Joe Rogan Experience #1804 - Bill Maher

1. 0:00 – 4:29

   Why Bill Maher launched the Club Random podcast (and why it’s not politics-focused)

   1. BMBill Maher0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day.

   3. BMBill Maher0:11

      Now it's over.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      Now you're back.

   5. BMBill Maher0:15

      Now I'm in a better place.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      So what was the decision to jump into the podcasting arena?

   7. BMBill Maher0:20

      (sighs) You know-

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:20

      Not enough podcasts in the world?

   9. BMBill Maher0:21

      ... uh, well, that was certainly one.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:23

       (laughs)

   11. BMBill Maher0:24

       Um, it is the law. No, you know, it was a bunch of things. Uh, first of all, (clears throat) if you had said to me-

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:32

       (clears throat)

   13. BMBill Maher0:33

       ... 10... When did you start, 2009?

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       Yeah.

   15. BMBill Maher0:35

       And what year, what year did you become the king of podcasting?

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:39

       Five years ago, probably.

   17. BMBill Maher0:40

       Five years ago, okay. So if you said to me 10 years ago, "Podcasting is gonna be huge, um, it's really gonna be where media moves, it's where people are g- it's gonna be bigger than radio at its height," I'd say, "Are you crazy?"

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:54

       (laughs)

   19. BMBill Maher0:55

       But, you know, partly because of you, uh, it did, and so it's sort of undeniable now. And, um, I also was out to dinner too many times with people who said, "You know, you're so interesting to talk to when it's not about politics. You know, you should do a podcast that's not about politics." And I was always saying, "Well, first of all, my network would never let me do that, they own my ass, they pay me very well for exclusivity." But I found out that actually, you know what? I can if I ask nicely, and they were nice about it, um, and do it in a very different way, which is what we did. I could do a podcast, um, and have it not be about politics. And it's a whole new audience because there's just a lot of people who are turned off to politics and don't wanna talk about politics and don't wanna hear about it. And sometimes I'm that guy. Sometimes I don't wanna hear about it.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:51

       Yeah.

   21. BMBill Maher1:51

       And there's too many people who are divorced from, shall we say, knowing things?

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:59

       (laughs)

   23. BMBill Maher1:59

       You know- (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan2:00

       (laughs)

   25. BMBill Maher2:00

       ... I had this-

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:01

       That's a great way to put it.

   27. BMBill Maher2:02

       (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:02

       Divorced from knowing things is a great way to put it.

   29. BMBill Maher2:05

       I, I mean, they're still... They're not... I'm not saying they're dumb, not at all.

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:08

       Right.
2. 4:29 – 5:58

   Media has shifted to clips: late-night formats feel trapped and outdated

   1. JRJoe Rogan4:29

      Well, I think one of the things that opened up a lot of people to your show during the pandemic, uh, especially, was these clips that you guys were putting up. And I think that having those kinda clips, those kind of, you know, uh, viral clips of some of your monologues and some of your rants, I think those opened up a lot of younger people to it as well.

   2. BMBill Maher4:48

      Yeah. Yeah, I mean, well, of course-

   3. JRJoe Rogan4:49

      Same, same kind of thing, like using an alternative media.

   4. BMBill Maher4:52

      Yes, and of course nowadays we live in a, a time when people digest things not necessarily in the form that they were made, they get little clips. I mean, uh, James Corden does singing in a car with people, the karaoke.

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:08

      Right.

   6. BMBill Maher5:08

      A lot of people see that much more than who stay up till 12:30 and watch that whole show-

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:14

      Right.

   8. BMBill Maher5:14

      ... through their toes like they used to Johnny Carson and sit through commercials. I mean, I don't, I honestly don't know how those shows still last in the year 2022. Who would sit there (clears throat) and watch commercials that take up probably 30% of the show? But I guess it still must work.

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:32

      There's something there still, but it's a trapped format. You know, those kinda trapped formats that only appear at a certain time and they're only good for a certain amount of, you know, minutes before they have to cut to commercial. It's just so limiting. They're so, uh, you know...

   10. BMBill Maher5:48

       It seems an anachronism-

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:49

       Yeah.

   12. BMBill Maher5:49

       ... to me, in, in this day and age. Um, but, you know, I do a show that, uh, it has no commercials. That's the difference, you can watch it all the way through.

   13. JRJoe Rogan5:57

       Yeah.

3. 5:58 – 9:33

   Admiring (and needing) people you don’t fully agree with

   1. BMBill Maher5:58

      But, uh, I, I certainly know that people anatome it, atomize it rather, they, they-... just wanna watch the rant I do at the end, or they just wanted to watch the monologue or the comedy bit, or a certain guest. I mean, I had Mamet on. I know you had Mamet on this week. Boy, he really wants to sell that book.

   2. JRJoe Rogan6:15

      He's an interesting guy.

   3. BMBill Maher6:16

      I loved him.

   4. JRJoe Rogan6:17

      F- a fascinating guy.

   5. BMBill Maher6:19

      I-

   6. JRJoe Rogan6:19

      You know, like, you, you would never know who he is until you sit down and talk to him but- just by his work.

   7. BMBill Maher6:24

      Well, I mean, I said to him, "You're a lot funnier than people know that-"

   8. JRJoe Rogan6:29

      (laughs) Yeah. Yeah.

   9. BMBill Maher6:29

      His reputation is the tough guy-

   10. JRJoe Rogan6:32

       Right.

   11. BMBill Maher6:32

       ... you know, "fuck this," and, and really, he's very funny.

   12. JRJoe Rogan6:36

       Yeah.

   13. BMBill Maher6:36

       I saw a play he wrote in New York (clears throat) in 2008 called November. It was a political thing, but it was just like a, uh, one laugh after another. It was just... I said to him it's like (clears throat) , it's like a Neil Simon play if Neil Simon had ever been funny.

   14. JRJoe Rogan6:49

       Yeah (laughs) .

   15. BMBill Maher6:49

       You know? (laughs) .

   16. JRJoe Rogan6:51

       (laughs) .

   17. BMBill Maher6:51

       And (laughs) , just people really laughing in the theater every 30 seconds. Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. That is not how people think of David Mamet. And, you know, his book, I read. It's, it's fantastic. I mean, I don't agree with every single thing in it, but there is a certain type of person, and he is one of them, that just has this breadth of knowledge that comics like us, as much as we might try and kinda stay up and read, we're just not in that league. And I'm f- you know, it's like, uh-

   18. JRJoe Rogan7:21

       Yeah.

   19. BMBill Maher7:21

       ... I couldn't play basketball with the Lakers either, you know?

   20. JRJoe Rogan7:23

       (laughs)

   21. BMBill Maher7:23

       I just... There are just people like that. Salman Rushdie, uh, people who are just... They've read everything, they know everything. And so, uh, when they write a book like that, they're very often making references to things, "I know. Oh, I know that name."

   22. JRJoe Rogan7:37

       Yeah.

   23. BMBill Maher7:37

       And then you tell me something, "Oh, I didn't know that about it." (laughs) "Oh, I didn't know that."

   24. JRJoe Rogan7:43

       Right.

   25. BMBill Maher7:43

       And it's just... It's, it's, it's, it's almost like the CliffsNotes for being a true intellectual.

   26. JRJoe Rogan7:48

       Yeah, there's some stunningly well-read people out there, and when you talk to them on a podcast you realize, like, "Oh, I would have never known-"

   27. BMBill Maher7:54

       Right.

   28. JRJoe Rogan7:54

       "... there's people like you if I wasn't talking to you."

   29. BMBill Maher7:56

       Right (laughs) . Exactly.

   30. JRJoe Rogan7:59

       (laughs) .
4. 9:33 – 16:04

   “Common sense” audiences and why Maher seems more conservative now

   1. BMBill Maher9:33

      No, it is. I mean, what... I- it's funny. For the first time in my life, I'm really getting a mixed audience at standup shows.

   2. JRJoe Rogan9:42

      Nice.

   3. BMBill Maher9:42

      Mixed, I'm talking about politically.

   4. JRJoe Rogan9:44

      Yeah, that's-

   5. BMBill Maher9:45

      That really doesn't happen anymore in America. Maybe it happens to you somewhat.

   6. JRJoe Rogan9:49

      I get it, for sure. I get-

   7. BMBill Maher9:51

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan9:51

      I get blue hairs and cowboy hats. I get all... Yeah, I get all kinds of weirdos that come.

   9. BMBill Maher9:56

      (laughs)

   10. JRJoe Rogan9:57

       You know?

   11. BMBill Maher9:57

       But (laughs) , but you get... I'm talking about liberal Democrats-

   12. JRJoe Rogan10:01

       Yeah.

   13. BMBill Maher10:01

       ... plus conservative Republicans.

   14. JRJoe Rogan10:03

       Yeah.

   15. BMBill Maher10:03

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan10:03

       Yeah, they m- they're weird. It's a weird mingling sometimes when I meet 'em out in public.

   17. BMBill Maher10:07

       Right.

   18. JRJoe Rogan10:07

       Some of them, sometimes it's, like, old ladies. That's what... That one freaks me out.

   19. BMBill Maher10:10

       Well, I think it's because we are both seen as people who are sort of, like, commonsensical.

   20. JRJoe Rogan10:16

       Yes.

   21. BMBill Maher10:16

       And that is what there is a hunger for, I think, in America more than anything, is common sense.

   22. JRJoe Rogan10:23

       Yes.

   23. BMBill Maher10:23

       The, uh, away from the extremes. I mean, when people say to me, you know, "You're, uh... Don't you think you've gotten more conservative?" No, I haven't. The left has gotten goofier.

   24. JRJoe Rogan10:34

       Yes.

   25. BMBill Maher10:34

       So I seem more conservative, maybe, but, like, it's not me who changed.

   26. JRJoe Rogan10:40

       Yes.

   27. BMBill Maher10:40

       I feel I'm the same guy. But five years ago, uh, you know, we hadn't spent $6 trillion to stay home. I mean, I understand we had to do something with the pandemic. I'm not sure that was... You know, I remem- I remember when $1 trillion was too much to spend on anything. We didn't spend a trillion to bail out-

   28. JRJoe Rogan10:59

       Yeah.

   29. BMBill Maher10:59

       ... the economy in 2008. Um, so we didn't do that. Five years ago, no one was talking about abolishing the police. You know, there was no talk about, uh, you know (laughs) , pregnant men and-

   30. JRJoe Rogan11:15

       (laughs) .
5. 16:04 – 18:29

   Late-night politics, corporate “woke” incentives, and audience doctrinization

   1. JRJoe Rogan16:04

      Do you think that the way it's going right now with late night television where you, you... everyone has to be political, is that what the audience wants, or is that what the executives in the studio wants? Are they... like, who is... are they one step behind? Like, what, where, where is the, the mandate coming from? Is it the person who's the host who says, "You know what I know works in this town if I wanna keep working? I have to be, like, outwardly-

   2. BMBill Maher16:29

      Well-

   3. JRJoe Rogan16:29

      ... left-leaning, progressive, political."

   4. BMBill Maher16:31

      Look, it's... I think it's coming from both because corporations in America now, um, are, you know-

   5. JRJoe Rogan16:37

      They're leaning in.

   6. BMBill Maher16:38

      Are what?

   7. JRJoe Rogan16:38

      They're leaning into woke.

   8. BMBill Maher16:39

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan16:40

      Hardcore.

   10. BMBill Maher16:41

       They're, they're, they're petrified-

   11. JRJoe Rogan16:43

       Yeah.

   12. BMBill Maher16:43

       ... of some kind of backlash. I mean, you see with, with Disney now. I mean, Disney, one of the most gay-friendly companies that we've had in a very long time, um, g- as they should be. All companies should be gay friendly. But Disney sorta... They had gay days-

   13. JRJoe Rogan17:00

       Yeah.

   14. BMBill Maher17:00

       ... at Disney... What is it? World? Land? I don't know. I'm not a Disney... you know?

   15. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       I think it was the LA one, right?

   16. BMBill Maher17:05

       You'll never find me in a-

   17. JRJoe Rogan17:06

       I think it's Land.

   18. BMBill Maher17:07

       Disneyland is the original. That's right.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:09

       That's LA.

   20. BMBill Maher17:09

       Disney World is in Florida.

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:11

       Right.

   22. BMBill Maher17:11

       You'll never find me sitting in a teacup, Joe, okay? So... (laughs)

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:14

       (laughs) Who, who, I love teacups. (laughs)

   24. BMBill Maher17:16

       (laughs) I mean, this is... In, in my category of things that only children used to do that now adults do, I mean, uh, if I had a nickel for every time somebody said, you know, "I'm going to Disneyland," and I'm like, "With your kids?" "No, we're just going." (laughs)

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:30

       Yeah.

   26. BMBill Maher17:31

       Okay. But, uh, you know, there is that. There is... Corporations, I think, yes, are always gonna wanna... And look, I'm glad they are progressive thinking. Of course, like with everything on the left these days, they just take it too far. But I think it's coming from the audience more because the audience who goes to a taping of Saturday Night Live or a show like that, they're youngish and, you know, they, um, they believe what they believe. Uh, a lot of the things I also believe. Uh, but it's, it's sort of an unexamined, like-... they don't know too much about politics. They just know that ... Uh, and, and again, you mentioned Trump doing this. Like, he-

   27. JRJoe Rogan18:14

       Mm-hmm.

   28. BMBill Maher18:15

       ... was so awful that it's just very easy to turn off to the details and go, "Well, I'm with the Democrats and the left."

   29. JRJoe Rogan18:21

       He was so polarizing that if you supported him-

   30. BMBill Maher18:23

       Right.
6. 18:29 – 25:16

   Climate change as politics: denial, doom, and what we can (and won’t) do

   1. BMBill Maher18:29

      It's also, I mean, from my point of view, the, the, the Republicans, they don't believe in climate change and the emergency of that.

   2. JRJoe Rogan18:37

      Is that a generalization?

   3. BMBill Maher18:38

      N- I- That's pretty true.

   4. JRJoe Rogan18:40

      (laughs) Is ... They all-

   5. BMBill Maher18:40

      The Republicans-

   6. JRJoe Rogan18:41

      ... don't believe in climate change?

   7. BMBill Maher18:42

      Well, they certainly don't act like they do.

   8. JRJoe Rogan18:43

      What do they believe if they don't believe in climate change?

   9. BMBill Maher18:45

      They've b- They ... For years, they, they put up one bullshit talking point after another that they knew was false. Like, they would get ahold of a Newsweek from 1982 that had a cover story that said, "The earth is cooling." "Oh, look-"

   10. JRJoe Rogan19:00

       Mm.

   11. BMBill Maher19:01

       "... the earth is cooling for ... Now it's heating." Well, they don't know what the fuck they're talking about. Or they would take one data point on the timeline, like there was a, a ... You know, because, uh, it doesn't go in a straight line, climate, uh, if you measure it year by year. But we see the trend, so they would take like 1998, I think, was a year when it was, uh, exceptionally hot, and then it went down again, and so ... L- Look at the line, and you can draw a graph to make it look like ... It is ... If you don't think it's happening and it's an emergency ... Now what we do about it is a different story, but for years they just denied it. They went right from denying it to (laughs) , "Okay, well, it's happening, but now it's too late." So look, we are all just gonna enjoy it. I've said it many times, America, America and the world in general has decided we are Thelma and Louise.

   12. JRJoe Rogan19:47

       (laughs)

   13. BMBill Maher19:47

       We're, we're, we're holding hands and we're just-

   14. JRJoe Rogan19:50

       (laughs)

   15. BMBill Maher19:50

       ... driving off the Grand Canyon.

   16. JRJoe Rogan19:52

       (laughs)

   17. BMBill Maher19:52

       And as long as we're doing that, I'm not gonna be the only one who's not having a good time with the earth (laughs) . But, you know, we ... Anyway, my point was, they don't believe in, uh, really, uh, what an emergency that is, and they also don't really believe in democracy anymore. So I do think the Republicans at, at this moment are worse. I think they've always been worse and completely unsavable unless they switch on that. Uh, whereas the Democrats, I think they're savable, uh, i- even though they're so fucking goofy. And when people say, "You know, you, you never used to make fun of the left as much." 'Cause they didn't give me the material. (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan20:27

       Yeah.

   19. BMBill Maher20:27

       And now they're so ridiculous on so many things that, as a comedian, of course, I'm going to go where the material is.

   20. JRJoe Rogan20:34

       Isn't it fascinating that the warming of the actual planet-

   21. BMBill Maher20:37

       (clears throat)

   22. JRJoe Rogan20:37

       ... itself became so political and so polarizing that like you ... If you're a person ... Like it's ... For example, like if you're a person on the left, you basically, uh ... M- I think most people on the left believe in a, a, a woman's right to choose.

   23. BMBill Maher20:53

       (clears throat)

   24. JRJoe Rogan20:53

       So most, like most people believe-

   25. BMBill Maher20:56

       Right.

   26. JRJoe Rogan20:56

       ... in abortion rights.

   27. BMBill Maher20:57

       Right.

   28. JRJoe Rogan20:57

       Whereas, well, (laughs) if you think about the environment, like that's one of those ones. If you s- tell me you don't believe that the, the earth is warming, I go, "Oh, he's a right-wing guy. I wonder if he's like one of them like hardcore Ayn Rand right-wing guys." Like what kind of right-wing guys is he, is he? Immediately though if you don't believe in climate change, I assume you're just on the right. But I've talked to a lot of people that are on the left that don't believe in it either.

   29. BMBill Maher21:21

       Really?

   30. JRJoe Rogan21:21

       With e- ... Yeah.
7. 25:16 – 29:51

   Wildfires, evacuations, and the ‘Texas vs. California’ subtext

   1. BMBill Maher25:16

      reversed how much carbon we use by then..." (laughs) It's like, okay. And things are bad. I mean, Ca- California, one reason it is tempting to move is just the fires.

   2. JRJoe Rogan25:25

      Yeah.

   3. BMBill Maher25:26

      That's fucking scary.

   4. JRJoe Rogan25:27

      Scary shit.

   5. BMBill Maher25:28

      When... I remember one week in 2020 when the sun was blocked out from the sky because of the smoke from-

   6. JRJoe Rogan25:39

      Yeah.

   7. BMBill Maher25:39

      ... like hundreds of miles away for a week. I was very depressed that week.

   8. JRJoe Rogan25:44

      Yeah, I was there for that. I got evacuated three times from fires.

   9. BMBill Maher25:47

      Is that right?

   10. JRJoe Rogan25:48

       Yeah. One time was really scary. We were filming Fear Factor in Tejon Ranch and we were driving, I think it was Tejon Ranch. We were filming on this ranch area up in north, like hour and a half or so away, and we had to leave because the fires, and the fires had gotten so bad that driving home for 50 minutes, the entire right side of the highway was in flames. Like, you have to understand how much-

   11. BMBill Maher26:12

       Right.

   12. JRJoe Rogan26:12

       ... fire you're talking about.

   13. BMBill Maher26:13

       Wow.

   14. JRJoe Rogan26:13

       It was insane. Uh, th- there was a guy who got killed-

   15. BMBill Maher26:16

       That's-

   16. JRJoe Rogan26:16

       ... trying to run across the street.

   17. BMBill Maher26:18

       Oh.

   18. JRJoe Rogan26:18

       So a guy tried to run a- across the highway in the middle of this and got hit by a car.

   19. BMBill Maher26:21

       Oh.

   20. JRJoe Rogan26:21

       So we saw him laid out and it's like ash is falling like snow.

   21. BMBill Maher26:26

       Right.

   22. JRJoe Rogan26:27

       50 fucking minutes of just the hills on fire, like a goddamn Hobbit movie.

   23. BMBill Maher26:32

       That... (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan26:33

       Really, like Lord of the Rings. It was wild.

   25. BMBill Maher26:35

       (laughs) That's scary.

   26. JRJoe Rogan26:37

       It was terrifying-

   27. BMBill Maher26:38

       That is terrifying.

   28. JRJoe Rogan26:38

       ... because you realize at that point this is so out of control, you gotta let it burn its path because no, than no amount of people are gonna stop this.

   29. BMBill Maher26:46

       Still wouldn't-

   30. JRJoe Rogan26:46

       There's not amou- enough water.
8. 29:51 – 35:09

   Ghosts, psychedelics in the brain, and marijuana as a creativity tool

   1. JRJoe Rogan29:51

      (laughs) Do you... I ask people if they believe in ghosts.

   2. BMBill Maher29:54

      That was such a good thing. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan29:56

      When people tell me dumb things-

   4. BMBill Maher29:57

      Oh, witches. Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan29:57

      ... I ask them if they believe in ghosts.

   6. BMBill Maher30:00

      Well-

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:01

      Whenever someone has a dumb belief, like they have some str- a belief that is like, "Wait, hold on." Do you believe in ghosts? (laughs)

   8. BMBill Maher30:08

      You know what? I'm the most rational guy I know, but I might.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:11

      I might believe in ghosts.

   10. BMBill Maher30:12

       You know why?

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:13

       I might too.

   12. BMBill Maher30:13

       Because there's too many highly intelligent people who I know...... who I grilled when they told me they had some sort of experience. Like, they're not drunk, they're not religious people.

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:25

       Right.

   14. BMBill Maher30:26

       You know, I- I- I grilled them. "You sure you..." I was not drink- "You sure you weren't sleeping? This was not a dr-" They... Too many people-

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:34

       Yeah.

   16. BMBill Maher30:34

       ... have some sort of experience, I don't know what it is, and I don't give a fuck, because I'm never gonna know and they're not bothering me, (laughs) the ghosts, apparently. (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:43

       I think I know what it is.

   18. BMBill Maher30:44

       What is it?

   19. JRJoe Rogan30:45

       I- i- it's one of two things. Uh, one, it, it is, uh, like one of those things in the dark that you think you see, and so, well, there's like a pattern in our head for looking for things in the dark.

   20. BMBill Maher30:57

       Maybe, yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan30:58

       People always look. And I think you can hallucinate. 'Cause I know people that have hallucinated when they got scared, when they got scared. Like, my wife was telling me a story about her dad scaring her when she was little and she, he would just, you know, snuck up on her, played a trick, and she literally saw a monster. Like, that's how she saw. She saw it like a monster, and then it took her, like, a second to realize it was just her dad.

   22. BMBill Maher31:16

       Right. (laughs)

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:16

       Like, people f- see things.

   24. BMBill Maher31:18

       Right.

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:18

       They just see.

   26. BMBill Maher31:19

       Yes.

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:19

       That, that's part of the problem. And then the other thing is people's brains produce psychedelic, psychedelic chemicals, and you don't know why, right? People's brains produce dimethyltryptamine. They produce, uh, all co- all sorts of weird neurotransmitters and, and they... I got ... I have to think that they go in and out in, like, just like your testosterone does, just like your adrenaline does.

   28. BMBill Maher31:39

       Right.

   29. JRJoe Rogan31:40

       There's probably waves of them.

   30. BMBill Maher31:41

       Right.
9. 35:09 – 39:27

   Fasting, fitness, TRT, and the reality of aging and mortality

   1. BMBill Maher35:09

      ... (laughs) do stand up. I mean, I just, I just have to be ... Like I don't, uh, smoke when I ... I do a fast like a few times a year (clears throat) for five days. And I-

   2. JRJoe Rogan35:17

      Oh, really?

   3. BMBill Maher35:18

      Yes.

   4. JRJoe Rogan35:18

      Wow, that's a, that's a long stretch.

   5. BMBill Maher35:20

      Uh, you ha- I think you have to do about five to get, uh, the effect you're looking for.

   6. JRJoe Rogan35:25

      What's the effect you get?

   7. BMBill Maher35:26

      Well, it reboots your immune system, you know. I mean, uh, I'm not a, I'm not a scientist, Joe, so I can't, uh, exactly tell you the exact stuff. But, um, I've read the book on it and, uh, uh, I think, uh, first of all, just to give your digestive system a rest I think does enormous good for you. I think w- most of the body's energy is spent digesting food, and especially if you eat shitty food, I don't, but lots of people do, and that's, I think, wher- where our big health problems come from. But even regular food, I only eat two meals a day. But still, most of the energy goes to digesting food. You give your body that break and it can work on so many other things that it's been putting off, 'cause I think that's how the body works. That's certainly classic holistic medicine, that the body heals from the most recent insult, and then if it fixes that, goes back in time. And so-... I, yeah, about a couple times a year, I will not, uh, eat for five days, m- minimal. Sometimes there's a, there's a fasting mimicking diet that's pretty good that I've done. Um, but, uh, I cannot smoke during that week because smoking would make me ravenously hung-

   8. JRJoe Rogan36:41

      (laughs)

   9. BMBill Maher36:41

      ... hungry and wanting to be social. And, you know-

   10. JRJoe Rogan36:44

       Yeah. Yeah.

   11. BMBill Maher36:44

       ... so it has to be five days. And it's like, you get through it, but, you know, you're-

   12. JRJoe Rogan36:48

       How much weight do you lose?

   13. BMBill Maher36:50

       Um, you lose, like, probably in the week t- I, 10 pounds.

   14. JRJoe Rogan36:53

       Hmm.

   15. BMBill Maher36:54

       Um, but, you know, you'll put, uh... I mean, uh, the last time I went down from, like, I was 158 and I think I went down to 148, and then stayed at like 150, which was great because that's my perfect weight. And, uh... I mean, I don't know how you get those... I mean, that, uh, just I don't understand at all. Uh, you're over 50 and you have those big muscles.

   16. JRJoe Rogan37:17

       (laughs)

   17. BMBill Maher37:17

       And yet, I know, I know-

   18. JRJoe Rogan37:18

       I take testosterone replacement too. That helps.

   19. BMBill Maher37:21

       Testosterone replacement?

   20. JRJoe Rogan37:22

       Yeah.

   21. BMBill Maher37:23

       Really?

   22. JRJoe Rogan37:23

       Yeah.

   23. BMBill Maher37:23

       Isn't that dangerous?

   24. JRJoe Rogan37:25

       Well, you know what's dangerous? Getting old and dying.

   25. BMBill Maher37:27

       (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan37:27

       That's dangerous. The, the more you can keep from becoming feeble, the better off you are.

   27. BMBill Maher37:35

       Right.

   28. JRJoe Rogan37:35

       That's a fact. It's a fact in terms of, like, your immune system. It's a fact in terms of your overall vitality and your physical energy. You wanna keep a robust body if at all possible. And the-

   29. BMBill Maher37:45

       Right.

   30. JRJoe Rogan37:45

       ... key to doing that, if you're gonna do, um, you know, anything, you gotta maximize your diet, and then you have to do some sort of resistance training. Like all kinds of stuff is great for you. Yoga's great. Running's great. Everything's great. But as you get older, resistance training is imperative-
10. 39:27 – 44:29

    Pandemic anxiety, masks, and the ‘virtue-signaling’ trap

    1. BMBill Maher39:27

       They're fine. So when I see kids, like, walking with a mask-

    2. JRJoe Rogan39:31

       Yeah.

    3. BMBill Maher39:32

       ... outside alone, I just wanna punch them, because you know what? You have the good immune system at that age.

    4. JRJoe Rogan39:40

       Well, I think we've raised the overall level of anxiety of people significantly.

    5. BMBill Maher39:43

       Oh. Terrible.

    6. JRJoe Rogan39:44

       And for kids, (clears throat) for kids there was a chart they did. Uh, Saga had it on his, uh, Instagram page. It shows, uh, feelings of sadness and depression, the elevated rise from COVID from 2019 up. It's like across the board with-

    7. BMBill Maher40:02

       Well-

    8. JRJoe Rogan40:02

       ... with kids.

    9. BMBill Maher40:03

       If-

    10. JRJoe Rogan40:04

        There it is.

    11. BMBill Maher40:05

        If you, uh... Oh, that's like-

    12. JRJoe Rogan40:07

        But that's probably the, my, my point is-

    13. BMBill Maher40:09

        Yes.

    14. JRJoe Rogan40:09

        ... is, is it's probably with all of us.

    15. BMBill Maher40:11

        My, that's quite a chart.

    16. JRJoe Rogan40:13

        I don't think it's just with, uh, with kids. And, uh, uh, I don't think it's just with, with, you know-

    17. BMBill Maher40:20

        Well-

    18. JRJoe Rogan40:20

        ... young people.

    19. BMBill Maher40:21

        Yeah.

    20. JRJoe Rogan40:21

        I think it's all, all of us. Even people that did well with the pandemic-

    21. BMBill Maher40:24

        Well-

    22. JRJoe Rogan40:24

        ... it's still like weird.

    23. BMBill Maher40:25

        ... there is a, there is a marked difference in generations-

    24. JRJoe Rogan40:30

        Right.

    25. BMBill Maher40:30

        ... about anxiety.

    26. JRJoe Rogan40:32

        Mm-hmm.

    27. BMBill Maher40:33

        The ki- this, uh... The person on my podcast that dropped today is Bella Thorne. I'd never talked to her. I certainly wasn't aware of who she was. And a lot of what we're talking about, I mean, (laughs) I thought it was pretty funny, but, you know, I'm high when I'm doing it, it is anxiety. I mean, she has a lot of anxiety, uh, very typical of her generation, uh, in a way that my generation just does not. And a lot of what we were talking about is I'm trying in a kind of fatherly way of saying, "You don't need to be this sad about shit," (laughs) you know-

    28. JRJoe Rogan41:06

        Yeah.

    29. BMBill Maher41:06

        ... and, and have this much anxiety about stuff. And, of course, if a generation has anxiety to begin with to this degree, when something like a pandemic comes along that is legitimately somewhat anxiety producing-

    30. JRJoe Rogan41:21

        Yeah.
11. 44:29 – 1:02:55

    Vaccines, athlete exemptions, and distrust of institutions and narratives

    1. BMBill Maher44:29

       Um, some things should've been done, of course, and some things, I'm very glad we have a vaccine. Um, I personally didn't think I needed it. I would've chosen to let my immune system handle it, but okay, I'm glad, because this is a country that is not in good health, and if you're not in good health, you are very vulnerable to this-

    2. JRJoe Rogan44:49

       Very.

    3. BMBill Maher44:49

       ... this-

    4. JRJoe Rogan44:50

       Especially obesity.

    5. BMBill Maher44:50

       ... virus. But you shouldn't penalize people who have chosen a different path in life.

    6. JRJoe Rogan44:55

       Yeah.

    7. BMBill Maher44:56

       You know, I would always defend those athletes who didn't want it, the Aaron Rodgers, the Kyrie Irvings, the, uh, Djokovics, because what they were saying was, "Look, I'm a finely tuned athlete with a perfect body. My body is my life. Of course I keep it in a, as good a shape as I can. Every year I play, I can make another..." What do they make, 50 million a year?

    8. JRJoe Rogan45:19

       Yeah.

    9. BMBill Maher45:19

       "Of course I wanna play as long as I can. So I'm super careful about everything I put into my body, everything."

    10. JRJoe Rogan45:28

        Yeah.

    11. BMBill Maher45:28

        You have to respect that. And people-

    12. JRJoe Rogan45:30

        Well, with Aaron Rodgers, it's even more important, because he's actually allergic to the m- one of the, one of the... What is that stuff called? Poly... gly-

    13. BMBill Maher45:38

        Yes, I know which-

    14. JRJoe Rogan45:40

        Fuck is it called? That, whatever, whatever that chemical is. He has an allergy to it. It's in shampoo, right? It's in-

    15. BMBill Maher45:44

        It's in everything.

    16. JRJoe Rogan45:45

        Well, he, that, he has an allergy to that stuff.

    17. BMBill Maher45:46

        Now, do we know for sure it's in the vaccine?

    18. JRJoe Rogan45:49

        According to Aaron. He said it's not in the Johnson & Johnson, but it is in the other one.

    19. BMBill Maher45:53

        Yeah.

    20. JRJoe Rogan45:53

        I think that's correct.

    21. BMBill Maher45:54

        I mean, let's see again.

    22. JRJoe Rogan45:55

        Can you Glue, Google that, see if that's correct?

    23. BMBill Maher45:57

        There's, there's... And I don't even know if I trust Google. That's the problem these days.

    24. JRJoe Rogan46:02

        Fuck.

    25. BMBill Maher46:02

        It's like whatever I learn, I'm like-

    26. JRJoe Rogan46:04

        Yeah.

    27. BMBill Maher46:04

        ... "Okay."

    28. JRJoe Rogan46:05

        Right.

    29. BMBill Maher46:05

        But I don't trust anyone completely. I almost always feel like I'm getting somebody's narrative.

    30. JRJoe Rogan46:12

        Yes.
12. 1:02:55 – 1:13:03

    Government spending, COVID fraud, infrastructure grift, and bipartisan failure

    1. BMBill Maher1:02:55

       Um, I mean, I say this all the time because the, uh, percentage of graft keeps getting higher and higher. Now, we found out recently that something like... Oh, I'm gonna get the number wrong. Maybe you can look it up on your magic light box. But, like, 20%, I think, of the, uh, unemployment checks we passed out during COVID were complete fraud.

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:03:20

       A mere pittance. (laughs)

    3. BMBill Maher1:03:24

       (laughs) The, uh, PPP-

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:03:26

       Yeah. Oh my God. So many people got arrested for having Lamborghinis and shit. (laughs)

    5. BMBill Maher1:03:30

       Right. I mean, JK Rowling got money.

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:03:33

       No, she didn't.

    7. BMBill Maher1:03:34

       For her... Yeah, for her Broadway show.

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:03:36

       What?

    9. BMBill Maher1:03:36

       Because if she didn't, she'd be living in her car, Joe.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:03:39

        Ah! She got money from that?

    11. BMBill Maher1:03:41

        (laughs)

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:03:41

        That's hilarious.

    13. BMBill Maher1:03:42

        Everybody got money.

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:03:43

        That seems-

    15. BMBill Maher1:03:43

        Tom Brady got-

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:03:44

        ... so crazy.

    17. BMBill Maher1:03:45

        And, like, when you look at some of the percen- and like the number for, uh, to build a house for the homeless in LA has risen to $837,000.

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:03:57

        A mere pittance, Bill Maher.

    19. BMBill Maher1:03:59

        (laughs)

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:04:01

        A mere pittance from these greedy billionaires-

    21. BMBill Maher1:04:03

        And so, so-

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:04:04

        ... out there. We need to tax them all.

    23. BMBill Maher1:04:05

        If I'm, if I'm complaining about that, again, to your point about a Republican idea, people would say, "Oh, you're complaining about government spending money." And my answer is, "Okay, but is there any number at which point I am not tipped over into the Republican side-

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:04:22

        Right.

    25. BMBill Maher1:04:22

        ... that I can't complain about money that is just being stolen?"

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:04:27

        Right.

    27. BMBill Maher1:04:27

        I mean, we, I o-

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:04:28

        (laughs)

    29. BMBill Maher1:04:28

        I totally, as a good liberal, I totally accept the notion that, as someone once said, "You cannot transfer money except with a leaky bucket." I get it. It can't be perfect. But is it not-

    30. JRJoe Rogan1:04:42

        20%?
13. 1:13:03 – 1:24:15

    Alaska travel stories: resilience, wildlife, and the infamous moose warning

    1. BMBill Maher1:13:03

       I mean, I remember (laughs) being in Alaska-

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:13:07

       Oh, yeah.

    3. BMBill Maher1:13:07

       ... uh, 10 years ago. And I've never seen a place like that as beautiful because it was so clean.

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:13:13

       Mm-hmm.

    5. BMBill Maher1:13:13

       I mean, it was like, this time of year, spring, and everywhere the, uh, you know, the snow melting and there was just little drippings of water coming down everywhere. And it was like the purest, most pristine ... Of course there was also, like, moose walking down the street. (laughs)

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:13:30

       Yep.

    7. BMBill Maher1:13:31

       You know, it's-

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:13:31

       They're resilient people up there.

    9. BMBill Maher1:13:33

       And it was ... Yes, it, it's almost ... I mean, I remember I played one, one ... I think it was Fairbanks.... uh, Fairbanks and Anchorage. And Fairbanks, it was almost like a Western town. It was like a Western show. It was under a tent. I remember I walked through mud to get to the stage.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:13:49

        Mm.

    11. BMBill Maher1:13:50

        I loved it. It was raining, they didn't care. They were standing. Uh, that was so cool. I don't wanna do it again, but it was very cool th- for once. And then I went to Anchorage, and that was like the land that time forgot. It was like, e- everything looked like it had been in the '70s, you know? (laughs) The hotel, the restaurants. I guess they got a lot of oil money, they refurbished, and then they just stopped. Uh, but that was kinda cool too. And, you know, ev- everyone has a gun in their glove compartment.

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:14:20

        Yeah.

    13. BMBill Maher1:14:21

        Um, yeah, you could see 'em... I saw a reindeer on a chain out in the front yard, like a dog.

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:14:27

        (laughs)

    15. BMBill Maher1:14:28

        (laughs)

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:14:30

        (laughs)

    17. BMBill Maher1:14:32

        I'm not kidding.

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:14:33

        Oh my God.

    19. BMBill Maher1:14:33

        That's one thing that's so great about being a comic and traveling, right? You know, to... you just see... you just... you're different places and you just see different things, like you wouldn't if you worked in an office.

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:14:44

        The most resilient people, though, have to be the Alaskans, because there's... they're surrounded by monsters. They're in the furthest north place that you could call America.

    21. BMBill Maher1:14:53

        Yeah. Punishingly cold in the winter.

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:14:55

        And they, they, they have real wildlife, like big wildlife-

    23. BMBill Maher1:14:58

        Yes.

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:14:59

        ... around them all the time.

    25. BMBill Maher1:15:00

        Yeah. Bears.

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:15:01

        You've been... You've seen a moose in real life?

    27. BMBill Maher1:15:03

        Uh, yeah, I, I saw it walking down the street.

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:15:05

        It's fucking crazy-

    29. BMBill Maher1:15:06

        (laughs)

Episode duration: 2:23:40