The Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan Experience #1580 - Andrew Schulz

Standup comedian Andrew Schulz is the star of the four-part Netflix special Schulz Saves America, and co-hosts The Brilliant Idiots podcast with Charlamagne Tha God, and Flagrant 2 with Akaash Singh.

Joe RoganhostAndrew SchulzguestJamie Vernonguest

Jun 26, 20242h 52mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Andrew Schulz on Comedy, Controversy, Hustle, and a Broken America

Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz spend a long, freewheeling conversation talking about how Schulz used the pandemic to reinvent his comedy through fast‑cut, highly produced social and Netflix content, and what it took behind the scenes to make it work.
They dive deep into cancel culture, media narratives, identity politics, COVID policies, and the way politicians, legacy media, and social platforms manipulate public perception.
A large portion centers on combat sports and spectacle—Jake Paul, Conor McGregor, Mayweather, Adesanya, Khabib—and how trolling, promotion, and real skill intersect in modern fighting.
They close by unpacking structural issues like student debt, healthcare, political hypocrisy, and why independent creators and podcasters have displaced traditional institutions as trusted voices.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Use chaos as an opportunity to create new formats.

Schulz describes how he mentally treated the pandemic as something he and his team would “win,” doubling down on building a studio and inventing a high-density, news‑driven comedy format rather than waiting for clubs to reopen.

High joke density and platform-native pacing matter online.

Instead of pausing for laughs like a live set, Schulz packs punchlines into every line, using filler words (“now”) and rapid editing so the viewer is never waiting—something Rogan contrasts with awkward Zoom monologues.

Independent leverage lets you resist corporate creative control.

Because Schulz had already proven audience demand on YouTube and social media, Netflix gave him near-total freedom; the only meaningful note was removing a potentially defamatory STD line about Stormy Daniels.

Media and politics are increasingly driven by branding, not truth.

They argue that networks, politicians, and activists chase clicks and tribal approval rather than accuracy, using wedge issues (voter fraud, defund the police, socialism) as marketing hooks that alienate the broad middle.

Spectacle and trolling now drive combat sports economics.

Rogan and Schulz break down how Jake and Logan Paul blend genuine training with calculated provocation—calling out McGregor, Diaz, Danis—to manufacture huge paydays that traditional fighters and promoters can’t ignore.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

When the shutdown happened, I told the guys, ‘We’ll win. Guaranteed.’

— Andrew Schulz

I’m never married to my opinions. If I get something wrong, I have to say it.

— Joe Rogan

They’re just the newest liar. Every four years we get the newest liar.

— Andrew Schulz (on politicians)

Talking shit is an integral part of being a man.

— Joe Rogan

I don’t care about your credits. Are you competent, and will you stay up all night with me?

— Andrew Schulz

Schulz’s pandemic pivot: building Netflix show and online specialsComedy, cancel culture, and saying taboo things on big platformsMedia bias, political theater, and social justice branding (BLM, defund the police, socialism)COVID responses, lockdown policies, and government hypocrisyCombat sports culture: boxing, MMA, Jake/Logan Paul, Mayweather, McGregor, Adesanya, KhabibWealth, power, and influence: tech billionaires, Theranos, Hollywood, ScientologySystemic issues: student loan debt, healthcare, education, and economic “fakeness”

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