The guest
Stavros Halkias: Stand-up comedian and podcaster promoting his Netflix special Fat Rascal; former kickboxer and aspiring comic-book illustrator.
What this episode covers
Joe Rogan and comedian Stavros Halkias deliver a loose, raunchy, mostly comedic conversation with very few serious recommendations. They cover grass-fed beef, the Bert Kreischer/Shane Gillis/Ari Shaffir comedy world, the decline of terrestrial radio and rise of podcasting, and a long detour into a kidnapped New Zealand pilot held in West Papua. A huge chunk of the episode is spent on a Japanese urology study investigating whether female squirting is urine. Joe also shares formative stories: discovering Taekwondo as a teen, training under elite kickboxer John Lee, teaching an accredited course at Boston University at 19, and instructing a Whitey Bulger hitman. The pair close on movies (revenge films, The Killer, Sopranos), immigration and universal basic income, and a viral drive-by shooting video.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommended
Men Without Women
Haruki Murakami
“great stuff”
“check it out man these are men without women peruki Mami great stuff what I talk about when I talk about running”— Stavros Halkias
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Murder Machine
“you got to read this book”
“Joey Diaz gave it to me you got to read this book [ __ ] yeah these [ __ ] these [ __ ] were wild”— Joe Rogan
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Five Families
“it's really [ __ ] good”
“The five families is a it's almost like an encyclopedic thing of the entire I forget who who wrote it”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Lady Snowblood
“you're going to love that”
“have you seen Lady Snow blood no what's that that's a Japanese is like you're going to love that”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Hard Boiled
John Woo
“another Banger absolutely”
“I watched the first half of hard boil I'll pop that little bad boy come on what's hardboiled oh John Woo movie oh that's right dude yeah another Banger absolutely”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
The Killer
David Fincher
“I love it the Killer's great”
“have you seen the killer that just came out yes oh I love it the Killer's great Man Killer's great that's great”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
Under the Skin
“it's really good very original very interesting movie”
“did you ever see that alien movie that she did I think it's called Under the Skin oh I haven't seen it it's really good”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
The Hustler
“I love that movie”
“F Minnesota F no I love that movie yeah you know there's a guy like a real pool player named Minnesota Fats”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Atlanta
“a great show great show”
“I never saw any of that it's Atlanta's a great show great show but yeah it's he's just got so much depth”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
The Sopranos
“that's what's so awesome about Sopranos”
“but that's what's so awesome about Sopranos and that's why I think they put a couple of those episodes”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Pimp Chronicles
Katt Williams
“might be my favorite special of all time”
“that might be my favorite special of all time because it's he's just is that Pimp Chronicles yes”— Stavros Halkias
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferenced
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Haruki Murakami
“what I talk about when I talk about running I haven't read that one huh uh Norwegian Wood”— Joe Rogan
BookReferenced
Norwegian Wood
Haruki Murakami
“in Norwegian Wood he [ __ ] two he [ __ ] an old lady and a young woman wow yeah that shows you what I'm getting out of literature”— Stavros Halkias
BookReferencedISBN verified
Seven Seconds or Less
Jack McCallum
“I was reading um about the son the Phoenix Sun 7 seconds or less I read a lot of basketball books”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Jennifer's Body
“like if like Jennifer's Body that's horror movie she was perfect for it cuz it's like there is an edge to her”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Tom Green Show
Tom Green
“he's also the main reason why I did this podcast the Tom Green Show yeah that was awesome the online one his talk show that he did”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Whitesnake
Whitesnake
“she saw White Snake and made me leave it in the car she was leaving in the car I'm like what”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Gangs of New York
“it's like [ __ ] Tamm Hall like in Gangs of New York where it's like you vote like four times”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Captain Phillips
“an actor a paid actor one of the guys from Captain Phillips uh we get him to pretend he's one of them”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Kinsey
“kin the Kinsey Kinsey yeah was it a documentary was it I saw they had like a Liam n Play him there was a movie”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Mercedes
Mercedes
“Shane's F just bought a Mercedes know it's [ __ ] awesome I went to we went I took him to the Mercedes dealership”— Stavros Halkias
ProductReferenced
Starlink
SpaceX
“Elon put a [ __ ] satellite right above him get Starling yeah yeah one [ __ ] yeah let's do that”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Stavros and Joe describe the Sambia/Sepik 'semen warrior' coming-of-age ritual of a Papua New Guinea tribe.
- Stavros reveals he had three kickboxing fights while doing stand-up, losing his last by TKO, then chose comedy.
- Stavros says he originally wanted to be a comic-book illustrator and could draw horror art as a kid.
- Joe recounts teaching a hitman for Whitey Bulger how to fight when he was about 19.
- Joe tells how he stumbled onto Taekwondo by chance and trained at an elite Boston gym under champion John Lee.
- Joe describes teaching an accredited Taekwondo course at Boston University at age 19.
- They walk through the actual Japanese urology study that recruited a man to make women squirt for analysis.
Worth remembering
- In ancient Greece pederasty was openly discussed, and being penetrated past adolescence was mocked.
- A New Zealand pilot has been held hostage by separatist rebels in West Papua since February.
- Jackie Gleason owned a Rolls-Royce golf cart with a built-in cooler and 'The Great One' clubs.
- 'Minnesota Fats' was really New York Fats who renamed himself after the movie The Hustler.
- Freeway Ricky Ross taught himself to read in prison, became a jailhouse lawyer, and got himself released.
- The first UFC was 30 years ago and featured fighters with a single boxing glove fighting multiple bouts per night.
- John Lee was renowned for the fastest spinning back kick in the world, which became Joe's signature move.
- A Japanese Department of Urology study concluded squirting is largely involuntary urine emission.
- Schwarzenegger can't run for president because the natural-born-citizen rule requires birth on US soil.
- The US bought Alaska from Russia and made the Louisiana Purchase, framed as history's great bargain deals.
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