The Joe Rogan Experience is regarded as one of the forerunners of the modern podcasting trend and has risen to be one of the most popular and viewed podcasts in the world.
Started by American comedian Joe Rogan, the podcast began as a humble affair – based in Rogan’s apartment at the time – before becoming a multi-million dollar enterprise.
But what exactly is the Joe Rogan Experience about, and has it changed at all over the years?
Who Is Joe Rogan?
Joe Rogan is an American podcaster, television personality, and standup comedian, who has been prominent on the comedy scene since the late 1980s.
Rogan is considered a prestigious comic on both the New York and LA scenes, and has headliner status, as well as being a prominent figure in the world famous Los Angeles Comedy Store based on LA’s sunset strip.
Initially based in California, Rogan now lives on Lake Austin, Texas – a move that marked a mass exodus of comedians and entertainers from Los Angeles to more rural areas for financial and social reasons.
What Is ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’?
Formed in 2009, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is one of the forerunners of the podcasting movement, and comedians Joe Rogan and Brian Redban (the founders) are considered some of the forefathers of modern podcasting.
With weekly guests – including comedians, musicians, artists, scientists, historians, and psychologists (amongst countless others) – The Joe Rogan Experience founded itself from day one as a place celebrating difference, both in terms of opinion, information, and different tastes in comedy.
It is the variety of the podcast, and the popularity of Joe Rogan, that The Joe Rogan Experience has remained immensely popular, even as the podcasting scene became more popular, hectic, and somewhat saturated with content.
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What Is The Joe Rogan Podcast About?
The very nature of the podcast means that defining it can be a tricky task.
In essence, the basis of the Joe Rogan podcasts is comedy, and the main guests (and their talking points) tend to be focused on the modern American comedy scene.
The best Joe Rogan podcasts often discuss anything from urban legends, fun facts, weird science, sports, drugs, or any number of other topics – all determined by the type of guest who is on the episode, and the direction that the conversation takes.
Rogan also has hosted some of the most prestigious thinkers in the world – ranging from the celebrated to the undeniably controversial – and as a generally curious man, he has promoted the free exchange of ideas, and opened himself up to the possibility of having his mind changed.
Some of his most notable guests include Neil Degrasse Tyson, Sam Harris, Matthew Walker, Bernie Sanders, Mike Tyson, Lance Armstrong, Rhonda Patrick, Daniel Ek, and some much more.
In a world where it has become commonplace to tow a specific political line – be it left wing or right wing – The Joe Rogan Experience has always been a platform for friendly debate, and the sharing of ideas, theories, and interests.
How Many Episodes Are There?
During the podcast’s Youtube era, there were around 1500 episodes on the platform, as well as ‘spin-off’ episodes – including ‘Fight Companion’ and the ‘MMA Show’.
Why Is Joe Rogan Popular?
While not everyone is a fan of Joe Rogan – as is commonplace within the tribalistic pantheon that is the internet – his enduring popularity seems to come from a number of different places.
Comedian
Joe Rogan has been actively involved in the American comedy scene since the late 1980s, which has led to him garnering a large following of fans who like his comedic material.
This was the basis of the podcast, where his core fanbase has always come from.
MMA Commentator
Rogan has long been a proponent of martial arts, and has been a practitioner of various styles since his teenage years.
Since the start of the UFC, Joe Rogan has been a commentator and ring interviewer, which has gained him a new league of fans from the world of sports, martial arts, and physical fitness.
TV Personality
However, commentary is just one facet of his TV personality career.
In the early 2000s he also hosted the popular reality TV show Fear Factor, and also starred in the popular TV sitcom News Radio, within which he was a breakout fan favorite.
Why Has It Been Criticized?
The crossover between Joe Rogan’s podcast, and various elements of right-wing politics has gained the podcast some criticism – although Rogan himself openly engages with a variety of different political schools of thought, ranging from libertarianism to social liberalism.
Rogan himself is an advocate of free speech, and bases his podcast on the principle of engaging with people who have different points of view to himself – something he has always prided himself in engaging with.
This, along with instances of supposed misinformation, has led to criticism from some sources, who claim he is giving airtime to controversial people who shouldn’t be given a platform.
Despite this, Rogan himself has always argued that only through a spectrum of different opinions, and the debates therein, can any semblance of truth ever be reached.
Where Can The Podcast Be Viewed?
For many years, since the forming of the podcast in 2009, The Joe Rogan Experience has always been free to watch on Youtube.
However, in late 2020, Joe Rogan announced a lucrative deal with Spotify app, which themselves were looking to break into the podcasting industry (also see, ‘Spotify Stats‘).
After this deal, The Joe Rogan Experience became one of the flagship shows on the platform, along with numerous other successful podcasts that made the jump to the professional platform.
Final Thoughts
And there we have it, everything you need to know about The Joe Rogan Experience, and the impact it has had on the podcasting scene.
As one of the first mainstream podcasts on the market, Joe Rogan’s podcast holds a special place in the hearts of many, particularly those comedian podcasters, who have followed in his footsteps and made careers of their own through this medium.
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