The guest
Dave Attell: Veteran stand-up comedian (Comedy Central's Insomniac, Bumping Mics), club road dog who started in the late 1980s
What this episode covers
Dave Attell and Joe Rogan reminisce about classic comedy clubs, the late-80s comedy boom and bust, and the current renaissance fueled by podcasters and Austin's scene. They wander through tangents on rats and crocodiles, giant Caucasian Shepherd dogs, Cameo, and the decay of New York and Portland. A long stretch covers the history of psychedelics, from the Eleusinian Mysteries and ergot poisoning to LSD, ibogaine, and cold-plunge therapy. The conversation closes on craft, work ethic, and comedy's value in chaotic times, punctuated by Dave getting a real on-mic leg cramp.
Recommended on this episode
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Craig's vegan ice cream
Craig's
“it's [ __ ] great ... that one is legit”
“I know you're like oh my God it's [ __ ] great it's with cashew butter yeah it's delicious it's this creamy delicious ice cream”— Joe Rogan
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Morozko Forge cold plunge
Morozko Forge
“those are the best way to do it”
“a cold plunge like a marasco forge or blue cube those are the best way to do it”— Joe Rogan
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Blue Cube cold plunge
Blue Cube Baths
“those are the best way to do it”
“a cold plunge like a marasco forge or blue cube those are the best way to do it”— Joe Rogan
BookRecommended
The Immortality Key
Brian Murarescu
“it's amazing”
“the book's called the immortality key it's amazing I listened to the audio version of it and Brian does the the reading”— Joe Rogan
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Swamp People
History
“one of my favorite shows”
“well that's one of my favorite shows where the guys get to go out and call the herd you know”— Joe Rogan
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Naked and Afraid
Discovery
“I love that”
“I watch that too that's that to me and naked and afraid I love that shot do you watch that”— Dave Attell
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My 600-lb Life
TLC
“that is a guilty pleasure show”
“how come that is a guilty pleasure show my 600 pound life do you like it tell me somebody who doesn't watch that”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferenced
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
John Marco Allegro
“that's uh the subject of a book called um the sacred mushroom and the cross this guy John Marco Allegro”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Cameo
Cameo
“he loved Cameo he was like the biggest Cameo guy in the world like yeah happy birthday”— Joe Rogan
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Yondr phone-lock bag
Yondr
“is your phones are locked up in a Yonder bag you're [ __ ] sitting there and you're just focused you're having fun”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Segway
Segway
“what were those things called Jamie Segways yeah remember those were gonna take over yeah what happened the Segways went away”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
American Spirit cigarettes
American Spirit
“do you smoke cigars uh no that was my dad's thing I'm on these uh these American Spirits”— Dave Attell
ProductReferenced
Altra wide-toe-box shoes
Altra
“I got these [ __ ] things on right now they have like uh they're Ultras I guess yeah they have like a wide toe box”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Wim Hof Method breathing course
Wim Hof
“there's uh courses that he has online where he teaches you his Wim Hof method of breathing very interesting guy”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Starship Troopers
“what's the [ __ ] Starship Troopers yes I imagine that stuff all the time because I was watching that”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Mo' Better Blues
Spike Lee
“remember Mo Better Blues yeah I remember watching Denzel Washington that movie being so like envious of that kind of discipline”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Red Dawn
“I said this is like uh you know Red Dawn like the re-education camp you know that scene where it's like boys avenge me”— Dave Attell
MediaReferenced
The Hobbit
“it looks like something from The Hobbit it is like yeah like you would see like a battle dwarf riding it”— Dave Attell
MediaReferenced
Uno
Mattel
“we're sitting there in the living room we're playing like Uno or some [ __ ] and then I see this coyote”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Impractical Jokers
truTV
“the uh the guys Impractical Jokers they have a mega cruise I know that yeah and they do comedy on those things”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Something's Burning
Bert Kreischer
“now he's doing something's burning again I was actually just talking to Brian Simpson he was on his way over to film a new episode”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Joe lays out John Marco Allegro's theory that Christianity grew from psychedelic mushroom rituals, tracing 'Jesus' to a Sumerian term.
- Brian Murarescu's work suggests the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries used ergot-spiked wine to induce psychedelic visions for ~2,000 years.
- A 1950s French town suffered mass ergot poisoning, with people hallucinating visions of hell and several dying.
- Ibogaine reportedly reverses opiate addiction by altering gene expression and resetting neuroreceptors to a pre-addiction state.
- Wim Hof's feats: nearly 1 hour 52 minutes in an ice bath and summiting Everest in shorts and sandals.
- Dave Attell gets a genuine, painful leg cramp live on the mic, prompting a Liquid I.V. and pinch-your-lip remedy bit.
- The Segway company's owner died after riding one of his own scooters off a cliff.
Worth remembering
- Gilbert Gottfried would do 10 or more Cameos a day and was among the platform's biggest sellers.
- Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from The Office) was the top Cameo earner, charging roughly $2,600 per video.
- You can safely eat a rat if you cook it to 167 degrees to kill trichinosis.
- A Mongolian couple died of bubonic plague in 2019 after eating raw marmot meat.
- Vatican City is a sovereign nation with its own laws and money, and people can't be extradited out of it.
- The Vatican's giant bronze pine cone is said to reference the pineal gland, the so-called third eye.
- Pairing sauna with a cold plunge boosts mood; letting the body warm naturally afterward gives the most benefit.
- People who go barefoot through jungles develop splayed, hand-like, heavily muscled feet.
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