The guest
Forrest Galante: Wildlife biologist, conservationist, and TV host (Mysterious Creatures, Extinct or Alive) and author of the book Still Alive.
What this episode covers
Forrest Galante joins Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging conversation about cryptids, conservation, and the wild side of the animal kingdom. They debate whether thylacines and giant ground sloths could still survive in unexplored jungle, before moving into parasites, giant snakes, and the man-made history of the Amazon rainforest. Forrest explains the science and conservation logic behind Colossal Biosciences' plans to de-extinct woolly mammoths and Tasmanian tigers. The talk also covers the carnivore diet, organ meats, COVID-era fear and overcounting, and the slaughter of bison tied to Native American genocide. It closes on ocean depletion, palm-oil monoculture in Borneo, and Forrest's plea to reconnect people with nature.
Recommended on this episode
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The guest's own work
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Still Alive
Forrest Galante
“well Forrest still alive it's your book it's available now did you do the audio version of it I did did you narrate it I did”— Joe Rogan
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Mysterious Creatures
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“I watched your show the other day the uh the television show what is the television show mysterious creatures yes the new one”— Joe Rogan
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The Carnivore Code
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Nutella
Ferrero
“palm oil is used for everything your Nutella your peanut butter... I love Nutella but I try not to buy it because I've been to borneo”— Forrest Galante
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“this guy think he threw a I think the spear he threw it had a GoPro on it oh okay so he got this horrible perspective”— Joe Rogan
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“that was a real like ni IH funded food chart that places Lucky Charms above eggs”— Joe Rogan
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“what incentive there is to prescribe REM Desir because it all it's all financial decisions right”— Joe Rogan
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Benadryl
Benadryl
“we had to get to a pharmacy and find some like benad or some whatever they Italian equivalent benad”— Forrest Galante
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EpiPen
“my one cameraman Mitch he has like a pretty bad reaction like puffy eyes has to get the EpiPen everything”— Forrest Galante
Big reveals from this episode
- The Ozark 'howler' cryptid rumor was perpetuated by moonshiners to keep people out of the woods.
- The 'Judas goat' method tags one collared goat to lead hunters to the rest when eradicating invasive island populations.
- Roughly 90% of Native Americans were killed by disease like smallpox, not direct violence.
- Dr. Leana Wen later said the real COVID death count may be only about 30% of what was reported.
- Colossal Biosciences plans to bring back the woolly mammoth via Indian elephant surrogates, targeting late 2024.
- John Reeves' six-acre Alaska boneyard contains saber-tooth skulls not previously thought native to Alaska.
- Bison were slaughtered largely to starve Native Americans onto reservations.
- Scientists predict eight years of no fishing could restore ocean fish stocks to nearly 100%.
Worth remembering
- The candiru, a tiny Amazon catfish, can swim up a human urethra and has reverse-facing spines so it can't back out.
- Tarantula hawk wasps paralyze tarantulas and lay a single egg inside so the larva eats the spider alive.
- Ant biomass is around 20% of human biomass, roughly 12 megatons, and ants make up about two-thirds of all insects.
- Much of the Amazon rainforest is effectively man-made, cultivated by ancient civilizations using engineered 'terra preta' soil.
- The US is one of only two countries (with New Zealand) that allows pharmaceutical TV ads, which make up about 75% of US TV ads.
- Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease is linked to an overabundance of prey after the thylacine apex predator was wiped out.
- New Jersey has the highest black bear population per capita in North America.
- Around 100 million sharks are killed every year.
- Palm-oil monoculture has destroyed vast swaths of Borneo's virgin jungle, leaving it silent and lifeless.
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