:09

      Yeah, sometimes.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:09

      Makes me feel good about this era-

   8. DBDaniele Bolelli45:11

      Exactly.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      ... we're in now.

   10. DBDaniele Bolelli45:12

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:13

       Maybe this, um ... I mean, you look at the dresses that people had to wear, you know, that went all the way down to the ground.

   12. DBDaniele Bolelli45:18

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:18

       I mean, this is not really much different than what we see in the Middle East.

   14. DBDaniele Bolelli45:22

       Yep, it's the same.

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:23

       It's, it's very similar.

   16. DBDaniele Bolelli45:24

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:24

       I mean, what we see in the Middle East, they have to cover their face, the hijab and the whole deal and the-

   18. DBDaniele Bolelli45:28

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:28

       ... the head scarves and ... That's a little, little more extreme, but not much.

   20. DBDaniele Bolelli45:32

       Yep.

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:33

       I mean, they, they wore shit that went all the way to the ground.

   22. DBDaniele Bolelli45:36

       Mm-hmm.

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:36

       If you showed any ankle, people would lose their mind.

   24. DBDaniele Bolelli45:38

       It's an ankle. Oh my God.

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:40

       Isn't that crazy?

   26. DBDaniele Bolelli45:41

       Yeah. Well, you know, repression does it.

   27. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       Yeah. I wonder w- if, if they were more hyper-sexualized than we are. I bet not. I bet because of porn, we're probably more hyper-sexualized, right?

   28. DBDaniele Bolelli45:52

       There's, I think, different arguments there because some people say the more you repress stuff, the more then you're gonna obsess with it.

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:57

       Mm-hmm.

   30. DBDaniele Bolelli45:57

       So that's all you think about all day.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:09:46

   Yep. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      about someone and all of a sudden, the fucking phone rings and I go, "Look at this. This is crazy."

   2. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:04

      Yep.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:04

      You haven't talked to them in four years-

   4. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:05

      Exactly.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:06

      ... and they're calling you right there.

   6. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:07

      Exactly.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:07

      There's something to that.

   8. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:08

      Yep.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:09

      And they... And you ask them, like, "Why'd you call me? Just stop right now." And I'm not, I'm not saying, like, "Why you calling me, man?"

   10. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:14

       Sure, sure, sure.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:15

       I'm saying, like, "What was going on? Like, what caused you to call me?" "I don't know, I just had a weird feeling."

   12. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:19

       (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:19

       What the fuck, man? That's crazy.

   14. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:21

       I know. Happens all the time.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:23

       It's crazy.

   16. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:23

       Yeah. It's... yeah. That-

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:25

       And you can also tell when people are creepy too, right? You can tell when someone's a creep.

   18. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:30

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:00:30

       There's like... There's something weird-

   20. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:31

       The vibe that you pick up.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:00:32

       Weird vi-... Like, what is that? Like, what's that?

   22. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:35

       I really do think that there's something that... You know, verbal communication is a very small way in which we communicate.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:00:41

       Right.

   24. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:41

       There's so much more to it because, you know-

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:00:43

       Yeah.

   26. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:43

       ... there are times when you walk into a room and you already know who you're gonna like and who you don't, who you... And the ones that you don't, then you need to spend the next whatever long it takes you to find the reason why you don't click.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:00:56

       Yeah.

   28. DBDaniele Bolelli1:00:56

       But you already know it. There's that something there is going on and it's-

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:01:00

       It's a smell.

   30. DBDaniele Bolelli1:01:01

       And I don't-... I think most people trust their perceptions, so they're like, "No, no, I need to find out the rational reason. Why would I have these preconceptions?" I ne-... To me, it's like, if you feel it, there's probably a good reason for it, you know?

Episode duration: 2:25:47