Joe Rogan Experience #2110 - Fahim Anwar

1. 0:00 – 1:31

   Reconnecting after the Austin move: Zoom by day, standup by night

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drum roll) Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (instrumental music) My man.

   3. FAFahim Anwar0:13

      How are you?

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:13

      Good to see you, brother. What's cracking?

   5. FAFahim Anwar0:14

      Good to be back. Thank you for having me.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      I miss you.

   7. FAFahim Anwar0:16

      I miss you too.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      I used to get to see you every week.

   9. FAFahim Anwar0:18

      I thought about that the other day, like, yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:20

       Yeah, it's like that's-

   11. FAFahim Anwar0:21

       You forget that, that, that's like a period of time, and it's not gonna be forever sometimes, you know?

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       Yeah. Well, y- it almost was. You were the f- one of the first people to take the trip out here.

   13. FAFahim Anwar0:29

       I was. It was clear as day when I first came out. I'm like, "Why wouldn't you be out here?"

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       Yeah.

   15. FAFahim Anwar0:34

       'Cause I remember I had this writing job, right? And so I was just like on Zoom every day, and life kinda sucked 'cause you couldn't go out. So I was just trapped in my house.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:42

       Right.

   17. FAFahim Anwar0:43

       And then in between a lunch break, I'm on Instagram, and I see Tony, you know, Tony Hinchcliffe's post. He's ... This is like in the infancy of him, him coming out here, you know?

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       Mm-hmm.

   19. FAFahim Anwar0:51

       He's like, "Sold out Anton's." You know what I mean? (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:54

       Yeah.

   21. FAFahim Anwar0:54

       It seemed like this Bizarro universe-

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:56

       Right.

   23. FAFahim Anwar0:56

       ... where like life is still happening. And I love standup so much.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       Mm-hmm.

   25. FAFahim Anwar1:00

       And I was just kind of miserable. And I'm like, "If this is happening out there, I can do standup?" So then I started asking questions. I hit up the EPs. I'm like, "Yo, 'cause we're on Zoom, could I, could I just write from Austin? Just Zoom by day, and then do standup out here with like all you guys at night?" And they were like, "We don't see why not." So it was awesome. I got an apartment out here. I would Zoom by day. I would just be doing awesome shows at Vulcan and stuff at night.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:26

       Damn.

   27. FAFahim Anwar1:26

       It was a ... It felt like a life hack.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:27

       It was a life hack.

   29. FAFahim Anwar1:29

       Yeah. It was, it was great.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:29

       Yeah.
2. 1:31 – 4:49

   Inside the Comedy Mothership: room design, comic-driven details, and the tunnel

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:31

      Have you been to the Mothership yet?

   2. FAFahim Anwar1:32

      Of course, dude. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:33

      Oh, okay.

   4. FAFahim Anwar1:33

      Yeah, it's amazing.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:35

      Nice.

   6. FAFahim Anwar1:35

      I got to do, um ... I think you were on vacation. Then Adam had me do where you normally do in the middle of the week.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:40

      Oh, yeah.

   8. FAFahim Anwar1:40

      The Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:42

      Mm.

   10. FAFahim Anwar1:43

       So I got to do like six shows-

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:46

       Nice.

   12. FAFahim Anwar1:46

       ... in that beautiful big room.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:47

       Nice.

   14. FAFahim Anwar1:48

       Both rooms are great, you know? I like that small one for, uh, working on stuff. It's kinda like the belly.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:53

       It's very much like ... It, the small room is a combination of the belly and the OR. It's a little bit bigger than the belly room and a little more locked in-

   16. FAFahim Anwar2:02

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan2:03

       ... than the belly room. And then the big room is like a combination of the OR and the main room.

   18. FAFahim Anwar2:07

       That's what I tell everybody, 'cause they go, "What's it like?" And it is ... It's like if those rooms had babies. Like they're in the-

   19. JRJoe Rogan2:12

       Yeah.

   20. FAFahim Anwar2:12

       They're in the middle of both those, of all three of those rooms, you know?

   21. JRJoe Rogan2:15

       They're both perfect.

   22. FAFahim Anwar2:16

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan2:16

       They're the perfect size.

   24. FAFahim Anwar2:18

       You know what's kind of funny? I think the store has started to like get a facelift because of what you've done at Mothership. 'Cause so many comics would come back and be like, "Yo, they just give you all your sets." You know what I mean?

   25. JRJoe Rogan2:29

       (laughs)

   26. FAFahim Anwar2:29

       The sound's amazing, like 'cause it's so state-of-the-art.

   27. JRJoe Rogan2:32

       Well, there's also the screens in the green room that show you what's going on on-stage and the time.

   28. FAFahim Anwar2:36

       You can't miss your spot.

   29. JRJoe Rogan2:37

       Yeah, you can't miss your spot.

   30. FAFahim Anwar2:39

       Yeah.
3. 4:49 – 7:39

   Footage, phone-locking, and the modern attention crisis

   1. FAFahim Anwar4:49

      But the most valuable asset to comedians, especially nowadays, is getting that footage, dude.

   2. JRJoe Rogan4:53

      The footage is big.

   3. FAFahim Anwar4:54

      It's, uh ...

   4. JRJoe Rogan4:54

      Yeah, we, we'll film you, and then also it's like really high quality. It's-

   5. FAFahim Anwar4:58

      Yes, it's 8K.

   6. JRJoe Rogan4:59

      Yeah.

   7. FAFahim Anwar4:59

      And the sound's great, so I've been pushing for that at the store, and I think they're starting to. It's just, it's just a process, but I-

   8. JRJoe Rogan5:05

      They also have to put people's phones in bags so they pay attention.

   9. FAFahim Anwar5:08

      Mm.

   10. JRJoe Rogan5:09

       People are so goddamn distracted, me included. It's so hard to just sit there. It's one of the things that I love about podcasts is just for three hours I'm not gonna see what's going on in the world.

   11. FAFahim Anwar5:18

       Just locked in.

   12. JRJoe Rogan5:18

       I'm locked in.

   13. FAFahim Anwar5:19

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan5:19

       I don't have to think about other things. And I'm really lucky. I think it's a form of therapy in a weird way, in this bizarre digitally sort of, uh, intertwined world. You can't escape it. I n- I can never escape it. It's so hard to get away from emails and text messages. And it's just ... I cannot keep up. I have 185 unanswered text messages.

   15. FAFahim Anwar5:42

       Are you good about clearing them, or do you just-

   16. JRJoe Rogan5:44

       Uh ...

   17. FAFahim Anwar5:44

       You have all that read?

   18. JRJoe Rogan5:45

       Who are you ... Who, who has time to clear things?

   19. FAFahim Anwar5:46

       I have to clear them. I have this OCD thing where I need to have a clean ...

   20. JRJoe Rogan5:50

       Oh, I don't have that.

   21. FAFahim Anwar5:50

       I can't have red.

   22. JRJoe Rogan5:51

       Okay, so 183. 183 unanswered texts.

   23. FAFahim Anwar5:54

       All right.

   24. JRJoe Rogan5:54

       How? How do I do that?

   25. FAFahim Anwar5:55

       Well, you're a popular guy, dude.

   26. JRJoe Rogan5:56

       No, no, how do you keep up? You can't.

   27. FAFahim Anwar5:57

       Oh, it's hard.

   28. JRJoe Rogan5:58

       You literally can't keep up.

   29. FAFahim Anwar5:58

       It's hard for you. I, I can keep up. I can keep ... I'm always surprised-

   30. JRJoe Rogan6:02

       But it-
4. 7:39 – 10:48

   DocuSign is fake, stylus phones, and old-timey camera nerds

   1. JRJoe Rogan7:39

      And if you ever have to... Do you know what the most hilarious thing to me is? When you have to sign things online.

   2. FAFahim Anwar7:43

      Like, it's such bullshit. It's an exercise in everyone believing-

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:45

      It's a fake signature. It's not even my real signature. It's a fake signature. Like, a DocuSign?

   4. FAFahim Anwar7:51

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:51

      And you just agree that you're gonna accept that as your signature. You say, "Okay."

   6. FAFahim Anwar7:55

      Right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:55

      And you click it, and then it's your signature.

   8. FAFahim Anwar7:58

      Is it just Joe Rogan in text?

   9. JRJoe Rogan7:59

      There is one-

   10. FAFahim Anwar8:00

       You go, "I guess that's a signature."

   11. JRJoe Rogan8:01

       There's one way around that. It's, um, if you have, uh, like a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, their new phone, it, uh, it has a stylus that's built into the phone, and you could use it to sign PDFs.

   12. FAFahim Anwar8:13

       Does somebody care enough to be buying that phone just to sign documents?

   13. JRJoe Rogan8:17

       No, but you can sign all kinds of stuff. Like, you can write on it, like a notepad. It's really fascinating. It's a very fascinating piece of tech.

   14. FAFahim Anwar8:24

       We're going back to PalmPilot? We've gone full circle?

   15. JRJoe Rogan8:27

       (laughs) A little bit, but it also allows you to take photographs. So, you could use it as a shutter. So, you could, like, stand across the room and take a photo of yourself or a video-

   16. FAFahim Anwar8:35

       Wow.

   17. JRJoe Rogan8:35

       ... and you press that button and it starts recording and it start, or it starts taking a picture.

   18. FAFahim Anwar8:37

       You could be like an old-timey photographer.

   19. JRJoe Rogan8:39

       Yeah, old-timey.

   20. GUGuest8:39

       Could you s- (laughs)

   21. FAFahim Anwar8:40

       Just put a blanket over you, go...

   22. JRJoe Rogan8:41

       (laughs) Do they still do that? Do they have, like, enthusiasts-

   23. FAFahim Anwar8:45

       That'd be great.

   24. JRJoe Rogan8:45

       ... who do old-timey? It must be.

   25. FAFahim Anwar8:45

       I bet there's some, some kid in Silverlake who's like, "Yo, pose everybody at some cool bar," and he has the flash.

   26. JRJoe Rogan8:51

       Yo, I used to get fascinated by this one dude who would make old-timey wooden farm tools. This guy would make, like, old-timey, uh, what are those things? Planes? He would make old-timey planes and old-timey, like, uh-

   27. FAFahim Anwar9:05

       Like, Wright Brothers planes?

   28. JRJoe Rogan9:06

       No, no. Planes, like, where you're planing wood.

   29. FAFahim Anwar9:09

       Oh. Okay.

   30. JRJoe Rogan9:09

       He was, like, a wood shop guy, but it was all handmade. He made all of his tools.
5. 10:48 – 13:18

   Littering in nature, survival reality checks, and animal toughness

   1. JRJoe Rogan10:48

      Hey, dude, don't litter.

   2. GUGuest10:49

      (laughs) Yeah. Frankly though, no.

   3. FAFahim Anwar10:50

      He's downing himself.

   4. JRJoe Rogan10:51

      Come on, it's, I know you're mad that your fucking homemade camera doesn't work, but better pick that up, bitch.

   5. FAFahim Anwar10:56

      That's the beauty of YouTube, is-

   6. JRJoe Rogan10:57

      No, imagine that. That guy just littered.

   7. GUGuest10:58

      (laughs)

   8. FAFahim Anwar10:59

      Yeah. You think that's not natural?

   9. JRJoe Rogan11:01

      No, and fucking... Don't you can't litter in those places, bro.

   10. FAFahim Anwar11:02

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan11:02

       There's too many people visit. Think about how many people visit, like, national parks.

   12. FAFahim Anwar11:06

       (coughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan11:06

       It's, like, so important not to litter.

   14. FAFahim Anwar11:08

       To throw a metal thing.

   15. JRJoe Rogan11:08

       No one's going in there cleaning up after you, you fucking animals. Don't do it. Don't litter when you're in the woods, man. My friend, Adam Greentree, he goes on these, uh, big backpacking hunts, where he'll go, he'll go into the, like, Montana mountains, Colorado mountains for, like, a month at a time. And he's just picking up bags of people's shit that they left behind, bags of empty water bottles, bags of trash. And he just brings a bag with him and he collects it while he's out there hunting. He's just... It's disgusting.

   16. FAFahim Anwar11:37

       That's nice of him to do. I'm sure there's tons of stuff out there.

   17. JRJoe Rogan11:39

       It's so disturbing, though, that people do that. It's, uh, it's the worst aspect of us, this just total willingness through completely being selfish, of just destroying one of the most amazing things we have in this country, which is national parks and public lands and place where you could just walk out into the woods.

   18. FAFahim Anwar12:03

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan12:03

       There's tons of places in this country where you can just go on a hike in the fucking woods with bears and moose and all kinds of shit. You can just go out there, man.

   20. FAFahim Anwar12:13

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan12:14

       Hopefully, you know what you're doing, but nobody really tests you.

   22. FAFahim Anwar12:17

       Right. Nobody's allowed.

   23. JRJoe Rogan12:18

       Nobody says, "Hey, Fahim, how long can you hike before you die?"

   24. FAFahim Anwar12:21

       (laughs) Let's find out.

   25. JRJoe Rogan12:22

       "Hey, Fahim, did you, are you, do you do any cardio at all?"

   26. FAFahim Anwar12:25

       No.

   27. JRJoe Rogan12:25

       "Hey, Fahim, do you know how to use a compass? Hey, Fahim, do you guys have fucking something to start fire with?" (laughs)

   28. FAFahim Anwar12:30

       Well, that's when you make the local news...

   29. JRJoe Rogan12:32

       Yeah.

   30. FAFahim Anwar12:32

       And then there's like a file photo of me, and like, "The search has been on for six days."
6. 13:18 – 18:36

   Turtles, longevity, and ‘dinosaur’ snapping turtles

   1. FAFahim Anwar13:18

      I remember I was like... Uh, I was, uh, snorkeling in Hawaii, and you get to see all that marine life down there.

   2. JRJoe Rogan13:23

      Mm-hmm.

   3. FAFahim Anwar13:23

      And I just saw this sea turtle, so peaceful, and then part of me was like, "He doesn't have to worry about rent or... and he, he doesn't have to-

   4. JRJoe Rogan13:29

      True.

   5. FAFahim Anwar13:29

      ... make money to exist-"

   6. JRJoe Rogan13:31

      Right, true.

   7. FAFahim Anwar13:31

      ... which was like an interesting concept, but he has so many other problems too.

   8. JRJoe Rogan13:34

      He's got problems.

   9. FAFahim Anwar13:35

      He's got problems.

   10. JRJoe Rogan13:36

       Yeah.

   11. FAFahim Anwar13:36

       But there's just something about, like, that being enough for this turtle just kind of floating, whereas like, "I gotta get a job. I gotta go on tour. I gotta make money. I have to have an a- apartment. I have to..." You know what I mean? All these things humans need to do to exist.

   12. JRJoe Rogan13:48

       The turtle's a residual effect of evolution that's no longer necessary, but we think they're beautiful.

   13. FAFahim Anwar13:54

       I think they're beautiful, man.

   14. JRJoe Rogan13:55

       We think they're cool.

   15. FAFahim Anwar13:56

       Cool guys. They live a long time.

   16. JRJoe Rogan13:57

       When you, when you see a turtle, you're like, "Hey, bro. This design is not gonna survive."

   17. FAFahim Anwar14:01

       Man, I can watch a turtle eat lettuce forever.

   18. JRJoe Rogan14:03

       Dude.

   19. FAFahim Anwar14:03

       Doesn't Stallone still have his turtle from Rocky?

   20. JRJoe Rogan14:06

       Whoa. Is it that old?

   21. FAFahim Anwar14:07

       It's old, man. They live a long time.

   22. JRJoe Rogan14:09

       Oh, my god. I had turtles. I had to get rid of them when I had babies, 'cause turtles are dirty little creatures.

   23. FAFahim Anwar14:15

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan14:15

       You don't wanna have that stuff around, but they were ruthless.

   25. FAFahim Anwar14:19

       (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan14:20

       I would feed them.

   27. FAFahim Anwar14:20

       Slowly ruthless?

   28. JRJoe Rogan14:21

       No, I would feed them goldfish. Dude, I had piranhas at one point in time.

   29. FAFahim Anwar14:26

       Of course you did. That's like the most Joe Rogan pet.

   30. JRJoe Rogan14:28

       And, uh, they were not nearly as ruthless as these fucking turtles.
7. 18:36 – 24:51

   Possums, parasites, and toxoplasmosis mind-control theory

   1. FAFahim Anwar18:36

      Yeah. I saw this video. You know, you see videos on Twitter and stuff. This guy in New York, there's a possum just on the side of this building.

   2. JRJoe Rogan18:43

      (laughs)

   3. FAFahim Anwar18:43

      And then, and then this, this, this white guy helps the neighborhood out. He just grabs it off the wall, and it's like...... and everyone's just thanking this guy, and he just knows how to handle the possum.

   4. JRJoe Rogan18:53

      Oh, Jesus.

   5. FAFahim Anwar18:53

      And he walks it down the street, and he just, like, throws it into an alley. (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan18:57

      Yeah. My dog, Marshall, likes possums. That's a, that's a person who grew up on a farm. That lady just grabs that thing, right? Look at that lady.

   7. FAFahim Anwar19:01

      I just love how this is a sub-genre on the internet, grabbing possums.

   8. JRJoe Rogan19:04

      That lady just grabbed that thing like she knew exactly what the fuck she was doing. Look at her walk out, confidently. Look at her, she's all confident and shit, holding onto that wild rat.

   9. FAFahim Anwar19:12

      Like, does she have experience? I wouldn't...

   10. JRJoe Rogan19:14

       She must. She must. Unless it's hers.

   11. FAFahim Anwar19:17

       That's true.

   12. JRJoe Rogan19:17

       Maybe it's like a YouTube gag.

   13. FAFahim Anwar19:18

       She's like, "My bad, guys. She got out."

   14. JRJoe Rogan19:20

       She's releasing possums like, "Oh, he got a little crazy." Roscoe.

   15. FAFahim Anwar19:24

       (laughs) Cut that out.

   16. JRJoe Rogan19:25

       You cut that out.

   17. FAFahim Anwar19:26

       Roscoe.

   18. JRJoe Rogan19:26

       You cut that out, Roscoe.

   19. FAFahim Anwar19:27

       We're in an Applebees. Come on.

   20. JRJoe Rogan19:28

       Roscoe. R- they have a disease, a very specific disease, right? Don't, don't, uh, possums have like something nasty? I think they have something na... I was worried 'cause my dogs got them a couple of times.

   21. FAFahim Anwar19:40

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan19:40

       They just lock up. They don't even fight back.

   23. FAFahim Anwar19:42

       They get scared. Yes.

   24. JRJoe Rogan19:43

       No, they lock up. They play possum.

   25. FAFahim Anwar19:45

       Hmm.

   26. JRJoe Rogan19:45

       They dead. They're like, they're dead.

   27. FAFahim Anwar19:47

       Oh, so that's where the fucking term comes from. Ah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan19:48

       That's where it comes from. Yeah. It's a weird response.

   29. FAFahim Anwar19:50

       So, I mean, the possums have the same technique.

   30. JRJoe Rogan19:51

       They don't know if it's a response to escape coyotes, 'cause coyotes sometimes will kill you and not eat you immediately, and maybe there's some sort of an evolutionary advantage to playing dead, and they leave you there, but you're not actually dead, and so they give up on trying to eat you yet. She got, uh-
8. 24:51 – 26:53

   Algorithms, death videos, and Fahim’s Instagram shadowban during special rollout

   1. JRJoe Rogan24:51

      I've, I've been watching more car accidents because of Instagram than at any other time in my life.Instagram just wants to show you people dyin'. (laughs)

   2. FAFahim Anwar24:59

      Well, X too, man.

   3. JRJoe Rogan25:02

      X too. Well, X is everything.

   4. FAFahim Anwar25:03

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan25:04

      X has porn on it, which is so wild. That during the time where they were trying to take people ... take their accounts away for COVID information, that they didn't think was correct at the time-

   6. FAFahim Anwar25:14

      Mm.

   7. JRJoe Rogan25:15

      ... th- they were allowing, like, hardcore porn. (laughs)

   8. FAFahim Anwar25:17

      I, I know. You for-, you forget it's the Wild Wild West on there.

   9. JRJoe Rogan25:19

      And I'm not saying they shouldn't.

   10. FAFahim Anwar25:21

       Sh- sure.

   11. JRJoe Rogan25:21

       I'd love that it's the Wild Wild West.

   12. FAFahim Anwar25:22

       But it's, it's, it's such whiplash. Like, I'll be watching a cat video-

   13. JRJoe Rogan25:25

       Yeah.

   14. FAFahim Anwar25:25

       ... and then it's just some guy, you know-

   15. JRJoe Rogan25:28

       Mm-hmm.

   16. FAFahim Anwar25:28

       ... getting hit by a car.

   17. JRJoe Rogan25:29

       Mm-hmm.

   18. FAFahim Anwar25:30

       And I'm like, "Jesus." Like-

   19. JRJoe Rogan25:31

       Yeah.

   20. FAFahim Anwar25:31

       ... give me a minute. Let me brace myself and ...

   21. JRJoe Rogan25:33

       Instagram knows, uh, that I watch those, those motherfuckers.

   22. FAFahim Anwar25:36

       It's serving you up. It knows your algo. Like-

   23. JRJoe Rogan25:37

       It's just serving me up. There's a lot of these ... I'm not even following these accounts.

   24. FAFahim Anwar25:41

       You like this guy dying. You may like this guy.

   25. JRJoe Rogan25:43

       Yeah. It's, like, it's weird. Like, should your feed be only people you follow, or should they show you a bunch of shit? That-

   26. FAFahim Anwar25:49

       Well, that's what these companies are struggling with. Because when it was all just your circle, people weren't consuming as much as the suggested videos.

   27. JRJoe Rogan25:57

       Mm-hmm.

   28. FAFahim Anwar25:57

       You know what's funny is, like, I got shadow banned on Instagram for, like, around Thanksgiving.

   29. JRJoe Rogan26:02

       What did you do?

   30. FAFahim Anwar26:03

       Hardly anything. And it's, it sucks because I'm trying to do a special via nontraditional means. You know? Like, it's not Netflix. It's not Comedy Central.
9. 26:53 – 33:20

   The new comedy economy: podcasts, clips, and ‘standup is under jazz’

   1. FAFahim Anwar26:53

      I was talking to-

   2. JRJoe Rogan26:54

      Like a guy who's got vinyl.

   3. FAFahim Anwar26:55

      I swear it is. 'Cause, like, I was talking to Roy Wood Jr., and, like, sometimes because we're in standup, we just think it's the world, because it is our world.

   4. JRJoe Rogan27:04

      Right.

   5. FAFahim Anwar27:04

      And we think that it translates to the rest. And he kind of, he, like, bird's eye viewed it for me. He's like, "Yo, when you go on Spotify, standup is under jazz." You know what I mean? (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan27:16

      Hmm.

   7. FAFahim Anwar27:16

      He goes, "As an art form-

   8. JRJoe Rogan27:18

      Right.

   9. FAFahim Anwar27:18

      ... it's under jazz. Jazz is more popular." And I'm like ... It kind of put everything into focus for me, where, you know, I don't have to be as invested. I'm like, "Okay. There's a ceiling to what you can do."

   10. JRJoe Rogan27:30

       Right, right.

   11. FAFahim Anwar27:30

       But anyway, you ... I need the clips. Like, I need the arm of the clips, because, uh, like I h- I had some clips do, like, 12 mil and stuff, and people were able to find me via Instagram Reels. So, when they shadow banned me, like, it tells you. You can look at your account status and it'll ... there'll be marks on there. It'll say, um, th- there was, like, three strikes and stuff. And then one of the things it said is, "Your content will not be shown to non-followers." And that's kind of how the machine works. Like, your stuff gets suggested to people who may not have known about you, so you need that as an artist if you wanna grow.

   12. JRJoe Rogan28:06

       Right.

   13. FAFahim Anwar28:06

       Like, to see your special-

   14. JRJoe Rogan28:08

       Right.

   15. FAFahim Anwar28:08

       ... and your standup. So, you're, you're being suppressed. You're being limited.

   16. JRJoe Rogan28:11

       How do you know you were shadow banned?

   17. FAFahim Anwar28:13

       'Cause, uh, it tells you on your account status, and then I had people ... Talking to people who work at IG or Meta or whatever, and they're like, "Yeah. It's shadow banned. Um ..."

   18. JRJoe Rogan28:22

       What did you do?

   19. FAFahim Anwar28:24

       I think it's because it's an election cycle or something. Like, it's not even a human doing it. I think it just scrapes for buzzwords and just blanket, uh, has these suppression on it. So, I had this joke-

   20. JRJoe Rogan28:37

       God, that sounds so creepy.

   21. FAFahim Anwar28:38

       Well, it's a n- it sucks because there's no nuance to it. It was just a joke. You know my Feem Works on Stuff show? I, I do it on YouTube sometime-

   22. JRJoe Rogan28:45

       Sure.

   23. FAFahim Anwar28:45

       ... where I'm just working on material.

   24. JRJoe Rogan28:47

       Right.

   25. FAFahim Anwar28:47

       I just do it to feed the algo, and sometimes there's a great joke that works, and I just post it on a Reel 'cause it's, like, 80% of the way there and I'm just feeding the algo. So, this joke w- I post, I post it on all of them. You know? I do a clip and then I post it on all the social media platforms. So, it remained on TikTok, and all the other ones it was fine, and usually TikTok is very draconian. Like, they don't like-

   26. JRJoe Rogan29:07

       Hmm. Right.

   27. FAFahim Anwar29:07

       ...'cause it's mostly kids. So, the joke, it's a, I just go ... It's a non sequitur. You know? Just outta nowhere I'm like, "Oh, I just, I just wanna let you guys know Hamas is hiding at my ex-girlfriend's house." (laughs) So, so, so that's the joke. It's like saying something without saying something.

   28. JRJoe Rogan29:24

       Yeah.

   29. FAFahim Anwar29:24

       It's just, you know-

   30. JRJoe Rogan29:26

       It's just a joke.
10. 33:20 – 44:52

    Tour life sanity: traveling with friends and making less money to enjoy it

    1. FAFahim Anwar33:20

       Well, that's the thing about social media too, is, uh, uh, sometimes when you're a close-knit circle, your buddies kinda check you, like, "Hey, what are you doing?"

    2. JRJoe Rogan33:27

       Yeah.

    3. FAFahim Anwar33:27

       But social media, there's some people who have a lot of rope, and you're like, "Oh, no."

    4. JRJoe Rogan33:31

       Yeah, and there's especially, like, isolated people.

    5. FAFahim Anwar33:33

       Yes. I see my friends get nutty on the road.

    6. JRJoe Rogan33:36

       They're isolated. (laughs)

    7. FAFahim Anwar33:36

       Like, I'll get nut- ... like, you could tell your buddy has been on the road for too long, like they do a video in a hotel room or something-

    8. JRJoe Rogan33:42

       Oh, no.

    9. FAFahim Anwar33:42

       ... and you're like, "Oh, no, they're losing their mind."

    10. JRJoe Rogan33:44

        Yeah.

    11. FAFahim Anwar33:45

        I've been guilty of that too, just when you're not surrounded by community and people-

    12. JRJoe Rogan33:50

        Mm-hmm.

    13. FAFahim Anwar33:50

        ... and you're just a brain floating on the road.

    14. JRJoe Rogan33:52

        The number one key that I found very early is go on the road with your friends.

    15. FAFahim Anwar33:56

        I'm lucky, o- ... I've entered a phase of my career where now I'm starting-

    16. JRJoe Rogan33:59

        (laughs)

    17. FAFahim Anwar33:59

        ... to be able to do that. Whereas before, you're not making enough money, so you're just beholden to whoever they book as a feature.

    18. JRJoe Rogan34:07

        Yeah.

    19. FAFahim Anwar34:07

        And you're just stuck in a hotel.

    20. JRJoe Rogan34:09

        Mm-hmm.

    21. FAFahim Anwar34:09

        You're walking across a freeway to go to a Cracker Barrel and kill time.

    22. JRJoe Rogan34:13

        I decided a long time ago, like '98, to do that. Just bring ... just pay more money.

    23. FAFahim Anwar34:20

        Yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan34:20

        Give them the money. Just sp- ... make less money, but have a good time.

    25. FAFahim Anwar34:25

        It's worth it.

    26. JRJoe Rogan34:25

        Dude, it's everything. It's everything.

    27. FAFahim Anwar34:28

        T- yeah.

    28. JRJoe Rogan34:28

        Make less money, have a good time. Make more money, have a bad time, not fun. You don't like that. That's not a good feeling. Make less money, have a good time. And have everybody else have a good time too.

    29. FAFahim Anwar34:39

        Yeah.

    30. JRJoe Rogan34:39

        So, it's a bunch of guys who are really good friends, who love each other, been on the road forever, going to dinners forever. I've had hundreds of dinners with Ahri and Joey Diaz and Duncan. And ... so, when we get together, it's just joy.
11. 44:52 – 48:16

    Healing an old wound: booed at the Apollo to redemption on The Tonight Show

    1. FAFahim Anwar44:52

       Oh, I also gotta thank you because of, I mean, it reminds me, um, I brought my parents to Tonight Show, and that's because of your podcast. I remember I was doing... I forget which one. I've been on a few times. But, like, you were like, "Have your parents seen you before?" And I'm like, uh, "Nah." I go... Th- They, they saw me do the Apollo when I was 18, and then I, I got booed at the Apollo.

    2. JRJoe Rogan45:14

       (laughs)

    3. FAFahim Anwar45:14

       And that was the first... Uh, I was, like, a few months into doing standup. And they're from Afghanistan, and this is not a thing you do, and-

    4. JRJoe Rogan45:21

       Right.

    5. FAFahim Anwar45:22

       ... they wanted me to quit, and it was just very disgraceful of me doing this. And they seen me get booed by 4,000 people. I'm telling this story on the, I think (clears throat) the, um, one or two of, yeah. So, I, I get booed off stage and all that. And then you're like, "They gotta come see you again, man. You're great." And I go, I just have this mental block-

    6. JRJoe Rogan45:43

       Right.

    7. FAFahim Anwar45:43

       ... because that was so bad-

    8. JRJoe Rogan45:45

       Right.

    9. FAFahim Anwar45:45

       ... that, um, I just... It's like an emotional thing you just put in a closet, and you just ignore it.

    10. JRJoe Rogan45:51

        Mm-hmm. Yeah.

    11. FAFahim Anwar45:51

        'Cause I just wanted to keep on, uh, doing comedy on my own and keeping my f- my parents and stuff, like, separate. And then you're like, "They gotta come see you." And then, on the podcast, I was like, uh... I just always had this fantasy of, like, it... when they see me, it being so good to counteract how bad that experience was.

    12. JRJoe Rogan46:12

        Right, right.

    13. FAFahim Anwar46:12

        That it would be like a celebration that everything is okay, your son turned out okay.

    14. JRJoe Rogan46:17

        Right.

    15. FAFahim Anwar46:17

        All of the worries you had, uh, you don't have to worry anymore. So, I think after I spoke it into existence o- on your pod, I actually went about doing it. So I hit up the booker at The Tonight Show, and I'm like... I mean, I guess I could've always done it, I just never... I know the booker. I go, "Can I do The Tonight Show? Like, I'd love to do it." I told him the whole story of, like, my parents have never seen me since that thing. This is, like, an emotional thing I need to take care of. Like, this isn't even about comedy anymore.

    16. JRJoe Rogan46:43

        Wow. That's heavy.

    17. FAFahim Anwar46:43

        This is just, like, healing.

    18. JRJoe Rogan46:45

        (laughs)

    19. FAFahim Anwar46:45

        It's been this monkey on my back for 20 years, 21 years, you know.

    20. JRJoe Rogan46:50

        Oh.

    21. FAFahim Anwar46:50

        And then he's like, "Send me a tape." I sent him a tape. So I actually did the work. I finally just went about doing the work. I went to the improv. I put a tape together. I sent it to him. He's like, "This is great. Come and do it." So then I flew my parents out to New York. And it was just very therapeutic to be able to give this to my parents because they know what The Tonight Show is. It was a celebration. It was... Like, this is way bigger than... Like, I love The Tonight Show. Thank you for letting me do it and all that stuff. But in the grand scheme of, like, entertainment and needle moving, it, it's not what it used to be, you know?

    22. JRJoe Rogan47:24

        Right.

    23. FAFahim Anwar47:24

        You used to do Tonight Show when people were, like, honking and shouting your name from cars and shit.

    24. JRJoe Rogan47:27

        That's how I found out about Richard Jeni.

    25. FAFahim Anwar47:29

        Oh. A just Tonight Show appearance?

    26. JRJoe Rogan47:31

        Yeah, I saw him at The Tonight Show.

    27. FAFahim Anwar47:32

        Yeah. But this was just to give my parents a night out, and a memory, and a story for their parents.

    28. JRJoe Rogan47:37

        Yeah.

    29. FAFahim Anwar47:37

        So, I wore a suit.

    30. JRJoe Rogan47:39

        Oh.
12. 48:16 – 55:41

    Fahim’s writing systems and the ‘Fahim Works On Stuff’ sandbox show

    1. JRJoe Rogan48:16

       Gotta be real careful with that speak things into existence talk.

    2. FAFahim Anwar48:19

       (laughs)

    3. JRJoe Rogan48:20

       'Cause you're a very dedicated and disciplined writer.

    4. FAFahim Anwar48:22

       Right.

    5. JRJoe Rogan48:23

       You write all the time. You're always working on new material. You're always working on your material. You put a lot of time and effort into standup comedy.

    6. FAFahim Anwar48:30

       People say that. That's nice. Thank you. But I mean, I, I just develop systems where it doesn't feel... 'Cause when people are like, "Oh, you write a lot?" It doesn't feel like I write a lot because I just have systems and processes where, over time, I look at my notes, and I just have a bunch of stuff. It's not-

    7. JRJoe Rogan48:46

       Right.

    8. FAFahim Anwar48:46

       I think people have such an aversion to writing, they think that you have to go to a log cabin.

    9. JRJoe Rogan48:50

       (laughs)

    10. FAFahim Anwar48:50

        Do you know what I mean? And there's a typewriter. And then you, like, do a pipe, and you're like-

    11. JRJoe Rogan48:55

        Yeah.

    12. FAFahim Anwar48:55

        ... "What's funny?"

    13. JRJoe Rogan48:56

        Exactly.

    14. FAFahim Anwar48:57

        Whereas, I've gotten my process to a point where I just live life, and if something happens, I jot it in my phone. And-

    15. JRJoe Rogan49:03

        Mm-hmm.

    16. FAFahim Anwar49:03

        You jot enough things in your phone, that list is pretty long.

    17. JRJoe Rogan49:06

        Yeah.

    18. FAFahim Anwar49:07

        And then I developed that Fahim Works on Stuff (And His Friends Drop By) show. I developed it in a, in... during COVID on accident. Like, the Jam in the Van was the only venue doing shows. And I had already headlined there. They go, "You, you wanna do another one?" I'm like, "Uh, how about this for an idea?" I go, "I just have all these bits that I never get around to trying." I emcee the show. I have a piece of paper up there. I'm just kinda, like, reading. I'm just, like, spaghetti against the wall.

    19. JRJoe Rogan49:32

        Mm-hmm.

    20. FAFahim Anwar49:32

        And this goes back to people, comedy fans being savvy now, where they know the process.

    21. JRJoe Rogan49:37

        Right.

    22. FAFahim Anwar49:37

        And I, I have enough fans at this point now where, like, they wanna see how the sausage gets made, you know?

    23. JRJoe Rogan49:42

        Yes, yes.

    24. FAFahim Anwar49:42

        So I do, like, 10 minutes in between acts just trying stuff out, and then I bring up people doing great sets. You know what I mean? So the bulk of...... the integrity of the show isn't based on me trying new stuff, because I have great comics interspersed.

    25. JRJoe Rogan49:56

        Right.

    26. FAFahim Anwar49:56

        So it's a very low stakes way for me to try a bunch of new material. So after the great act goes, I do 10 more minutes of bullshit or whatever, bring up the next comic. So it's a safe space-

    27. JRJoe Rogan50:06

        Nice.

    28. FAFahim Anwar50:06

        ... for me to be able to try-

    29. JRJoe Rogan50:07

        Yeah.

    30. FAFahim Anwar50:07

        ... new stuff.
13. 55:41 – 1:09:56

    Lance Canstopolous: the alter-ego, why characters are risky, and special ideas

    1. JRJoe Rogan55:41

       Why is musicals not manly?

    2. FAFahim Anwar55:44

       Probably the singing and dancing.

    3. JRJoe Rogan55:46

       Right. Why is singing-

    4. FAFahim Anwar55:48

       If I had to guess.

    5. JRJoe Rogan55:48

       ... and dancing not manly? Particularly evolutionarily speaking. Because women have always been impressed by singing and dancing.

    6. FAFahim Anwar55:56

       Yeah. But you need to s-

    7. JRJoe Rogan55:56

       Think about Saturday Night Fever.

    8. FAFahim Anwar55:58

       ... yes.

    9. JRJoe Rogan55:59

       Right.

    10. FAFahim Anwar56:00

        But think about all the jealous guys, and they just called Travolta gay or whatever. What... 'cause, the, if the girls like, if the girls like something that kind of blends feminine-

    11. JRJoe Rogan56:10

        Hmm.

    12. FAFahim Anwar56:11

        ... haters are gonna say, "He's gay."

    13. JRJoe Rogan56:13

        Blends feminine?

    14. FAFahim Anwar56:14

        Yeah.

    15. JRJoe Rogan56:14

        So why sing and dance-

    16. FAFahim Anwar56:16

        Singing and dancing?

    17. JRJoe Rogan56:16

        Right, but why? I- i- again, if, if women like it, and if it's difficult to do, what makes those two things that are difficult to do that women like...

    18. FAFahim Anwar56:29

        'Cause it's not a masculine-

    19. JRJoe Rogan56:31

        'Cause men like it, watching it too, though.

    20. FAFahim Anwar56:32

        If it was rock, like if it's leather, guys can get behind that.

    21. JRJoe Rogan56:36

        Right. But if a guy could really dance, that shit's impressive.

    22. FAFahim Anwar56:40

        Yeah, but it has to be next level. It has to be like Michael Jackson-

    23. JRJoe Rogan56:43

        But-

    24. FAFahim Anwar56:43

        ... or Prince.

    25. JRJoe Rogan56:44

        Hmm. Interesting.

    26. NANarrator56:45

        Or like Lance?

    27. FAFahim Anwar56:46

        Or like Lance, yeah. (laughs)

    28. JRJoe Rogan56:47

        Like Lance Canstopolous? (laughs)

    29. FAFahim Anwar56:49

        (laughs)

    30. JRJoe Rogan56:49

        When's Lance coming back?

Episode duration: 3:10:10