Joe Rogan Experience #1712 - Bert Kreischer Part 1
Bert Kreischer (guest), Narrator, Joe Rogan (host), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Bert Kreischer and Narrator, Joe Rogan Experience #1712 - Bert Kreischer Part 1 explores bert Kreischer, Drive-In Comedy, Pandemic Survival, And Rogan’s Influence Joe Rogan and Bert Kreischer catch up after months apart, unpacking how the pandemic upended stand-up and how Bert pioneered drive-in theater comedy tours to keep performing safely. They dive into Bert’s tour logistics, bubble life, barbecuing on the road, and how podcasting with Tom Segura (Two Bears, One Cave) kept him sane and even grew his career.
Bert Kreischer, Drive-In Comedy, Pandemic Survival, And Rogan’s Influence
Joe Rogan and Bert Kreischer catch up after months apart, unpacking how the pandemic upended stand-up and how Bert pioneered drive-in theater comedy tours to keep performing safely. They dive into Bert’s tour logistics, bubble life, barbecuing on the road, and how podcasting with Tom Segura (Two Bears, One Cave) kept him sane and even grew his career.
The conversation veers into hyper-competitive versus collaborative comedy culture, how Rogan’s encouragement pushed Bert to leave TV hosting and bet on stand-up and podcasting, and how a single story (“The Machine”) evolved into a major feature film. They also explore pandemic anxiety, prepper mindsets, family dynamics, kid stories, and how shared adversity reshaped their outlooks.
Later, they range widely: IV drips and recovery, cold exposure, injuries and surgeries, jiu-jitsu fundamentals, MMA fighters’ mindsets, and how hardship (from fighters to Amanda Knox) can forge unusually resilient, empathetic people. Throughout, the through-line is improvisational: friendship, risk-taking, and building a supportive ‘tribe’ in comedy and in life.
Key Takeaways
Innovate instead of waiting for normal to return.
Bert’s decision to invent a drive-in comedy tour—despite bad economics and uncertainty—kept him working, gave audiences a safe outlet, and ultimately led to recognition (Variety’s “Damn the Torpedoes” award) and new opportunity.
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Treat podcasting as both therapy and a business engine.
Doubling down on podcasts during lockdown (especially Two Bears, One Cave) gave Bert purpose, maintained connection, and actively grew his fanbase even when live shows disappeared.
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Listen when trusted peers tell you you’re under-utilizing your talent.
Rogan and Bill Burr bluntly told Bert his Travel Channel work was limiting him and that he should focus on stand-up and podcasting; taking that uncomfortable advice reshaped his entire career trajectory.
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Build a tribe, not just a stockpile, for crises.
Both emphasize that guns, food, and cash matter in emergencies, but the most important resource is a reliable circle of people with complementary skills, shared trust, and mutual support.
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Adversity can sharpen you—if it doesn’t break you.
They frame injuries (Bert’s tricep, Tom Segura’s devastating fall) and Amanda Knox’s wrongful imprisonment as examples of how brutal experiences can produce unusually articulate, empathetic, and resilient people.
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Fundamentals beat flash in high-level performance.
Rogan’s breakdown of Brian Ortega’s jiu-jitsu and classic techniques versus newer, flashier styles underlines that razor-sharp basics often win in real pressure situations—on the mat and on stage.
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Use recovery and health tools proactively, not just reactively.
They detail IV vitamin drips, glutathione/NAC, cold plunges, cryotherapy, and hyperbaric chambers not as magic bullets, but as part of a broader strategy to handle heavy drinking, training, injury, and aging.
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Notable Quotes
“I remember telling the idea to Tom and he goes, ‘You don’t wanna be a guinea pig.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t mind being a guinea pig.’”
— Bert Kreischer
“You’re too funny to be constricted. You’re not a G, you’re an R. And they’re turning you into a G movie.”
— Joe Rogan
“Without friends like you guys, this is all boring. It’s gotta be fun. You gotta bring people along with you.”
— Joe Rogan
“Sometimes it’s okay to have anxiety just so you’re ready for bad shit.”
— Bert Kreischer
“Why does incredible adversity break some people and turn others into an Amanda Knox—one of the most intelligent, empathetic people I’ve ever talked to?”
— Joe Rogan
Questions Answered in This Episode
How did Bert’s drive-in tour change his approach to live performance now that traditional venues are back?
Joe Rogan and Bert Kreischer catch up after months apart, unpacking how the pandemic upended stand-up and how Bert pioneered drive-in theater comedy tours to keep performing safely. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What concrete steps can a comic or creator take when peers tell them they’re ‘playing too small’ in their career?
The conversation veers into hyper-competitive versus collaborative comedy culture, how Rogan’s encouragement pushed Bert to leave TV hosting and bet on stand-up and podcasting, and how a single story (“The Machine”) evolved into a major feature film. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In practice, what does building a real ‘tribe’ for crisis situations look like beyond just having friends?
Later, they range widely: IV drips and recovery, cold exposure, injuries and surgeries, jiu-jitsu fundamentals, MMA fighters’ mindsets, and how hardship (from fighters to Amanda Knox) can forge unusually resilient, empathetic people. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How do Rogan and Bert personally decide which health and recovery interventions (IVs, cold exposure, supplements) are worth adopting versus hype?
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What are the long-term psychological effects of the pandemic they’re most worried about—for kids, for audiences, and for performers?
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Transcript Preview
(drum roll) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (instrumental music)
We're up.
Oh, yeah.
Hey... Bert just took a selfie. Salut, my brother.
Cheers, brother.
So good to see you.
It's great seeing you, man.
Oh my God.
(slurps)
How long has it been? It's been months and months.
It's been (sighs) all quarantine. No, no, it's the first quarantine that we did a podcast right when, uh, I think my special aired.
Right, right when it started going down.
When we didn't know-
Which was like-
... like when we split, smoked two separate joints 'cause we were scared.
Ah!
(laughs)
Was that like May or something?
It was March. We've been-
March.
March 20th we did a podcast, I think.
Now we're ready to make out.
Yeah. Little did I know, I didn't need to do anyone's podcast. Stay at home, home orders are really good for a special.
(laughs)
(laughs) The special comes out March 17th, stay at home orders kick on March 15th.
Perfect.
Fu- th- I mean, we're talking-
Greatest timing ever.
Gr- ah, fuck a snow storm, Ralphie May.
Right, everyone's at home.
Like, dude, it was, it was insa... And then the cabin came out, and I was like, I was gonna hit you up to do your podcast, I was like, "You know what? I, they still got stay at home orders, I think we're good."
Yeah, well, one of the weirdest things that happened was podcasts are essential businesses.
Yeah.
Like, okay.
I'll tell you what, it got me, it kept me sane. I did, me and Tom did Two Bears, One Cave. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, best thing that ever fucking happened to me.
Yeah, because it gives you something to do-
Yeah, and we doubled down.
... when you weren't doing shows.
We started doing two, uh, one every week, and we were doing two a month, and we just, I mean, it was like complete san- And we just forgot about COVID when we got in there, we were-
And may I be the one to say that you were the first person to figure out to do drive-through or drive-in movie shows. See, there's a lot of people, other people try to take credit for that, Bert Kreischer.
Um, I always say that podcast. (laughs)
Tell it to some different human be- (laughs)
(laughs)
And I try to be diplomatic 'cause I know it was you.
(sighs)
And I was like, you know what it's like? It's, it's like when someone has a hand grenade and they pull the pin.
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