James McCann on Joe Rogan: Why Australia Sent Him to Texas

1. 0:00 – 0:12

   Intro

   1. SPSpeaker0:02

      Joe Rogan Podcast, check it out

   2. SPSpeaker0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience

   3. SPSpeaker0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night. All day. [upbeat music]

2. 0:12 – 0:42

   Back at the Mothership: nerves, bombing fears, and the setup for his origin story

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:12

      Everybody's just-

   2. SPSpeaker0:13

      Thank you for having me back

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:14

      Good to see you-

   4. SPSpeaker0:15

      Yeah

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      ... my brother.

   6. SPSpeaker0:15

      How are you?

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      Always great to see you. [slaps table] I'm good. It was, uh, fun having you at the clubhouse last night.

   8. SPSpeaker0:21

      I was ter- I was fucking terrified.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:22

      You just looked like you were back.

   10. SPSpeaker0:24

       No, I thought-

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       You were like at home

   12. SPSpeaker0:25

       ... I thought, "That's it. I've been away for too long. I'm gonna suck. None of the new stuff's gonna work."

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:29

       No.

   14. SPSpeaker0:29

       "They'll see me. They'll go, 'He was wrong to come back. Fuck him off.' And then we're done."

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:32

       No.

   16. SPSpeaker0:32

       It was so nice. It was so nice.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       You were telling the story, I, I said, "Hold these thoughts."

   18. SPSpeaker0:38

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:38

       Well-

   20. SPSpeaker0:39

       I didn't know you didn't... I didn't know we'd never spoken about it.

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:40

       No, tell me the story.

3. 0:42 – 2:31

   Fired mid-move: the Catholic podcast job that collapsed en route to America

   1. SPSpeaker0:42

      I... Well, that's why I came to America to start, is, uh, I got offered a job hosting a Catholic podcast, and they fired me as... I had packed up everything in Adelaide. This is, like, two and a bit years ago. I had the kids and the wife, and on the way to America, I got fired.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:56

      [laughs]

   3. SPSpeaker0:56

      And they said, "We'll still pay your rent. It's in Steubenville, Ohio." Beautiful Appalachian town just outside of Pittsburgh. And, uh, yeah, it's where we w- Three months I was there.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:07

      So what did they see that they fired you for?

   5. SPSpeaker1:10

      Oh, a lot.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:10

      [laughs]

   7. SPSpeaker1:11

      They made a compilation video. [laughs] No, the guy, the guy whose show, they were right to fire him. They, they were right to fire him.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:16

      No. No, they weren't.

   9. SPSpeaker1:17

      No, 'cause it was a good, clean Catholic podcast, and then the, the business manager was like, "You've..." There was a sketch about stabbing someone in the throat with an AIDS needle. They're, they're like, "He uses the word 'cunt' all the time." They're like, "This is a sponsorship nightmare. Get him out."

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:30

       Oh.

   11. SPSpeaker1:30

       And I s- So I say, "Okay." But they still said, "We'll, uh, we'll pay your rent for three months, and you can figure something out. You've still got a visa." And I was terrified. I was just in the snow.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:40

       With kids and a wife.

   13. SPSpeaker1:41

       Three kids, no job. I didn't have the money to go back home.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:43

       Oh my God.

   15. SPSpeaker1:44

       We couldn't afford [laughs] to go back home.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:46

       Oh my God.

   17. SPSpeaker1:46

       And I had, I didn't know that I had been passed at the mothership, 'cause I didn't know how the system worked. So on the way in to go, uh, to Steubenville, where I was like, "I'll figure something out," I stopped in at Austin to see Shane. Shane said, "Go and do the mothership open mic." I did it. Adam Eget said, "If you're ever in town, come back. We'll pay for sponsor- " I didn't know that meant I was passed. I didn't know I could work here.

   18. JRJoe Rogan2:07

       Oh.

   19. SPSpeaker2:08

       Uh, I just thought he was like, I could audition again. And then, uh, so I had three confronting months in the snow. Beautiful part of the world. It was the most terrified I've ever been in my-

   20. JRJoe Rogan2:19

       He, he says that-

   21. SPSpeaker2:19

       ... life as an Australian. That's as from, from, from Ohio.

   22. JRJoe Rogan2:22

       No, I love it

   23. SPSpeaker2:22

       I would say that's the most beautiful part of the world.

   24. JRJoe Rogan2:24

       I loved it. I wish... I went back and watched that Wild Whites of West Virginia.

   25. SPSpeaker2:26

       Yeah, that's where you're, that's where-

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:27

       It looks exactly like that.

   27. SPSpeaker2:29

       It is beautiful.

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:29

       Well, that area is gorgeous.

4. 2:31 – 7:27

   Snow, Greyhounds, and survival gigs: the bleak Ohio stretch and a chaotic bus ride

   1. SPSpeaker2:31

      It's, it's God's country, but also so abandoned by, like, the, the potholes are crazy. I saw real heroin addicts. I'd never really seen heroin addicts before, just sleepy people. I saw street prostitutes. That's still going on.

   2. JRJoe Rogan2:47

      And this is a small town, right?

   3. SPSpeaker2:49

      This is a small town. This is, uh, I've, I went to... There are Catholics who've moved there to try and, like, fix it. It was where Dean Martin was from. The Wu-Tang Clan kinda started out there.

   4. JRJoe Rogan2:59

      They're Staten Island.

   5. SPSpeaker3:00

      No- Yes, but I think it's, like, the RZA's auntie-

   6. JRJoe Rogan3:04

      Mm

   7. SPSpeaker3:04

      ... lived there, and they moved out there, and then they got involved in rap in the Pittsburgh scene because they were in the dead zone.

   8. JRJoe Rogan3:08

      I gotta ask RZA real soon. I'll ask him about that.

   9. SPSpeaker3:11

      I believe I'm right about that. They don't have a mural for them.

   10. JRJoe Rogan3:13

       Wow.

   11. SPSpeaker3:14

       Um, but it's great. There's, uh, yeah, there's a lot of Catholic content creators there. Um, and they're trying to take over town.

   12. JRJoe Rogan3:21

       That's interesting.

   13. SPSpeaker3:22

       There's a... I went there originally 'cause my... New Polity is, like, my favorite magazine, and I got to meet the guys who made it, and I was so excited.

   14. JRJoe Rogan3:28

       So how did they hire you? W- Wu-Tang's RZA found a second chance-

   15. SPSpeaker3:34

       I can't believe I got a-

   16. JRJoe Rogan3:34

       ... in Steubenville. Wow.

   17. SPSpeaker3:35

       And then they all come over to visit him.

   18. JRJoe Rogan3:37

       This, uh, he discussed a largely undocumented era of his life in which Pittsburgh played a role. Wow.

   19. SPSpeaker3:45

       And that's one of the first conversations we had. I was like, "You said something about Pittsburgh that wasn't flattering." I said, "I love Pittsburgh." And you're like, "You don't know anything. You're a foreigner. You don't know anything about America."

   20. JRJoe Rogan3:55

       [laughs]

   21. SPSpeaker3:55

       "Pittsburgh is a horrible place." I was like, "I don't know. I had a nice time there. [laughs] I thought it was good."

   22. JRJoe Rogan4:01

       Uh, it's just a little depressing. Do you... See, like, the, the thing about, uh, a lot of those sort of industrial kind of towns-

   23. SPSpeaker4:11

       Yeah

   24. JRJoe Rogan4:11

       ... is there's not a ton of options for people.

   25. SPSpeaker4:14

       No.

   26. JRJoe Rogan4:14

       Uh, Pittsburgh more so than, like, the place that you were in. But, like, when you get to a place where there's not a lot of options, and then you see real poverty, like, this is poverty with no solutions. You know what I mean?

   27. SPSpeaker4:26

       Yes.

   28. JRJoe Rogan4:27

       Not Pittsburgh. You know, Pittsburgh has-

   29. SPSpeaker4:28

       Oh, no, just outside of Pittsburgh

   30. JRJoe Rogan4:29

       ... I was more fucking with you.
5. 7:27 – 8:47

   Fatherhood as a forcing function—and why comedy ambition changes with responsibility

   1. SPSpeaker7:27

      ... hone- the whole time it was like, "If I don't get, [laughs] if I don't get past the mothership now, I..." I don't think people should come here and live in their cars with their family, but it does, you know-

   2. JRJoe Rogan7:37

      Lights a fire under your ass

   3. SPSpeaker7:39

      ... worked.

   4. JRJoe Rogan7:39

      Well, that's the thing. It's like if you're forced into action-

   5. SPSpeaker7:42

      Yeah

   6. JRJoe Rogan7:43

      ... like, you had no... Not just yourself. Like, you could go, "Oh, woe is me." But when you're a father and a husband, you have children.

   7. SPSpeaker7:51

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan7:51

      And people who do not have children do not understand the drive that it gives you to protect and care for those little people. It's kind of crazy. So if you'll find something.

   9. SPSpeaker8:03

      Well, I don't understand how people do it without... Like, I'd meet men who are really driven and motivated, and they have no kids. But they're like, every day they're working out. I, I don't know what their motivation is. Before I had kids-

   10. JRJoe Rogan8:13

       Money

   11. SPSpeaker8:14

       ... I was just, "What are you doing, buying things?"

   12. JRJoe Rogan8:16

       They're in a, they're in a game. They're playing a game.

   13. SPSpeaker8:19

       No.

   14. JRJoe Rogan8:19

       Yeah, they're just playing this game of accumulate the most stuff, be able to brag about the most stuff you have and-

   15. SPSpeaker8:26

       I'd so much rather lie down.

   16. JRJoe Rogan8:28

       [laughs]

   17. SPSpeaker8:28

       [laughs] I would rather not do anything if I had a choice.

   18. JRJoe Rogan8:31

       But not really, 'cause you love doing comedy.

   19. SPSpeaker8:33

       I love doing comedy, but I'd never, before I had kids, was trying to do comedy that people would enjoy. Do you know what I mean? [laughs]

   20. JRJoe Rogan8:40

       I think that is also-

   21. SPSpeaker8:41

       I was like-

   22. JRJoe Rogan8:41

       ... though, because you were living in Australia, and-

   23. SPSpeaker8:44

       Yeah

   24. JRJoe Rogan8:44

       ... there's limited options, right?

   25. SPSpeaker8:47

       I had, I had no options.

6. 8:47 – 16:01

   Australia vs. America comedy ecosystems: festival gatekeeping vs. road lineage

   1. JRJoe Rogan8:47

      Can, can you explain, like, the Australian system is very different than America.

   2. SPSpeaker8:50

      It's very-

   3. JRJoe Rogan8:50

      It's mostly festival driven, correct?

   4. SPSpeaker8:52

      It's festival driven, and it's, uh, to a much greater extent, I've thought about this, it's, like, industry driven. Like-

   5. JRJoe Rogan8:59

      Industry.

   6. SPSpeaker8:59

      Yeah. We don't have-

   7. JRJoe Rogan9:00

      What, which industry?

   8. SPSpeaker9:01

      Like, uh, managers and agents, which is one role in Australia, but they, they are deciding who's succeeding, and TV people are deciding who's succeeding. Whereas, like, in America, everybody is on the road, everybody has one or two openers.

   9. JRJoe Rogan9:14

      Mm-hmm.

   10. SPSpeaker9:15

       And there are, there's a whole lineage of who brought who up-

   11. JRJoe Rogan9:19

       Right

   12. SPSpeaker9:19

       ... in the business. Like, uh, Dan Soder had Nick Mullen, Tim Dillon, and Shane Gillis open for him. Like, those were his openers.

   13. JRJoe Rogan9:27

       Right.

   14. SPSpeaker9:28

       Um, and not because they were successful or someone wanted them to thrive, he just thought they were funny people.

   15. JRJoe Rogan9:33

       Right.

   16. SPSpeaker9:33

       And they got to be his openers. And you, I don't know who you were opening for, but you have people who come up and-

   17. JRJoe Rogan9:38

       Well, I didn't really-

   18. SPSpeaker9:39

       ... you get to put them on

   19. JRJoe Rogan9:40

       ... do it... I didn't have it that way. I do it that way, but I didn't have it that way. I didn't really come up with anybody, where I opened for anybody. I just, but I had a very weird path to success.

   20. SPSpeaker9:49

       You also, you got to go to LA and just be in the milieu. Like, there's a scene there.

   21. JRJoe Rogan9:55

       Well-

   22. SPSpeaker9:55

       There's a lot of people

   23. JRJoe Rogan9:55

       ... I came out to LA with a job already.

   24. SPSpeaker9:57

       Okay.

   25. JRJoe Rogan9:58

       I was on a sitcom already.

   26. SPSpeaker9:59

       You started in Boston, though.

   27. JRJoe Rogan10:01

       Yes.

   28. SPSpeaker10:01

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan10:01

       Started in Boston. Look, it's very embarrassing how lucky I am. I'm, like, one of the luckiest people that's ever lived. Like, it's stumble upon success after success. So when I was six years into comedy, I was already on TV. So I was three years into comedy, I was basically barely getting paid. I was barely a professional. Like, I was getting some spots in bars and stuff-

   30. SPSpeaker10:28

       Yeah
7. 16:01 – 19:08

   Comedy scenes now: LA malaise, Austin’s density, New York’s rebound, and the ‘rift’

   1. SPSpeaker16:01

      I hope... Yeah, I hope they can figure it out.

   2. JRJoe Rogan16:03

      What do you mean?

   3. SPSpeaker16:04

      Well, I... Well, I was in, uh... Last time I was in LA, the spirit was so... I was never in LA for it being great, but I've heard all the stories about-

   4. JRJoe Rogan16:12

      Yeah

   5. SPSpeaker16:12

      ... everyone's sports car out the back of the thing, and there's this gig and that gig. And then I was... Everybody, like, has no sense that it's ever gonna work for them. Like, no one's even bothered to... There's like three podcasts in LA now that people are doing. I don't wanna talk it down, but, like, here everybody is so hopeful in Austin.

   6. JRJoe Rogan16:27

      Yeah.

   7. SPSpeaker16:27

      And I, I can look at, like, Peyton made it. Like, last night I'm looking at that green room. I'm like, all of these people have money-

   8. JRJoe Rogan16:33

      Yeah

   9. SPSpeaker16:33

      ... and are touring, and they came here and they got to do it.

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:36

       Mm-hmm.

   11. SPSpeaker16:37

       Like, and the hope and the adventure. And when I was in LA, everyone was [laughs] just-

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:41

       You might've picked a bad night

   13. SPSpeaker16:42

       ... I'm better having a nice time.

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:43

       But it, it's also, like, The Comedy Store has always been a top-

   15. SPSpeaker16:46

       That seems like it's getting better.

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:47

       Yeah, it is getting better. Well, it's de- definitely getting better 'cause Rose is running it now.

   17. SPSpeaker16:51

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan16:51

       And she's awesome. But I think The Comedy Store has always been a top-down vibe, and if there was a bunch of, like, big name national acts that were really cool and fun to hang out with, then it was a great vibe.

   19. SPSpeaker17:04

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       And when they're gone, it always felt empty. It always felt weird. This is how it was with me in the '90s when I was there, and I think that's how it is now. We're all out here now.

   21. SPSpeaker17:14

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:14

       You know? And it's like... And then people kinda feel abandoned, so they feel sad, you know? It feels... And then they get a little mad at you. Like, "Oh, you think fucking me doing it in Austin, meh, meh, meh." And so it develops this stupid rift, which is-

   23. SPSpeaker17:26

       Yeah

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:27

       ... the dumbest thing ever. We're all on the same team, and also you could work here too. Like, it's so dumb.

   25. SPSpeaker17:31

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan17:32

       Like, but the rift is a real thing. But it's like you have to be around a bunch of people that are having a good time to have a good time.

   27. SPSpeaker17:39

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan17:39

       You can't be the only person having a good time.

   29. SPSpeaker17:41

       And the rift can be good. The rift can motivate people to... Have you seen Lemay's Twitter?

   30. JRJoe Rogan17:47

       To get their shit together? No, what's he doing?
8. 19:08 – 23:14

   Nicotine extremes, withdrawals, and Rogan’s self-regulation (plus the AG1 ad break)

   1. JRJoe Rogan19:08

      Do you smoke cigars?

   2. SPSpeaker19:09

      I quit all nicotine s-

   3. JRJoe Rogan19:12

      Interesting

   4. SPSpeaker19:12

      Do you have, do you have alcohol? [laughs] I'll have a drink.

   5. JRJoe Rogan19:14

      I can get you some alcohol.

   6. SPSpeaker19:15

      All right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan19:16

      Yeah.

   8. SPSpeaker19:16

      If I could have a whiskey.

   9. JRJoe Rogan19:17

      We'll get you-

   10. SPSpeaker19:17

       I quit, I quit all nicotine, uh-

   11. JRJoe Rogan19:19

       What happened?

   12. SPSpeaker19:20

       I d- I, I was having heart palpitations. I was doing it a lot.

   13. JRJoe Rogan19:24

       [laughs]

   14. SPSpeaker19:25

       I had a problem. I cannot do a little bit.

   15. JRJoe Rogan19:28

       Ah.

   16. SPSpeaker19:29

       I see you, you'll just, like, you'll be backstage, you'll have one cigarette-

   17. JRJoe Rogan19:32

       Yeah

   18. SPSpeaker19:32

       ... and you're fine.

   19. JRJoe Rogan19:33

       Yeah.

   20. SPSpeaker19:33

       I can't.

   21. JRJoe Rogan19:34

       And I never smoke outside of right before a show.

   22. SPSpeaker19:37

       I don't, I mean, I-

   23. JRJoe Rogan19:39

       But I'm-

   24. SPSpeaker19:39

       More power to you. I can't do that

   25. JRJoe Rogan19:40

       ... I know how to shut things off, and I, I also regulate, like, like, uh, I realize, like when I, when I have an issue. Like the nicotine pouches, I can just stop them. I've gone on vacation and just not take them, and I'm fine.

   26. SPSpeaker19:52

       I-

   27. JRJoe Rogan19:53

       I think, but I think it's my biology.

   28. SPSpeaker19:54

       No.

   29. JRJoe Rogan19:55

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   30. SPSpeaker21:02

       I was quitting, going back, when I went back to Australia and I came off nicotine at the same time. I think that was the closest to serious unpleasant.
9. 23:14 – 30:40

   Texas pigs, helicopters, and predator politics: from ‘Porkalypse Now’ to wolf reintroduction

   1. JRJoe Rogan23:14

      It's September. September and October, those are the time. But in, in Texas, we hunt pigs sometimes. We have a, a lease out here, so we'll go-

   2. SPSpeaker23:21

      Yeah

   3. JRJoe Rogan23:22

      ... and hunt with a few of my friends from Archery Country. Shout out to Tyler. Uh, [clears throat] and my friend Evan from Black Rifle Coffee. We'll go out to-

   4. SPSpeaker23:29

      You have wild pigs?

   5. JRJoe Rogan23:30

      Oh, they're everywhere.

   6. SPSpeaker23:32

      Okay.

   7. JRJoe Rogan23:32

      They're infested with, wild pigs are all over Texas.

   8. SPSpeaker23:36

      Oh, thank you.

   9. JRJoe Rogan23:36

      There's millions of them. Like, literally millions of them. Like, one time they opened up a highway, like they had built this new highway, and, uh, the day it opened up, they had like this fucking ridiculous amount of accidents 'cause people were hitting wild pigs. 'Cause there were so many wild pigs out there that they're just crashing into them on the road [laughs] with this new highway.

   10. SPSpeaker23:55

       Well, yeah, you've gotta knock them out.

   11. JRJoe Rogan23:55

       'Cause the pigs had never seen cars before on this spot because they hadn't finished the road yet. And then all of a sudden there's cars everywhere, and these wild pigs are just getting fucking-

   12. SPSpeaker24:04

       But did they-

   13. JRJoe Rogan24:05

       Land wasted

   14. SPSpeaker24:05

       ... how did they get... 'Cause in Australia, when they have a kangaroo problem-

   15. JRJoe Rogan24:07

       Cheers, sir

   16. SPSpeaker24:07

       ... and a similar thing. Cheers. God bless. Thank you.

   17. JRJoe Rogan24:09

       God bless.

   18. SPSpeaker24:10

       They, um, they Gatling gun them from the sky. Have you seen them do that?

   19. JRJoe Rogan24:15

       They do that here. They do that here, uh, out of helicopters. You could do it if you want while you're in town. I'll set it up.

   20. SPSpeaker24:20

       You knowI, we could do it this way. I would feel sa- I would feel guilty

   21. JRJoe Rogan24:24

       Yeah, this is-

   22. SPSpeaker24:24

       That would seem not a sporting way to start hunting would be the-

   23. JRJoe Rogan24:27

       It's a different kind of hunting

   24. SPSpeaker24:28

       ... machine gun. Yeah

   25. JRJoe Rogan24:28

       Because it's a necessity hunting, right?

   26. SPSpeaker24:31

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan24:31

       Um, I wanna eat what I kill. If I kill something, I wanna eat it.

   28. SPSpeaker24:35

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan24:35

       And the thing about these wild pigs is they're gunning down 20, 30, 40 of them in a day.

   30. SPSpeaker24:39

       Yeah.
10. 30:40 – 53:12

    Dogs, quarantine laws, and Australia’s budding populist moment (Barnaby Joyce and beyond)

    1. JRJoe Rogan30:40

       Mm-hmm.

    2. SPSpeaker30:41

       You have one dog, two dogs?

    3. JRJoe Rogan30:42

       Two dogs.

    4. SPSpeaker30:43

       And you don't run the Instagram pages for these ani- Someone's running the dog Instagram page.

    5. JRJoe Rogan30:46

       No, my family does.

    6. SPSpeaker30:47

       Really?

    7. JRJoe Rogan30:48

       Yeah. Um, so we got a little guy named Charlie.

    8. SPSpeaker30:50

       Yeah.

    9. JRJoe Rogan30:51

       He is a King Charles, King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.

    10. SPSpeaker30:55

        Yeah.

    11. JRJoe Rogan30:56

        His ... It is the furthest animal away from wolf that is possible. Like, 'cause they all came-

    12. SPSpeaker31:00

        Ah

    13. JRJoe Rogan31:00

        ... from wolves. But he's the furthest from a wolf. He has no-

    14. SPSpeaker31:03

        Yeah, but then-

    15. JRJoe Rogan31:03

        I mean, he's this big. He's adorable.

    16. SPSpeaker31:05

        Don't you feel like wearing the big-

    17. JRJoe Rogan31:06

        And you just love-

    18. SPSpeaker31:06

        ... wig and the stockings and holding him, you know?

    19. JRJoe Rogan31:08

        Uh, no.

    20. SPSpeaker31:08

        I always wanted to be King Charles.

    21. JRJoe Rogan31:09

        I just give him kisses.

    22. SPSpeaker31:11

        [laughs]

    23. JRJoe Rogan31:11

        He's a sweetie, though.

    24. SPSpeaker31:12

        It's not yours, but-

    25. JRJoe Rogan31:13

        That's what they look like.

    26. SPSpeaker31:14

        Yeah.

    27. JRJoe Rogan31:15

        That's what they look like. I mean, come on. Look at that face. They're just so sweet. They're so happy just to be around you, and they're just so loving. And they, like, he makes sounds like a person. Like, he was doing something, like he was licking all this water that was coming off of a drain. And I go, "Hey, stop doing that." And I picked him up and he went, "Ahhh" [laughs] Like, he, he makes noises.

    28. SPSpeaker31:35

        You go, you are highlighting that dog.

    29. JRJoe Rogan31:36

        Oh, I love him.

    30. SPSpeaker31:36

        That's ... But they don't, they don't make me feel sad. They're a little dog who look interesting.
11. 53:12 – 1:00:10

    Homelessness, fentanyl, and ‘policy choices’: why downtowns are collapsing

    1. SPSpeaker53:12

       No one, no one's running on that. I remember Trump talked about a little bit the need to have asylums again, 'cause they closed the asylums.

    2. JRJoe Rogan53:18

       Yes.

    3. SPSpeaker53:19

       Uh, I mean, there are more therapists now than there ever were before, but they're helping, like, corporate people. They're not helping s- schizophrenics without a home. Like, at some point, you saw Trump bring the army in to places like Portland, or the, the National Guard, to clear it out, and I think people were quietly kind of pleased that that was happening. Uh, there was, people pushed back, but like-

    4. JRJoe Rogan53:40

       Is that why they cleared it out? The, it was a homeless situation in Portland?

    5. SPSpeaker53:42

       I think it was the homelessness that they were-

    6. JRJoe Rogan53:43

       I thought it was protests.

    7. SPSpeaker53:45

       No, I think that was, I think that, and Washington as well. I think they came into-

    8. JRJoe Rogan53:49

       Well, Washington was crime

    9. SPSpeaker53:50

       ... clear out homeless people.

    10. JRJoe Rogan53:51

        It was crime as well.

    11. SPSpeaker53:52

        Yeah.

    12. JRJoe Rogan53:52

        Like, Washington was, like, crazy with crime.

    13. SPSpeaker53:54

        And they were all kind of happy about it.

    14. JRJoe Rogan53:56

        The, well, the mayor of DC was happy-

    15. SPSpeaker53:59

        Yeah

    16. JRJoe Rogan53:59

        ... that Trump brought in the National Guard.

    17. SPSpeaker54:01

        But this is, it's not a nice... You can't lose the downtowns across America.

    18. JRJoe Rogan54:08

        You know how bad LA's gotten, right?

    19. SPSpeaker54:10

        Uh, yeah.

    20. JRJoe Rogan54:12

        LA-

    21. SPSpeaker54:12

        Yes, I do

    22. JRJoe Rogan54:12

        ... do you know how big skid, Skid Row is? Take a guess.

    23. SPSpeaker54:15

        I, uh, what do you mean? How many people?

    24. JRJoe Rogan54:17

        How many blocks?

    25. SPSpeaker54:18

        I have no idea.

    26. JRJoe Rogan54:19

        Take a guess.

    27. SPSpeaker54:20

        Two.

    28. JRJoe Rogan54:21

        50.

    29. SPSpeaker54:21

        Well, that's too many blocks. [chuckles]

    30. JRJoe Rogan54:23

        Five zero.
12. 1:00:10 – 1:08:34

    From conspiracies to Paperclip: Kurt Metzger rabbit holes, NASA’s Nazi roots, and Reagan rumors

    1. SPSpeaker1:00:10

       Although last time I was... A couple months ago I was here, and Kurt Metzger was telling me that Tiananmen Square was not all that bad.

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:18

       Yeah, I don't know if I'd listen. [laughs]

    3. SPSpeaker1:00:19

       I didn't do enough digging. [laughs] I didn't do enough digging. From everything he says from a short Google search, I can agree with it. But I'm sure if I dug down, I'd have more questions. I haven't seen him actually since I got back. Is he still here?

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:30

       Oh yeah, he's obviously-

    5. SPSpeaker1:00:31

       I've seen everybody

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

       ... fucking mind. He's great.

    7. SPSpeaker1:00:32

       Most people are still here.

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:33

       He's the best.

    9. SPSpeaker1:00:35

       Binod.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:36

        He's, he, but he, you can't talk conspiracies with him 'cause it'll just-

    11. SPSpeaker1:00:39

        What kind of conspiracies?

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:39

        ... he'll chain them-

    13. SPSpeaker1:00:40

        Yeah

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:40

        ... one after another after another, and then three minutes in you forgot what you're even talking about.

    15. SPSpeaker1:00:45

        That's good.

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:45

        'Cause he was, he's moved on to some scandal in the 1970s with call boys and Congress and-

    17. SPSpeaker1:00:51

        Oh, you spoke to him about Reagan? Yeah.

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:00:53

        Yeah. It was, what is it called? The Franklin-

    19. SPSpeaker1:00:55

        There's tapes.

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:00:56

        Hasan was talking to me about it.

    21. SPSpeaker1:00:58

        Franklin Scandal.

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:00:59

        The Franklin Scandal. Hasan was bringing that up last night.

    23. SPSpeaker1:01:01

        I tried to see, yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:01

        He's reading a book on it.

    25. SPSpeaker1:01:02

        I wanna think that Reagan was a good guy. I always liked-

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:05

        I don't think it's Reagan. I think it's whoever's in his cabinet. I mean-

    27. SPSpeaker1:01:07

        Nah, it wasWell, he's dead. He can't... He was saying things about Reagan getting pegged.

    28. SPSpeaker1:01:12

        What?

    29. JRJoe Rogan1:01:13

        Who was saying that?

    30. SPSpeaker1:01:15

        Kurt was talking about that there was a tape somewhere of Reagan getting pegged.
13. 1:08:34 – 1:22:37

    Woke Hollywood, closeted movie stars, and franchise fatigue (Star Wars, Marvel, and ‘sanctioned’ comedy)

    1. JRJoe Rogan1:08:34

       ... you're gonna have a, an equivalent percentage of people that are gay. And if you are a person who wants to get to the top of the charts, like here's the thing that you don't think of. What is... You think Hollywood is very open, right? Very non-homophobic. In fact, celebrates diversity and celebrates LBGTQ people, right?

    2. SPSpeaker1:08:56

       Yeah. I mean, openly, yeah.

    3. JRJoe Rogan1:08:56

       But, but not. So here's the thing. One thing you can't be is an openly gay person and being a, a male lead in films.

    4. SPSpeaker1:09:06

       Uh, I mean, that would make sense as to why people keep that quiet. I'm trying to think of one gay male lead.

    5. JRJoe Rogan1:09:11

       You can't, but you're an actor.

    6. SPSpeaker1:09:12

       No, you're right. That has, that still hasn't changed.

    7. JRJoe Rogan1:09:14

       You're an actor.

    8. SPSpeaker1:09:14

       Yeah.

    9. JRJoe Rogan1:09:14

       You can pretend to be a werewolf-

    10. SPSpeaker1:09:15

        Yeah

    11. JRJoe Rogan1:09:16

        ... but you can't pretend to be straight.

    12. SPSpeaker1:09:18

        You can't pretend to be straight.

    13. JRJoe Rogan1:09:20

        Yeah. They won't allow you. So if you're gay-

    14. SPSpeaker1:09:22

        Well, you can't pretend-

    15. JRJoe Rogan1:09:22

        ... you have to pretend.

    16. SPSpeaker1:09:24

        All right. Yeah.

    17. JRJoe Rogan1:09:24

        You have to pretend you're not gay.

    18. SPSpeaker1:09:26

        Yes.

    19. JRJoe Rogan1:09:26

        Because you can't act in a movie where we know you're gay and you pretend to be straight, we won't buy it.

    20. SPSpeaker1:09:31

        But whenever there is a movie where there is a gay person, they get a obviously straight... Like, uh, like in Milk.

    21. JRJoe Rogan1:09:36

        Oh, right.

    22. SPSpeaker1:09:36

        They don't get a gay guy to play that role.

    23. JRJoe Rogan1:09:38

        Right, right, right.

    24. SPSpeaker1:09:38

        They get a straight guy to be gay for the role.

    25. SPSpeaker1:09:39

        One example from 21 years ago.

    26. SPSpeaker1:09:40

        Yeah, but that's one. He was, he was never a TV-

    27. JRJoe Rogan1:09:42

        That show just as-

    28. SPSpeaker1:09:42

        I know

    29. SPSpeaker1:09:42

        ... he was never a, a movie leading man.

    30. SPSpeaker1:09:44

        I... It's just, it's just one example though.
14. 1:22:37 – 2:22:21

    AI anxiety: music generation, Waymos, and the fear of total control vs. adaptation

    1. SPSpeaker1:22:37

       And AI is-

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:22:39

       Incredible

    3. SPSpeaker1:22:41

       ... yeah, there's a use for it. I hope it doesn't... You... [sighs] I'm still uncomfortable about it. You're, you're aboard. You've... You're playing new music backstage. I didn't, I couldn't, I didn't pick it.

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:22:52

       That was good, right?

    5. SPSpeaker1:22:53

       It's all good. It's-

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:22:54

       Yeah

    7. SPSpeaker1:22:54

       ... I find it frightening.

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:22:55

       Yeah.

    9. SPSpeaker1:22:56

       I don't like it.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:22:56

        White, it's White Rabbit. It's, uh, this Jefferson Airplane version of White Rabbit.

    11. SPSpeaker1:23:01

        Yeah.

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:23:01

        But it's, uh, this bluesy new version of it.

    13. SPSpeaker1:23:05

        I did one of the-

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:23:05

        That's all AI. It's fantastic.

    15. SPSpeaker1:23:07

        There's one way you can upload... You just upload w- your own, your music or someone else's music, and it, like it does all the mastering beautifully.

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:23:14

        Mm-hmm.

    17. SPSpeaker1:23:15

        It's spooky. I mean, it's the end of... It is the end.

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:23:18

        Well, it's-

    19. SPSpeaker1:23:18

        It's the end of something

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:23:18

        ... it's the beginning.

    21. SPSpeaker1:23:19

        There are technical jobs that are just gone now, like-

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:23:22

        That's true.

    23. SPSpeaker1:23:23

        Yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:23:23

        But s- there's not a lot of Morse code operators either.

    25. SPSpeaker1:23:28

        I think they should bring it back. [laughs]

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:23:29

        Bring back the steam engine.

    27. SPSpeaker1:23:31

        I think the Morse code people... I-

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:23:32

        We need to... coal-powered fucking locomotives.

    29. SPSpeaker1:23:35

        I, I see-

    30. JRJoe Rogan1:23:35

        Listen, you-

Episode duration: 2:46:42