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The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan Experience #1387 - Josh Homme

Josh Homme is a singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor. He is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age.

Joe RoganhostJosh Hommeguest
Nov 18, 20192h 17mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Josh Homme and Joe Rogan Explore History, Danger, Drugs, and Meaning

  1. Joe Rogan and Josh Homme have a long, free‑wheeling conversation that moves from motorcycles, risk, and traffic rage into deep dives on history, indigenous cultures, and the brutality of conquest.
  2. They explore altered states and addiction—from psilocybin and alcohol to nicotine and extreme sports—framing many self‑destructive behaviors as trauma responses and avoidance strategies.
  3. Homme opens up about feeling lost in recent years, and how ideas like the law of attraction, vulnerability, and being fully present in relationships are reshaping how he approaches life, art, and fatherhood.
  4. They finish by talking about artistic integrity, ignoring online criticism, parenting in the age of smartphones, and finding authentic joy in things like old cars, music, and real‑world experience.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Risk can sharpen presence and awareness.

Homme describes motorcycling in LA as a zen practice: because a lapse in attention can be fatal, it forces him into the present moment and away from phone distraction and mental drift.

Historical narratives are filtered through the biases of victors.

Their discussion of Native Americans, Aztecs, and conquistadors highlights how official history often downplays emotional reality, spiritual richness, and atrocities, and elevates the conqueror’s perspective as superior.

Awe and reverence signal that older civilizations understood things we still don’t.

Standing at Teotihuacan or Mayan pyramids, Homme feels gratitude and awe at their acoustic design, astronomical ponds, and large‑scale engineering, suggesting modern tech isn’t the only—or even the highest—form of sophistication.

Extreme performers often have atypical fear responses.

They note brain studies on climber Alex Honnold showing his amygdala barely activates under fear stimuli, implying some people’s neurology (plus training) enables them to operate calmly in situations that would paralyze others.

Addiction is often a response to trauma, not a simple moral failure.

Referencing Gabor Maté and their own experiences, they frame drug and alcohol abuse as attempts to dam up emotional pain, arguing that honest dialogue and vulnerability work better than punitive “war on drugs” approaches.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You tend to go where you’re looking. Not a lot of people are walking backwards and talking to you as they go forwards.

— Josh Homme

The people that wrote our history wrote it from the perspective of, ‘By the way, we’re way better.’

— Josh Homme

Vulnerability’s the opposite of weakness. Weakness is identifying that spot and doing nothing.

— Josh Homme

If you focus on all the shit you don’t like, just wait a sec—it’s coming.

— Josh Homme

How can you love my stuff if I don’t?

— Josh Homme

Motorcycles, risk, and the meditative focus required to stay alive in trafficHistorical brutality: Native Americans, Aztecs, conquistadors, disease, and how winners write historyIndigenous spirituality, ancient engineering (pyramids/temples) and the feeling of aweExtreme human feats (ultra‑running, free solo climbing, polar expeditions) and mental wiringAddiction, trauma, and the law of attraction / manifestation (Esther Hicks, vulnerability)Artistic process, genre, and making music you genuinely love vs. chasing a labelFame, online criticism, parenting, technology, and maintaining mental and emotional health

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