Joe Rogan: Stand-up comedian, UFC color commentator, and host of The Joe Rogan Experience, the most-listened-to podcast in the world. A close friend of Lex's making his second appearance.
What this episode covers
Recorded on July 4th, 2022 for Lex Fridman's 300th episode, the conversation opens on art, discipline, and how Rogan walked through the public attempt to cancel him in early 2022 (his answer: mushrooms and brutal exercise, while ignoring the noise). It moves through whether he'd ever interview Donald Trump, the credibility of UFO claims and figures like Bob Lazar, and Rogan's growing skepticism that the government's UFO disclosures are anything but a smokescreen for advanced drones. A long, loving stretch on comedy covers the greats (Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Norm Macdonald), why open-mic comedy is psychological torture, and why Kill Tony embodies what comedy should be. The episode closes on relationships, aging, Putin's health and motives, and Lex revealing he is days away from traveling to Ukraine and Russia, possibly to interview political leaders.
Recommended on this episode
Nothing Special
Norm Macdonald
“i think it was a truly genius thing to release a special after you're dead”— Lex Fridman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Endure
Cameron Hanes
“i wrote a forward to my friend cameron haynes's book and uh which is right now the number one selling audio book in the world”— Joe Rogan
Lady Chatterley's Lover
D.H. Lawrence
“d.h lawrence has a book called lady shadowlay's lover... it's sort of one of the great books because it dared to actually talk about a woman cheating on her husband”— Lex Fridman
The Gulag Archipelago
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
“the same thing with gulag archipelago talking about talking about some of the darkest aspects of human history”— Lex Fridman
Talladega Nights
Adam McKay
“do you remember that scene in talladega nights... i'll be all over you like a spider monkey”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Rogan says he survived the cancellation campaign using less than a gram of mushrooms daily plus brutal exercise, sauna, and cold plunge.
- Claims the cancellation attempt backfired: he gained 2 million subscribers and the podcast hit its all-time peak.
- Says he has turned down having Trump on his show more than once because he doesn't want to help him, but predicts he eventually will.
- Reverses his earlier UFO enthusiasm, now suspecting the Pentagon/NASA disclosures are a smokescreen for advanced secret drones, not aliens.
- Lex says he is traveling to Ukraine and Moscow and has started wondering whether intelligence agents have been guests on his podcast.
- Rogan admits his weakness on UFOs: 'I want it to be real so bad... I'm such a sucker.'
- Argues comics who insist comedy must be 'socially aware' say so only because they can't get laughs.
- Lex reveals he is days from leaving for Ukraine and Russia with no return plan, hoping to talk to political leaders, and is nervous he may not come back.
Worth remembering
- The episode opens with Charles Bukowski's definition of art: 'style is the answer to everything.'
- Rogan says he has known Alex Jones for over 20 years and credits him with warning about Epstein's island a decade early.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson reportedly told Rogan that infinity is so large that Lex Fridman exists an infinite number of times across the cosmos.
- Rogan calls Lenny Bruce the 'godfather' of modern stand-up and keeps framed Bruce posters and photos at his house.
- A 15-year-old Rogan was inspired to pursue comedy after his parents took him to see Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip.
- Dane Cook reportedly said that if he had to start over from scratch, he doesn't think he could endure the open-mic grind again.
- Rogan notes wolverines are so ferocious they chase wolves and bears off their kills despite being small.
- An MIT roboticist (Russ Tedrake) reportedly runs 7-10 miles barefoot to and from work every day.
- Rogan attributes Putin's bloated, puffy appearance to possible prednisone-style steroid effects, comparing it to a friend's sarcoidosis.
- The episode ends with Lex quoting Miyamoto Musashi: 'Once you know the way broadly, you'll see it in everything.'