The Joe Rogan Experience - #2135 - Neal Brennan

Episode Date: April 12, 2024

Neal Brennan is a stand-up comic, actor, writer, director, and host of the podcast "Blocks." Catch his new special, "Neal Brennan: Crazy Good," on Netflix. www.nealbrennan.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Joe Rogan Experience. Trained by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. On, in sketches. I could say for the air, but... We're on the air. Oh, we are on the air. Yeah, we're rolling. I just turned my monitor on because I could see myself and I didn't want to be, but what in sketches,

I'll just open up with a Chappelle story because that's what everybody thinks they're doing here. Dave would be watching himself on the monitor. And then, and I'd be like, I don't know man, just be in it. And then I'd tell the cameraman to turn around. He'd be like, did Neil tell you to turn around? So he couldn't watch himself. It just felt like, if you're doing Rick James,

maybe just be Rick James, not see yourself as Rick James. Maybe like affirmed, as Rick James. Well yeah, Rick James would look at a monitor. Yes, in that character. I would imagine that yes actually a good move By the way rest in peace oh my god rest in peace oh juice. We lost we love you juice Sim Tripoli posted something on Twitter today. It was oj simpson just said I did it he posted on Instagram But I guarantee that's fake

Yeah, I watch there's a lot of fake tweets. There's a video of a compilation of norm Doing oh J jokes, it's 11 minutes I watched it and then went back and started it was it's so glorious. It was so relentless He was so good. He was so fucking funny. We're talking about OJ. No, he was Norm was so fucking funny and the glint in his eyes Yes And half the time he was bombing on SNL because it wasn't really his crowd Right and he didn't care.

He did not care. And he kind of got fired for it. Well, he had a view. He had a frequency that he was on. And comics loved it, and the audience loved it. But yeah, it wasn't necessarily SNL. Yeah, the was the the audience Audiences at home liked it

Yeah, it's 11 minutes of norm just like and then this stare after the punchline as it's either working or not It's just glorious skinny norm. Yeah, yeah suit too big And yeah, they didn't it wasn't like well well It wasn't like lauded within SNL. Sorry. It was like his own like Gorilla unit him and this guy Jim Downey who wrote kind of all of it themselves Well SNL seems like they handicapped themselves like they're handcuffing themselves back then it was but less less back then but now for sure I haven't watched very much I'm me and Joseph friends I haven't I just haven't seen it in a long time he's funny yeah Joseph very funny but like funny and but but I haven't seen it I yeah I haven't

seen it I had a sketch that I wanted just I wrote so that so the week Shane got fired whatever unhired I thought of a sketch and I texted I was gonna be in New York and I have so I had like a sort of open-door policy at SNL where I Could just write because I wrote there with Dave so I had like a sort of open door policy at SNL where I could just write because I wrote there with Dave so So I had a sketch idea for Joe's where it was a it was a couple is getting ready to they're in bed And they're like so any STDs you wanna you want to tell me about and they're like no I'm cleaning the any podcasts

And we wrote and then it was like I did one it was it was like it was a good idea About Shane, but like whatever and then we wrote it and then it kind of got shelved like the my understanding was some of the People at the show didn't appreciate This and then I was hoping Joe's I was gonna tech Shane and be like hey There's a sketch you should do but I don't want to be like this room for a show like well Gillian Keeves is that have you watched Gillian Keeves? I mean, I think I've seen a couple of fucking amazing. It's fucking amazing. It's underappreciated within this the Gillian Keeves fans

It's really appreciated, but the mainstream does not know how good those sketches are he does Only only fans dad a dad who needs to make money, and so he does OnlyFans. It's fucking insane. It's insane. Does his Trump speed dating sketch? Oh my God. Oh, that one I think I saw. That's actually very good. They're so good. They're so good because it's buck wild. Because they're on the internet and Patreon and kind of get away with doing whatever the fuck you want and it just has to be funny and but that's really you can't do that anywhere you know if you're on a network television you're dealing with so many executives they're all terrified and everyone's

scared and everyone's ideologically captured and there's certain things you can't joke around about and it's like god there's so much ground you can't cover. And it's just, you handicap yourself. You just handcuff yourself. Well, it's also the, as two aged men who have seen many parts of, many eras of show business, it seemed, it's so, the whole thing has got the, the TV now feels like a 78 year old woman who still thinks she's fine.

And it's like, bitch, you're not fine no more. You don't gotta carry yourself like, you know, everyone wants to fuck me. And it's like, not really. You have all the props from when everyone wanna fuck you, but there's a lot of other women out here now and They still think they haven't really adjusted they kind of can't right? You know, I mean like how do you reduce? Network television. How do you reduce late night TV? How do you reduce?

Sketch shows how do you it's all the real has to be what it always was the format is just it's so Restrictive the fact that you have to break for commercials the fact that you have a specific amount of time it all that is just you can't compete with the internet because of that it's just you just can't and then you have all the meddling I mean you've done yeah works from you dealt with Comedy Central it was fucking insane over there it was insane trying to tell them what is funny and what is not funny I will say after six episodes of Chappelle show. They actually said I believe the quote was we don't understand your show So kind of just do whatever you want

They really said like we don't understand it's funny, right? there was it there was a It's funny, because it was really funny. There was a, we did this sketch, The Mad Real World, and one of the execs said, it's an unfunny, it's a collection of unfunny scenes back to back. And I was like, well, could we at least show it to the audience, do you mind? And then we showed it, and it crushed.

Of course. And then I showed it and it crushed. Of course. And then I kind of, it's the only, and I got in the exec's kind of ear. And I was like, I heard what you said about this. And she was like, hey, Neil, take it. Oh, they were bad. Because I was like, I was kind of. Attached to it.

I was attached to it and I was also very, I knew it's with any of these things, you know, you, Dave, anyone who's the's a star the show they're jumping out of the plane Let them pack their own shoot You know what I mean? Like you're jumping out of the plane if you don't want to say it or you're not confident in it then you shouldn't have to say it right and They wanted to pack the shoot the way they thought a parachute should be packed.

And it's like, no, let the jumper do it, and if it doesn't work, then you guys can metal. It's really like someone who's watched surgery, who wants to cut. It's so dumb. It's so dumb. They don't know what they're doing, and their instincts are almost always wrong. And if they're lucky, they find someone who's really good, who can kind of work around their nonsense and still create a quality show. But a lot of the times, it just gets in the way so much

that you get like 60%, 70% of what you could have had. Yeah, and you gotta also hope that you get, that the audience overwhelms the network, meaning South Park got off to a hot start. Well, South Park was South Park before Comedy Central was Comedy Central right? Yeah, they made a video. They were a little wilder back then yeah Comedy Central was kind of the renegade Yeah, you know and then South Park became so undeniable you had to just leave them alone

They were so good. You just had to go just shut the fuck up and leave them alone Yeah, and that kind of has to happen Yeah So like and it kind of happened with Chappelle show pretty quickly like after the blind white supremacists It was first episode today. They were kind of like oh and then the ratings were good So they kind of didn't they tried to meddle but they kind of their heart wasn't in it. It hit a cultural landmark Yeah, it hit it hit this thing with Chappelle show was the show. It's like when is it on? When is it on again? Yeah, where's the man show It's like, when is it on? When is it on again? And people are just-

Yeah, whereas the man show was more like, ah! Yeah. You know, it's doing pretty good. I think maybe we can help it somehow. Yeah. Or you kind of either wanna, you need to, you just have to succeed a big way and then they'll stop. Yeah, it has to be so undeniable

that they have to get out of the way. And you have to actually say that. You gotta get out of the way and you have to actually say that you got to Get out of the way like leave us alone Yeah, if you don't leave us alone, we're not gonna do it and that's the only way to do it. It's like that format is just so limiting and You know that format was all that existed and that was the essential format for television There was the only way to do it. You had commercials. You had an 8 p.m. Time slot This is all simple.

You have 44 minutes with commercials. Do it. What would you do if you were the owner of NBC, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know what these companies should do. Comedy Central's basically a production company now. Like, they don't- Yeah. Well, they're doing the right thing, I think,

in switching to streaming, right? So, it's just a matter of being able to get enough quality stuff on streaming and get people over there. So they're going to have to shell out a lot of money for big properties. And they've done that with like Disney's done that, and Paramount's done that. And a few of these viable streaming platforms

have managed to make really good shows and put put them on streaming and they can still do that You know like their shows like Shogun, you know, which is just fucking so good But you know it exists in both it exists in streaming and on television and and they kind of make it for that You know, you still have the commercial breaks, but when you watch on streaming you just get the full episode Yeah, I also think there's probably very little input from advertisers, meaning if something's popular, people will just want to advertise on it. They won't give a shit.

What the message, is it family hour? Is this line up with Procter & Gamble's values or any of that shit? It's just like, yeah, are there eyeballs? Let's go. Yeah, but even then I mean there's people that try to push back even against Shogun There was this thing about like wiring there no black people on Shogun well

What do you think it's about? It's about Japan. It's like what are you talking about? 1600s like fuck is wrong with you. Yeah exactly what it is Yeah, I hope that didn't get very far. No, it doesn't get far, but it's like they try, and that's the indicative of the kind of pressures that those people feel behind the scenes. Because behind the scenes, it's all a bunch of grifters. It's all a bunch of network executive grifters

that are all just working a DEI angle, and they're trying to make, like, where's the diversity? I mean, how many times have you had pitches where you bring it in, and they're like, where's the diversity? I mean how many times you had pitches where you bring it in? They're like, where's the diversity like I don't have that problem because I generally come with a diverse Yeah, I am mr. White diversity, but like I hear you. Yeah, and Yeah, I don't the the DI behind the scenes shit. I think that they're just They're scared. Yeah, they're just scared. There's just like what's the latest priority? They're scared. They're just scared. There's just like what's the latest priority?

Culturally so they go like we have to service that priority or I'm gonna get in some kind of trouble a hundred percent And they don't know they don't they they're just blowing in the wind and they're so expendable You can move network executives around like chess pieces. Just move them around like chess Yeah, not even chess. Yeah. Yeah, it's not even tic-tac-toe Yeah, just move them along that they don't matter They really don't matter and but basically anybody could do that job as long as you have good quality television As long as the people that are making it You know the the Paul Sims of the world the people that make really good shows just leave them the fuck alone And they'll make great. Yeah, that's the thing. I was want to say it's like my standards are higher than yours

Yeah, that's the thing. I was want to say it's like my standards are higher than yours Well, you actually I want a bomb less than you do, right? I'm more I don't want this to go poorly I understand that it's because they're basically backseat drivers. They kind of are like extra Like over cranked. Yeah, but like, you know, it's I I'm worried. I'm more worried than you. I'm again jumping out of the plane. Let me pack the parachute. That's not why they moved to LA. Well they also want to make their mark on everything. That's exactly right.

They want to jizz in the soup every chance they can. There was a thing I remember when we were doing Hat B I wanted to do I wanted to say hey Let us do what we want and then at the end we'll pass around a hat and you guys can take credit for something Like oh the title okay, that's not bad the cat like just take we just let us do the fucking thing right But that's they want to do the fucking thing. Yeah always they want you to get started You you get the started and then I'll come in and be a producer I'll be my what I imagined a producer was yeah, and they did but they don't have any Original I mean, but the good news is But you kind of defeated them I

Mean podcast YouTube etc. It's like they're on there. It's hard not to kind of defeated them. I mean podcast, YouTube, etc. It's like they're on there. It's hard not to kind of curb stomp them. Well it's just they almost can't compete with the instantaneous access, the free access. You can get it anywhere. Get it on your phone, get it on a tablet, get it on your computer, you get it anywhere and it's available anytime you want it. You can pause it, you can leave, you don't have to wait for a time slot. You watch all of them when they come out It's just that that format that exists like the Netflix format of releasing the entire season of show You can't compete with that people love that they love binging. They love it

They they love the fact that it's available anytime you want it. They love the fact There's no commercials all that shit is just they're just trapped and if I was a network executive If I was at the top of the food chain, I would be really thinking like is there another way to do this Does it have to be this way? Does it have to be commercial breaks because nobody watches those they're not good. They're not funny Okay, but you I've heard and I haven't experienced because I haven't made a show at Netflix Other than Santa The there are things that they they need you to hit certain shit by minute 10

The end of every episode has to be a cliffhanger. Oh really that's what I've heard I haven't experienced firsthand, but so so it's as a you know show creator I wonder if there is a imperative to Want it you kind of want to know with the information in terms of like when do people turn the shit off right when do? Will will if I heard something like if they watch the first? Three then they'll watch ten like you have, so they're like front load the first three with plot, character, maybe sec. I don't even know what the,

so I'm kinda talking out of my ass a little bit, but I do know that they have information. So it's a formula. That they're, yeah, that they want, it's like you want people to watch your shit or not? Yeah. Like I, in my new special, 53 minutes, cause I don't need it, I've never I've never been like, oh good

it's an hour 20 I it's never better longer to me and I 53 minutes is perfect. Yeah And I moved jokes up. I was like that's a that joke that's it's like when you do the live show the first really big laugh That's a that joke that's it's like when you do the live show the first really big laugh Like in my live show is probably it. I think it was at 11 and I so in in Netflix I moved it up to like seven or eight mm-hmm. You know like quick like the big big like oh fuck like a Different energy laugh yeah move it up. That's weird though But I but I get it. It's a four I'm deal I'm meeting them where they are. Yeah, you know what I mean? I know what you're saying

Yeah, but I don't feel like I'm selling myself out or like I'm right the integrity of my act It's like that's just how I did it right you're just formatting it for this very specific system as opposed to a live show Yeah, we like setting things up and. Yeah and at a live show. They're not going anywhere. They can't go anywhere. They're there, they're there because they wanna be there. They're invested.

At home they can watch everything ever recorded. Yeah, right. I'm competing with everything that's ever been made. The Godfather. Yeah. Can I beat, is this better than The Godfather? Apocalypse Now. Yep.

Heat. Yep, that's right. It's all on the Godfather apocalypse now? Yep? He yeah, it's all right It's all rocky rocky anything all of it and every comedy special every one norm Yeah, and OJ and Patrice yeah, yeah, all the old stuff all the new stuff everything all together Yep, it's an insane time for your attention Like yes, try to captivate people's attention. Now. It's just it's an insane proposition there's just so much available are you I mean what's funny is you kind of it's you're not it's not even the tortoise in the hair you just haven't changed you just like I don't know I just talk for fucking three hours well this is what I did in the beginning so I just keep

doing what I do I do it because I like doing it this way and in the beginning like Ari was the first one he was like You gotta edit it you have to edit it no one wants to listen to three hours. Mm-hmm I'm like then don't listen. It's that simple. I don't care I'm just gonna do the best thing that I can do do it how I feel like doing it and that's it Yeah, but you know that doesn't work most people most of the time Yeah, but you know that doesn't work. For most people most of the time. Most of the time it doesn't work, but it works.

Well I'm not even, you know it worked, but I'm saying like do you ever think about why or do you even give a shit? It's none of your business. I think if you think about why you'll second guess your own instincts. Yeah. And that's never good.

Yeah. Because they've been good to me so far. I know what I'm, I just stick with me. I know what I like and if I'm actually genuinely interested in that thing the subject I think other people will as well like if I bring on someone who's a beekeeper I don't think wow there's gonna be a big episode all I think is like I'm interested in bees I'm gonna talk to someone who's really interested in bees like tell me what how do you do it? What's going on? What's that? What what is your do you look at which episodes do are you just fire wallet?

No, none of your business none of my business. Yeah, I don't care. I don't pay attention I mean, I know I hear I hear this one's huge. This one's huge. Whatever. I don't pay attention I just this is what I'm interested in. I want to talk to this guy I had a mush I had Paul Stamets on yesterday my great expert amazing fucking protocol guys got his own protocol I know is that's his stuff right there. I host defense Amazing good fucking protocol guys got his own protocol. I know is that's his stuff right there host defense I'm all is this still side. No no no that's a garakon and Turkey tail that's his

immune stack that he uses There's there's all sorts of medicinal mushrooms that have no psychoactive effects and do that is any of this stuff? Proven yeah, yeah, there's peer-reviewed studies random controlled trials Double-blind placebo controlled styles with a garracon. Yeah, we talked about that yesterday, right? Yeah, he's a real scientist So what the stuff that he does is very very legit and you know, he's also He's very diligent and the way sources the They test them, find out which ones have efficacy, which ones don't, because you can have like, he was explaining that Agaricon, they've identified he has 107 strains that he has, personally, and out of those strains, they've identified at least four of them that are like the most hyper beneficial and they haven't tested them all.

But those four, then that's the ones they sell. Great. Yeah. And then some of them are different from different things like some of them are better for pox viruses where other ones are better for RNA viruses. It's very very interesting very interesting what they've done. Good I mean yeah that's yeah you know this shit it's it's cool it's we have lived in a time with a Good amount of change. Yeah. Oh, there's a lot of change. There's a lot of change going on for better and worse Yeah, I don't know how much worse

There's a lot of confusion, but I think ultimately there's more information and that's always better and there's more freedom of communication Although there's a lot of attempts at restricting freedom of communication, there's still more avenues of communication than there's ever been before. Which is almost always good. And we've talked about this before, about the trusting that people can figure it out. Yeah, well they have to learn to figure it out. Just like people have to learn what things to eat

that are poison, and what things are edible. You know, like you have to learn to figure it out, just like people had to learn what things to eat that are poison and what things are edible. You know, like you have to learn that. And we have to learn that with information. We have to learn that with everything. We have to learn that with styles of communication. We have to learn that with, you know, people that are really shitty to people. Like people don't like that. That's not necessary.

Learn that. We people need to learn that. And that's how you learn it. You learn it by watching people sort of get ahead, but just by being cunts and they don't go so far and the audience turns on them and you know Recognize that some people are just you know communicators and just calm and nice and that's better and you could still get all the same information and still have Interesting debates and conversations. You don't have to be a cunt Yeah, the the I because I, because I think about,

I'm not very, so I feel like you're paranoid, or not paranoid, you're skeptical of control, right? Yeah. And I tend, and I, and I always go, why am I not skeptical of control? Like compared to you or compared to a guy like Dave who's also very skeptical of any sort of authority or institution.

And I think, I was thinking I'm so glad to not be under the Catholic Church anymore. That everything is better. To me like the government, I don't give a fuck. Like I truly don't, Apple, you wanna listen in? I don't give a shit. You can't send me to hell. So I don't even care if you overhear me.

I don't, I just, this is better than the way I grew up. Even, and then I'm, but I am, I'm skeptical. It's one of those yin yang things where I'm skeptical of too much information chaos. You know? It really, I'm sure this will be probably the balance of the next at least 20 years. Well, information chaos is also engineered.

And that's one thing to take into consideration, that information chaos is not always organic. I agree, but then what about that? If you know Russia China Our enemy our enemies in quotes wink wink whatever. Yeah like what You know if somebody somebody's Dave made a point that if you're if a country has racial divisions Anyway, and then and then an outside actor foments them,

it's the country's fault for having them in the first place. And it's like, yeah, but that's kind of bullshit, because if there's a marriage that is having trouble, and then someone comes in and fucks with it, that's the outside person's fault, because the married people want it to be good. Do you know what I mean? Like America's gonna have conflict naturally

and I think it's natural to have that and it's okay to have that and we need to figure that out. But once the outside actor comes in, I still blame the outside actor for fomenting. And I feel the same way with the information stuff. Like I'm with you in terms of like, we do need freedom, but I still blame the outside actor for coming and creating more chaos.

I think it's an unavoidable evil. If you're gonna have freedom, you're gonna have the freedom of bots. You're gonna have the freedom of people that hire people in these troll farms where they have thousands and thousands of accounts, and they just push different narratives and they get involved.

We had Renee DeResta on once who studied this and one of the things that she studied about what are the things that Russia had done during the 2016 election was the creation of memes and some of them were really funny and they were memes that were very specifically designed to push certain narratives and make fun of certain things and That they had made so many accounts thousands and thousands of accounts. They had actually organized a Texas secession meeting across the street from another guy now that shit was so it's so like Monty Python Yeah meeting yeah, they wanted these people to be fighting with each other Yeah, and they do that online constantly. There's so many times

Well, I'll see something that's contentious something that's socially something that's like very Explosive and then I'll look in the comments and I'll see some outrageous statements and it's like a couple of letters and a number for the Account and I'll click on the account and I'll go into it. Oh, it's a fake account. How many of those are there? There's fucking hundreds of thousands, if not millions. There's an FBI analyst that did an estimation and he thinks that there's 80%. He thinks 80% of the Twitter accounts that are in circulation,

at least at the time or trolls. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and so That would be part of the information chaos thing that I'm like a bit like this is gonna be bad it's bad now and it's probably only get worse with AI and all that shit and and I don't but I don't know what the Don't if we talked about this,, but if there was a governing body, let's say like, let's say over all of social media morality or whatever, or ethics, who would you even put on it?

You can't, it can't be done. It can't be done because the government can't be trusted because they're doing it, right? But it let's say the people elected it Do you know what I mean if there was a way to get the right get around the government? It's not possible like who who John Stewart Yeah, but they would people would have access to that like John Stewart couldn't talk about China on Apple So he ready he left he left. Yeah, it doesn't work. No, I'm with you, but that's corporate.

I'm saying like, who are even? I think the solution is more complex. The solution is technology ramped up to a point where lying is impossible, and I think that is going to be tight, you're gonna be able to have opinions, but lying about specific facts I think that is going to be tight. You're gonna be able to have opinions but lying about specific facts I think is gonna be far more difficult with widespread use of AI and

also when people have universal Ability to translate languages instantaneously right now. It's a little clunky You could read tweets and you can say translate the tweet You can you can do things like that, but you don't necessarily Know what the fuck is going on When it's universal when you're gonna have instantaneous translation into that you're going to it's gonna be far more difficult to deceive people when you have instantaneous access to AI

Which is so as long as the AI is not biased which we've seen, AI is programmed and the Google AI you know founding fathers. We talked about this like eight years ago when I pitched robo president and then it became if there's an AI president then it's the thing that's going to be argued about is what information are we loading it? Right, right and what are the values that the AI has like is the values for the human race? Those the values for New York City is the value for the country in general. Yeah, what is the values and what is it? Imperative like what is it trying to do? Yeah, it's

But the thing is like that's rudimentary AI as AI scales up and gets far more advanced and it's gonna happen very quickly. It's gonna bypass all that stuff and it's gonna come up with some sort of a moral ethical foundation that everybody is gonna have to operate under. That's good, it's gonna be very weird, Neil,

and it's gonna be very weird very quickly. Very quickly. I totally agree with you. I totally agree with you. Yeah, I Completely agree with you. I mean in some ways whenever I hear about AI I'm like Help us AI Come and sit when they're like it may obliterate us I'm like, but if it doesn't please help us say I please help us get out of all this garbage We've gotten ourselves into it could both help us and obliterate us

It's it's gonna be a wild us. It's gonna be a wild ride. It's gonna be a wild ride. When do you think it'll be? Four years at the most, and four years we're fucked. And four years, everything's tossed. Everything's fucked. I mean, there's so many things that are, we kinda let slide today that won't be,

you're not gonna be able to let congressional insider trading slide. It won't be able, you're not gonna be able to let like congressional insider trading slide. It's gonna be a real problem. You're not gonna be able to have bills where you have a border funding bill that also has funding for Ukraine. Like there's all that kind of stuff that's gonna have to go by the wayside.

Do you think AI will prevent that? Yeah. How come? Well because people will be able to analyze everything about every bill instantaneously. It's not gonna be as simple as you have to sit down and read a 2,000 page bill. It's gonna be AI's gonna break it down,

and it's also gonna break down who the people are that propose the bill, and then also what the influences these people have in terms of who their donors are, and you're gonna get very specific breakdowns of what all these things are, and people will be far more informed. like very specific breakdowns of what all these things are and people will be far more informed.

My feeling on that is that people in some ways are informed and we're all kind of powerless to change it. There's a little bit of that right now. You know what I mean? Like Citizens United or like Dark Money or AstroTurfing or pork and bills or tying things together or emergency. It's just all this shit of like, how the fuck are we supposed to even move the needle at all as people?

Right. At all, it seems impossible. The way the shit's set up. Yeah, it definitely does now. And AI doesn't seem like, oh, I don't think the problem is a lack of understanding I think the problem is a it's the system set up so that it's the only way to get a Lawmate is like getting a building name it you got to have 10 million bucks

You know, there's a little bit of that going on too I mean, it's there's no way to run for president unless you have hundreds of millions of dollars backing you which is just insane It's insane and money and there's no way to run for president unless you have hundreds of millions of dollars backing you which is just insane It's insane and the money and there's no way to run for Senate. Yeah without without a hundred right you're getting a job It's a hundred fifty thousand dollars a year, and you're spending people in the primary have a hundred yeah, sweetie That had no chance of being president had hundreds of millions dollars. Yeah, yeah, and that's just like oh Fourth runner-up yeah Congratulations, yeah, it's it's it's and I don't and that's one of the things we're like how does AI help us? Supreme Court's locked in for as

Long as they live fucking insane yeah Until you die a star like a sci-fi star chamber Until you die Wow That's a horrible idea It's not even dependent upon whether or not your ideas are even they even make sense Like you see Katanji Brown Jackson who they asked her what a woman is and she said I'm not a biologist Yeah, right, but you're a woman like maybe take a crack at you know What's funny is because you're you go more right you go to her and I'm thinking Alito

You know, do you just see what's whatever? Ask me what a man is I can get what a man is. Yeah, I'm not a biologist either. Yeah, I'm a man. Yep yes, so the I Do worry about I? To me it's not even a lack of information. Sometimes it's a lack of information. I Mostly think it's rigged against the people it's rigged against the citizens to not have any say in any of this shit It definitely is somewhat But you also do need someone

who actually understands the law to withhold the Constitution, to uphold it, and to make sure that you don't pass things that do violate very core tenets of how our society is structured. What did Alito do that? Oh, I don't know. I'm just, as a liberal, I'm just like, it seems like those guys want to get very rid of- I'm pretty liberal. I'm just like It seems like those guys want to like get I'm pretty very real liberal what a liberal used to be right? You know that's what I'm saying you learn more lean more right I learned I don't even lean more Right I lean more center which is right now Yeah, it's just it's so the left has gone to so far to the left. It's gone so far into this strange territory

Bizarre land of cult-like thinking. It's very strange. It's driven by the, it's sort of, everyone's afraid of upsetting, it's the tyranny of the minority. No one can say, hey, do me a favor, shut the fuck up, or we're gonna lose all of this right if we make this about just your minor Grievance or issue we're gonna lose the whole thing, but they it becomes about the various you know DI or transgender or whatever all these things that are that are

Not unimportant, but they're just not the most important. And you're not allowed to say to someone anymore, your shit is not the most important thing. Because of the egomania of our culture, everyone's issue is the number one issue. And it's like, no, it's the number one issue for you, but it's not the number one issue for half of the population of the country.

Well, it's also the thing is if you oppose any of these protected ideas, you get attacked. You get attacked and labeled as the worst thing possible, whatever that is at the time. When you agree with them in 99% of other issues. Yeah, yeah. Because they just prioritize, it's just this thing of like, no, it's like the kids playing soccer

where it's just running a bunch of, this is the most important thing. And it's like, is this really, and then you can't go, the fuck are you talking about? You have to go, yes, I honor. You have to start bowing and I honor. You have to do the Nancy Pelosi down on a knee with the Kente cloth.

It's like, no no that's an important issue It can't be the it might not be the most important issue, and then they go well Then we're not we're gonna withhold our vote. Oh really you're a fucking child Yeah, and you don't understand the way politics work if you're gonna withhold your vote because of one issue Yeah, and it happens, and it's just and it's also a revolving thing of like we're gonna withhold because of one issue yeah and it happens oh and it's just and it's also a revolving thing of like we're gonna withhold because of Israel we're gonna withhold because the transgender we're gonna withhold because of the I we're gonna withhold on and on and on yeah and it's as someone who is on their side it's a bit like oh please shut the fuck up

because you're gonna blow this for all of us Well each party becomes captured by the most extreme versions of it Yeah, you look at the right the right gets captured by you know what people think of the right the thing like proud boys Or something like that yeah, I think of the war guns just got yeah the left they think of or now abortion Yeah, yeah, there's always something yeah There's always something that's ridiculous and there are and then you and then it turns out that like the Republican stats on abortion are like 55% of Republicans think abortion should be you know what I mean, and it's like well, then how the fuck did they because? It's you know it's almost like they did it's they always say about Republicans. They're like the dog who caught the car

You know like they they they use You know like they they they use Abortion as a you know driving issue thinking like it'll never happen and then they it happened they're like, oh fuck. Yeah, okay I guess I guess Arizona goes. Okay, we're going back to 1864 or whatever. It's a law from the 1800s that they upheld two days ago Well, it's always interesting how ignorant people are about the west or the rest of the world, too Like I'm going to Europe where women have the right to choose Well go to France because they have a limitation there, too It's like I think it's well no no one ever looks it up. I'm also try to get a try to get its citizenship

How you gonna do that? How you gonna do it look it up once but they haven't looked it up Yeah, I've been doing a joke about how American women are like American men are the worst. And I'm like, who do you think's coming? Who's coming? Italian guys? First of all, they're bringing their moms. That's A.

And B, you're gonna have to start cooking dinner at 2.15 every afternoon. I hope you're happy. Well, that's the least of your words. Sharia law. I mean, that's the ultimate punchline. It's like, middle eastern guys? I'm not even gonna finish this joke because it's they don't have the best sense of humor about about there

Yeah, but if you look up like look up genital mutilation. Yeah, it's really grim Yeah in terms of the what these other guys are out here doing ladies Not like us American hero men. No, but it really is like a pretty, people don't look it up, they like sulking. Yeah, but also there's so many issues that most people are just not informed. They just know what their side goes with. And so they adhere to whatever the doctrine is.

I remember looking up abortion laws worldwide four or five years ago me like oh It wasn't as like blanket as I thought well burr had the best bid on that I think you should have the right to choose, but I also think you're killing a baby. Yeah, yeah, uh-huh I mean a certain point time it is a baby It's the question is right and that's the right that's the whole thing of when, because I did a joke, liberals have to support everybody, not fetuses. And the New York Times wrote me up,

I just saw Neil Brannon do a sort of anti-abortion joke, and it was like joining Bill Burr and George Carlin, and I was like, are you trying to insult me? He goes, thank you for that fucking barbed insult. But yeah, like the, even knowing when, even if you go, no, I believe it doesn't start, it's all sort of, ah, scientists like the heartbeat or the fetal, whatever.

It's all a bit like, you're all guessing. Yeah. And I will also, I'll admit, I'm guessing. It's just which guess suits my needs. Do you know what I mean? Right. Like if I got a girl that I'm not trying to be with who's pregnant, who's period's late, I'm like,

I believe in abortion to the fifth trimester. Like, I believe in it late, whereas if I'm 65 and can't get somebody or whatever, probably can't get someone. 65? 65 or whatever, whatever age, there is no age of a... Al Pacino just had a kid. Al Pacino's 80 years old.

Oh, I know, know fuck 80 years old Yeah, and he also wanted to make sure the kid was his which is like a great way to start Somebody I know was doing pickup at school with with De Niro Like recently it was just like yeah, I can't believe you're still doing this well isn't this is like I mean how many times has he been married These guys just did just dive right back in Yeah, I've never understood that I've never understood that need like Rupert Murdoch just did it. I think we're not just got engaged I think they're just comfortable with

Having a partner and they just don't want to exist in this weird state where they're texting people and calling people Especially when you're in your 70s Yeah, you're trying to hooks. No, it's... You're trying to hook up. Don't get me wrong, it's humiliating. Right, I bet if you're a 70-year-old famous guy and you get divorced, I bet... I bet it's probably pretty easy to find someone new

who, like, plays the role and probably pretty easy to get duped. Pretty easy. Yeah, because they know, Yeah. Like the time is on my, if I'm the girl, my time, I just gotta ride this baby out. Yeah, all you have to do is just be the right person

that this guy needs for a small amount of time, and you don't have to work ever. Ever again. Ever. Like if you're a person who's running around there, scratching out 60, 70 grand a year, and barely getting by, and then you hook up with Robert De Niro. And in order to change your life,

you just have to need to stand in Robert De Niro's eyeline with what my friend calls available sexual energy. Yeah, available sexual energy and just be nice. Just be nice to him. That's all he needs. Just talk to him. You're candy striping. Yeah, you don't have to work hard. So don't be offensive. Don't be rude

Don't don't fuck with them. Don't insult them Don't play the same games that you'd play with a 30 year old guy that doesn't have any money No played play a different game if he doesn't text you back It's cuz he doesn't know how to text sweetie cuz he's a fucking old dude Oh, he can't doesn't have his glasses. Yeah, see what you wrote him a lot of this Yep, that's the sad part about being our age is anytime I go look at this meme all my friends have to put glasses on I started holding Christ

Fucking humiliation you can mitigate some of that There's a there's a there's certain vitamins that you could take that stop macular degeneration Pure encapsulations has a macular support formula, but doesn't work legit. Yeah, it stopped it stopped it for me for you Yeah, totally stopped it totally stopped it you were like do wear glasses contact. Yeah, I read Wear glasses when I write you know I wear reading glasses when I write, but I can look at my phone no problem I could read websites. No did it get better. It just stopped a little better Yeah, right little better with red light too, red light therapy. You have a red light bed that I lay in.

And are your eyes open? Yeah, they keep your eyes open. And you're laying in bed? Yeah, it's just staring at red lights, just chilling. Usually I just listen to books. Yeah, I would like to do that, because it's worse, it's such a bummer. Well, Ari got surgery.

He got Lasix on his eyes, and then his eyes got worse after the surgery. They got better. That can happen sometimes, right? Well, you have the natural course of macular degeneration that takes place as you age. So his eyes were great at first, like this is great, I don't have to wear glasses anymore,

and then a couple years later, five, six six seven years later Starts getting really shitty again, and it's just they go yeah, that's just yeah I think that happened to bill maher too it got more. He couldn't he kept getting LASIK I Maybe I'm remembering this wrong and then at a certain point They're like we can't LASIK you and you just have to wear glasses. That's scary getting more and more eye surgeries is fucking terrifying Yeah, that's that's probably the the one that makes you wince the most because those those videos It doesn't go well every time like yeah certain times or people get infections or it just doesn't or you just your eyes are fucked

You have a halo around lights and shit. Oh, yeah, I have a friend who can't drive at night He got Lasix and now he can't drive at night I think I I would murder the doctor if that happened to me He was so upset because he's like I could have driven at night and just worn glasses when I had to read things He goes now I can't drive at night because if he headlights see him. It's yeah, he's like blinded by halos He can't nightmare around the circle like he doesn't know where the car is where the headlight is he just sees this circle of light that surrounds things like headlights and streetlights just terrible yeah I don't that would that would make me so that

would make me feel so sorry for myself mm If I went for surgery and was worse off. Yeah, that's a problem with some surgeries. And the problem with surgeons is that when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And that's the only solution. I've had a bunch of surgeries that I avoided where the doctors are like, you're gonna need surgery. And I was like, are you fucking sure? Like, are you sure? are you fucking sure like are you sure knees shoulders like shoulders is the big one?

Yeah, I wound up getting stem cells in my back. I had Bulging discs now like you got to get that trimmed and I was like are you sure that's the only way to do it It's not the only way to do it. What do decompression stem cells Fixed it. I have zero really yeah zero problems with my neck zero problems with my shoulder I had a full length rotator cuff tear my shoulder and they were like you're gonna need surgery 100% and I went back to the doctor six months later It's like this is fucking crazy like that that tear doesn't exist anymore What did you do stem cells? Yeah and direct into it direct into it? Yeah, and all

Was it did you have to go far? Was it just like local? Well, I did it in Vegas and I did it in LA. I did it several times. I think I did three injections in my shoulder. And then six months later, I got another MRI, and they're like, you don't have a tear anymore. The doctor was blown away.

Because this was all, you know, we're're talking about I think my injury was like 2015 2016 somewhere around then so this was all fairly Recent in terms of like the amount of the kind of results they were getting and this doctor had never seen anything like it He was blown away. He'd been an orthopedic surgeon for 20. Did you have to do anything? Did you have to rehab it or I did regular rehab like once I got the surgery I did like but you're trying to bring back What do you bring it you're regenerating tissue? You're regenerating can rehab help you with that or is that just yeah? It's just strengthens it I think the the rehab with the stem that the key is it's like not

Injuring it while you're healing and the problem is it starts feeling better and then you start pushing then you re aggravate the injury And then you're in this repetitive cycle. But if you can avoid that, like my friend Shane Dorian, he's a big wave surfer and he got serious stem cells down in Tijuana where they could do wild shit. And he got his entire back done. So they put him under and they do every disc in his back. And they're like, you can't do anything. Like you can only walk

For like a couple of months like that's all you could do and for a guy like him Who's a world champion surfer and he's an athlete and he's always exercising he's always doing something was crazy to just not You all you could do is walk but now he feels fucking incredible and it's and he has the back of a 20 him his old back well, it's definitely a lot better than it used to be Yeah, you know and that's the key to these things and if you were allowed to do those in America like you're allowed to do Those overseas, I think you'd see remarkable improvements But the problem is then you have orthopedic surgeons who don't want this to happen and they'll try to tell you not to do it

Because if more people do it they start telling more people do it people can avoid surgeries and they're gonna be out of a job There's one of these in, Jimmy, if you'd bring this up, there's a film that they can put on teeth that will basically just prevent cavities forever. Really? Yeah, I saw it like three weeks ago. There's like a microscopic film, invisible, they like kind of paint it on, they want to do it on kids,

like low income kids, and it will, again, maybe I misread it, Jamie, if you look it up. Wow, I haven't heard of that, that's crazy. No, it's a new thing, but there are, and I'm not even, I mean, I am conspiracy minded in terms of like, yeah, people will try to prevent that, but I wonder which ones they'll let through.

Well, if there's money in painting people's kids with that stuff, they might let it through. The scariest one is fluoride. The fluoride in the water thing is bananas, because they're like, oh, it prevents tooth decay. It also fucking causes a drop in IQ that's absolutely measurable. If you could see the difference between

the amount of fluoride in the water and the amount of the drop in IQs in that area, there's a direct correlation. But it's in like a lot of countries. Fluoride is a weird one, man, because there's a lot of like very credible scientists that would point to the fact that fluoride is a neurotoxin. It's not good for you at all. And they're like, oh yeah, but in small doses. But fucking says who? Says who?

And for what purpose? The way I point it out, it's like, say if someone gets skin cancer and you say, oh, okay, well, we're going to put sunscreen on all the apples. Well, hey, hold the fuck on. How about just brush your fucking teeth? Why do you have to put that shit in the water? So every time I cook spaghetti, I have fluoride in my fucking spaghetti like what are we doing like yeah? I mean, I don't I I'm curious because I looked this up recently because I what I've heard is

The amount of fluoride that makes it toxic is like just a huge amount It's like the dog eating chocolate thing there look up how much chocolate a dog has to eat, but to kill it Yeah, it's like half its body weight or something. It's like it's a huge amount and I what I remember is that in order for fluoride to be toxic it's got to be a major amount. Right, but there's a correlation between high levels of fluoride in water and low IQs. There's we don't really know and it's developmental cycle of a child that you're interfering with. So if you take children and you give them this neurotoxin and you have it in the water to prevent them from getting cavities, and you literally lower their IQ, which seems possible.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how they came to the decision. There's no fucking reason to do it. There's no reason to do it. It's stupid. Cavity fighting liquid prevents 80% of cavities Finds largest US study new treatment uses silver Diamine fluoride, which is an inexpensive liquid that prevents cavities. I should have never brought it. Well, it's a surface thing though You're not covering well, it's stuck in your mouth though. I think not drinking it. What's it? What's it saying?

Dental cavities are distressing sensation that if left untreated can result in terrifying pain, swelling, and relentless restless nights. Team of researchers at New York University identified a cavity fighting solution that is both effective and affordable. The new treatment uses silver, diamine, fluoride, which is an inexpensive liquid that prevents cavities and even shields the existing ones from getting worse.

So that doesn't really prevent you from getting cavities, it like stops cavities. Didn't it just say it prevents cavities? Well it says it. An inexpensive liquid that prevents cavities. But does it cover the teeth and prevents future cavities? I believe maybe in the next paragraph it'll say that. It's quicker to apply and less expensive than sealants.

So it seems like they're doing it on cavities, prevent and arrest cavities, reducing the need for drilling and filling So they can prevent cavities on people that don't have cavities and then they can fill the cavities with this stuff and prevent them from Getting worse dental cavities are prevailing concern centers of disease control But doesn't just brushing your fucking teeth prevent cavities. Yeah. Yes No, I Have I haven't had cavities since I was a little kid. I just brush my teeth. Thank you fluoride I don't think that's tonight's episode that Joe wrote. I don't use fluoride in my home. Is that true? Yeah

Yeah, I try to avoid fluoride wherever possible. I just you live with I mean, but the first half of your life was all Was you riddled with flora I'm sure I got it until a couple fluoride to know yeah, even when I live in LA no I never drink Oh, you didn't you had your own well, or you have your own water other tap It's fucking terrible for you. It smells bad. It smells like chemicals and even if it's like mostly okay It's like why are you doing that to yourself? Like if you ever like seen any studies on fluoride and the ones I saw were just like it's pretty minor The ones I've seen it's not necessarily minor. It's poison and it's not necessary

There's no reason for it and it seems like there's a lot of money tied into fluoride fluoridating drinking water look up countries that fluorinate their fluoridized or glorify Their water Because it's not a lot of it. Yeah, I looked up so if we all have bad IQs, it's fine Did you watch the Sinanon thing the one that there's a HBO documentary about this? It's really you'll really like it. It's like.

About what? It's called Synanon. Synanon. It was like a group. It was a bit of a, it was a cult and then they, it started out as like kind of a self help as like a 12 step fellowship. It's the classic. Then it became a cult.

Then the leader goes crazy. I'm on it It's only episode dude, but it really doesn't know like the the the thing of like every cult at some point The leader goes hey, I spoke to God and he needs me to fuck all your wives Sorry guys in a non. Yeah, what is it about? It's it's a old cult. It's from the 70s. Yeah, the Golden Age The late started in the 60s went into the 70s starts in black and white anything about this. Yeah, it's on HBO Max Everyone shaves their heads. It's fucking right up your alley Like it's yeah, there's the guy. Yeah, they have audio of him screaming at them And attack against hidden on those attack against an attack against America. Yeah it's custom-made for you. That's crazy. Beautiful. I've literally never heard of it. It's been on for, it just came out last week.

Oh I have a thing in my in my new Netflix about where I'm talking about you I'm talking about I'm talking about the outsize role that, you know, because corporate leaders have been, are basically pieces of shit, politicians are pieces of shit, clergy, imams, pastors are pieces of shit. Now somehow it's all become like, well, what do the clowns think? Now it's up to comedians to be the moral arbiters and It's you Dave. I mentioned Ellen. I mentioned Kevin Hart. I mentioned just all these people that's like why are You guys can sit I mean I know why because it's just everyone else

Couldn't do it and comedians have opinions and like Carlin was moral sometimes John Stewart is moral, you know, but I don't but it's one of these things like it shouldn't be up to us guys Right. We're like we shouldn't be the backstop weren't we shouldn't be the moral backbone of America, but one of the rare people the rare groups of people that are allowed to speak freely. Yeah. And that's what it is. It's like, as long as we can find an angle where it's funny.

Well that's the thing, is people are mad, it's like on here, people get mad at you for not being, reading the talking points of the National Institutes of Health You know I mean like what I never understand what people want you to be like, what do you walk me through this? Where Joe says everything you want him to say it's not possible It's also not it's not a show anymore, but you also you can't make everyone happy. It's Impossible yeah, and if you try to operate in this world where you're trying to make people happy Versus just trying to be honest right you're fucked. You're fucked. You're fucked from the jump. There's no way to do that It's not possible. You won't be you anymore. You will be compromised. Yeah, you know I mean I feel that about so many things I feel that about reading comments. I don't think you should read comments.

I think that it's been a detriment to certainly public comment, whatever we do, whatever public speaking, because it really does kind of, you think about, well, what are they gonna, what's the worst thing you could possibly say about? What I'm thinking of saying right and it's a bad way to approach things It's also people that are deeply dishonest of course and deeply unhappy and yeah, yeah

Like they did with your joke about abortion like oh, right. He's just a grifter. It's a pro abortion grifter Yeah, trying to get that right-wing money instead of just trying to make a point but everyone's trapped. They're trapped in these ideological bubbles, and they don't know what to do. And if you keep reading the comments on that bubble, you will stay trapped. You will stay trapped.

You're fucked. You have to be able to think freely and express yourself freely. And you can be wrong. And if you're wrong, you have to be able to admit you're wrong. And you have to be able to say why you're wrong and why you thought this and why you think differently now and that's just a function of being an honest human being and it's possible to do but god damn

that is a whitewater rafting trip that is fucking filled with rocks yeah there's like there's bears catching salmon. It's it's crazy scrape your fucking. Yeah, it's scary. It's scary. How do you? Like do you do you monitor yourself at all? Do you know what I mean? Like do you have you had to have you gone like boy? This is getting pretty This is getting pretty This megaphone is getting pretty big you're having to hire a lot of security at your live shows. You know what I mean? Like just, I'm assuming like the bigger,

the venues are getting bigger. There's just more. Does it ever go, does it, I mean, it's gotta be validating for you as a person, right? You gotta be like, oh, I must've, I kinda, I must've done some shit right. And then does it make you police yourself?

Do you go like, let me really try to be? I think it makes you, you definitely have to be more clear with what you think and why you think it. Instead of just shooting off the cuff, which I definitely used to do a lot when I was younger. I'd have an idea in my head and I'd just run with it and then I'd try to defend that idea. But even the fluoride thing, right?

Yeah. What we just talked about. That's the same conversation we would've had 10 years ago, right? Yeah. Does it, do you now think of how, do you go, I have to know what studies are what, and if that's true and it's been replicated,

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, or is it still kind of the same like, yeah, I think I read that, the same thing we all do generally, which is like, yeah, I read that or I heard that or whatever. Well, it's been a while, but I have read multiple studies on fluoride.

No, no, yeah, but I'm saying- And I've talked to multiple experts. If I didn't, I would say I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. But fluoride is not healthy. It's not a good thing to take. But I'm saying, I would say I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. But fluoride is not healthy. It's not a good thing to take. But I'm saying, I'm just wondering about your process.

But that's one of those ones where I can just say that. But then there's other things where it's like a vegan diet. I know people that do it. I know people that have pulled it off. It's possible to do it. Hey, you look like shit. No, I'm just kidding. You motherfucker.

You look thin and healthy. But you can do it if you supplement carefully And you're a smart guy you know what to eat and whatnot to eat and I can get my blood tested Yeah, you have money. You can do all the things you do to make sure that you're okay, and it absolutely can be done I know people that eat a vegan diet, and I also think there's biodiversity There's some people their ancestry is very different their their genetics are very different and they're they're much more Vegan diet is more tolerable for them like Indian people Indian people have been eating vegetarian food for so fucking long You know, I would imagine yeah that their body their genes have adapted if they've come from a long line of vegetarian

Yeah, like they're kind of stuck with vegetable. And they're kind of stuck with, well not stuck with. Maybe it would be beneficial for them to supplement with protein. Or they figured it out. They have it. Their body has figured. If whatever was deficient in it's figured out a way around it by what was available to them.

Right. But when we look at countries that consume more meat, they're healthier and they live longer. Hong Kong is a great example of that. So there's some great studies that have been done on Hong Kong. They have one of the highest meat consumptions and higher life expectancies. But then again, it's like how long have they been doing it? And the blue zone, a little bit of protein.

I guess what you're saying is the acknowledgement that shit's complicated and there's no one right or wrong There's also things like healthy user bias like the most important thing that pretty much most of the objective doctors will say the most important thing is physical activity and then if you are not physically active and You eat well You're almost better off smoking cigarettes and being physically active You're almost better off smoking cigarettes and being physically active. Mm-hmm. Then yeah then then doing that by the way This is always fascinating to me because I've been asking people Do you know what percentage of people die smokers die of lung cancer? What percentage 10 to 15 percent? That's crazy. Isn't that low?

That's crazy. You think it's like 60 that's great It's 10 to and I I've looked it up repeatedly like am I miss reading this? the amount of smokers that die of lung cancer is 10 to 15 percent, but do they die of other stuff? Well, yeah, of course coma over to these etc Yeah, but like smoking just in general like you're limiting your oxygen intake. There's a lot of factors Yeah, but it's not as bad as you don't right This this one doctor that I was talking to that was very adamant about that He goes physical activity if you don't have physical activity, you might as well be a drinker and a smoker

Yeah, you're fucked and then there's also that loneliness thing. Oh, yeah, that's a big one man It's a big factor what percentage of folks studies found the risk of developing lung cancer increases to 14% if you smoke cigarettes. If you smoke one to five cigarettes per day your risk is around 7.7% and if you smoke more than 35 cigarettes a day you have a 26% chance of developing. Well that's a lot. That's 35 cigarettes. By 80 though. By 80. It's like a whole lifetime of smoking 35. What is that a pack and a half yeah almost two yeah, it's two tax packs 40 yeah Wow Three out of four yeah, it's like you're which by the way is the exact same number of

FDA drugs that get pulled 25% of all FDA approved drugs get pulled because they kill too many people. Oh right when they're like oh fuck we didn't test it good enough. Yeah whoopsies we believe those pharmaceutical drug companies. Yeah. That was that was the weird one for me during the pandemic was the trust in the pharmaceutical drug companies and especially when I started talking to experts that actually spent their living litigating financial settlements for adverse effects of drugs and you find out that scientists when you hear about peer-reviewed data they're not even

allowed to see the actual data they see the analysis of the data by the pharmaceutical drug companies that perform the studies I I'm of two minds about this because on the one hand I agree with you and I've had similar experiences and on the other hand I'm like people I don't fucking have time To do the research right on all of these things myself and I have a lot of time Like do you know what I mean? Like I don't I don't They are everything's fucking corrupt, right? And it's so aggravating and so like, predictable because it's just human beings

and they're just gonna be corrupt. And you just have to hope that the thing that you're, the pill you're taking wasn't a victim of the corruption or the operation or even the STEM, or whatever you do, you just have to hope it wasn't a victim of humanity. And so I'm with you, because I've heard shit about,

I've learned you can test for anything. It's a, you know, I've heard statisticians say you can make anything, you can crunch numbers any way you want to get to what you need. Well, they certainly have done that, you know, and that's the big Vioxx scandal. Like, in the emails when they released Vioxx,

they literally said- Which one's Vioxx? Vioxx is an anti-inflammatory that they use that is no better than non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and it's killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 Americans before it was pulled. Well, there was that other one, the ibuprofen, notupro, the one, the antihistamine that wasn't anything. What's that one?

The Sudafed one, the one that was like a month and a half ago, most cough medicine wasn't medicine. What? Really? It was, I assumed you just did, you did like an emergency episode about this. I never even heard of it. No, look at, I don't even know what to look up. Cough medicine isn't medicine. A fraud. Yeah. Look up cough medicine isn't medicine. It was fucking insane. And, but again, I have, my kid has a cold. Right. Right.

So my kids literally stuffed up this very second. I'm a parent. The fuck am I supposed to do? Right, you get medicine. This is medicine. It's at the store. Cough medicine. Got it. I got cough medicine for them.

Okay, good. I'm a good parent. This should knock it out. And it turns out it's just a bunch of garbage. What is it, Jamie? Did you find anything? Yeah, I'm trying to dig through. I got conflicting information real quick.

This is what happens, Joe. This is what happens. Yeah The pharmaceutical drug companies are like little trolls Bunch of fake studies or her shits complicated. Yeah shit is definitely complicated, but there's also a lot of finance No, I know that's the issue. It's with all this stuff it's like shits complicated and people are corrupt and People try to thwart information and bad information rises and there's no it's just it's it's spider meme Yeah, it's just everything's fucking Incredibly complex

OJ was dead for about an hour before I saw people connecting to the vaccine OJ was telling people to get vaccinated Well, maybe maybe maybe this guy who murdered his fucking wife and her boyfriend, maybe he was racked with guilt his entire life and lived in a constant state of anxiety. And everywhere he went people yelled at him and called him a murderer. And maybe he didn't sleep good. By the way, he still made it to 76. Right, which is like, I think, two years older than most people die. I think the average age is like 72 74 like what's the average American male life expectancy Jamie?

It's either yes, I'd say it's good too. I want to say well black men is way lower Fucking football players is probably 58 right? Good, but but which is interesting too because one of the things that because one of his attorneys said that if CTE, the information was available today like it was in 94, they would have used that in his defense. Right. Okay. Which is kind of crazy. But, well, is he found more innocent? 76. So 76 years. So he hit the number. Oh, good for you, Jules.

Oh, he landed exactly on the average American number. Oh, good for you, Jules. Oh, Jay landed exactly on the average American number. I found so the FDA press release says this. The FDA advisor declares ineffectiveness of widely used over-the-counter decongestant active ingredient. The active ingredient in decongestants was nothing. Popular over-the-counter medicines for colds and allergies don't work, FDA panel said, and that's Sudafed. What it really is, is it's like this ingredient in there. Sudafed, Benadryl, and most decongestants don't work.

Wow. The over-the-counter histamine, antihistamine, Benadryl is not being pulled from the pharmacy shelves. Misleading headlines, it says. Despite misleading headlines such as Sudafed, Benadryl, and most decongestants don't work, they're not being pulled from pharmacy shelves. A FDA Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted 16 to 0 on Tuesday that current scientific data does not support the use of active ingredient phenylofren and over-the-counter products such as benadryl, algae, plus decongestion.

This does not, however, pertain to antihistamines such as benadryl, which contain the active ingredient diphenhydramine. Yeah, this is already confused. You know what I mean? I'm already like, wait, what? They're probably mucking around with the stuff just to try to get it a little less scammy. It says it's a nasal decongestant. Okay, brand names of the medications

include phenylephrine, such as Benadryl, have other products with distinct active ingredients. So there's one ingredient that doesn't work. Okay, so maybe they do work. The FDA committee voted on the question of whether or not the evidence supported the use of the active How's that word moiety moiety moiety?

phenylephrine as an effective nasal decongestant the panic panel concluded that products which include Phenylephrine are not effective against nasal congestion though. They were not deemed unsafe, but they don't work So that's like... Parts of them work. One of the ingredients doesn't is nothing. But it says that the products that include phenolpherine are not effective against nasal congestion, though they were not deemed unsafe. That still says it doesn't work, right.

Yeah, there might be other ingredients that do work. But they might not work either. We'll have to wait and see. Though the FDA is not bound to the committee's recommendations, why should it be? It's only science. Very likely the agency will follow its advice. In turn, this may lead to pharmacies pulling products

containing oral phenelphrine, at least until acceptably reformulated versions are offered. There are branded products that include names, Sudafed and Benadryl that do work as nasal decongestants. They contain the active ingredient pseudoephrine, pseudo ephedrine. F and that dream F and F and like what what do I have to do? Yeah, and they were like yeah people can make meth with this like you're like, you know who I am I'm never gonna stop talking about I'm like how much meth can you make?

Off of one of these things. Is it enough like how many no yet? They they would do they would go from pharmacy to pharmacy and just get boxes dirt bags Yeah, yeah, and then cook it up. Just like just wow Yeah, yeah, exactly Prescribe that to you just well. Yeah, it's now running. We're running short Joe Apparently we are right. Yeah, we're running short an Adderall. Uh-huh. Yeah, so no it's interesting to see you know you and people we've known so long being held up as like, you know, when it's like, what was the thing you, uh, Fitzsimmons helped you steal back a car radio or something? Didn't Fitzsimmons

when you were roommates, you guys, or you dated his roommate? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I jumped a fence because my car got towed and they had my radio in it I jumped a fence to get my radio So that's the joke me and Fitzsimmons have whenever there's a headline like White House concern with Joe Rogan We're like I bet this is about the radio, right? Him jumping the fence to steal that car radio in 1990. Yeah, I forgot about that Yeah, like it's like what are you doing? I'm gonna radio in 1990. Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, yeah. Like, it's funny.

He was like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm gonna hop this fence. Get my fucking radio. Yeah, and he was, he hated it and abetted it. But it is like, hey, who, I don't know, maybe you and Dave are as good as it. I don't fucking know, you know what I mean? You know, everybody should be able to discuss things.

Yeah. And the problem is I can discuss things and millions of people hear it. That's the problem. And do you ever, yeah, that's one, I guess I'm wondering, does it, I think you're right to not pay attention, but does a party go like, should I be paying more attention to this?

Should I be more concerned about being a news outlet or whatever the fuck you're supposed to be in? I'm very careful being a news outlet or wherever the fuck you're thinking. I should I am very careful about Certain things and I'm very careful that I at least now I know what I'm talking about or I say I don't know what I'm talking about. Yeah, like be clear and then also You know if you know something and you don't say it and that thing can benefit people or they can inform their decision-making You should say it and that thing can benefit people or they can inform their decision-making you should say it It's important especially if you know things if you absolutely know something to be a fact like say it and especially if you realize There's like immense pressure from

these Financial Institutions or you know pharmaceutical drug companies or whatever it is to not say that thing because it's gonna it's gonna Do you remind the squeezed not squeezed but do ever people ever do you ever feel people floating? Information you like oh, I've got me float that baby up Conversations with people where I'm like this person's feeding me bullshit. Yeah, definitely Conversations with people where I'm like this person's feeding me bullshit. Yeah Definitely. Yeah, it's like you have to learn how to like navigate those waters Like I definitely think people have probably been angled to come on this show to feed me bullshit or

Feeding me bullshit once they get on the show. Yeah, definitely and You know, you have to kind of make a decision then like do I even air this? Do I not air this? Do I do I how do I dance around this like this? It seems like we should pause this and actually research it before we go any further So I feel like I'm being fucked with yeah. Yeah, yeah, and it is it is There is it's the new institution news media institutional news Legacy media or whatever. It's another one of those 77 year old women

who still think they're fine. It's like you can't fucking lie. If you pretend you have a monopoly on the truth, you know what you have to only say is the truth. It can't be, obviously there's biases, whatever, human biases everywhere and institutional biases, but Some of these people are so click lazy Well, it's just like you were saying with the 75 year old woman that still thinks she's hot like the news still thinks that people believe them

Mm-hmm, you know and I I encountered that when they were saying that I was taking horse medication Yeah, you mean the horse medication that won the Nobel Prize for being for an as an Anti-malarial that one like four years ago. Yeah four years before and now it's for horses Well, everything's for horses. Well, yeah, everything's a horse medication if the horse is sick enough. Yeah Grass is fucking everything if a horse eats it. They're so dumb that they thought that they could do that Yeah, which is absolutely wild Yeah, but that just shows you the arrogance of those organizations Yeah, they're so full of shit and so captured by money that they're willing to lie and that not just lie But lie with the same lie across multiple platforms, and they're doing it specifically because they're being told to do that

Yeah, and they're just hammering credibility And they're for not like for what for nothing for one thing that is it's gonna last for a year or so Until people realize what the fuck is going on and now you're doomed and now everyone's gonna go yeah But they lied about that. What do they say about Iran? What do they say about Syria? What do they say about this and nuclear energy? What do they say about pollution? Well, what's funny is it is super it makes it complicates things That is like what are they saying about Israel like the Gaza and Israel it feels like the It's like the most modern

It in 20 years ago. This would have been like open and shut. 20 years ago would have been 9-11, right? They did this, we're going in, and anything we do is justifiable. Right. And now it's, they did this, we're going in, and they're going with the 77-year-old former fine woman, and they're doing shit thinking that they can get away with it and now it's like ah now everyone's watching the all the shit that that slowly leaked and came out Abu Graib all that sort of severe violations now where it's all happening on the daily yeah and it makes

things it's so everything's complicated. It's so complicated One of the interesting things about the Israel thing was that you know Hamas attacks on October 7th And within days there's pro Hamas rallies. So before Israel is even it retaliated Douglas Murray's talked about this a lot That was the most insane. Yeah, I think that is one of those things where I am very inclined to think that that is fueled by foreign actors. I'm very inclined to think that TikTok algorithms and bots and all these different things fed a lot of these hyper woke

kids into taking this contrarian stance against the popular narrative that Israel was just attacked and said no Israel is an oppressor and look what they've done to Palestine it justifies it and what else can they do and like what else can they do besides go door to door and rape and murder people is that really what we're saying yeah like that you should cheer them I know and that's and and then and then they Israel does shit all the time that you're like fucking don't do that exactly And but at the same time like I'm not Yeah, it's like imagine living there though

Imagine living either in Israel or Palestine and trying to find a solution to that good It's you once you you look at it once you start researching it you just go fucking this is not I don't think I can figure this baby out. This is a video game that you just toss the controller. Yeah Fuck it. I'm not this this I don't even like this kind of game and I was reading today that there's this State Department's warning that Iran is Planning attacks on Israel? Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah.

Oh my God, what are you doing? Yeah. And do you have nukes? Do they have nukes yet? I know they've been working on a nuclear program forever. What if they're the first person to use it and they use it on Jerusalem? Jesus Christ. Uh-huh.

Jesus Christ. Yeah. And, but people think that they have, they know what it should be. And it's like... Do you get anxiety? thinking about like world events ever Yeah, I I Less so

less so in that which we can talk about a little bit, but but less so just in terms of my own personal development, but it's If I had kids I Would really really worry about it. I don't yeah, I don't I have I'm involved with a woman who has a kid So it's like you know it's growing my my sort of paternalism, but Yeah, I don't I don't it's it's a it's pretty weird. This is a pretty rough time. It's a weird time It's a pretty rough time. It's a weird time. It's a really weird time. But I think every time is a weird time.

Like in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, people were terrified of the future. Yeah, I remember during George Floyd, Chris Rock, goes, this is every week in the 60s. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both got assassinated. Like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and Bobby Kennedy and John Kennedy. Uh-huh, real quickly.

Yeah. Over the course of, real quickly. Yeah. Over the course of a few years. Yeah. I think it's just we develop societal amnesia and we try to remember the past as some sort of a utopian time, you know, but then if you like look at the documentaries about the weather underground and like there's always been like wild shit happening in this country. Yeah. And like there's always been like wild shit happening in this country. Yeah, it's but it's also back then wild shit You really only heard about through

Large corporate media. I know that's the funny thing is now it's like we're getting you don't need to leak Abu grave You don't need to leak Gitmo photos, you know, it's all it's all coming out that afternoon, right? And then now there's the rise of independent journalism, you know, it's all it's all coming out that afternoon, right? And then now there's the rise of independent journalism You know the Glenn Greenwald's Matt tie B's people that you can actually trust Michael Schellenberger people that are like on the street like telling and they're not attached to any large corporate media outlet and That's very important because now you get a if you're willing to do the work and willing to read what they're saying you get a much more balanced nuanced perspective to do the work and willing to read what they're saying, you get a much more balanced, nuanced perspective

on what the factors are and what all these different contributing factors that are so hard to sort out with everything. Like if you try to pay attention to what's happening in Brazil right now, you're like, oh my God, what the fuck? If you try to pay attention to what's happening in any other foreign country.

Anywhere. Anywhere. Anywhere. Literally like Canada. Shit that should be like, used to be like a gimme. Like oh Canada's fucking fine and then you go like what the fuck? Mexico, just go, let's start at the top and go down. Finland, Denmark, Iceland, all of them.

And then how was mass immigration? Illegal immigration ubiquitous. How is it everywhere in the world all at one point in time? How is like islands in Italy getting overrun with these? African immigrants are coming over on boats. I made a really good observation, which is Migration it's been happening in all of human history, but not like this. Well, I don't know. I mean, the statistics in the country in this country, they're really easy to find. Yeah. But I'm saying probably not relative to 17. They'd probably didn't have like great records until pretty recently. Well, they didn't have an open border policy until really recently. Yeah, I don't. It wasn't as easy to come across. You also weren't being incentivized. You weren't being given money.

You weren't being given housing and shelter and much to the demise of the people that are poor That live there that are American citizens that are freaking the fuck out in these poor communities And you also know that immigration helps the economy Do you know what I mean like that's the thing it provides good so it's good everything's fucking like yeah, but also So that's where I go. I don't know that's Tim Dillon's perspective. He thinks they're bringing in cheap labor Including like a town like our great-grandparents and great-great like it was just they needed jobs Yeah, they need jobs and there was and then the reason I don't did you read the The Cliff Nester off book about comedians getting canceled historically. No, you might want to have money. It's really good, but uh what is it called?

Look it up. I've read it like not long ago KLIPH Book Nesterov NEST What is KLIPH? That's his name cliff. Oh cliff. Yeah, Cliff Nesaroff Comedians drunks thieves scoundrels now the outrageous history of showbiz that one. Mm-hmm, but the reason why why so many

Jewish people Irish people and blind people became comedians It was just cuz they couldn't get jobs anywhere else. Lenny Bruce. Yeah Yeah, yeah It was just because they couldn't get jobs anywhere else. Lenny Bruce. Yeah. There it is. Yeah. Yeah. And like who, why they get canceled, who gets canceled. And it's been happening. Guy saying, I can't say anything in 1938.

Right. Like it's so, it's like kind of a tale as old as time. But yeah, like people came for, for, yeah, it's all of these things. You're right, and it helps the economy. There's a meme that I found online that is, it's so funny, cause it's from 1934. It's a cartoon from 1934 that's basically saying exactly what everyone is worried about today, both on the right and on the left

I'm gonna send this to you Jamie About the government. Mm-hmm. It's crazy because This is the same story. It's a hundred years later. It's the same story. Yeah, pull that up Yes, like it's the same one is like Jews are subhuman and superhuman look at this plan For of action for us spend spend spend under the guise of recovery bust the government blame the capitalists for the failure junk the Constitution and declare a dictatorship cartoon appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1934 yeah, isn't that wild? Yeah, the government is like spying on you

and they're inept. It says up there, it worked in Russia, so that's Stalin, I guess, is writing that out. Yeah. Wild. Yeah, that's what it's, but I, this time does feel pretty specific. This does feel especially grim, this period of history.

But yeah, the anxiety thing, that's curious to me. I'm not curious, but I'm interested in the fact that it does give you anxiety. Does it give you anxiety for your, is it humanity overall? Yes, yeah, it's humanity overall. I get it at night. I get it at night, because usually that's when I'm high. There was a...

Usually when I'm writing, when I'm high, I get real anxiety night. I get it at night, because usually that's when I'm high. There was a day. Usually when I'm writing, when I'm high. Yep. I get real anxiety, because usually also everyone else in my house is asleep. So it's just me, and it's late at night, and I'm just doom scrolling, and I'm writing, and I'm just thinking about the future. And I genuinely get this fear of angst.

What happens if everything goes totally sideways? Which has happened historically all over the world with with Incredible regularity. Yeah, it's almost predictable and there's always been Instances where society was like thrown into chaos and like what we have this even democracy thing It's the same way like when you look up where is abortion legal? Where you know, where's where where they put in Florida in the water look up where there's democracy and how long it's been there Super this is the oldest one guys. It's not even three and then it's not even it's like this is a the oldest one Then there's for like France England like and there's not that many of them now

And there's never been one like this and this one is only 300 years old Yeah, which is a blip. Yeah, nothing. Yes relative to to and it really and it does It is that thing of like you have to foster it You got a point you got to water it and you got a till the feet you got a vote You got to get a you got a did research you got to do all the shit and it it's, but as we both attest, like, it's worth it. Yeah. Well, this is the greatest experiment in self-government the world's ever experienced. It's fascinating.

It really is. And it's also, because of this, this country has achieved so many amazing milestones creatively. Like, how much music has come from America? I mean, how much of like popular music that the world hears? The airplane. Yeah. That's us. Yeah, the internet.

The car. The car. The computer. Yeah. Like, these are not small things. Stand-up comedy. Yes. Yeah, like these are not small things Stand-up comedy. Yes. Yeah stand-up comedy was invented here It's done but best by people from here still to this day, correct and that's just undeniable You know good luck good luck trying to England what we do. Yeah, it's just not

But they're there yet. It's funny a few guys. There's no Ricky Gervais and yeah No, I'm not there's but the reality is there's a few guys, there's Ricky Gervais and G. Carr, a couple others. But the reality is, there's a lot more here. A whole lot more. Selling out arenas. Just talking and good. Good comedians. I think this is the best time for comedy that's ever existed.

I really do. I mean, there's greats. Oh, in terms of the amount of really good people who are throwing the ball very fast? Yes. I couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. This is the time.

This is the golden age of comedy. Yeah. And you know, Ari always says this, that this is a great time for comedy because comedy's dangerous again. Yeah. It's great. Comedy's dangerous.

Yeah. It is like the Red Fox, you know, after dark records thing now. But now it's more, and weirdly now it's more like Douglas Murray books and speeches. Right, right, right. Those are like the contraband. What do you, I want to ask about the anxiety thing, because when you, do you get, do you worry about the safety of your loved ones?

Yeah, do you worry about like the your your your shit hits a fan plan cuz my plan is hey I've done Joe Rogan when people come up. I go you may remember me from Joe Rogan. We're good, right? Are you mean with preppers the prime is comfy? Yeah, they're not gonna come for you The people that are gonna come for you the people that aren't preppers the people don't any food. That's what it's gonna. I don't have any either though. Yeah, well, that's good Hopefully you don't have any guns. Hopefully don't have anything valuable that they could take do you think it's worth having a gun? Yes Okay, so you're saying have a gun. It's better to have it not need it than a need it No, have it yep always yeah, it doesn't hurt you to have a gun, especially if you're smart and you take care of it

and you lock them up and you know how to use them. Yeah. It's like, one of the funniest things is people are like, you should give up your AR-15. You don't need it. You should send it to Ukraine so they can fight the Russians. Okay, do you see what you're saying? Like they're literally fighting against an oppressive force and if they're unarmed you should arm them

Well, what happens if something like that happens here and you're saying oh, yeah I mean I did that it can't happen here is crazy the idea of like Taking it there should be a every year They should have a guys who are like hoarding weapons singing that they could take on the government We should every year have an NRA military showdown Where it's a hundred guys from the NRA versus like three guys from the military and they're just gonna drone them.

Right, but here's the thing, the guys from the military, the guys who sign up for the military are the guys who don't wanna do that. See, they're the patriots. That's the thing, like turning them on Americans. So this is the big fear about immigration is that you're gonna take these immigrants

and you're gonna indoctrinate them into the military and they'll be willing to do things that United States citizens won't be willing to do because nobody wants to join the military anymore. Oh you think that is that? The heavy-duty Conspiracy theorists they're worried that they're going to conscript these people like you can get Like look they're doing that in Russia where they're saying fight in the Ukraine war and we'll let you out Of jail yeah, so they're taking prisoners with life sentences and using them as cannon fodder heck of a movie by the way Yeah, and it's happening. I mean they're they're literally using them. No. I know it's it's and it's real like some monsters monsters That they're letting out yep monsters, and they're doing monster shit, too

I've heard they've doing it to other Russian. They're just doing they're not these are not like Rational people no, they're psychos. Yeah, like full-on psychos and psychos in Russia. That's another level Yeah long history of violence Yeah, and and also loss like the loss that they experienced during the world War. Like people, they always, everyone talks about what happened with Israel, what happened with the Jews, what happened with the United States, our military, Japan. Russia lost a lot of fucking people. And if it wasn't for Russia,

we might not have even fought off the Nazis. We might not have beaten them. I don't think there's any dispute there. I think that's like, that was like they they kind of kept their attention Right. Yeah on the on the east Yeah, and they are they have such a long history of conflict and loss and their willingness to Well, that's what somebody told me is like Putin's whole thing is just like we're a country where it's we're always at war. We always will be at war

Let me lead us and he's a warrior which is really scary when you got a guy who's a KGB guy that becomes The head of the country. I mean again, it's the hammer thing. You know, all you have is a hammer. Yeah, he doesn't well That's what some reason it's like they don't have much industry. So he kills Well, that's what some of you say. It's like they don't have much industry. Also he kills everybody. Yeah. Anybody, political opponents, anybody who's questioning him. You get poisoned, you get fucking drone bombed, whatever. Yeah. You don't even got to be in Russia.

Yeah. They got a guy in, they popped a guy in Spain a few months ago. Oh yeah. They'll pop you everywhere. Yeah. You know. Poison. And we kind of do that too. I'm sure we do that.

I mean, the idea that we're innocent and that we don't have CIA assassins that go and whack dissidents. Okay I'll take your logic. Can we still condemn what he does? It's hard. It's hard. First of all What if he does it ten times worse than us? You definitely can condemn what he's done in Ukraine. You can definitely can condemn you can condemn Bombing Kiev you can definitely can you can condemn a lot? You definitely can but you also got to condemn the NATO for moving their fucking arms Closer to the Russian border and crossing that boundary and trying to get Ukraine to join NATO which has always been his red line There's a lot of like really I don't I

I'm of the mind that Nato's have never invaded anyone so it's kind of like if they're I get that they're trying to get like the point you made about trying to get people to move to Austin They haven't been around that no I know they have but they definitely but I don't think you can get yeah I'm with you. I just don't think they're an invasion. They're too disorganized They need consensus from fucking however many countries are in NATO to like go we're gonna I don't think and then who's gonna govern whatever the idea is pushing arms closer to the borders of Russia to make an attack Easier and quicker and all those things influence foreign policy and those things are dangerous They're yeah, I'm with you, but I don't I like is it is he is NATO perfect No, no, but like what he's doing is just aggressive bullying

Like hey, man, we're trying to have a world where people can't do that anymore Right. We're trying to get back because my point is that it's a chaos. It's complicated like we we The United States was involved in the coup in 2014. We instigated it We we provided weapons and money we were a part of that and we there's There's been a lot of those throughout history I mean we fuck around we what did we we googled it the other day? How many countries the United States has military bases in it isn't it like 90? What was it again, Jamie? I don't know a lot. Fucking military bases.

I know, I know, but the problem is, the problem is, it's like the way America work was, it's like, there's a moral framework, Louis had a great joke about it where it's, he was talking about himself, he's like, I have all sorts of ethics and standards, I don't follow any of them, but I have them. Like, I have standards for myself,

and America, the the game was That we would look at this. There's seven countries. Yeah, the military bases in at least 80 countries Yeah, the number may be even higher is not all data is published by the Pentagon. Yeah, but Joe Joe we're American It's good. This is better us than China. Well, that's what I mean. Yeah The game we always play was like yeah, we're American. It's good. This is better us than China. Well, that's what I mean. Yeah, it's better us than Russia. The game we always played was like, yeah, we do shit. You can't. Well, we're not.

And now everything's transparent. Or it's like significantly more transparent. So, and people have no tolerance for hypocrisy. Right. It used to just kind of be like side papers you go like America's kind of a fucking hypocritical and now because social media it's like I gotcha! I was like yeah fucking we're hypocrites. Yeah well that always leads me back to that Smedley Butler paper that he wrote in 1933 which is war is a racket. He was

this famous military man who upon retiring reflected upon his career and said like the whole thing was a racket I thought it was protecting people was protecting banks and this is what war really is all about and That still holds. I mean, it's the military industrial complex speech kind of mm-hmm exactly and Yeah it's it's the I think the under the the agreement was

corruption and Then but stability yeah, and now it's It's the corruption has been revealed and now it's super unstable Like now we can see all the corruption and shit feels real and you can't sleep Yeah, what's better? I think the erosion of the confidence of the government in this country is dangerous Because people there's there's kids on the street that are saying you know we want to overthrow the United States government and get rid of All the colonizers like what are you talking about?

I know but that's they've they but they could clip the fuck out of you and show a reason they should be suspicious of the government, you know what I mean? Like, whatever, the pharmaceutical companies or the NIH or the White House, you're skeptical. And the problem is, I think there's not a problem, but like, you're skeptical, you know the limits of your skepticism, you know what I mean? Where's everybody else just goes?

Limitless skepticism also. I don't trust anything. They're young they just got out of college. They know debt They will they have debt maybe but they don't have any life Their life has just begun and they want to throw this this country's corrupt. Let's just burn it all down Yeah, and then do what and do what? Do you want to be Saudi Arabia? Where are you gonna go? Where are you gonna go? Where are you gonna go? There was a basketball coach in the,

after the Celtics dynasty, after Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, all this stuff, and then Rick Pitino was the coach and they sucked. And he said to the press, like, Larry Bird ain't walking through that door And that's how it is with all these kids. It's like there's no better leader. There's no for the women. There's no better men There's no like this is it We're gonna make do with this you want you want to help or not or you just want to mope and you want to and

and also everyone's corrupt And you should be skeptical But you but to the point where it's like when does when does get when does pure skepticism skepticism become? Chaos well, I think when can you not believe traffic lights they get so frustrated at all They do want to burn it all down, but they don't have a solution They don't have like a working solution of what happens once it gets burned down what I worry about is I think the government is so inept and I think the the

Confidence in the government is so low That if something goes sideways, it's not gonna be like everybody waits for the government to tell us what to do You're gonna have chaos in the streets. Just like the George Floyd riots. You're just gonna have that all over the place. That's the real fear. People with nothing will revolt, and guns are everywhere, and it could get real sketchy.

Yes, and then, or you go, it's chaos. It's 1968, 1969. Yeah. Now, and then you see cops beating up protesters, and you're like, all. This is hard because I'm for the protesters and You know, I need order. Yeah as a human being I would like it's the freedom and safety Mm-hmm. It's the it's the two sort of the two things that hang in the balance and I

Don't it's funny to hear you say that you get you get anxious at night Based on this world because because it's always at night Yeah It's always at night when I'm alone with my thoughts because I just realize all the things that could go sideways at any given time Like one thing one big thing one big event and it doesn't even have to Be an attack it could be a natural event one natural event and we're fucked one solar flare that takes out the grid

We're fucked. Yeah, and and even and to the George Floyd point It's like they shouldn't have fucking killed the guy and people should people can protest police brutality And people should, people can protest police brutality. That's all, like the cops were wrong in how they handled that, and the protesters, we are, it's part of our society. It's part of our constitution. We can, and then it's like defund the police, and I'm like, no, but, ah, no, you had me, you had me, I fucking need cops.

Need them. And then all those polls of low income people were like, no, we want cops. So it's the tyranny of the minority thing. Well, there's also the problem with the autopsy. The autopsy at George Floyd showed that he had lethal levels of fentanyl in his system. That he was gonna die anyway.

I heard they wasn't lethal. What does that mean? I mean, I've seen things where it wasn't, the levels of fentanyl were days old and whatever, it wasn't... Well, he had an enlarged heart, he was suffering from all sorts of ailments, like cardiovascular ailments, and he did have a high level of fentanyl in his system that I think is in the lethal threshold. And then you have this high stress event being arrested,

also being compressed, someone's pressing down on your body, restricting your breathing, and you're panicking, you're freaking out, very possible to have a heart attack there. Both things. So maybe by himself he wouldn't have had it. So you're of the mind maybe that he had fentanyl in his system and it was not great police procedure?

Well, it's 100% not great police procedure. Yeah. 100%, but also that guy had a history of abuse. Yeah, no, but that's what I mean. So then people protest, et cetera. It's like- But the question is, did he actually kill that guy or also that guy had a history of abuse. Yeah, no, but that's what I mean. So then people protest, etc It's like but the question is did he actually kill that guy was that guy dying? You know what? I think level see find out because I had read that When when they did the initial autopsy they didn't find that his death was because of

constriction it wasn't because of Compressed arteries or any of that. You know what I fear happens a lot? Is this a good example? So you like, so we go, yeah, no, of course. So you, you're of the mind, I'm of the mind of like, that was wrong. Yeah.

And then you go, yes, but he did have fentanyl. No, I'm of the mind that that was wrong too, that that's police brutality and abuse and probably not necessary. Like it wasn't like he was thrashing and trying to attack. Like you could have restrained that guy, cuffed him and that would have been it. Right, so my point is, so it's not but he was on fentanyl.

Let's say that was awful police work and he was on fentanyl. Right, right. So let's say the police work was good and the guy wound up dying. That's different. Yeah. Right. Then you say, oh, he died of a fentanyl overdose. But if you look at the way they handled them, it was humane. It was correct. Yeah. Now would there have been, who knows? Now it's probably historically, right? That happens all the time. What I worry though, get arrested and they die of overdoses that happens Yeah, but then you could use Narcon you can this yeah

But sometimes they don't you know, there's like you've read that where it's like sometimes they just go like fuck it They I've saved this guy too many times You know, I mean like it's just cops being like fuck. I'm so sick of saving drug addicts all day Right, like people that don't even seem to want to live So what I worry that's happening culturally and it literally pick an issue, Israel, COVID, George Floyd, whatever, is there's these contradictory, not even contradictory piece of information. It's not a simple narrative.

Right. So I think a lot of times people just declare a mistrial in their head they go Fuck it. I don't this is Somebody's lying. I'm getting the fuck out of here. There is no there's no justice There's just everything's everything's too gray. Whereas 30 40 years ago would have been They just killed a guy. I know there's no video. Well, there's. Well there's like black and white like Kent State. Yes. That's a black and white one.

The National Guard comes in, shoots protesters, everybody's outraged, it's horrible. Yeah. But now Kent State happens today, maybe they actually wanted, there's a second video, it becomes, it's almost like the Kennedy assassination. Everything's kind of the Kennedy assassination and where it is a lot of, and then people go,

fuck it, I don't know what happened. And I think that's where not even, sometimes maybe it's nefarious actors and other times it's just people who want to be contrary or whatever, there's so much information and there's a limited bandwidth for people's attention span and time in a day that they just go, I don't know what the fucking happened there.

That's a big one. And that's the thing with boomers, like, you know, RFK's talked about this a lot, that boomers only pay attention to legacy media. That they really, they're not reading independent journals reports. Don't you think it's less so, though? Like, meaning like it's a lot of Facebook links

to sort of Shifty websites some people now. Yeah, I think there's some some of that now But I think there's still a lot of people that just put their faith in mainstream It's especially people that aren't online on a regular basis or they're only friends with people that are their age And so they have this sort of like mentality the way they consume news and information It's kind of always been the same one. Yeah like COVID again. I'm sorry to bring this up for the listeners and myself but so There was the tachycardia thing and they put the heart rate thing

That was like people it was elevating people's heart like that was one of of the main side effects, right? And they acted like it wasn't much. And then fairly recently there was like, actually there was more than we thought. I wonder, but then I've also heard from people that are skeptical, it was like, it's a pretty good vaccine in terms of like lowering numbers of infections. And, but I think most people got the first wave of like, you have to take this, this is a perfect vaccine.

And then they heard this thing of like, it's not perfect. And then they got tired. Well, it's been a lie tooth from the very beginning. First thing, they didn't even test it to see if it stops transmission, but yet they said it did. They didn't even test it to see if it stops transmission, but yet they said it did They didn't even test it to see if it stops you from being infected But yet they said it does all it does is impart Some form of immunity that's specific to the wild virus the first version

Yeah, yeah, and and the way they studied it and the way they tested it is so fucking corrupt That just the fact that they said that it's a hundred percent effective against stopping death Do you know how they they came up with that number? Two people in the control group got COVID and died one person in the vaccine group got COVID and died Right, so that makes it Yeah, when RFK told me that I'm like, there's no way that's it Yeah, then we read the actual studies and like oh my god that actually is it. Yeah, and they're allowed to say that Yeah, technically it's technically true. Yeah, technically you can get away with a lot

but it's also like the VAERS system, I mean the the reporting of adverse effects is very underutilized and so we all know people that have had bad side effects from the vaccine and The the question is how many of them kept Their mouths shut how many of them are quiet how many of them are suffering? How many of them the doctors are unwilling to connect it to the vaccine? There's there's a lot. There's a lot I know I personally know more well again. It's all fucking empirical. So who gives a shit?

It's like I well I happen to know who gives a shit from one to get one person But yeah, but I wonder what the way forward is with any of this stuff. Because that thing of people just going, fuck it, I declare a mistrial. That's probably not great for society. Did you find anything about George Floyd's toxicology? Yeah, I'm looking.

I mean, I'll just show you what I'm finding. I believe this is the autopsy report. It shows that was 11 I get nanograms per milliliter right right no idea if that's high or not So then what's lethal tried to tie 10 to 20? This is what Google says is lethal for human lethal dose is to Recommend serum concentration is 1 to 20 nanograms per milliliter for anesthesia and 10 to 20 milligrams per liter. So blood concentration, what's that? Do you mean the anesthesia range? Um.

So what you had in a system? So what is, what's lethal? That's right here, lethal dose. Is two milligrams. So he had nanograms. So he had 11 nanograms, which is significantly lower than two milligrams. Is that what they're saying? That's what that says Your fentanyl it was 5.6 Nanograms per milliliter, so did it say that he had a leak cocaine caffeine?

He had caffeine. I was losing oh not even cocaine cotinine I was looking through it to find out what it says is like the conclusion. 11-hydroxy-delta-9, so he had bullshit THC in him. He had that fake THC. Right, I know, but that's one of, you know, 15 years ago, that would have been the lead story. Yeah. Negative for ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, and acetone.

Methamphetamine, 19 nanograms per milliliter. So he had a lot of shit in his system. Yeah, but, and so that's like, but he doesn't deserve to die. No. It may or may not have contributed to his death. It's like shit that you can't prove, but once that's in the air, it creates this sense of like, we'll never know what happened.

And you're like, no, like the- The video, you know, you see him saying I can't breathe Yeah, see the whole thing yeah Yeah, and it's and what I just worry about this sort of haze of all this shit now of everything Does any study say that he had a lethal amount of fentanyl in the system? Why do people keep repeating that always seeing that was a bunch of people saying that. I know, and you're not repeating it malevolently. You just heard it repeatedly. You know what I mean?

You're not trying to make the guy look bad or whatever. But a lot of people are. I agree, they made that documentary. What documentary? There was a whole documentary about it, and then that got debunked, about George Floyd. And what does the documentary say? All the Fentanyl and all that stuff. That it would have killed him. Then then that got debunked about George Floyd and was a documentary saying That all the fentanyl and the all that stuff. Yeah

No evidence drug overdose was the main cause of death for George Floyd, so this is from what year 2022 So social media users make a claim that George Floyd killed, actually died from drug overdose. These claims are misleading. Official medical and court records rule the police restraint, not drug use, is the main cause of death. And evidence support claim that George Floyd lethal die, low levels of drugs in his system. One Twitter user sharing the claim George Floyd died of fentanyl overdose. Derek Chauvin should be freed.

Okay, but this is when they're like one Twitter user, one Facebook user. No, this is one person said and another person. But if they're saying like it didn't, whatever, or can we trust the AP. Yeah, that's the thing. However, no publicly available evidence supports the claim that Floyd died from overdosing on drugs,

specifically fentanyl or methamphetamine, rather than the actions of the cops What's that? I just seem those are like Russian trolls just right, but Joe That's my point is like right what like this is the world now, right? You're not you're not you you are not predisposed to We but there is a thing of being predisposed to skepticism, right? Right and it and it seems cooler Than being some square ass Right. I take I'm a sheeple and I don't and what I'm saying is like there's there's a

Value in both, you know what I mean? And like I don't know how to I don't know how to litigate it I don't know how to prescribe it to people But but and I also know that people have a limited amount of time. That's a giant factor. Yeah, they got better shit to do. This is not their number one priority. And so I don't know what to, I truly don't know what, that's the kind of thing that would cause me anxiety.

I mean, if you're looking for a new thing to be honest. But honestly, like, and the thing with you you is like because I've known you so long It's like you're a decent honest person I know I will say I will testify in court that any chance I've seen you have to be decent and honest you've taken it and there's still stuff that you think might be true Because it's fucking floating around Yeah, then you're an intelligent you like but this one I have information this one. I've just heard. Okay. That's why I brought it up Yeah, I wanted to know what the actual I've not read about it

Honestly, and I remember reading a headline saying that he had a lethal dose right that's all in the system and that people are arguing It yeah, and and but it still doesn't take away from the fact that the policing Was immoral fucking awful yeah, and that's that's the thing that people have to deal with every day from the cops and also Being a fucking cop is a horrible. I know everything Fucking and it's the worst job on earth. It's one of the worst jobs. I can't it's a nightmare You're the professional enemy, and everyone you pull over is probably lying to you. Yes, and they all train with like,

that everyone wants to shoot them. They kinda have to train that way. Like they have to like, just get home to your wife and kids. Then they show videos of like, them getting ambushed and shit like, which isn't false. they show videos of them getting ambushed and shit, which isn't false. It's like they do get ambushed. It's not very often, they can't worry about that.

It's like we have to worry about hecklers pretty much every show. You know what I mean? So they're all, it's all these very, very complicated things. Very complicated. And I don't know I think that there and and every every point of view has validity you know a lot of them do yes for sure and then and then you have the foreign actors and you have the disinformation campaigns that are state run that we run that's for sure too yeah

and we do it to other countries But don't you fucking do it we do way worse We actually go in and overthrow their governments install puppet dictators. That's what we do. We've been doing that forever We run bullshit democracies. We've caused, you know, Liberty become a failed state We've done a lot of wild shit. Yeah, we still continue to do it right now with those 700 plus bases worldwide Yeah, we're involved in all kinds of shady things and then there's also the obligation like if you're in the CIA or if you're but Shady shit that benefits you and me Joe Shady shit that undermines legitimate dictators

Like how do you what do you do just let these people develop nuclear arms and take over countries and no you gotta you gotta do things to stop Despots, I know and that's the thing of now in the age of transparency and gotcha. You're a hit you're you are you're your your government is Hugely hypocritical. It's like yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's a fucking government What do you think we could that we have to be it's one set of rules for us and another for everybody else. Sorry, that's why you're all trying to sneak in here. What gives you anxiety? Well, this is because I come and give updates

on my mental health. How are you doing now? I'm doing great. This is what I wanted to talk to you about. So all the ayahuasca set a really nice, got me off antidepressants, got me believing in God in a central creation force that's not a gender, whatever. It's just a thing.

It's just a magnet, basically. Say it's a woman. Yeah, please. Wrong podcast. God's chance. Yeah, good. Wrong podcast. God's Trans. Yeah, good.

And then the DMT broke me and put me back together. And after the DMT, the 5MeO that I smoked, it was a year and a half of, I thought it was eight months of chaos. And then I did an ayahuasca ceremony a year and a half after I'd smoked the DMT. It was the first time back. And I felt the DMT door close and I was like it was open that whole fucking time What do you mean by that? Okay, so DMT opened up my brain? too much little too much open borders I I was I

Was I was experiencing too much of the universe. I believe like most of being a human being is just like this, you have, we understand that we're a rock in space, but it's just like my fucking house and my apartment and my car and my fucking, the things that I understand. My family, the DMT made it so I could experience and my apartment and my car and my fucking the things that I understand my family that the DMT made it so I could experience like time a lot more I talked about it last time where I had a hard time watching the screensaver on Apple TV

the mountain ranges and shit I Was I got a sense, I understood how old they were. In a way you're kind of not supposed to. What do you mean? When someone goes, hey can you believe the Rocky Mountains are 700,000 years old? And you go, yeah that's crazy, but nothing happens. I kind of understood how long a time that was I was like way out I was way out and then I slowly kind of came back it took about it took a year and a half and what was the was the negative aspects of being

way out it was it was I told somebody I was aiming for God and I missed my stop And I woke up on a like a Moving train with no conductor and going a million miles an hour So it was because you were taking in too much information that you hadn't considered before so it became unmanageable the DMT Well, I had the Michael Pollan experience where the DMT took me back to took me to when I inhaled it I went to before the Big Bang and Michael said it on here because I looked it up I was like where have I heard and I was like that's where I was and so I so I slowly the the was, so the DMT was pretty much a DMT 25 minute, 35 minute

experience of like, I was before the Big Bang and my personality sort of kind of came back and I was kind of going like, I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm not going to be like petty. I'm not going to be, I'm going to be like a virtuous person. I'm just going to be like, I'm going to remember this God connection and all that stuff. And then a week later, I had a reactivation. A week later? Yeah. You know that thing of like,

there's a thing which, people have DMT reactivations. Where you- Like a flashback. Yeah, basically what the joke of like an acid flashback. I had that for, and it's common with smoking DMT Yeah, and I had one so now I'm it's a Sunday in New York I'm on a coffee date with a woman In this side of my frame this side is fucking pure whiteness infinite time

It was harrowing so you saw it it wasn't like a pure split screen but it was like energetically kind of a split screen was it something that you thought and you felt in your mind or was it something you were experiencing visually it was it was yeah I shouldn't say that it was I couldn't see it see it but it felt felt it Yeah, I felt and so I would say that I was between Reality current reality and then this infinity Sort of energetically and was it giving you anxiety? Yeah. Oh, I was so disoriented I had the thought like am I in God's imagination?

I was so disoriented. I had the thought like am I in God's imagination? Shit, that's not great to think when you're just in in on a Sunday walking around in New York Yeah, especially if you're on a date. I mean come on and Yeah, you just try to try to make something happen. Yeah, and like pay attention my friend of mine said she goes You just seem really preoccupied Like yeah, I had a lot on my plate did you watch that Hemingway documentary on PBS no, it's Well, I recommend it highly Ken Ken Burns Hemingway Black and white pushes and I'm not even a Hemingway fan. There were some passages that are like fan if there were some passages that are like

Okay, this is amazing, but there's a part they showed maybe the Spanish Civil War. He went there. I think it's Spanish Civil War and there's a Passage from one of his books where he got shot. I believe and he said he explained it as like my spirit came out of my body like a ribbon and then came back in. And I was watching with my friend, I go, hey, can we stop real quick? Cause I was like in that world. Like that day, this was the reactivation day. And I was like, yeah, I need to not watch this.

Cause I'm in that thing where my spirit can come back. It was like touch and go. I think I made this last time. I would have killed myself, but I knew I'd be going into more of it. Wow. So it was like real difficult. Like real like on the edge of my ability.

Sanity. Yeah. I would say, I don't wanna say, I don't know what pre-psychotic would be. Like pre-diabetic. I feel like I was like that pretty close now over time I got better every day and You know, I got returned to norm, but I was more able to fall in love

More generous. I would I'm funnier on stage. I get 15% more and bigger laughs, like, cause I'm spiritual and people notice it, like, hey, what's different about you? On stage is better, this Netflix thing is like my best one cause it's just like, I'm lighter, I'm just lighter. So that was hard to deal with, but after the year and a half passed, I'm a better, it's easier to be me,

it's easier to deal with me, everything's improved. So then in the last year or so, every few months, I do MDMA and like in a sort of not necessarily therapeutic environment, but like in a with a spiritual bent What's happened from the ayahuasca and the DMT is When I've done mushrooms, it's ayahuasca It's a God connection or what I perceive as a God connection when I do MDMA now it's a God connection and

I've been able to, I believe I've been able to change my, I don't want to say spirit, but I think, synapses, whatever, however you want to like, you know, categorize it. Your operating system. Yeah, basically you're, it's like you get, you are, you are getting a new, you're it's like you get you are you are getting a new you get an update an OS update and You know the thing with updates on computers is the computer goes to sleep Sometimes you're awake For these updates you're like I've literally done the joke on ayahuasca like is there any other system you have? Because this is little a little touch and go for me

I appreciate it and I always get so much from it in the long term, but in the short term, I did ayahuasca, I don't know, in November, and there was a point where I went up to the shaman, I go, hey, this is, I'm like a little close to God right now. Could you just give me like a nudge? Because it's very hard to comprehend, honestly. It's as someone who's sort of experimented in this world,

like it's, you know, there are moments that are hard to comprehend. And it's a hard thing to communicate. It's interesting because I think overall you would say the benefit is worth it, but it's a slippery road. Yeah, well it's hard, it's very hard to do, and that's the thing, and we talked about this last time, about sort of the mainstreaming of all this stuff.

It's Pandora's box, man, because there's a lot of people, I'm whatever I am, a intelligent person, an accomplished person, and I felt like I was pretty psychotic for a couple of days days and I would have killed myself if not Like that's a pretty that would have been a significant. So you genuinely thought about killing well I didn't have a plan or anything. But like I was like this is this is on bit No, it was like this is unbearable What I'm in right now

We're like I'm honor. Am I in God's am I who am what a what is this? What is any of this? Yeah, what is what is steps? Walking down steps going why is any of this? Why am I a person in a whatever? Got through it better And then the MDMA I've been able to sort of I don't know if you want to do software updates or whatever But it's just made me more I had one that was sort of, I don't know if you want to do software updates or whatever, but it's just made me more. I had one that was really great, which was I did MDMA and, uh, and I was able to, you know, I'm kind of a grudge holder, Irish Catholic, et cetera, one of 10, you get it.

And I was able to just forgive all of my grudges. Easily, easily, like just easily. That's very valuable. Yeah, and so the next day, I was like, why was I so able to do that yesterday, but I was holding those grudges tight the day before? And it's because my brain, on the MDMA, I had oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin flowing through me, right?

Love hormones, love, kindness chemicals, generosity chemicals. I was able to do it. Most of the time I realized I just have cortisol and adrenaline. And cortisol and adrenaline are organized, and they're judicious. That's the currency is like justice, retribution, wrong, right, organize, organize, the punishment kind of like rigid, right? So I started thinking like, I've been,

what I consider a personality is just cortisol and adrenaline, or what I consider a personality. So I just realized like, I've had a, I have a kitchen in my head that makes cortisol sandwiches. And I'm just like, this is what I like to eat. No, I don't. That's just what it's giving out so I I made a conscious effort to like ignore my

First in like I now write like don't believe your chemicals Just don't believe them like like think beyond them and focus on The sort of the softer chemicals, the more positive ones. And I've also been doing a thing that's been wildly helpful, which is I was doing a gratitude checklist. Just every day I would write things I'm grateful for. And also not only things I'm grateful for,

the facts of my life. The facts of my life, the facts of my life are really good. I have three Netflix specials now. How many people have that? I have X amount of money, I done great stuff, I have love in my life, I have a girl, I have friends, I'm respected, et cetera, et cetera. So I write it down to remember

that I have all these great things. I am living my dream. I'm living a lot of people's dream. I'm also especially living my dream. But my brain was just writing like sci-fi. And of like this person fucking, out to getcha, and they didn't, just constant nonsense that was just purely based

on chemicals. So what I found is, the more I do, so then Rainn Wilson, the actor, suggested we were talking about Islam praying five times a day, and I was like, that's kind of the right amount, if we're honest. Right, if you want to really keep the software in tune. Yeah, if you want to just remember like,

hey, I'm a vessel for a spirit and da-da-da-da. So he goes, why don't you write in your gratitude checklist five times a day? I was like, fine. So I've been doing it, I rarely get to five, it's at least two or three. And every day, every couple hours, just remembering like what the facts of my life are.

Don't you think it's also, we have all, human beings develop patterns of thinking and these patterns get like deeply cut, these grooves, they're easy to fall into and this not trusting your chemicals is essentially like not allowing yourself to go down these patterns of thinking. Yeah, there's a saying that I read, it was a book called The Shallows about what social media does to us, but it was, you are what you do repeatedly. You are what you think repeatedly. And we have, we all, at least I do,

or did for a long time, wake up and like start the record and just the monologue that's happening in your head, and it's gotten me out of it. There are days where I wake up and it doesn't start, and I'm confused, you know? Because I don't go instantly negative. And it's made me see my life differently. I went out of my way to view my life

through the way truer lens I believe do you know I mean like it's true I am objectively all the all the attributes that I list and I'm so fucking lucky You're so fucking lucky To get this experience You're so, think about this. The thing I would say to people is like,

spin the wheel. Eight billion other outcomes of human beings alive right now. What are the odds you beat this one? This just like the Joe Rogan, like literally the Joe Rogan experience. What are the odds you beat it? There's no fucking way think about think about your life It's impossible And I'm not even talking about like the popularity all that stuff like that's part of it, but think about like having an idea

Doing it in your in your whatever the basement or garage wherever we used to do the podcast. And then it just becomes this? What? Think about it. And I used to think that life, I would always tell myself like life's not fair. And then I finally one day had the thought, yeah, life's not fair, Neil. No one's life should be as good as yours.

Like I'm so lucky. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. I'm like lucky. It's Unbelievable it's unbelievable. I'm like getting choked up talking about it. It's impossible And and I would argue that most people that hear it hear this are in the same position Yeah, there's this inclination to focus on negatives this inclination. I think it's evolutionary. Yeah, I think it is I think we're we're trained to scan for threats yep I agree and and and I write in my journal like my checklist because I want to masculinize it no no every threat to gift wait a minute is a checklist more masculine yeah then a journal yeah I think it I believe it is really checklist because you have to make sure everything's everything's good and your people the women and children are safe

But a diary is feminine I'm gonna punch you in the face. Yeah, like and and we're and I and I write almost every day No threats only gifts Everything I thought was a threat is just a gift over a longer timeline And you've managed to do this without falling into a cult Yeah, I don't think that one that not one that I know of I'm not paying dues anywhere. I haven't it's just literally keeping it's a It's like an emotional discipline in a weird way It's like it's the same way like working out every day. Well me being your friend and knowing you

for so many years, I mean, I guess I didn't know you well when I first met you. We only knew each other because we worked in the same place at Boston Comedy. You were a door guy and I was just a young comedian and we just became friends. I didn't know you well, but you were always nice to me. We were always cool.

But you were always, you had like this tension. And I always felt like I had to know you well, but you were always nice to me. We're always cool Say but you were always you had like this tension Yeah, and I always felt like I had to hug you Like even when I saw you when you were doing chapelle This is amazing. Look at you. Are you happy? No, really really I was just looking at it all wrong, right? but you were doing well and I always felt like you it was and Sometimes when you have this me against the world thing Well, it really becomes you against the world because other people feel that too and then they don't want to connect with you

They go. Well, I'm in the world They don't trust their emotions to just be relaxed around. Yeah, right so there's a tension and a conflict there and it's like You're you're definitely different now you and you were different the last time I talked to you and you feel maybe even more different now Yeah, it's but that's right on schedule for what what what I did what happened what? Unfolded if you want to get super super, but it's like even that thing of like, you know when I met you in 1991 92 pause Right and then flash forward to this. Yeah, I Don't know man. This shit worked out real good

It worked out great it did but it's hard to see that when you're in the most especially when you're caught up in your own thoughts Well, yeah, and you're caught up in like I'm late or this I this is coffee's too hot or like this grievance Litany of like you're supposed you that you think you're supposed to do it, right? All right, or it's like even in the age of social media and constant like you're gloating By saying your life's great, right? Right. There's that too for this people a lot of people don't know. Yeah, right Well a lot of people do but what have you done? Yeah. Well, a lot of people do. But what have you done? What have you done to try to mitigate that shitty life?

Are you doing a checklist? Have you actively moved towards a more positive way, and how do you treat people around you? But with you, it's like I would check in on you every now and then. We would talk about different things that you were doing. I remember one of the first ones you were doing was the ketamine stuff. And I was like, that is wild. But I always felt so bad for you I just like God this guy's is just struggling with depression and anxiety, and I don't understand it. You know it's it

The chemical stuff ketamine didn't help the first time it I did it two months ago, and it was pretty great But Yeah, I mean I that's the thing is it's hard to know what's gonna do what and that's with any of these exercises help you I do I have a trainer etc but like I don't I can't I I don't I have too many inputs I don't know what's doing what do you know what I mean like I don't know what's like oh that's definitely the other thing of like the the validation of a successful Comedy launch

Yeah, well that you know really helps. Yeah, I've had a lot of friends that were depressed and their career started doing better and this Stop being depressed. I Know yeah, it's embarrassing. Yeah, but but... It's not really... I know, it makes sense. The anxiety of entertainment is, first of all, there's no clear pattern. Go to school, get a degree, get your PhD, do this, do that. There's not a clear path, and you never know if it's going to work out. How many guys have we known, especially us who knew people back in the day that were talented, that we thought were going to make it and did not.

And more talented than us. And we're better at the time than we are. And you go, God, how did they not make it? Because it's not guaranteed. Yeah, and that's the thing, even when you say, are you moving toward, are you doing anything to improve your lot in life? It's like, a lot of people try.

And it doesn't work. It doesn't work, yeah. And then you go, you know, why did it work for you? Why did it work for me? I can take some credit for effort. I can't really take credit for talent. Shit, what just came out? I don't know, I fucking been funny since I was fucking five.

Do you know what I mean? Like I've just kind of been myself. So I guess I cultivated and I didn't, and I was brave, I made brave choices. It's incredibly fortunate in a time where some comedians have deals with Spotify worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Like in a time where you can make a ton of money

as a comedian. Or you know, it's like like I was thinking this about athletes I'm sure you have to like a hundred years ago. None of the guys none of the you know, hundred millionaire athletes are fucking They're all just like good farmers. Yeah One of the best farmers in the area Yeah, a great yeah, you weren't getting an endorsement deal. It's just like, yeah. So we're really lucky.

We're just lucky in so many ways. But I think that whenever I tell people that, I was like, yeah, but you're good too. I'm like, so what? Yes, but I can't take credit for that. Yeah, and it's also like everyone's formula for success is different. No one can take your formula and just plug it into their life.

It's like, but you have different circumstances, you have different hormones, you have different everything, different life experiences, different goals and needs and aspirations, different interests, you know, different mentality. It's like it doesn't work that way. It's like everyone has to find whatever the formula is. But there's certain things that seem to be, they seem to exist and gratitude is a big one. That's such a hippie, unfortunately a co-opted word. Yeah, you talked about Chris Williamson, I think, right? You guys talked about it. It

really is like, Oprah-fied, hallmark-fied. Yeah, yeah. But- But real. really is like, oprified, hallmarkified. Yeah, yeah. But. But real. Yeah, man. I think it's just a better way to look at it. It's just a better way to look at it.

But we're sort of trained to make it like, no, you did it because you grinded and rose when no one else was there, all your enemies were asleep and you were doing whatever. Yeah. Yes. That's true too.

It also, yes, it is true, but like I said, a lot of people do that, doesn't work. Yeah. They freeze up when the mic comes, whatever. Right, whatever it is. Whatever it is, there are, you and I both worked hard and are fucking fortunate. I mean, I had the thought, I'm so fortunate,

there's nothing I can do to compensate for this, this level of fortune, meaning like there's no level of volunteer work, I could volunteer the rest of my life. But you know what you do do? You live a life by example, and then this conversation is so insanely valuable because there's going to be millions of people that hear you talk and say these things and those people many of them are going to get in their mind that there's a pathway out of this. Maybe I can't take Neil Brennan's pathway but there's a pathway out of this and here's

a guy that was like deep dark like I remember running into you in the hallway one time at the comedy store and you just had this look on your face like the fucking the weight of the world was on your shoulders and When I would say hi to you whenever I'd say hi to you I would always almost feel like I got to give this guy a hug I really felt that yeah, like I want to give you a hug. Yeah, I'm a happy person Let me give you a hug to see if some of the shit wears off. Yeah. Yeah, but yeah, but you weren't you know You weren't you now. Yeah, you're a different guy now and just by people knowing that

Even though it doesn't feel like it while it's happening every time someone's in the middle of some shit Whatever it is a breakup you get fired Whatever it is when you're in the middle of some shit man It doesn't feel like it's ever gonna change it feels like this is life from now on and it's unbearable And I'm fucked and when people hear a guy like you Who's not only made it out of there, but made like real? Measurable success like it's it's quantifiable you can see it. It's undeniable They go well. Maybe I can do it too. Yeah, I hope so they can it and it it

It's not easy it's Scary but what the fuck is easy. Yeah, you tell me something that's worth doing. It's easy Yeah, what the fuck is easy. I don't I don't even like that word I hate that word. It's it's just a dumb word easy Easy's not in the menu. It's not but valuable well That's why I think that yeah exactly, but that's the thing that happens is like because it's not I Was gonna say like the easy pass like literally on the freeway. Like, that's easy, but even that,

you gotta fuckin' slow down. Right, even that, you might hit a fucking tire iron, someone left on the road. Yeah, like, it's not, but it's, it is, like you said, it's worthwhile. If it's difficult, everything's difficult. And that's the thing that we can fall into this thing of like it's you had to drive You had to take a fucking shower and shave and find a shirt and just it's not

Effortless but that's part of life and you can't get hung up on the Sort of the upkeep part of it. Well, my strategy for that is to self-administer things that are far more difficult than anything that I might experience in my day. And that's what I do with workouts. Like workouts for me, it's not just a physical thing, it's a mental thing as much as, if not more,

than it's a physical thing. Because I don't want to do it. I still don't want to do it. Like sometimes I want to do it, but most times I don't. But want to do it But most times I don't but I still do it and is it do you have consciously think like I don't want to do this Chore for my wife or whatever and I go but you just you just sat in a fucking Freezing cold water for 20 minutes. You can do a buddy. I know just embodied I've done so many difficult things that I'm just comfortable doing difficult things and I know those whispers don't do it Take the day off take a nap do this do that

I know how to avoid those but I know how to avoid those just because that that's the path that I've carved in my head So my pattern of behavior is always gravitate towards difficult things and just do it You don't want to do it and ignore those thoughts. And if I can make them so difficult that regular life is easy. Like if you can fucking do a cold plunge, do 10 rounds in the bag and then do 20 minutes and 195 degrees in a sauna, like the rest of the day is going to be easy. It's going to be. Those rounds seven, eight, nine and ten are so fucking hard

You're drenched with sweat you look over the timer five more seconds to rest before the bell goes off If you just get through that man regular life is easier because it's not that hard you couldn't sustain it if regular life For me was like round seven or round eight forever, I wouldn't want to do that. I think for a lot of people, you know, they got to take the bus to work. That is round seven. Like there are just people that have a higher level of difficulty existence. Sure. And I've had those higher levels of difficulty in my life and that's one thing I'm very fortunate for being growing up poor I think it's very valuable and it's something I can't give my kids and I think about that I really do because they don't understand the the fear of not having food

They don't understand like your parents are on welfare, and you know that you're eating from food stamps It's like that fear that that drive like there's no one coming to save you. You better go get things done. And you have to do it for yourself. And if you don't do it, it's not gonna get done. I still believe that there's a camp that you could start, poverty camp, for rich kids?

You'd be faking it though. They always know that you're gonna be there to rescue them. That's part of the problem. And one of the things that I think can mitigate that is like them choosing difficult paths difficult things to do But it'll definitely not be as difficult as a poor person Yeah, and that's and that's and like you got out of it. Yeah, and now you're doing you're doing pretty good. So it's like I

Just think it's important that It's like, I just think it's important that, it's important for me to remember, I can't prescribe like, gratitude'll do it, I don't know, but that's a thing that really helped me. And plus ketamine, trans-cranial magnetic stimulation, Zoloft, DMT, ayahuasca, mushrooms, MDMA. You've tried a lot of things. I've tried a lot of stuff,

and I'm even fortunate to have added access to a lot of things. I've tried a lot of stuff and and I'm and I'm and I'm even fortunate to have added access to a lot of stuff 100% but yeah, but the and acknowledging that but this thing of Hard work doesn't isn't always Adequate, you know, it's like it's not enough. Yeah, it's something. It's yeah, it's all you can control Yeah, that's what I write. It's like I I can't, I may, I can't be, I'll never be grateful enough to, for this, but I can work hard and I can be focused

on the stuff that is, what's important to me. And hopefully it ends up being valuable to people. But like, I can't, I just, I don't, I'm, people would always go like like you're doing so well and didn't I'd be like you don't like you right I'd be like you don't fucking understand stupid this stupid sketch show that's never going anywhere and then and then all these things you look back and you're like I should have been so happy yeah yeah yeah and and and or I could have been so happy, you know, I mean it's an opportunity I think you talk about this is very valuable. Yeah, I really do. I'm glad I'm glad you're happy

And it's also the thing of like I was going in though. I know you're doing a nice wrap-up and you'll have to restart it the thing of like some days I I'd be like I like we all feel stuck in our existence, you know and instead of I've I mean again, it's so corny, but sometimes they're writing my journal I get to be Neil Brennan Mmm, not I have to be right. I get to be Neil Brennan, right? Yeah, and that's you get to be a father you get to be a whatever all the things that are like great Yeah, you're it's not It's not it's not a threat. It's a gift

Elon posted something today about Or as yesterday that anxiety is essentially conspiracy theories that you make against yourself That's I literally had that same I don't I don't like I thought about it with you and Dave, where it's like, I only have conspiracy theories about why people don't like me. Well, I like you. Thank you, buddy. I like you too.

Thank you. All right. Let's wrap this up. Thank you for being here. Appreciate you. And I really do think what you're saying is very valuable to people. And I haven't seen your special yet, but I'm sure it's awesome. You're hilarious crazy

No, no Brennan when you flying out number. It's number. It was number. What are you flying back tonight tonight? I met yeah, I was gonna come to the club Yeah, thank you brother. Thanks. Bye everybody Bye!