EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,156 words- 0:00 – 2:21
Gad Saad returns + new happiness book launch (and the audiobook gripe)
- NANarrator
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
- GSGad Saad
The Joe Rogan Experience.
- JRJoe Rogan
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) How are you, sir?
- GSGad Saad
Oh my God, I'm excited to see you.
- JRJoe Rogan
Good to see you. It's always great to see you.
- GSGad Saad
I think this is the ninth time I appear, so am I entering kind of Hall of Fame status, or...
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, there's like a-after five, anybody with more than five. (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
S- that should be like the top line on my CV. Forget about all the other bullshit. Nine times on Joe Rogan.
- JRJoe Rogan
We've had some fun conversations.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, before we start, today, July 25th, is the release of my latest book.
- JRJoe Rogan
All right.
- GSGad Saad
Here's a copy for you, sir.
- JRJoe Rogan
Thank you very much. The Sad Truth About Happiness: Eight Secrets for Leading the Good Life.
- GSGad Saad
Boom.
- JRJoe Rogan
All right.
- GSGad Saad
Please read it.
- JRJoe Rogan
I will.
- GSGad Saad
You'll enjoy it. Lot of-
- JRJoe Rogan
Did you do the audiobook?
- GSGad Saad
Oh, f- you know, I swear to God, the number one thing I was worried that you were going to ask me-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
... was that, and you lead off with that. Uh, so here's what happened.
- JRJoe Rogan
An actor does it.
- GSGad Saad
So he has a beautiful voice.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
I, I insisted, I said, "Joe Rogan berated me on his show for maybe 15 minutes. Listen to him." They pitched it to the audio publisher. The pu- audio publisher said, "Sorry, we do in-house narration."
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, now...
- GSGad Saad
So I think for the next book, I'll put it as part of the contract.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, it has to be. They're silly. They're silly, especially in, you're a public figure. Like, there's hours, and hours, and hours-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- 2:21 – 3:10
War-zone perspective: low tolerance for nonsense, especially online
- JRJoe Rogan
Right, right, right. Of course. Your story is wild.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, um, what I find about people like yourself that have been through, um, (sighs) u- uh, like, like a really scary thing, really scary-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... like genuinely scary, like scary threats, th- threats to your life, war zone stuff.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Folks like yourself have so much less patience for nonsense.
- GSGad Saad
Exactly, and that's why I sometimes can appear irascible-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
... when I go after p- 'Cause sometimes people will say, "You know, when I meet you, you seem so much nicer and warmer than how you are on social media."
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
But I'm not trying to be mean on social media. It's that I'm pissed off at the bullshit.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
And so it comes across as though, you know, I'm cantankerous and combative, but I'm just really fighting, hopefully, the good fight.
- 3:10 – 5:06
Tribal groupthink and celebrity political obsession (Rob Reiner, Stephen King)
- JRJoe Rogan
W- the real problem with social media is the problem with human beings. It's tribal groupthink.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And it, it overwhelms these groups of people that you associate with, and then narratives get formed, and you can't stray outside those narratives. You can't even look at objective reality. You can't look at data. You can't look at da- It just becomes so crazy at the ideology and the adherence to that ideology trumps everything. Trumps the truth. It trumps y- your willing, as long as the politician's on your side, to ignore craziness, corruption, horrible shit. You ignore all of it.
- GSGad Saad
Perfect example of that, I hate to say that I'm, I've seen his feed, Meathead from All in the Family, Rob Reiner. Have you ever gone to his...
- JRJoe Rogan
(sighs) I read a couple of tweets and then I'm like, "I'm out." (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
I love his work too much.
- GSGad Saad
But, I know, I know. It's hard to then like his work when he's-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. I, I-
- GSGad Saad
He is so overwhelmingly a- obsessed with, with Trump. Stephen King is another guy who-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
... uh, fits that description.
- JRJoe Rogan
Something happens to old liberals-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... with a ton of money. (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
It's like something happens to those old creative types.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
It just, you know, doesn't make sense.
- GSGad Saad
It-
- JRJoe Rogan
It doesn't make sense that you're arguing with people online about it all day long if you're Rob Reiner or if you're Stephen King, like putting, you know, nasty tweets out. It's like, come on.
- GSGad Saad
So I actually, I, I wrote, maybe it was shameless plugging of my book, but I, I re- responded to Rob Reiner. I said, "Let me send you a copy of my book. Man, there's so much that you have to be happy about. Stop m- being mired endlessly in vitriol." I mean, that's all he does. I mean, imagine this guy, how many things he's got to be grateful about. He's a creative guy-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
... a talented guy, and he spends all day obsessing on issues that ultimately he's got no control over.
- 5:06 – 6:28
Corruption, borders, and the ‘real problems’ that get drowned out
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, people f- viewed Trump as an existential-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... threat to the, the f- the, the very fundamentals of the country. They, they-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... thought that he was gonna come in and he was gonna represent corruption, uh, at on a level that we've never seen before. But the problem with doing that and saying that is that it opens the door to examining all the other corruption. Like, how much corruption is there?
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like how much, what do you, w- who's, how much money are you guys making? Like, how-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... where is this money coming from? There's so much corruption that's readily available that once you start opening the door to calling someone a monster, then everyone gets to look at you and go-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... "Hey, but what about you guys? Like, what are you doing?" Or, w- what about, what about drone bombings? What about, like-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... let's talk about some real problems. So that, what is it, what about the fentanyl crisis? Like, what about, you know, what about the, the, the borders where, like, criminals are coming through? Like, how many are being sent back? What's the numbers?
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
What's the numbers? I mean, a lot of them are good people that just wanna find a better way to live, and good for them. And I would do it t- I would do it too if I could sneak across into America-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... and be assimilated, I would fucking do it.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Why wouldn't you?
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
If you, if you got a bad roll of the dice and you're living in somewhere that's less favorable and you get the opportunity to just... All you have to do is get across the river and they let you in. But how many of those people shouldn't be here? How many of those people are dangerous? How many? What's the number? It's not zero. What's the number?
- 6:28 – 9:22
Antisemitism, cultural importation, and whether Twitter is revealing or worsening it
- GSGad Saad
Well, well, I could tell you that, uh, I've, we've talked about this in the past when we've talked about people who come from certain cultures where there is rampant antisemitism, right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yes.
- GSGad Saad
And so if you let people that are coming from cultures where, when they're polled, somewhere between 90% to 99% of them will exhibit-... rampant Jew hatred. It doesn't take much of a, uh, social- sociologist or a, you know, survey analyst to recognize that out of all those people that are coming in, you're going to have an increase of Jew hatred. Yesterday, I was out with some friends, um, here in Austin, and so one of them asked me, "Have you, have you seen an uptake on, uh, you know, Jew hatred? Are you exposed to more?" And I say, "Oh, it's, it's, it's endless." It's not. I mean, it's usually on social media.
- JRJoe Rogan
W- w- do you think it's ramped up or do you think now that Elon has, uh, taken over Twitter and allowed much more free speech-
- GSGad Saad
Hard for me to tell.
- JRJoe Rogan
... do you think?
- GSGad Saad
I don't, I really don't know, but it, there is kind of a normalized... Now, many of them are behind anonymous accounts.
- JRJoe Rogan
Of course.
- GSGad Saad
But there is kind of a, a cavalier normalization of just say- so for example, I think someone had retweeted, you know, a promotional thing about my book, and someone said, you know, "Why are you promoting the Jew?" You're like, "My God, this, this guy could be your, your son's teacher. He could be your-"
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
... uh, the grocer at the store."
- JRJoe Rogan
You know what? I, I have a real concern with that, and I also have a real concern with vested entities, like s- organizations that would want people to be at each other's throats, stirring up things with fake social media posts.
- GSGad Saad
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
'Cause this is a real problem that's happening in the world right now.
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, um, someone, um, tweeted a bunch of different examples, uh, of where dozens and dozens of accounts are saying the same inflammatory things with the exact same wordage. Exact. And they're all, like, you know, they have numbers and letters-
- GSGad Saad
Right, right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... in their accounts, like just random accounts. And, you know, you go to their page, it looks kinda real. They have a photo. There's, like, them with a flag. It's like, and you go through it, and you, but you get this sense, like, oh, you're, you're a bot. Like, you're not even-
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
... a real person. Like, so you, you're an agent of, you're stirring up bullshit. So there's a certain aspect of our culture. I don't know what the percentage is, but there's a certain aspect of the conversations online that are being flavored by fake accounts that are designed to get people upset with each other.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's like psychological warfare on a level that no one anticipated and no one's prepared for, because th- when you have the two things we already discussed, like this adherence to the ideology no matter what, no matter what, like e- there's no... You can't objectively, logically defend any of the things that are in, in opposition of it.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And then you have this.
- 9:22 – 12:01
The Hotez controversy: debating facts, incentives, and refusing public challenges
- GSGad Saad
So are you... I, I noticed, uh, I mean, obviously we follow each other on Twitter. You almost never, I mean, short of the recent thing you did with, uh, Peter Hotez, you almost never weigh in on anything. Is- has- was that sort of a conscious thing for you to step back and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Well, with that one, it was like, okay, this is crazy. You're, you're, you're-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... you're saying that he, he was, he made some crazy tweet about neo-fascist leanings.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw that.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, what are you talking about?
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, with Robert Kennedy Jr., with me. I'm like, this is dangerous. Like, what you're saying is totally untrue.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know it's untrue, and you're willing to just say it because it, like, the, the more you can discredit someone who's in opposition to some of your ideas, the, the more you can somehow or another in your weird game of checkers you're playing, like, elevate yourself. But you don't think people know what you're doing? Like, that's like the, the most clear obv- neo-fascist? Like, what the fuck are you saying?
- GSGad Saad
Did you feel more angry at the fact that you had already had a conversation with him, and so you, there was some kind of personal connection between you two? I mean, I understand he's not your best friend.
- JRJoe Rogan
For sure. I've had him on at least... W- was he on twice?
- NANarrator
Twice, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Twice. I've had him on twice.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I was very nice to him.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Even w- in disagreement with him, like in issues of health. I was very nice to him.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
(sighs) But you can't just say stuff like that. And, you know, it's like, I just wanted to say, like, have a debate with the guy.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, have a debate with the guy.
- GSGad Saad
So what ended up happening? I think it got up to, like, two-
- JRJoe Rogan
He's-
- GSGad Saad
... $2 million.
- JRJoe Rogan
... he's not, he's not gonna do it.
- GSGad Saad
Okay.
- JRJoe Rogan
He won't do it. You know.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I don't think he wants to do it. You know, and there's, there's the idea that, like, Robert Kennedy would be too silver-tongued, like, psh, psh, psh. Oh, come on. 'Cause he's a lawyer, you know.
- 12:01 – 13:43
Evolution in plain sight (and a quick technical pause)
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, you know there's a little antelope in the Congo that swims underwater and eats fish?
- GSGad Saad
Is that right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. It's called a duiker. I think it's called a duiker, D-U-I-K-E-R, I think that's how you say it. But this little animal evolved, uh, lived on grasslands, and the grasslands became rainforest. And when the grasslands, these little, like, prairie animals-
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... were trapped inside the Congo. There's an amazing BBC documentary about it.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
But they've got, like, these things are evolving.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, they're figuring out how to swim. (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
But believe me, having spent 30 years trying to convince some of my academic colleagues about the value of evolution in studying human behavior, they all go, "La, la, la, I don't wanna hear it."
- JRJoe Rogan
Right, right. With human behavior.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And especially with, y- you know, w-
- GSGad Saad
Oh, there we go.
- JRJoe Rogan
... certain narratives.... so this one is just swimming in the water, but these motherfuckers can go underwater. They can sw- the, the duikers that they were talking about in the Congo, they can swim under water for like a 100 yards.
- GSGad Saad
Why do I feel that the crocodile's about to hit any second now?
- JRJoe Rogan
'Cause we've seen too many of those videos. (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
That, that is arguably one of the scariest-
- JRJoe Rogan
Scenarios?
- GSGad Saad
... nat- yes, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
The scariest, the fucking scariest.
- SPSpeaker
Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I have to pause. Something happened with my video-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- SPSpeaker
... feed right now.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- SPSpeaker
It's some, doing some, it's mixing your two things really strangely. I need to-
- JRJoe Rogan
Do we, we got to reboot?
- SPSpeaker
... pass it to, not a reboot, I just gotta figure out what happened.
- 13:43 – 17:51
‘You’re a connector’: Burt Bacharach DM, Clint Eastwood, and old-school movie love
- GSGad Saad
Can I... I just wanna close the parenthesis on something that happened from last show.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- GSGad Saad
Incredible story. You ready?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
That's actually speaks about connecting with people. So, last show you had asked me, or not you had asked me, we were talking about who would be some guests that we'd really wanna have on our respective shows and y- you probably don't remember what my two celebrities were, do you? Have I just-
- JRJoe Rogan
I don't, I don't remember.
- GSGad Saad
Clint Eastwood.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- GSGad Saad
And, first I appreciate his politics and I've been watching him since I was a kid in Lebanon. Uh, number two was Burt Bacharach who's, I don't, do you remember who that is? Burt-
- JRJoe Rogan
I remember the name.
- GSGad Saad
Burt Bacharach i- is the, uh, music composer who's basically written songs for everybody. Uh, he was featured in one of the Austin Powers movie-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- GSGad Saad
... where he, the guy says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Burt Bacharach." You know? Anyways, uh, after our chat aired, I go on my Instagram, I have a personal DM, private DM from what looks like the account of Burt Bacharach, who's, you know, arguably the biggest musical, you know, composer in the United States. So I'm extremely excited. It turns out it was his son, who said, "Oh, y- your, your clip with Joe Rogan, uh, was passed onto me, uh, and I think I would, it would be great for, I'd love for my dad to come on your show."
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- GSGad Saad
And... Now, cut to the punchline, it never ended up happening, he recently passed away, so perhaps he wasn't, I mean, he was like 94, 95. But just the fact that you and I are having a conversation, someone else picks it up and then my word can n- my world can intersect with Burt Bacharach, whom there is no conceivable place where his word and, world and mine would ever connect. That's the beauty of life.
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow. That is the beauty of life. That's awesome.
- GSGad Saad
Isn't that amazing?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Cl-
- GSGad Saad
You are a connector, sir.
- JRJoe Rogan
I try to be. Clint Eastwood would be an interesting guy to talk to. Like, the guy still works.
- GSGad Saad
Unbelievable.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, he's like 93 years old, he's still out there making movies.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, well I don't-
- JRJoe Rogan
Still enjoys it.
- GSGad Saad
I remember in Lebanon when I, I, you know, I only learned English in, in, when I moved to, to Canada when I was 11. And I, I got all the communication I needed to get, even though there wasn't much dialogue in the spaghetti westerns. I would look at him and I would say, "That's, that's the man." You know? And so he's-
- JRJoe Rogan
Remember Every Which Way But Loose?
- GSGad Saad
Of course.
- JRJoe Rogan
He hung around with an orangutan. (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs) So that's a bit later, right? That's-
- JRJoe Rogan
That's a fucking movie.
- 17:51 – 21:42
Favorites, persuasion, and why culture keeps re-litigating settled issues
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, yeah. Uh, what, what's your favorite movie of all time if you had to pick one?
- JRJoe Rogan
I really don't think I have one, but you know what I watched recently, I re-watched, is, um, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- GSGad Saad
Oh, right.
- JRJoe Rogan
I forgot how good that was. That movie is amazing. It's not just amazing, it's amazing visually and it's from 1968.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, it's amazing.
- JRJoe Rogan
The, the special effects are so good, like all through it, like even the apes in the beginning, you know the scene where they're evolving?
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
When they encounter the monolith.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
The fucking special effects on the apes is pretty goddamn good for 1968.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, yeah. My, my all time favorite, the original 12 Angry Men.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm.
- GSGad Saad
I first saw... And actually it speaks to what we talked about earlier about how you can't get someone to change their mind when they're in a tribal mindset, because I watched the, the movie for the first time in a first semester. I was an MBA student and I was taking a, uh, organizational behavior class, where the professor assigned us that movie to watch it to demonstrate group dynamics. Because for those of you who don't... Have, have you seen it, Joe?
- JRJoe Rogan
I don't think I have.
- GSGad Saad
Oh, you need to. Rent it tonight. So basically-
- JRJoe Rogan
Who's in it?
- GSGad Saad
It's, uh, Henry Fonda.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh wait-
- GSGad Saad
That's it. That's the one.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.Okay. I think I have, but it was a long, long time ago.
- GSGad Saad
So, let me tell you the premise.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- GSGad Saad
Uh, 12 guys get together in a room. They're trying to discuss whether a guy should be put to de- uh, you know, found guilty. They take a s- a poll. 11 say, "He's absolutely guilty. Let's go home." One guy, Henry Fonda, says, "Hey, let's, let's sit and talk about it." The rest of the movie is how he gets each of the 11 other guys to flip their positions. And so that's why I had watched it in that MBA course, because it demonstrates how, you know, there are techniques you can use to try to persuade people. Of course-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- GSGad Saad
... today you could almost never do it. I could never convince Rob Reiner of anything, but, you know ...
- JRJoe Rogan
Ah, I mean, I wouldn't s- necessarily say that. I think some people are just like really deeply cemented in their belief systems.
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
And I mean, maybe they can relax. It's still, it's still po- y- you're, you're a human being. If you're a human being and you're willing to look at objective truth, you can realize that, like, there's some other things afoot. There's like, there's a tribal aspect to all of our ideological, um, problems that makes o- objective reasoning a giant problem. It d- it just, like, it gets in the way of everything, because people are so tribally committed right now. And that, they're tribally committed to this idea that the other side is the end of the world if they take power.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And there's all these different things that are bounced back a- around, these c- these societal issues that keep getting bounced back around, where you go like, "What? What a- why aren't these resolved?" Like, the Roe v. Wade one, and now they're talking about, uh, g- gay marriage, like s- doing the same thing with gay marriage. Like, it's just ... Why do you wanna do this? Uh, d- are you doing this because you just want people to squabble about shit? 'Cause that's what it seems like, 'cause that's the only reason why you would ha- have, like, Supreme Court conversations about gay marriage in 2023.
- 21:42 – 29:59
When tribalism hits home: family conflict over Tucker Carlson + media narratives
- GSGad Saad
Th- the saddest part is when that tribalism comes into your own family, so ...
- JRJoe Rogan
Ugh.
- GSGad Saad
So here's an incredible story. Uh, I had, I've appeared on Tucker Carlson's sh- I mean, his old show, uh, several times on television, but his long-form, uh, podcast that he used to do, uh, he had invited us to ... Us meaning my, my family and I, to Florida to do his show. He was super gracious, super warm with everybody, with our ki- with my kids and so on. And so I put out a tweet just thanking him for his hospitality. "Hey, Tucker, it was so nice to meet you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to chat," blah, blah, blah. A cousin of mine, Joe, who went through the Lebanese Civil War with me and who was my best friend growing up in Lebanon. So you would think that if there's ever a relationship that's cemented in the trials and tribulations of our childhood, it would be that relationship.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
So he puts out a tweet, and he says something. I mean, I don't remember it exactly, although I quote it in the book, Unhappiness, uh, because I'm basically arguing, "Don't, don't live your life like my cousin."
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- GSGad Saad
Uh, he puts out a tweet saying something like, "Have you no shame?" Right? So he decides to publicly shame me for being associated or agreeing to go on Tucker Carlson's show. That shows you what tribalism can do to the human mind. It takes something as difficult as what we went through through the Lebanese Civil War, and it, uh, erases it because he can't believe that I could do something as grotesque as to talk to Tucker Carlson.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. There ... And if you g- asked him for examples, specific examples of why Tucker Carlson is so horrible, that's where it would get interesting.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
'Cause some people might be able to say some things they found disagreeable, but most people are just sticking to a narrative.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
There's just this narrative that he is evil incarnate. He is a transphobe or, uh, uh-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... whatever it is.
- GSGad Saad
He's a, he's a Putin stooge.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm. Yeah. He's a Putin stooge. They, they ... There's all these different things.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
But, yeah. They, they wanna ignore all evidence that he's a lovely guy.
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Because it's like it's-
- GSGad Saad
And he really is.
- JRJoe Rogan
Y- th- uh, by all accounts. By all accounts. All the people that I know that have had interactions with him say he's a very lovely guy, including my friend, Steve Rinella. He had him on a podcast, and these people that, you know, they had these ideas of who he was before he came on his podcast. And he's like, "They all came away from, like, saying, 'I really like him.'"
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
"He's a really nice guy."
- GSGad Saad
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Even if you don't agree with his politics, he seems like a really nice guy.
- GSGad Saad
Gracious, down to earth. Uh, what I-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
What I love ... Y- y- you know how y- y- you often say if you wanna know whether the date that you're out o- with is a good person, see how she, he or she treats the server at the restaurant?
- JRJoe Rogan
Sure.
- 29:59 – 40:50
Moderation, ancient wisdom, and travel/language detours (Greece, Portugal, accents)
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what else is up? What's h- I think we were gonna talk about, uh, uh, what my impression of some of the prices in Austin.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, yeah. You were telling me that, uh, an espresso was $8.
- GSGad Saad
I, so yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
So yes, yes- yesterday, I went out with, actually I was at my, at that, at the hotel. And, uh, two friends came by to, one of whom I think has been on your show, Michael Malice.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I love that dude.
- GSGad Saad
And, yeah, he's lovely. And the other, the other guy is a professor at UT Austin who's really, Richard Lowry, who's really fighting. He's very much of a academic honey badger fighting against all the woke stuff. And so we were just hanging out. Uh, one of, one of the guys ordered a Diet Coke, and two of us ordered, uh, two espressos. Uh, the bill came. It was, uh, with the tip, $28.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
And I'm thinking, "This is like Oprah money." Like, who, who can, who can, you know, afford these prices? You, you tell me. What's, what's going on in Austin? It's all-
- JRJoe Rogan
I have no idea. I didn't go to that place. I don't know, but-
- GSGad Saad
But I mean, in general, the real estate, everything is completely doubled, tripled. It's, it's going... I mean, I understand that it's because it's a hot place.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, but espresso shouldn't be eight bucks, right? (laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Like what did (laughs) what did espresso cost?
- GSGad Saad
Well, in Montreal, it'll be...
- JRJoe Rogan
... four or five is normal. What's normal in Montreal?
- GSGad Saad
Mon- Montreal would be maybe for an espresso, so it's a short espresso, single espresso, at 3.50.
- JRJoe Rogan
Which it's hard for people to believe, but when I was growing up, there was no Starbucks.
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
People did not... They did not like coffee like they like coffee now. They are the greatest drug dealers the world's ever known.
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
They (laughs) they're slinging that sweet caffeine all over this country, and that's what it is. It's the best drug-dealing operation the world's ever known, 'cause it's a super mild, productive drug that-
- GSGad Saad
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... everybody enjoys.
- GSGad Saad
Yes.
- JRJoe Rogan
Feels like a warm hug-
- GSGad Saad
Oh, oh, I f- I feel, I feel the-
- JRJoe Rogan
... as my friend Tate Fletcher likes to say.
- GSGad Saad
... the, the requisite drug conversations coming up. Here we go on a 30-minute conversation of drugs. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, but this is, like, a good drug, like caffeine as it-
- 40:50 – 47:57
Arabic phonetics to horror films: scary movies, Alien, and ‘Dressed to Kill’
- GSGad Saad
Yeah. Well, there, there are tons of sounds in Arabic. Let's see if you can do them. You ready?
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay. All right.
- GSGad Saad
First time ever on, on the Joe Rogan Experience.
- JRJoe Rogan
Give me a try.
- GSGad Saad
Okay, so for example, my last name, everybody, all Americans will say Saad. You just extend the A.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- GSGad Saad
But the proper way to say it, it's Gad Saad.
- JRJoe Rogan
Saad.
- GSGad Saad
Right. It's an 3in.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like Arnold, like if Arnold was gonna say it. Saaz.
- GSGad Saad
Sort of like, exactly.
- JRJoe Rogan
Aah.
- GSGad Saad
Or for example, hih. Can you say hih?
- JRJoe Rogan
Hih.
- GSGad Saad
Not hih. There's hih, hih, and hih. They're coming from different parts from my throat.
- JRJoe Rogan
What?
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs) Those are all the same.
- GSGad Saad
So if I say, if I say, uh, the Arabic people are going to laugh at this.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- GSGad Saad
Inta khara, that means you're shit. Okay?
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- GSGad Saad
It's a hih.
- JRJoe Rogan
Inta khara.
- GSGad Saad
Okay, okay. Inta hamar, that means you're, you're an ass. Okay? You're an idiot.
- JRJoe Rogan
Say it again.
- GSGad Saad
Inta, the second one?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, the second one.
- GSGad Saad
Inta hamar.
- JRJoe Rogan
Inta hamar.
- 47:57 – 58:58
Sports devotion and the biology of fandom (Messi, testosterone, meaning)
- GSGad Saad
Speaking of athletics, I remember many years ago I had come on this show where I was singing the glory of, yeah, Lionel Messi. And you were like, "Who?"
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- GSGad Saad
"Who's Lionel Messi?" And then you mentioned some MMA fighter that I'd never heard of, and I remember your exact response. You s- you looked at me and said, "How dare you, sir?"
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
Uh, let me flip it back to you.
- JRJoe Rogan
Okay.
- GSGad Saad
How dare you? So are you now? You are a Messi fan finally? You've come around to the- to the truth?
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, he's a amazing soccer player. I mean...
- GSGad Saad
Oh, that goal. Wow.
- JRJoe Rogan
There's no denying.
- GSGad Saad
Okay, well let me... Le- since I'm on the number one show in the world-
- JRJoe Rogan
He's a wizard. Didn't they offer him like some fucking insane amount of money-
- NANarrator
Oh.
- JRJoe Rogan
... and he just said no?
- GSGad Saad
S- Saudi Arabia.
- JRJoe Rogan
How much did they offer him?
- NANarrator
A different guy just got offered a billion dollars for one year.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah, Mbappe.
- JRJoe Rogan
What?
- NANarrator
Yeah.
- GSGad Saad
Mbappe. Mbappe, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
What? A billion for a year?
- NANarrator
Well, 330 of that is so that he can transfer to the team, and then 771 is for his services...
- GSGad Saad
Yeah. Yeah.
- NANarrator
... to play soccer for a year.
- JRJoe Rogan
Jesus!
- GSGad Saad
They're buying everybody, the Saudis.
- NANarrator
And LeBron...
- JRJoe Rogan
Jesus.
- NANarrator
LeBron said if they offered him, he'd fucking take off and play for them but...
- 58:58 – 1:21:26
Which athletes are ‘fittest’? Wrestling, Karelin, and MMA’s GOAT debate
- GSGad Saad
So, there was a study a few years ago, I can't cite what it was, but that looked at who were the fittest athletes. Number one was soccer.
- JRJoe Rogan
It has to be.
- GSGad Saad
Do you know what number two was?
- JRJoe Rogan
No.
- GSGad Saad
Squash players.
- JRJoe Rogan
Why?
- GSGad Saad
I, I'm guessing because there are a lot of those very, very quick accelerations that you have to engage in to be able to get... The, the ball is very dead, right?
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- GSGad Saad
And so you really have to have this incredible quickness to be able... So, I, I, I-
- JRJoe Rogan
What a weird thing for an elite athlete to choose.
- GSGad Saad
Uh, Jamie, can we check the rankings of the-
- JRJoe Rogan
What? I don't even really think I could describe squash.
- GSGad Saad
Yeah. You know, I tried to play it. I got very claustrophobic.
- JRJoe Rogan
Really?
- GSGad Saad
No, I'm, I'm being serious 'cause-
- JRJoe Rogan
Let me see what it looks like.
- NANarrator
Squash, okay.
- JRJoe Rogan
Show me a squash game.
- NANarrator
It's like a in... It's like a racquetball, right?
- GSGad Saad
No, but with a s-... with a m- ball that's more dead. Racquetball, the ball has a lot more give.
- NANarrator
Um...
- GSGad Saad
It bounces more.
- NANarrator
I was just trying to look. I found other sports that sound like they would be more, but I didn't find it in a scientific study.
- GSGad Saad
My, my wife has been trying to get me into pickleball. What are th-... what are our thoughts about that?
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- GSGad Saad
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Uh, I hear people like it.
- GSGad Saad
Have I, have I just lost, uh, a few testosterone points?
- JRJoe Rogan
No, but people... No. Come on, man. People like pickleball. Um...
- GSGad Saad
Well, apparently there's a whole craze of pickleball now because it's not quite as difficult as tennis. You don't have to cover as much ground. It's still a racket game.
Episode duration: 3:07:20
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