OPINION

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By Bird Murray

The idea of a podcast is not very complex. One person, or multiple people, sit down and talk about whatever the topic is for that day, recording their conversation. That recording is then shared over social media and various media platforms, including YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, and others.

Over the past ten years, podcasts covering all sorts of topics have grown in popularity. In the beginning, accessibility was a problem for podcasts, but soon podcasts were available on every music streaming service, expanding their reach further than ever imagined. Now, it is not uncommon for celebrities to host their own podcasts, including Shaquille O’Neal, Will Ferrell, Dax Shepard, Amy Schumer, and more. While the field keeps growing, one man has drawn the attention of millions to create one of the most popular podcasts ever: Joe Rogan.

Rogan has been in the pop culture scene longer than many people assume. Rogan began his road to fame in the late 80s, doing stand-up comedy for the better part of five years. From ‘94 to ‘99, Rogan found himself acting in two lesser-known sitcoms: Hardball and News Radio.  He went on to become a well known persona in the UFC world, as that sport got more popular in the 1990s and 2000s, and from 2001 to 2006 he hosted the game show Fear Factor, where contestants performed (often gross or frightening) stunts for money. Rogan started as a commentator with UFC in 1997, and it remains one of his favorite topics to discuss. In 2009, Rogan started his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE). Rogan’s podcast would eventually grow to be the largest in the world, which as of March 2020 has north of two billion views on YouTube. (Warning: Most of Rogan’s interviews contain profanity.)

Rogan has had some of the most famous people in the world to come and talk with him, such as Elon Musk, Edward Snowden, Jay Leno, Lance Armstrong, Kevin Hart, Mike Tyson, and many more. Their conversations are frank, long, and sometimes vulgar, and Rogan’s appeal and influence have been steadily growing.

In September 2018, something happened that sent Rogan’s exposure into orbit. Tesla and Space X billionaire Elon Musk smoked marijuana while appearing on Rogan’s podcast. Immediately, every single major news outlet picked up this wild tale and spread the word that one of the supposedly greatest geniuses of our time was smoking marijuana with Rogan. After this incident, Rogan’s subscriber count on his youtube channel, PowerfulJRE, increased by 250%. At that point, Rogan already had a following of well above three million. Now, Rogan has over 7.88 million subscribers.

I would consider myself an avid fan of Rogan. I think he values every one of his guests’ opinions and is capable of having a very thoughtful conversation. With each of his podcasts spanning anywhere from an hour and a half to three and a half hours, Rogan is able to cover much more ground than a typical fifteen minute press or television interview. Whether it be a political discussion, comical storytelling, or simply talking, Rogan has a way of pulling both the guest and the listener into a thought-provoking conversation.

I found I am not alone in my feelings about Rogan. Fellow senior Marshall Campbell (‘20) said, “Joe not only has incredible guests, but is honestly one of the most optimal functional human beings on earth, between his comedy, podcast, fitness, and MMA knowledge. He is charismatic enough where he can have a conversation with anyone about anything, which usually leads to a more interesting topic. Also, I find he generally backs up his political platforms with facts, which I like.” Rogan has been mocked for many things, however, and controversies have surrounded some of Rogan’s guest choices.

Rogan has been berated by the media for having some more extremist guests on his podcast, most notably Alex Jones. Jones is an extremely far-right radio host, political commentator, and founder of InfoWars.com, a platform for his strong opinions, bogus miracle cures, and unfounded conspiracy theories. Rogan was put in the spotlight for giving Jones a metaphorical soapbox to stand on and preach to millions across the world from the JRE podcast. In an interview in the The Washington Times about Jones’ appearance, Rogan was quoted as saying “That is the most misunderstood guy on the planet.” Though the media has not been kind to Rogan’s more controversial guests, I think it is important to have members all across the spectrum of political viewpoints, especially in Rogan’s case, as he gives everyone a chance to give their opinion and generally respects others’ opinions, no matter how wild they may be.

My older brother Mack Murray, (‘18), a casual listener, had this to say: “I don’t know that much about him, but he seems to give everyone a fair shake to express their opinion on his shows, so I respect that.” Rogan acts as a liaison between celebrities that seem so untouchable from their status in society and the common man, who is just looking for the truth. In addition, with over fifteen hundred podcasts to choose from, there is likely something for everyone. Some look to Rogan for guidance, and others mock him, but it is clear that Joe Rogan presents a voice of the people in a world surrounded by the lights of a Hollywood camera.

Featured image courtesy of JRE.