The guest
Stavros Halkias: Greek-American stand-up comedian known for raunchy, self-deprecating comedy; formerly of the Cum Town podcast, now hosting his own show Stav's World and touring his Fat Rascal tour.
What this episode covers
This is a loose, freewheeling comedy episode with almost no fixed agenda. Stavros and Joe bounce from gym/fetish jokes about muscular women into long tangents on ancient Greek and Roman history, Viking and Mongol brutality, the origins of football and combat sports, and Catholic Church abuse scandals. The back half digs into Stavros's personal arc: getting sober on the road, working out with his trainer brother, his first disastrous paid comedy gig, and slacking at a foreclosure law firm during the housing crisis. It closes with an extended film-nerd conversation about Tom Cruise, Scorsese's The Color of Money, real-life pool hustlers, and the lost art of practical effects and stunts.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommended
The Immortality Key
Brian Muraresku
“it's an amazing book”
“have you ever heard of uh Brian mura rescu in the book called The immortality key no it's an amazing book”— Joe Rogan
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
“one of the most interesting books on philosophy and the way a guy lives his life ever”
“marcus aurelius meditations is like still to this day one of the most interesting books on philosophy and the way a guy lives his life ever”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
The Northman
Robert Eggers
“that was a great fucking movie I can't believe that movie didn't get as much love as it deserves”
“that Viking movie hardcore that was awesome that was a great fucking movie I can't believe that movie didn't get as much love as it deserves”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
The Witch
Robert Eggers
“I love the witch too that was a sick movie”
“I love the witch too that was a sick movie The Witch was sick”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Eastbound and Down
Danny McBride
“truly the funniest show of all time”
“it's truly the funniest show of all time they're all Danny McBride's hilarious”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Aliens
James Cameron
“that was a great fucking movie”
“she's got big old titties that was a great fucking movie bro that was a great fucking mother”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
The Color of Money
Martin Scorsese
“it's such an interesting movie”
“what I love about this movie too is like I had no idea about all the actual pool stuff but it's such an interesting movie from just a film perspective”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
The Hustler
Walter Tevis
“great movie”
“he wrote the The Hustler the original Paul Newman Jackie great movie he wrote that”— Joe Rogan
MediaRecommended
The Verdict
Paul Newman
“the verdict rules”
“Paul Newman would go on to have the later part where he plays great roles the verdict rules”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
Collateral
Michael Mann
“it's the fucking best”
“my favorite one of his is collateral too cuz it's like oh my God I just watched the other day dude it's the fucking best”— Stavros Halkias
MediaRecommended
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Errol Flynn
“one of my favorite movies to just throw on sometimes”
“one of my favorite movies to just throw on sometimes is the old Robin Hood from the 30s it's this spectacle dude”— Stavros Halkias
ProductRecommended
Defense Soap
Defense Soap
“please get yourself some defense soap... it's great soap it's got like tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil it's all natural”
“get yourself some defense soap if you're a Grappler in particular please get yourself some defense soap it's a natural antibiotic soap”— Joe Rogan
ProductRecommended
Yondr Bags
Yondr
“every Club should do it it changes the vibe of the show you're right people are way more present”
“if people have their phones those Yonder bags man they're in the moment they're really there... every Club should do it it changes the vibe of the show”— Joe Rogan
The guest's own work
MediaBy the guest
Live at the Lodge Room
Stavros Halkias
“you do the YouTube route live at the lodge room go watch it everybody live at the lodge room it did really great”— Stavros Halkias
MediaBy the guest
Stav's World
Stavros Halkias
“stav's world go subscribe everybody and it's on everything it's on YouTube it's on Spotify whatever”— Stavros Halkias
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Iliad
Homer
“I'm reading the uh The Iliad I'm really into the Trojan warship right now and it's like Achilles had that thing”— Stavros Halkias
BookReferenced
The Odyssey
Homer
“but then in the Odyssey uh I wish I was a grandfather I wish I was back in the village”— Stavros Halkias
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Kill Chain
Christian Brose
“I'm reading this book now that's a terrifying book it's uh called the killchain and uh it's all about uh technology and how far behind America is”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers
“he did the Witch and he did the lighthouse and he's he loves like making sure everything is like period”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Queen's Gambit
Walter Tevis
“it was all written by Walter Tevis who was the same guy who wrote the Queen's Gambit”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Heat
Michael Mann
“Michael man did that shit too with heat it's like they were shooting machine guns bro you know heat was based”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Throne of Blood
Akira Kurosawa
“the same thing with the kirasa Macbeth uh Throne of blood that shit god damn dude they were doing this shit”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Avatar
James Cameron
“I'm with you up until we talk about Avatar yeah I was so good I'm like do your CGI do whatever you got to do”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron
“this year we're doing Avatar way way of the water I can't wait dude I can't wait for that to come out”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Zoo
“did you ever see Zoo the documentary zoo is about this uh community of people that met online”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Thing
John Carpenter
“the thing is so sick all practical it's just like John Carpenters John Carpenter the the man”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
The Road
“if you go back to like you know that movie the road yeah if shit gets to like that point no why killing myself”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Game of Thrones
“that was what people liked about Game of Thrones too like they were behaving like we would expect them to behave”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Quake
id Software
“like video games I used to get addicted to quake and I play eight hours a day dude I wouldn't stop”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Mission Impossible
Tom Cruise
“just how smart it was to go to do the Mission Impossible movies to kind of like his career went to the next level”— Stavros Halkias
MediaReferenced
Tenet
Christopher Nolan
“we watched tenant one year when it was like the pandemic and how can you follow that around when you're sober”— Stavros Halkias
Big reveals from this episode
- Stavros says he has stayed sober on his current tour and works out using a full-body program built by his trainer brother Nick at Odyssey Strength to manage his weight.
- Stavros recounts his very first paid comedy gig in Southwest Virginia for $50, then violently throwing up all the way home after ordering microwaved ribs at a 1 a.m. Virginia IHOP.
- Stavros admits he deliberately did almost no work at a foreclosure law firm during the housing crisis (300 'steps' vs the usual 3,000), staying employed for about eight months before they tracked his activity and let him go.
- Discussion that James Cameron called testosterone a 'toxin men need to remove,' which Rob Wolf pushed back on by noting testosterone is the dominant hormone relative to estrogen even in women.
- Stavros and Joe argue podcasts and YouTube are now more career-changing for comedians than traditional TV, which no longer 'changes your life' the way it once did.
- Stavros plugs his 2023 'Stavy Baby' erotic calendar live on the show, flipping through the photos.
Worth remembering
- Martin Luther made the Bible readable in the vernacular around 1507; before that the mass was in Latin, and it remained in Latin in many places until the 1970s-80s.
- Per Malcolm Gladwell, Princeton's ~$37.7B endowment earns roughly enough each year (~$3.77B at 11.2%) to fully cover its ~$1.86B operating budget, meaning it could make tuition free.
- Brian Muraresku's research found ancient Greek wine vessels with psychedelic ergot residue, suggesting ritual wine was effectively spiked with an LSD-like compound.
- Komodo dragons can swallow prey up to about 80% of their own body size and have toxic, venomous saliva that helps subdue victims.
- Lassos date back to roughly 1800 BC (a pharaoh is depicted holding one over a bull), and the Huns used lassos to snare opponents in hand-to-hand combat around 370 AD.
- A theory attributed to Michael Jackson's own doctor claims MJ was chemically castrated young to preserve his high voice, echoing the historical practice of castrati for opera.
- Author Walter Tevis wrote The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Queen's Gambit.
- Tom Cruise's character in The Color of Money was based on real pool hustler Keith McCready ('the earthquake'); pro Mike Sigel taught Cruise to play.
- GIs brought pool to the Philippines in the 1950s; Filipinos became dominant players, and Efren Reyes came to the US hustling under the fake name Caesar Morales.
- 'Island dwarfism' shrinks most mammals on islands but lizards grow larger (the Komodo dragon), and Flores island once hosted tiny 'Hobbit' humans.
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