Matt McCusker: Philadelphia-raised stand-up comedian and co-host of the Stavvy's World / Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast scene. Known for absurdist storytelling and a background in social work.
What this episode covers
A loose, freewheeling JRE conversation with no single throughline. They open on diet and gut health (creatine, fiber, carnivore, vegan), drift into Florida wildlife and sharks, then aging, vitamin D, caffeine sensitivity and nootropics. A long middle stretch covers the craft of stand-up comedy, bombing, open mics, and Kill Tony. The back half veers into Epstein and Prince Andrew, Trump and aliens, Bob Lazar and Area 51, McCusker's wild stories from getting a social-work master's degree, and finally a riff on RFK Jr., the food pyramid, glyphosate, gluten, and distrust of corporate science.
Recommended on this episode
Empire of the Summer Moon
S. C. Gwynne
“There's a great book about Texas called um Empire of the Summer Moon. About the settlers encountering the Comanche.”— Joe Rogan
Resveratrol
(generic supplement)
“Well, also take resveratrol. It's a good supplement. And the amount that you get in supplements is like far exceeds a glass of wine.”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Creatine
(generic supplement)
“You know what's really good for that? Creatine. I've been taking it. Yeah. Creatine. They say 20 grams a day.”— Joe Rogan
Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry
“I've been reading I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now. It's like an old classic western and they just talk about how hot they are all day long.”— Matt McCusker
Designs by Perry UFO Sport Model replica
Designs by Perry
“There's a guy named Designs by Perry and he makes these. You could buy them on the internet. He makes a like a desk lamp.”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- McCusker says he got hemorrhoids from going vegan for a month.
- Rogan describes trying to catch COVID by hugging his sick kids and having sex with his coughing wife, and never getting it.
- Rogan recounts Jelly Roll losing 300 lbs naturally over three years with no Ozempic, just walking and clean eating.
- Rogan retells Bob Lazar's Area 51 story of reverse-engineering a UFO powered by element 115.
- McCusker says his social-work master's program was 'ground zero' for woke ideology and classmates would cry and say they felt 'unsafe.'
- McCusker reveals the school tried to expel him after his name surfaced in the Shane Gillis SNL controversy.
- Rogan says grappler Gordon Ryan is retiring at 30 because repeated staph infections and antibiotics destroyed his gut.
- McCusker plays a leaked Wexner deposition clip where someone whispers a threat to keep answers under five words.
Worth remembering
- Bull sharks can swim in fresh water and are blamed for the 1916 New Jersey river attacks that inspired Jaws.
- In Florida cold snaps, iguanas freeze and fall out of trees, then thaw back to life; alligators can go a year without eating.
- A doctor friend found many New York City patients had undetectable vitamin D levels in winter.
- Vitamin D absorbs best taken with dietary fat plus magnesium, K2, and omega-3s.
- Training at high altitude builds extra red blood cells, giving athletes a sea-level endurance boost (the EPO effect).
- Bob Lazar famously built a jet-engine-powered Honda and is documented on the Los Alamos employee roster.
- The Sokal-style hoax papers (Boghossian, Lindsay, Pluckrose) got absurd 'grievance studies' articles peer-reviewed and celebrated.
- Toxoplasmosis (a cat-gut parasite) alters behavior, correlating with more reckless motorcycle crash victims and aggression.
- The 'glass of wine is healthy' studies were largely funded/promoted by the alcohol industry.
- Gluten intolerance may stem from glyphosate crop-finishing; many report eating bread fine in Europe.