Joe Rogan Experience #2118 - The Black Keys
Joe Rogan (host), Narrator, Dan Auerbach (guest), Patrick Carney (guest), Jamie Vernon (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest), Guest (guest)
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Narrator, Joe Rogan Experience #2118 - The Black Keys explores black Keys, UFOs, cults, and chaos: three hours of wild riffs Joe Rogan sits down with Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys for a long, free‑wheeling conversation that jumps from guns, drugs, and cults to AI, UFOs, and the insanity of modern politics. The trio trade stories about unsafe gun ranges, psychedelic misadventures, CIA mind‑control experiments, and the making of the Unabomber and Manson. They also dig into music history, obscure Memphis rap, their new album and documentary, and the strange economics of fame and record sales in the streaming era. Throughout, the tone swings between dark comedy, genuine concern about technology and chemicals, and real admiration for stand‑up, songwriting, and DIY creativity.
Black Keys, UFOs, cults, and chaos: three hours of wild riffs
Joe Rogan sits down with Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys for a long, free‑wheeling conversation that jumps from guns, drugs, and cults to AI, UFOs, and the insanity of modern politics. The trio trade stories about unsafe gun ranges, psychedelic misadventures, CIA mind‑control experiments, and the making of the Unabomber and Manson. They also dig into music history, obscure Memphis rap, their new album and documentary, and the strange economics of fame and record sales in the streaming era. Throughout, the tone swings between dark comedy, genuine concern about technology and chemicals, and real admiration for stand‑up, songwriting, and DIY creativity.
Key Takeaways
Basic firearm safety is non‑negotiable, even in casual settings.
Stories about being handed loaded guns at ranges with no instruction—and nearly passing a loaded pistol to a friend—underline how easily fatal mistakes can happen when people aren’t properly trained.
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Movie martial arts often fail under real‑world pressure.
Rogan dismantles Aikido’s practicality against wrestlers or MMA fighters and uses Steven Seagal clips to show how choreographed demos can mislead people about what actually works in a fight.
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Government experimentation with drugs and psychology has had real human fallout.
The hosts connect LSD humiliation studies at Harvard to Ted Kaczynski’s trajectory and discuss Manson in the context of alleged CIA manipulation of the anti‑war movement, pointing to long‑term unintended consequences.
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Environmental and medical exposures can be quietly devastating.
From fungicides that killed a golfer to fertilizers linked to bone cancer and forever chemicals like PFAS in water, they argue that many everyday products carry under‑appreciated long‑term health risks.
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DIY, low‑budget creativity can outperform high‑gloss production.
The Black Keys celebrate early ’90s Memphis cassette rap and cult musicians like Lil Noid, noting how crude, home‑made recordings can have more character and influence than polished mainstream releases.
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Comedy formats like Kill Tony are reshaping how new talent breaks through.
Rogan praises the show as a meritocratic, brutally honest platform where one‑minute sets and live roasting create real careers for previously unknown comics, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
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Long‑term collaboration thrives on chemistry, not just skill.
Auerbach and Carney describe how their instant ability to write songs together, their shared history, and choosing to keep recording fun (nice hotels, social nights, serendipitous collaborations) fuels their longevity and output.
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Notable Quotes
“It’s like learning a language, but you only learn conjunctions… that’s Aikido.”
— Joe Rogan
“Those guys aren’t around anymore. Before there were rock stars, there were people signing their bowling promo photos.”
— Patrick Carney
“If you have a computer in a car, someone can operate that computer.”
— Joe Rogan
“It’s actually inexcusable to have bad taste in music now.”
— Dan Auerbach
“We’ve been investigating hit songs for 20 years, and we’ve yet to have one.”
— Patrick Carney
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much of the Manson and Unabomber narratives are confirmed history versus speculative conspiracy, and what evidence best distinguishes the two?
Joe Rogan sits down with Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys for a long, free‑wheeling conversation that jumps from guns, drugs, and cults to AI, UFOs, and the insanity of modern politics. ...
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If AI and quantum computing can soon break all encryption, what realistic safeguards—technical or political—could actually protect weapon systems and financial markets?
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Given the examples discussed, how should regulators balance innovation in chemicals and pharmaceuticals against the often slow, invisible build‑up of harm in people and ecosystems?
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What does the Black Keys’ love of obscure Memphis cassette rap say about how internet platforms are changing what gets preserved, discovered, or lost in music history?
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At what point does using psychedelics for creativity or insight cross into reckless experimentation, especially given cases like Kaczynski or extreme LSD humiliation studies?
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Transcript Preview
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) There was a cop guarding our car behind the theater yesterday, and we asked him if it was okay if I smoked one. And he said, "You should probably wait." (laughs)
(laughs)
(laughs)
(laughs)
"You should probably wait," is a funny thing for a cop to say.
(laughs)
(laughs)
(laughs) Yeah, it was tricky.
(laughs) So stupid.
(inhales deeply)
(laughs)
The dumbest of laws.
Yeah.
Without a doubt, the number one dumbest of laws. There's noth- nothing that's even close to that one. That one's so stupid. While all the shit that is legal-
(laughs) Yeah.
... you know?
It's just a matter of time, I think.
We can only hope. It's legal in, like, 20 states or something now. Wasn't it like 19 or something, Jimmy?
23.
23. 23 states. Ridiculous. But there's a lot of shit you can do here that you can't do anywhere else. You can have a zebra.
You can have ... You can have a cult.
(laughs)
(laughs)
You can have a cult.
(laughs)
You ca- ... You could have a zebra.
(laughs)
You can, uh, conceal carry with no license.
(laughs)
You don't have to have a concealed carry license here. It's constitutionally carry.
Really?
Yeah. So leave them little old ladies alone.
How many states have that? How many states have that?
Quite a few now. Quite a few. Florida has it. Um, there's, uh ... I want to say there's 19 states that have that now. Ohio just passed it.
Damn.
Well, you know, there's a lot of fucking crime going on out there. And there's some places where it's difficult to get a license to carry.
Mm. I'm surprised, though, that in Ohio they allow that.
I think-
Well, uh, yeah, I- I'm not familiar with any gun law, ever, at all. I just... I just don't have a gun. I have a pellet gun.
Wow. Have you ever shot a gun?
Yeah. I did. Um, it scared the shit out of me. It's w- ... I mean, I was a boy scout and stuff.
(laughs)
But my friend bought a, like a Mauser. Is that what it's called? A World w- ... A German rifle.
Mm-hmm. Sure.
I mean, this guy's kind of total character. He was ... He got into, like, World War II reenacting.
Oh, no. (laughs)
And he was a Nazi. (laughs)
Oh, no. (laughs)
And we're like, "What?"
Did he at least try to lose? (laughs)
Well, I don't... I don't know, man. It was a whole different thing he would do that we n- ... He never really discussed with us. We bought this Mauser, and we took it to the range, indoor range. And, like, it had ... It... It... The pin, I guess, was replaced to fire only blanks. So we're trying to shoot it, and it was hitting the bullet but not firing. So the guy at the, uh, shooting range was like, "Here, just shoot this." And he handed us a, you know, like a 9 millimeter, or a .45 semi-automatic, you know, with the magazine, and he didn't really show us how to use it.
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