Joe Rogan Experience #1257 - Steve Sweeney

1. 0:00 – 1:10

   Boston comedy roots and Rogan opening for Sweeney

   1. SSSteve Sweeney0:00

      Look at you. I'm, I'm enjoying this. Jim, I wish we had a speed bag. That's my favorite thing.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Two, one, uh ...

   3. SSSteve Sweeney0:11

      Test. (claps hands)

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      Steve Sweeney, ladies and gentlemen. How are you?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney0:13

      Hey, I'm great. I can't believe-

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      Great to see you.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney0:15

      You know what? I've done so many things in my life, you know, movies, TV, (camera clicks) all this stuff, stand up, but Joe Rogan, oh my God. Back in Boston, "Jesus, you're on Joe Rogan?" (laughs) Yeah, I get ... You got fans, you know, that are, like, all these different ages and all different kinds of people. And, um, I'm very proud of you.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:38

      Thank you.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney0:38

      One of the things that happened, you don't remember this, but you opened for me.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:42

       Many times.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney0:43

       Louis C.K. opened for me. Nick DiPaolo opened for me. So people that want a little show business advice, open for me.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       It helps.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney0:52

       And then you get to go by me and, uh, you know, I get to watch you guys become stars.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:57

       I've said-

   15. SSSteve Sweeney0:57

       While I'm playing fucking Chinese restaurants-

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       (laughs)

   17. SSSteve Sweeney1:00

       ... in Saugus.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:02

       Some of the best standup comedy in the world is at Chinese restaurants in Saugus. And that's a fact, still to this day. All those people that live there, they don't know how good they have it.

2. 1:10 – 4:37

   Getting hardened: hecklers, fights, and bombing in brutal venues

   1. SSSteve Sweeney1:10

      Well, you know what it is? I ... You know, you work with these guys. You and I have worked with guys that are, like, genius, you know, a transcendent, whatever word you wanna use. But doing standup is not about being funny. It's about going into these shitholes and, like, developing this extra skin. You know, you s- you're a martial artist and sort of, you have s- kind of that mentality. But, you know, when I started, it was like, I came from... You know, I was an actor, I was very serious person. I was, like, an actor, you know, and I'd, I'd do, like, these obscure impressions. I'd... Paul Scofield and Laurence, (imitates British accent) Laurence Olivier, you know, Raisinets, and all this bullshit. And I'd be playing at places like The Sugar Shack.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:55

      (laughs)

   3. SSSteve Sweeney1:56

      Do you remember The Sugar Shack?

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:57

      Yes, I do.

   5. SSSteve Sweeney1:57

      It was a Black, um, R&B joint, and I opened for B.B. King.

   6. JRJoe Rogan2:03

      Wow.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney2:04

      Yeah, and I'm doing, like, John Lennon. (imitates British accent) "It was very important when we started the ..." And the Black dude, "Do some dirty shit, man. What the fuck are you doing?"

   8. JRJoe Rogan2:11

      (laughs)

   9. SSSteve Sweeney2:11

      "Don't you know any jokes?"

   10. JRJoe Rogan2:14

       (laughs)

   11. SSSteve Sweeney2:14

       So in the back, I get heckled. My first heckler, he said, "You suck." And I said, "Yeah, f- fuck you. Who are you?" He says, "I'm B.B. King. I hired you, motherfucker."

   12. JRJoe Rogan2:23

       Oh, no.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney2:24

       Yeah, and then I was doing ... I, I will never forget this. Do you remember The Channel?

   14. JRJoe Rogan2:30

       The Channel? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   15. SSSteve Sweeney2:31

       The Channel was a rock-

   16. JRJoe Rogan2:31

       The club. Yeah.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney2:32

       Rock and roll place. So I'm opening for, like, these bands. You know, it was like that Blues Brothers scene where they're throwing shit at the cage.

   18. JRJoe Rogan2:40

       Yeah.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney2:41

       So, um, bouncer, he says, you know, "Point to people and, and we'll throw them out." So I point to them, but then they bring them out in the alley and beat the shit out of them.

   20. JRJoe Rogan2:52

       (laughs)

   21. SSSteve Sweeney2:52

       You know? But I, I'm thinking because you're a martial artist, so I, it's ... I've kind of got this thing about peop- fighting and growing up in Charlestown and ... Um, I think back on certain incidents when I was starting doing standup. And I was at this place on Comm Ave, and this guy stole one of my lines. No, I know that you're big into that, right? So he goes off stage. I hit him with a right cross, and fucking goes over the tables. And I'm thinking to myself ... My friend says, "I thought you wanted to be (laughs) Jonathan Winters and Red s- ... They don't do shit like that." And then another time, we were at The Ground Round in Brighton. I'll never forget this.

   22. JRJoe Rogan3:28

       The Ground Round?

   23. SSSteve Sweeney3:29

       Yeah, I'll never forget this, Joe. So I'm on s- ... The guy on before me, the guy in the audience is throwing little ice things at him, right? So I said, uh ... My opening line, usually you try to get the audience to like you, you know, or lau- make them laugh or whatever. So my opening line was like, "The first motherfucker that throws something at me, I'm gonna knock him out." You know, you're not exactly setting the stage for hilarious comedy. But, uh, you know, I r-

   24. JRJoe Rogan3:57

       How did that work?

   25. SSSteve Sweeney3:59

       Wha- what's that?

   26. JRJoe Rogan3:59

       How'd that work out?

   27. SSSteve Sweeney4:00

       It ... Terrible. I bombed, you know?

   28. JRJoe Rogan4:01

       (laughs)

   29. SSSteve Sweeney4:03

       People think, you know, when you do this for a while, you've never bombed. I mean, there's no experience in life like bombing in Louisville, Kentucky. I'll never forget that. And a guy comes up to me afterwards, and he says ... And he was trying to make me feel good. He says, "Well, I could tell by your tone, you're funny."

   30. JRJoe Rogan4:22

       Ah.
3. 4:37 – 9:28

   Boston’s 1988 scene: legends, intimidation, and getting better over time

   1. JRJoe Rogan4:37

      What year did you start?

   2. SSSteve Sweeney4:38

      Oh my God. People, you know, people ... I, I am now at that point, Joe, where people come up to me and, you know, they say, "I'm so glad to see you. I keep telling my husband, I'm telling you, he's not dead. He has not died." So it's been like 30 or 40 years. Um, I don't remember the year, but, uh, I remember those-

   3. JRJoe Rogan4:59

      You don't remember the year you started?

   4. SSSteve Sweeney5:01

      No, I don't remember.

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:02

      I started in '88, and you were a legend-

   6. SSSteve Sweeney5:05

      I was a legend back then, huh?

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:06

      ... already in, in '88. Yeah. You were, for sure, dude. I, I watched you one night at Nick's Comedy Stop kill so hard, I sto- ... I thought about quitting, 'cause I'd only been doing comedy like a year, and I was like, "Fuck this, I gets... I gotta get the fuck out of this business."

   8. SSSteve Sweeney5:19

      You know, you know, you know when I had that feeling? Richard Pryor's first performance film. Do you remember that?

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:26

      Yeah, yeah, yeah. Richard Pryor Live, you filmed it in Long Beach.

   10. SSSteve Sweeney5:29

       I was ... I went to see that with Steven Wright, and both of us walked out, we said, "We don't even wanna do this."

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:34

       (laughs)

   12. SSSteve Sweeney5:35

       You know, it's ... It was so intimidating.

   13. JRJoe Rogan5:37

       Yeah, I know that feeling, man.

   14. SSSteve Sweeney5:39

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan5:40

       Well, you know, we got that feeling a lot in Boston. And, uh, as, as a kid starting out there, it was ... I, I tell everybody that I, I stumbled into the, the greatest comedy scene in the history of the known universe. In 1988, when I started, it was insane. It was insane. Don Gavin was in his prime. You were in your prime. Rogerson. I would watch these guys go up da- um, um, um ... Th- there was so many guys that were so fucking good. Knox was killing back then. There was so many guys that you would go any night, you would go and watch some of the best standup comedy on the planet.It was, it was amazing. Mike Donovan, Mike Donovan. To this day, people don't know-

   16. SSSteve Sweeney6:19

       Yeah, he's brilliant.

   17. JRJoe Rogan6:19

       ... who Mike Donovan is.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney6:20

       Brilliant.

   19. JRJoe Rogan6:21

       He was a fucking genius.

   20. SSSteve Sweeney6:21

       He used to do Johnny Most. Do you know who Johnny Most is?

   21. JRJoe Rogan6:24

       Most people don't.

   22. SSSteve Sweeney6:25

       No.

   23. JRJoe Rogan6:25

       He was the announcer for the Red Sock- for the Celtics.

   24. SSSteve Sweeney6:27

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan6:28

       He said, "Oh, I can't believe it! He just went under!" Yeah, he would do this long impression of Johnny Most.

   26. SSSteve Sweeney6:33

       But you know what? But, but it's funny you say in your prime, because ... And I've talked to people who've been at it longer than me. This is one job where you can get better.

   27. JRJoe Rogan6:43

       Yes, yeah.

   28. SSSteve Sweeney6:43

       You can get better, more skillful, you know, but it's something that you, you know, you, you just have to give the finger to the business because they're looking for the fat guy, the small guy, the Black guy that, you know, they're, they're always looking for something other than what you are.

   29. JRJoe Rogan7:00

       Right.

   30. SSSteve Sweeney7:00

       So you do what you do, like you've done what you did, you know.
4. 9:28 – 12:09

   LA culture shock, Nick’s Comedy Stop, and the “soft-spoken” West Coast vibe

   1. JRJoe Rogan9:28

      What about Nick's Comedy Stop?

   2. SSSteve Sweeney9:30

      Nick's. Now, I'm gonna do something for you.

   3. JRJoe Rogan9:33

      Okay.

   4. SSSteve Sweeney9:33

      We're gonna play a little scene.

   5. JRJoe Rogan9:35

      Okay.

   6. SSSteve Sweeney9:35

      Now, you ask me, say, "Is Nick's a mafia joint?"

   7. JRJoe Rogan9:40

      Is Nick's a mafia joint? (laughs)

   8. SSSteve Sweeney9:44

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan9:45

      Yeah. Is this ... Is Nick's still around 100%?

   10. SSSteve Sweeney9:48

       Yeah, Nick's is around and, and-

   11. JRJoe Rogan9:49

       Is it the same ownership?

   12. SSSteve Sweeney9:50

       And, and do you know that there isn't one inch of that building that I didn't do coke in?

   13. JRJoe Rogan9:56

       I believe that. (laughs)

   14. SSSteve Sweeney9:57

       It was, it was really something. I mean, it was like, I know the ... You know, I lived in LA many years ago, and it's like, I'm driving around and, um, saying, "Oh, I know that spot." So with Nick's, I know every spot in the building. By the way, I didn't know that this was a camp area.

   15. JRJoe Rogan10:14

       Oh, you see all the campers?

   16. SSSteve Sweeney10:16

       Yeah, right out in front of your place there.

   17. JRJoe Rogan10:17

       Yeah, they're everywhere.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney10:18

       (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:18

       Well, they, they find these side streets where the cops-

   20. SSSteve Sweeney10:20

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan10:20

       ... won't kick them out.

   22. SSSteve Sweeney10:21

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan10:22

       And semi-homeless people. They're not homeless, they just have mobile homes that just come up.

   24. SSSteve Sweeney10:26

       You know what it is? The, the homeless people here are so peaceful, they're like a ... They're like the caravan, you know? They just ... They don't bump chains, they don't do anything, they just kinda walk around. I'm, I'm sitting in front of your building here. It was like a fashion show for the homeless. One guy comes by with a Buffalo Bills jacket and the other guy's there, you know, and they're just quietly talking to themselves some ... And, you know what's freaking me out? I've only been here 12 hours, but everybody is either really soft-spoken or I'm losing my fucking hearing.

   25. JRJoe Rogan10:59

       (laughs)

   26. SSSteve Sweeney10:59

       Because like, even at the ... I'm renting the car and the woman says, "Did you want a, um, a, a Honda? Did you want a..." I said, "What? What?" "Did you want a Honda?" I said, "What?" You know, in Boston it'd be like, "What do you want for a car? You wanna be upgraded?"

   27. JRJoe Rogan11:15

       Yeah.

   28. SSSteve Sweeney11:15

       You know, it's, it's like the noise pollution.

   29. JRJoe Rogan11:17

       Well, it's louder there and colder and people are angrier. It's a different place. Out here it's just ... Even the homeless people, they don't have it so rough. If you're gonna be a homeless person, this is the place to go. People are very open-minded, it's relaxed, it's warm. I mean, the coldest it gets is like 40. That's as cold as it ever gets.

   30. SSSteve Sweeney11:36

       Yeah, but you know, if you're giving advice to homeless people, it's like, like I was s- ... I was sitting in Westwood in a Starbucks, right? And it's ... The guy was just sitting there, you know, and all these people are having their lattes and shit, and he's just, you know. (laughs)
5. 12:09 – 13:20

   Sweeney’s early life: being a ‘hippie’ homeless teen and Kerouac dreams

   1. SSSteve Sweeney12:09

      I, myself ... I, I, I, myself was homeless when I was like 16. I was a hippie.

   2. JRJoe Rogan12:13

      Yeah?

   3. SSSteve Sweeney12:13

      My father passed away when I was 15 and I ... It was a different time, you know? No, I haven't been Downtown for a long time.

   4. JRJoe Rogan12:19

      You, you were homeless for like how long?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney12:21

      ... I was a hippie. That's different than being homeless, but a couple of years.

   6. JRJoe Rogan12:25

      Really?

   7. SSSteve Sweeney12:25

      Yeah. I, uh, uh, you know the worst moment? I was lying... I was downstairs in this guy's house, and I overheard his girlfriend saying... No, he was saying to his girlfriend, "I don't know, I keep asking the guy to leave." But, you know, I was, uh-

   8. JRJoe Rogan12:45

      (laughs)

   9. SSSteve Sweeney12:45

      ... you know, I, I... Here's what happened to me, Joe. I read Jack Kerouac-

   10. JRJoe Rogan12:50

       Mmm.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney12:50

       ... On The Road, okay? So I wanted to be Jack Kerouac, and I wanted to be a writer. So I did everything that Kerouac did except write, you know? I was living in YMCAs and drinking the wine and the whole thing. But it was a whole different country then.

   12. JRJoe Rogan13:06

       Why didn't you start writing? Was it one of those things like eventually you'll start writing, but right now, not yet?

   13. SSSteve Sweeney13:10

       I wanted to be a writer. I didn't wanna fucking write.

   14. JRJoe Rogan13:14

       (laughs)

   15. SSSteve Sweeney13:14

       (laughs) You know what I mean?

   16. JRJoe Rogan13:15

       Right, like you want to be an artist, you don't wanna paint.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney13:18

       Writing's the hardest job in the world.

   18. JRJoe Rogan13:20

       It's a tough, tough gig.

6. 13:20 – 16:57

   Promoting and explaining 'Sweeney Killing Sweeney' + acting war stories

   1. SSSteve Sweeney13:20

      I don't know how people do it. But we did this movie, which I'd like to mention it. Bill Broaddus wrote this movie. It's called Sweeney Killing Sweeney, and, uh, you can get it on iTunes. Um-

   2. JRJoe Rogan13:31

      It's out right now?

   3. SSSteve Sweeney13:32

      ... pre- preorder it.

   4. JRJoe Rogan13:34

      When's it out?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney13:34

      It's gonna be the middle of March, but they can pre-order it.

   6. JRJoe Rogan13:37

      Okay.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney13:37

      But, um, this guy Bill Broaddus wrote this script. And it's like my 20-something movie. I've been in a lot, done a lot of acting. And I said, "This thing is so good." And I wanted to be able to get guys who I knew were tremendously talented to, uh, not be in these clubs, you know? Um, it's very, like, demeaning sometimes, you know, for a guy who's really good at what he does and somebody's, like, texting and, you know-

   8. JRJoe Rogan14:10

      Mmm.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney14:10

      ... all this bullshit. Like I had a woman... Uh, you know, usually I'm, I'm, like, okay about it. You know, I say, "Okay, listen. You're putting us out of work. Like, in the future, I'll text you a joke, then you text back 'LOL.'" You know, silly little shit. But I had one woman, and she's... The arrogance, you know? And it was a benefit too, and she's doing this, and she said, "It's okay, I can multitask." So I said, "Oh, okay, so when I stick it up your ass, you're still gonna be able to talk and everything?"

   10. JRJoe Rogan14:42

       (laughs)

   11. SSSteve Sweeney14:42

       You know what I mean? So I see guys like Steven Wright, who's in the movie, Nick Di Paolo, Bobby Slayton, uh, Jonathan Katz, you know, all different styles of comedy. Lenny Clarke and Tony V and Frank Santorelli. I wanted to s- I wanted to see them get into something where we could really work, you know? And they all did it. They're all in the movie, and it was a fantastic experience. Woman director, Lisa Muller, and it was just... It was great. It's the first time I've produced a movie, which is really hard.

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:14

       What, is it a, a, like, a dramatic movie? Like, what is it?

   13. SSSteve Sweeney15:18

       I'll tell you the plot briefly. No, I guess it's a comedy, but it has its moments. It's, uh, the HBO maybe or Showtime or some company comes to town, and they want me. But they say the characters, they're too local. Gotta get rid of the characters. So then my characters try to kill me. So I play five different parts, six different parts.

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:42

       (laughs)

   15. SSSteve Sweeney15:42

       Like a Peter Sellers kind of thing-

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:43

       Oh, okay.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney15:44

       ... from Doctor Strange, but-

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:45

       So, like, you're losing your mind? Like your characters are trying to kill you?

   19. SSSteve Sweeney15:47

       Well, you gotta figure that out.

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:48

       Mmm, okay, okay.

   21. SSSteve Sweeney15:49

       Yeah. You don't know whether I'm losing my mind. Um, but I had just come off The Equalizer with Denzel Washington. I was in that. And, uh, that was an interesting experience because, like, I got this beard, you know? And, um, the director who did Training Day, he said to me, "You know, you gotta shave your beard." And I said, "Listen, man, I saw my face 25 years ago. It scared the shit out of me. This beard is here for a reason. I'm, I'm the most ugly motherfucker I've ever seen. I can't do it." Then he told me how much money I was gonna make. I said, "Would you like me to shave my balls too?"

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:28

       (laughs)

   23. SSSteve Sweeney16:28

       Similar experience, Something About Mary. So my scene, if you haven't seen it, Ben Stiller's thing is caught in the zipper. So I, uh, I'm the cop, I come in the window. And Peter, who directed it, I said, "You know, I don't have to grab his crotch, right?" He says, "Yeah, you're an actor, you gotta grab it." I said, "I don't have anything against it, but I ju- I just can't do it." Then he told me how much money I was gonna make. I said, "You want me to just grab it, because I'll give him..." Anyway, uh-

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:54

       (laughs)

   25. SSSteve Sweeney16:55

       (laughs) That was my experience with that.

7. 16:57 – 33:55

   The grind: clubs vs. road misery, sobriety, hecklers, and open-mic tension

   1. JRJoe Rogan16:57

      Do you really feel like it's demeaning working clubs? 'Cause I still enjoy working clubs. I love it. I mean, uh, out here, of course, we do the Comedy Store all the time, I do the Improv.

   2. SSSteve Sweeney17:07

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan17:07

      But I do clubs on the road too.

   4. SSSteve Sweeney17:08

      Those audiences are easy. They're great. They're there-

   5. JRJoe Rogan17:11

      You mean like-

   6. SSSteve Sweeney17:11

      ... they're there to laugh.

   7. JRJoe Rogan17:12

      You mean, like, shitty clubs? You mean, like, uh, bar gigs?

   8. SSSteve Sweeney17:16

      You know, here, here's the thing, is when I'm on stage, I'm okay. You know? But when I'm driving to fucking East Methune Elks Club, I-

   9. JRJoe Rogan17:27

      It bothers you that-

   10. SSSteve Sweeney17:28

       ... I get a fucking depression you wouldn't believe.

   11. JRJoe Rogan17:30

       It's funny because-

   12. SSSteve Sweeney17:31

       You start, you start to feel old.

   13. JRJoe Rogan17:32

       In the day, like, driving to those gigs was awesome.

   14. SSSteve Sweeney17:36

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan17:36

       Right? Like, something shifts. Like, what is it that shifts? Is it, is it in your own head? Is it, is it just that you've done too many of them?

   16. SSSteve Sweeney17:43

       You know what I think shifts is you stop drinking.

   17. JRJoe Rogan17:46

       Ah.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney17:47

       I've been sober 26 years.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:49

       That's the problem.

   20. SSSteve Sweeney17:50

       Well-

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:50

       That's the problem. (laughs)

   22. SSSteve Sweeney17:53

       I, yeah, I say to people-

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:54

       (laughs)

   24. SSSteve Sweeney17:54

       ... I say, "If I kept drinking, my career would be through the roof."

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:57

       (clears throat)

   26. SSSteve Sweeney17:57

       You know? Um, no, there are great clubs. Giggles is a great club.

   27. JRJoe Rogan18:02

       It's a great club.

   28. SSSteve Sweeney18:02

       Route 1 on Saugus.

   29. JRJoe Rogan18:03

       Good pizza too.

   30. SSSteve Sweeney18:04

       And good pizza, and I love theater, I love that. Uh, I'm just giving you the other side of the story because, you know, people do get into this, and they don't have an idea of what the life is like.
8. 33:55 – 37:29

   Homelessness and the “San Francisco poop map” detour

   1. SSSteve Sweeney33:55

      What I've noticed, though, is... I was in Portland, Oregon and there was a whole, like, city of homeless people.

   2. JRJoe Rogan34:01

      Yeah.

   3. SSSteve Sweeney34:02

      In LA, it- it's just... It's sparkly. It's like jimmys on top of an ice cream, you know what I mean?

   4. JRJoe Rogan34:08

      You gotta go to Skid Row. It's good-

   5. SSSteve Sweeney34:10

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan34:10

      You've never seen anything like it.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney34:12

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan34:12

      Skid Row is a homeless city. It's insane. There's thousands of homeless people-

   9. SSSteve Sweeney34:16

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan34:16

       ... wandering through the streets.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney34:17

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan34:17

       They- they've taken over entire neighborhoods. Like, it is-

   13. SSSteve Sweeney34:20

       Wow.

   14. JRJoe Rogan34:20

       It is bizarre. It's bizarre. We used to film Fear Factor downtown. We would, uh, film it at these, uh, abandoned warehouses. They would rent-

   15. SSSteve Sweeney34:27

       Mm-hmm.

   16. JRJoe Rogan34:28

       ... them out and we would, you know, throw people off the roof and shit. And, uh, we... There was this one area where you would go where... And I'm not exaggerating. There might be 1,000 people on this block, like a concert just let out. Like they were having a homeless concert and they're all just wandering around. There's needles everywhere and tents and garbage in the streets and, and people just shuffling around, walking back and forth. So there... I guess there's some homeless centers, you know, where people can go and get food and-

   17. SSSteve Sweeney34:58

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JRJoe Rogan34:58

       ... things and shelter.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney34:59

       You know what? You- you know, I'm, I'm starting to wonder, like, what's wrong with me?

   20. JRJoe Rogan35:05

       With you?

   21. SSSteve Sweeney35:05

       Because I seem to focus on that. You know, every city I go to, I say, "Wow, it seems like there's more and more homeless people." And other people are saying, "Oh, let's go to the Freedom Trail. Let's, let's look at the beauty of San Francisco." Well, a guy shitting on the street, to me that's, like, unusual.

   22. JRJoe Rogan35:24

       San Francisco has a app where you could find where the people are shitting.

   23. SSSteve Sweeney35:28

       (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan35:29

       I'm not joking, right?

   25. SSSteve Sweeney35:30

       Is that true?

   26. JRJoe Rogan35:30

       We- we pulled it up before, yeah. Th- there's so many people shitting-

   27. SSSteve Sweeney35:34

       (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan35:34

       ... in San Francisco on the street. San... Like, my friend Jake Shields got a photo of this guy taking a shit right in front of him, just shit spraying out of his ass-

   29. SSSteve Sweeney35:43

       (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan35:43

       ... right into the street, from the sidewalk-
9. 37:29 – 39:29

   Why everyone’s angry: outrage culture, politics fatigue, and meaning-making

   1. JRJoe Rogan37:29

      There's a lot of, lot of... The, the, the, the pr- I always look at it from s-

   2. SSSteve Sweeney37:31

      Why is everybody so pissed off in this country?

   3. JRJoe Rogan37:34

      'Cause everything's going well. There's so much going well, in terms of, uh, the economy, in terms of safety, in terms of that, 'cause so people are focusing on other things to be mad at.

   4. SSSteve Sweeney37:45

      When-

   5. JRJoe Rogan37:45

      Moving away from war to, you know, ma- like... You know when, when, when you don't have to worry about as much violence, people concentrate on microaggressions. That's one of the things that does happen. There's definitely problems in this country, for sure, but I think that part of the outrage is that people are... It's recreational. They're looking to be outraged about things 'cause there's no real problems.

   6. SSSteve Sweeney38:08

      (smacks lips) Wow.

   7. JRJoe Rogan38:08

      When there's real problems, people focus on, you know, when there's... you know, you, you have to really worry about violence or you have to really worry about health, people focus on, on, you know, the good things in life. People are only happy if they have a certain amount of adversity that they have to deal with. When there's less and less adversity, I fi- I find that people become more and more outraged and easier. They're outraged at s- small, minor details, or they're denying that people should be allowed to just fuck up and make some mistakes here and there.

   8. SSSteve Sweeney38:36

      Mm-hmm.

   9. JRJoe Rogan38:37

      They, they concentrate on those mistakes like it's the end of the world. This person should be ostracized from society and kicked out, and this is the end.

   10. SSSteve Sweeney38:43

       Well, uh, well going back to politics, if you get in a discussion with somebody you agree with-

   11. JRJoe Rogan38:49

       Mm-hmm.

   12. SSSteve Sweeney38:50

       ... you still end up being pissed off because you're pissed off at the other side. Or the other political thing is you're angry at each other for different points of view.

   13. JRJoe Rogan38:59

       Yup.

   14. SSSteve Sweeney39:00

       But I always think to myself, as I'm sure you do, this is an amazing place to be. We have enough food. We have enough water. I, myself, I think life is two things. Life is a gift, and life is short.

   15. JRJoe Rogan39:16

       Yeah. Yeah.

   16. SSSteve Sweeney39:16

       You know? And the purpose of life, in my opinion, is to develop whatever talents you have and then share it. So I couldn't agree more.

   17. JRJoe Rogan39:25

       I couldn't agree more.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney39:25

       What, what a... What a place to do it. You have the-

   19. JRJoe Rogan39:28

       It's the best place in the world to do it.

10. 39:29 – 48:34

    Religion, proselytizing, and Sweeney’s jail work teaching meditation and sobriety tools

    1. SSSteve Sweeney39:29

       You have the opportunity, you know. And, uh... But, uh, you know, it's like we... I think we do tend to complicate things. What I don't like is when we let other things get between us as human beings because it's, it's a whole... That's why I like Buddhism, for example, because you're never gonna see... Outside of rare exceptions, a Buddhist country is never gonna invade another country because the whole principle is mindfulness. In other words, it's all within you, so you don't have to push your beliefs on other people.

    2. JRJoe Rogan40:01

       Right.

    3. SSSteve Sweeney40:01

       Like I have a lot of friends who become Christians, which is great for them, but they always put you in a... I always feel like I'm put in a box.

    4. JRJoe Rogan40:10

       Yeah.

    5. SSSteve Sweeney40:11

       Like, "Have you accepted Jesus?" You know, how the fuck are you gonna answer that? You know what I mean? Like-

    6. JRJoe Rogan40:17

       Not yet. Say not yet. Keep, keep convincing me.

    7. SSSteve Sweeney40:20

       It's on, it's on the way.

    8. JRJoe Rogan40:21

       (laughs)

    9. SSSteve Sweeney40:21

       Yeah, that's right.

    10. JRJoe Rogan40:23

        Yeah.

    11. SSSteve Sweeney40:23

        I- it's like one of those unanswerable things, you know.

    12. JRJoe Rogan40:26

        Well, it's also a, a thing where people can hold-

    13. SSSteve Sweeney40:28

        Muslims-

    14. JRJoe Rogan40:29

        ... over you.

    15. SSSteve Sweeney40:29

        ... Christians, it seems like they, they believe that, you know, people have to hear this great message, and if they don't hear it, they shove it down your fucking throat.

    16. JRJoe Rogan40:40

        I think half of them don't even think you have to hear it. They just wanna have it over you, that they've, they've accepted Jesus into their life, and you haven't, so they win. There's a lot of that.

    17. SSSteve Sweeney40:50

        Yeah.

    18. JRJoe Rogan40:50

        There's a lot of that. I mean, the, you see so many hypocritical Christians that don't really follow turn the other cheek. They don't really treat everyone as if it's their brother. They, they don't really do that. They don't really, they don't really feel that way. They're not, they're not out there helping-

    19. SSSteve Sweeney41:06

        Well, that's be-

    20. JRJoe Rogan41:06

        ... the poor and-

    21. SSSteve Sweeney41:06

        That's because that's, that, that standard-

    22. JRJoe Rogan41:09

        Mm-hmm.

    23. SSSteve Sweeney41:09

        ... is like, "You're gonna be Jesus?"

    24. JRJoe Rogan41:11

        Right.

    25. SSSteve Sweeney41:11

        You know, I mean, Jesus Christ.

    26. JRJoe Rogan41:13

        (laughs)

    27. SSSteve Sweeney41:13

        I mean-

    28. JRJoe Rogan41:13

        Yeah.

    29. SSSteve Sweeney41:13

        ... you know what I mean? No pun intended.

    30. JRJoe Rogan41:15

        But-
11. 48:34 – 1:00:45

    Fighters, discipline, and the Hagler deep dive (plus Mickey Rourke)

    1. SSSteve Sweeney48:34

       Well, it's just what we were just talking about. You have a reputation as a badass.

    2. JRJoe Rogan48:40

       Oh, that reputation.

    3. SSSteve Sweeney48:42

       Yeah.

    4. JRJoe Rogan48:43

       Yeah.

    5. SSSteve Sweeney48:43

       That's a good thing.

    6. JRJoe Rogan48:44

       It's mostly bullshit.

    7. SSSteve Sweeney48:45

       And... It... Well, you had Tyson on-

    8. JRJoe Rogan48:48

       Yeah.

    9. SSSteve Sweeney48:48

       ... and it was interesting that he didn't wanna go back to it. Do you know Marvin Hagler has the same problem?

    10. JRJoe Rogan48:53

        Oh yeah, well he was the only-

    11. SSSteve Sweeney48:54

        He, he-

    12. JRJoe Rogan48:54

        ... guy that ever just quit at the top.

    13. SSSteve Sweeney48:56

        But, but he won't, he won't punch a bag or anything-

    14. JRJoe Rogan48:58

        Really?

    15. SSSteve Sweeney48:58

        ... because that thing comes up in him where he-

    16. JRJoe Rogan49:00

        Yeah.

    17. SSSteve Sweeney49:01

        ... he wants to do it again. It's like an addiction.

    18. JRJoe Rogan49:03

        And he's gotta be 60 now, and it's still-

    19. SSSteve Sweeney49:05

        Yeah, wow.

    20. JRJoe Rogan49:06

        ... still welling up inside of him. I respect him so much. You know, I always looked up to him when I was fighting, 'cause, uh, I re- remember the discipline that that guy had. Like, I remember watching videos of him when he was, uh-

    21. SSSteve Sweeney49:18

        (sighs)

    22. JRJoe Rogan49:18

        ... living on the Cape. He would tr-

    23. SSSteve Sweeney49:20

        Down in Provincetown, yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan49:20

        ... do his training camp on the Cape, and he would run, and, and w- when he was running on the sand-

    25. SSSteve Sweeney49:24

        With the boots, with the boots.

    26. JRJoe Rogan49:25

        Yep, with combat boots on.

    27. SSSteve Sweeney49:26

        Yeah, yeah.

    28. JRJoe Rogan49:26

        And he was, he was yelling, "War." He was, like-

    29. SSSteve Sweeney49:29

        Oh, God.

    30. JRJoe Rogan49:29

        ... getting ready to fight Moustafa Hamsho, and he's running and shadow boxing-
12. 1:00:45 – 1:10:50

    Boxing’s dark side and Boston comedy’s golden era (Ding Ho to club explosion)

    1. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:45

       I'm gonna go back, okay?

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:47

       What are you gonna do?

    3. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:48

       There was a guy named Floyd Patterson.

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:50

       Sure.

    5. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:51

       Who had that ...

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:52

       He lost to Sonny Liston.

    7. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:54

       Sonny Liston.

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:55

       Yeah.

    9. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:55

       I'm just reading about Sonny Liston.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:57

        Sunny Liston was a murderous puncher.

    11. SSSteve Sweeney1:00:58

        Sonny Liston was one of 25 kids. He was ... His, his-

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:01:03

        Ooh.

    13. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:03

        ... mother, um, you know, whatever. His father was, like, a sharecropper.

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:01:07

        Wow.

    15. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:07

        And he got involved in gangs and all this and, um, one of those guys, you know?

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:01:13

        I think he ended his career-

    17. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:14

        He got shot or something, died or something.

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:01:16

        No, he died of a drug overdose, yeah.

    19. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:17

        Drug overdose, yeah.

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:01:18

        I think he ended his career as a, like, a bouncer in Vegas.

    21. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:22

        Yeah.

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:01:22

        You know, like a doorman or something like that at a casino.

    23. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:25

        Right. But one of those, one of those guys like Joe Louis whatever. Yeah, those big guys that end up ... You know, it's a funny, funny sport.

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:33

        Did you ever watch that fight with him and Floyd Patterson?

    25. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:36

        Uh-Not that one.

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:39

        Terrifying.

    27. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:39

        Yes, oh, yeah. I think I may have.

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:01:41

        Terrifying.

    29. SSSteve Sweeney1:01:42

        But I remember when... Uh, I'm old enough to remember when Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston.

    30. JRJoe Rogan1:01:47

        Mm-hmm. Yeah, beat him twice.

Episode duration: 1:31:34