Andrew Schulz: Stand-up comedian and podcaster (Flagrant, Brilliant Idiots), known for crowd work and his special 'Life.' He campaigned with the 'Rogan-sphere' podcasters during the 2024 election cycle and is a new father.
What this episode covers
This sprawling JRE conversation jumps between dozens of topics with almost no through-line. It opens on AI-generated music and Sora video before settling into long riffs on the culture of pool hustling, the comedy industry's pile-ons and cowardice (with Mark Maron as a recurring target), and how social-media algorithms flatten people into cartoons and farm outrage. Schulz and Rogan defend loyalty to friends going through cancellations (Tony Hinchcliffe, Steve Rinzler), debate free speech versus the UK's speech crackdowns, and weigh in on immigration, the census, Gaza, and California governance. The back half wanders into anthropology, the Book of Enoch, Congo wildlife, UFOs and Bob Lazar, and underground Egyptian labyrinths. It's a freewheeling hang, heavy on opinion and storytelling, light on product talk.
Recommended on this episode
Foundation Cigars
Foundation Cigars
“No, these are um from Foundation Cigars. These are uh I don't know what they're called, but these are legit”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Suno
Suno
“No. Uh uh prompt five words. Say 1950s soul music. It's so easy.”— Joe Rogan
Sora
OpenAI
“bro, what did what was the first thing we did with Sora? You got MLK giving a speech and a Down Syndrome kid walks up”— Andrew Schulz
The Color of Money
Martin Scorsese
“Did you ever see the movie The Color of Money? There's a scene where Paul Newman and Forest Whitaker. Forest Whitaker hustles Paul Newman.”— Joe Rogan
The Hustler
Robert Rossen
“Paul Newman in the movie The Hustler was the guy who did that to other people. He pretended he sucked”— Joe Rogan
The Champ
Franco Zeffirelli
“Do you ever see that movie The Champ with John Voit? Oh my god, dude. I saw a little kid. I cried my eyes out.”— Andrew Schulz
Silver Spoons
NBC
“He did that and then he did Silver Spoons. He had this TV show he did”— Joe Rogan
Congo
Michael Crichton
“you know that Michael Kiteon book, Congo. Do you ever read? They made a movie.”— Joe Rogan
The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
William Dalrymple
“rise of East India Company. That's it. The anarchy. The relentless rise of the East India Company. Crazy book.”— Joe Rogan
Peaky Blinders
Steven Knight
“well they just come back shell shocked like you ever see Peiquey Blinders that show. Yeah, I watched a couple season”— Joe Rogan
The Hurricane
Norman Jewison
“Didn't he have a movie about it? Yeah. And in the movie, there's like a really racist cop that's like targeting him through the whole movie”— Joe Rogan
Hurricane
Bob Dylan
“there's a hard nword in Bob Dylan's Hurricane. I got a song, The Hurricane. Ruben Carter.”— Joe Rogan
Many Men (Wish Death)
50 Cent
“The Many Men one is fantastic. The Many Men's amazing.”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Rogan and Schulz argue New York vs LA are 'two different versions of American Psycho', attention vs money to make up for a shitty childhood.
- Schulz claims Netanyahu's political future is now dependent on Trump, who is more popular in Israel than Bibi.
- Schulz unloads on Mark Maron, saying 'everybody inside comedy knows he's a piece of [expletive]' and recounting the John Stewart MTV-show hypocrisy.
- Rogan describes touring SpaceX with Elon Musk and watching a launch via Starlink, calling it one of the most impressive things he's ever seen.
- Rogan says the Book of Enoch, found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, is about 'watchers' who mated with humans to create giants (Nephilim), kept out of the Bible by a few rabbis.
- Schulz reveals Tony Hinchcliffe told him the first night he slept after the Puerto Rico 'island of garbage' joke backlash was the night Rogan endorsed Trump.
- They read an Atlantic headline that Cormac McCarthy's ex-wife pulled a gun out of her vagina during an argument about aliens.
- Rogan claims ground-penetrating radar found massive underground labyrinths in Egypt with a 40-meter unknown-metal object, flooded by a 1960s dam.
Worth remembering
- 50 Cent allegedly told Rogan he had to bring 'clean security' (no felonies) to film in Australia.
- Rogan says a Philadelphia bridge collapse was rebuilt in about 3 weeks after stripping legislation, versus an estimated 16-18 months normally.
- A producer told Schulz Hollywood isn't even top-10 on the list of places to film; Australia offered roughly 60% off in taxes.
- Filipino pool legend Efren Reyes hustled US players under the fake name 'Caesar Morales' before Google could expose him.
- Alex Pereira fought Ankalaev in their first bout while sick (possibly norovirus) and with a badly injured left hand.
- Rogan claims England has arrested 12,000 people over social media posts, some critical of immigration.
- Neanderthals had bigger brains than modern humans and likely had art, tools, and language.
- In WWI, Russians and Germans allegedly held a ceasefire to jointly kill wolves that were eating wounded soldiers in the trenches.
- A Dead Sea Scrolls copy of the Book of Isaiah was found nearly verbatim to a version a thousand years later, showing remarkable textual preservation.
- Elite pool players use a 'slip stroke' / 'throwing the cue' technique, holding the cue 'like a baby bird' for soft, precise contact.