HAS JOE ROGAN ADVANCED?

Some Details To Notice

One detail I observed in his recent conversation with Tucker Carlson is that Joe Rogan is not wearing the bulky headphones that I assumed he needed to get secret messages from his producer/studio and then to make sure that his guest was speaking loud enough. Until now (or recently), Rogan’s guests likewise wore earphones initially because Rogan was and perhaps to get sub rosa messages.

   As neither Rogan nor Carlson were wearing earphones in April 2024, they look more like normal people having an intelligent conversation. I then noticed that Rogan appeared not to have any notes or prepared questions, which indicated to me that he depends more upon close listening than most interviewers.

   If their conversation had any breaks, say to pee in three continuous hours, I could not find any breaks.

   Long a modest Rogan fan, I’m now ever more impressed.

P.S. The mystery of Joseph Rogan is how a guy in his mid-fifties who never graduated from any college, who has worked as a stand-up comic, an actor, host of a failed game show, a commentator on mixed martial arts, and much else workaday knows so much and understands so well.

P.P.S. Like all successful stars, Rogan has an imitator or protégée in Lex Fridman, who likewise moved to Austin, TX, and likewise favors conversations more than one hour long. Now forty, born in Moscow, Fridman speaks English with a Russian accent and boasts a string of degrees, including a doctorate. His classic is a conversation with Albert Bourla, the Greek-born chief of Pfizer, whose accent in English rivals Fridman’s. Accounting for why he gave Fridman uniquely extended attention, Bourla admits that his kids recommended Fridman!