The guest
Josh Brolin: Actor (No Country for Old Men, W., Outer Range) and author of the memoir From Under the Truck
What this episode covers
Josh Brolin joins Joe Rogan for a sprawling, philosophical conversation centered on Brolin's new memoir From Under the Truck. They explore the relationship between creativity and self-destruction, citing writers like Hunter S. Thompson, Cormac McCarthy, and Jack Kerouac, and comedians like Sam Kinison and Dave Chappelle. Brolin recounts a chaotic upbringing in Santa Barbara, taking LSD at 13, shooting cocaine at 15, and losing 36 of 50 childhood friends. The two also dig into money and identity, fitness and injury recovery, the COVID era and vaccine skepticism, the Austin comedy migration, and the wildness that defines elite fighters like Mike Tyson and Jon Jones.
Recommended on this episode
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
“the only book that's ever been written that's kind of gets close to the kind of spiritual place”
“if you read Zen in the-art of Motorcycle Maintenance which is the only book that's ever been written that's kind of gets close to the kind of spiritual place”— guest
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The War of Art
Steven Pressfield
“great book great book”
“have you ever read pressfield's the war of art yeah of course great book great book”— guest
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Hell's Angels
Hunter S. Thompson
“that's the book that I go back to most”
“I was just reading uh Hell's Angels recently actually that's the book that I go back to most”— Joe Rogan
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Brother Sam
Bill Kinison
“great book it's really really good book”
“his brother wrote a great book it's called Brother Sam it's really really good book describing like the ascent of his career”— Joe Rogan
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No Country for Old Men
Coen Brothers
“my favorite movie of yours”
“my favorite movie of yours is what No Country for Old Men why cuz it's so [ __ ] up”— Joe Rogan
The guest's own work
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From Under the Truck
Josh Brolin
“Josh BR from under the truck why from under the truck why do you think cuz that's where you were d drunk passed out”— guest
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
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On the Road
Jack Kerouac
“even people talk about kowak and kowak was like you know he rode on the road he on the road and it was Hunter S Thompson type of thing”— Joe Rogan
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson
“what do you love about his writing and what type like Fear and Loathing well I was just reading uh Hell's Angels recently”— Joe Rogan
BookReferencedISBN verified
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Hunter S. Thompson
“did you ever read fear and love on the campaign Trail yeah that's one of the more interesting pieces because you got this guy who's following around the campaign Trail”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Alex Gibney
“you ever heard Hunter S Thompson and you know that documentary they did Gonzo yeah like that that in the documentary the very beginning he talks about riding a motorcycle”— guest
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Delirious
Eddie Murphy
“remember Eddie Murphy when he did what not the first not raw but delirious delirious yeah oh yeah well he was a [ __ ] Powerhouse”— guest
MediaReferenced
Louder Than Hell
Sam Kinison
“an album that he made called Louder Than Hell and those those things are the best things he ever does”— Joe Rogan
BookReferencedISBN verified
All the Pretty Horses
Cormac McCarthy
“if you have even even a guy like that who wrote the first up until All the Pretty Horses none of his books sold”— guest
BookReferencedISBN verified
1984
George Orwell
“all these ban books that we know back in the day 1984 George Orwell you know Henry Miller all these [ __ ] people”— guest
Big reveals from this episode
- Brolin took LSD for the first time at age 13, twice in a 24-hour period, calling it life-changing.
- Brolin reveals he was shooting cocaine at 15 years old.
- Brolin says 36 out of 50 of his childhood friends from Montecito are dead from heroin, accidents, and punk-rock excess.
- Rogan healed his bulging discs with regenokine (PRP-style blood treatment) and aggressive movement instead of surgery.
- Rogan declined the COVID vaccine after the lot was pulled for blood clots and two acquaintances had strokes days after their shots.
- Brolin was present the night before Cormac McCarthy died, at the foot of the bed where McCarthy's typewriter sat.
- Sam Kinison was launched to fame via Rodney Dangerfield's young-comedian specials, peaking with his HBO hour and the album Louder Than Hell.
Worth remembering
- Brolin bought Joe Walsh's old house in Santa Barbara after a single listing came up on Zillow.
- Stress over the move gave Brolin a mild case of Bell's palsy four months before the interview.
- Ralph Steadman once refused to draw a graduation gift for Brolin's son, then 20 years later sent him a print unprompted.
- Kerouac edited On the Road for seven years despite his 'first thought, best thought' reputation.
- Hemingway's first manuscript was lost when his wife left the satchel on a train.
- A teenage Mike Tyson appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as 'Kid Dynamite' at 19.
- Cus D'Amato hypnotized 13-year-old Mike Tyson, telling him 'you don't exist, only the task exists.'
- Helio Gracie believed in reincarnation and that you live the same life over until you get it right, informing his 1%-better-a-day philosophy.
- Brolin wrote his entire memoir before selling it, cutting it from 450 pages down to about 240.
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