John Carmack appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast

And they seem to have spent over 2 ½ hours talking.

Any thoughts on this? I know people have opinions on Rogan's podcast in general, but am more interested in your thoughts regarding this episode.

Never heard of Joe Rogan.

Interesting, I’ll check it out. I enjoyed Joe’s talk with Bernie.

I expect 2 hours of just Carmack talking.

I skipped around and heard "that's the power of VR" so i stopped.

@flstyle: Oh how I envy you.

Carmack obviously has an incredibly interested resume and history but I just can't with Rogan. I am curious to see other reactions though.

I don't watch or listen to Joe Rogan. I deduce that he is sit within the uncomfortable space of being a very moderate conservative who is never-the-less consumed by a desire to thumb his nose at any liberals. In other words he is offended by neo-conservatives actions, but takes out that anger on anything liberal within reach.

I'd rather listen to is Henry Rollins who has the courage of his own convictions and has striven to grow throughout his life.

It's a very interesting episode with alot of tidbits about carmacs many interests.

For people who do not like Rogan: Joe barely says anything the whole episode, besides turn the conversation on to a new topic every few minutes

I'm curious, but I just can't handle Joe Rogan.

Does Carmack go for a blunt or commit to a skull shaped bong?

Definitely will check this out.

I know many hate Rogan but to me he's a good interviewer many times with the right person there. He's just also pretty reactionary and naive so he has a lot of shitty guests and can go off in some directions for sure. I've heard a lot of his podcasts that are quite good though.

Bless Carmack for being patient and a good sport with this guy whenever he detours into something silly or lame.

Were they selling that shirt at E3???

I'm also not a fan of Joe Rogan, but I am kind of interested in what Carmack has to say about VR.

@flstyle: Fear Factor, bro!

Honestly impressive. I'm jealous.

Joe Rogan really does get some good guests. I listen on occasion and the podcast can be quite entertaining.

@flstyle: I believe he started as a comedian. He used to be on a sitcom with Phil Hartman. He spent some time making people eat deer penis. He got into UFC. Now he has a podcast that is apparently super popular.

Let’s just make that Joe Rogan’s Wikipedia entry and call it a day.

I dont really know much about Joe Rogan beyond Fear Factor & UFC but he doesnt really say much. If anything Carmack says more controversial stuff than he does. Anyway, I enjoyed listening to Carmack go on and on, his enthusiasm about his work, even if i'm not that interested in VR is pretty damn infectious and he's just an interesting guy who doesnt talk down to people which is a nice change from a lot of people who claim to be experts in their field. I might finally watch that Elon Musk interview now, is it actually interesting beyond 'weird billionare uses a bong, cause why not'?

@boozak: if you go on youtube and look up the podcast you will find it broken down into smaller chunks on specific topics. It might be easier to find a conversation you are interested in.

@nutter: I don't know who Phil Hartman is but OK!

I don't think we have that show in the UK.

His fame must be limited to the USA.

@flstyle: Also is the color commentator on any UFC PPV.

@flstyle: He was on Fear Factor quite a long time ago, I think it was on Sky One? It definitely aired in the UK.

I've definitly watched fear factor but i wouldn't recognize him from that at all nowadays. Especially because these gameshows are so focused on the contestants & the challenge.

From time to time the interview actually made me laugh, not because of the content but the manner of how easy it was for Rogan. In most interviews, even with an expert in their field, these long-form interviews require the interviewer to continually be ready with followups and clarifications to tease out more information and keep the train of thought moving in a single direction. Here, as soon as Rogan finishes asking a question, Carmack goes into his keynote mode and talks for 15 minutes.

His discussion about work hours and commitment reminded me of a blog post by Brian Hook (worked on Quake2 and Quake3) about work productivity that also shared some anecdotes about Carmack's work ethic. http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity-pitfalls.html

Hey, Newsradio was a good show.

This was a fascinating if slightly exhausting listen. Loved the stories about Carmack's Ferraris near the end. Never knew he was so into cars and judo.

I'm very hit and miss with his show, Joe often is best when his guests are talkative just lets them have the platform.

@flstyle: You don’t know who Phil Hartman is???

You’ve made an enemy here, today, my friend...

He was a kinda dry humor guy on Saturday Night Live, who was quietly one of the best things about a solid run of that show. He was also Troy McClure, the Monorail Guy, and others on The Simpsons.

That's a shame, I hate Joe Rogan.

You perceptions are not correct. He is very liberal other than on guns. He also is not “ consumed by a desire to thumb his nose at any liberals” just people that are acting ridiculous on both sides.

I don’t understand why people who say they don’t watch or listen to him have such intricate perceptions of him. Like, where do they come from If you don’t watch or listen to him? I’ve heard things like this many times.

My dislike of the man comes more from constantly signal boosting terrible people since he seems like he will have just about anyone on his show.

Thought the interview was so so. Listening to Carmack for a full 2 hours and 30 minutes gets a bit tiring.

As for Joe Rogan, I can't say I'm very fond of the guy. I don't think he has many political values actually. Dude has been actual friends with Alex Jones since the fucking late 90s. He seems more like a nihilist of sorts to me. I don't know if he gives a shit about anything other than smoking weed and working out.

Good to know.

Ahh OK, that would make sense why I'm not familiar with it. I used to watch Sky One all the time when Buffy and Angel and good Simpsons was on.

Ahh yes, of course, I very much enjoyed Troy McClure. I will take your word for it regarding this Saturday Night Live show, which I've at least heard of.

Should be interesting, I remember Rogan's interview with n0thing a few years back being real interesting. I don't get getting mad at Rogan over specific interviews, his skill (in my mind) is bringing the best (or maybe the most would be better) out of whoever he has on. It'd be crazy to watch every interview he does because the guests are so varied.

@monkeyking1969: Rogan's mostly a liberal (pro-drugs, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage etc). He does support gun ownership and has guests on from all shades of the political spectrum.

He's open to all opinions, and admits when he doesn't know stuff, like in this podcast where he admits he only really knows Quake. That's where the guest comes in, to share the specialist knowledge.

Also recommended podcasts are the ones with Matthew Walker (sleep scientist), Sean Carroll (theoretical physicist) and Louis Theroux (documentary maker).

Carmack, like Ken Levine, is one of those dudes who I love hearing talk. Wouldn't have minded if this went on for another 2 hours.

Twas a good interview, you could totally tell JC was having a ball geeking out about shit.

Joe Rogan platforming Bernie and letting him say his piece to a massive audience has probably done more for furthering a progressive political agenda than any of his detractors have. Never understood the shit Rogan gets from some people.

I have to say it was funny seeing a bunch of people question why Bernie would ever want to go on Rogan’s show. And it wasn't even boomers being confused about it.

Feel whatever you want about Rogan, but it would almost be political suicide for Bernie NOT to accept going on his show. Like that would literally be throwing away I don't know how many fucking potential votes. Do you see the numbers that fucking video is doing?

@cure_optimism: Probably because he signal-boosts a huge number of awful people, as well. He has a platform for anyone who is interesting in any given field, regardless of what that field is. He treats all opinions as perfectly equal which... they're not. Dumb people who hate gays and deny climate change shouldn't be given access to an audience this wide.

I would like Joe more if he pushed back hard against some of the more extremist views that some of his more extremist leaning people present on his show. Sometimes he does, but when he doesn't those views appear more legitimate because they aren't being challenged, just left in the open for some of his dumber audience to ponder over.

Again, I just don't think he is that kind of person with strong enough political values. He also might be too fucking high 90% of the time, but honestly, I believe his primary thought process is ”Oh I wonder what this crazy motherfucker is going to say, probably some wild shit.” I just think he enjoys that. He cares more about entertaining and interesting personalities.

@bonelessspirit: And i bet those episodes get a ton of views & have a ton of chatter around the internet afterwards, which only shows him that it was a great move to have these people on. Controversy is exciting.

Because he actually talks to people, big mistake I guess today. Listening to any of his stances makes it clear he is liberal. He's pro 2nd amendment, liberal on every other topic.

Anyway, it was a great interview, and yes, Carmack can and will talk for hours about anything.

Every time I’ve heard someone deny climate change on his show, he pushed back and the guest looked moronic. Not a single one explained their position well. He also made Ben Shapiro explain why he thinks that gays are sinners and Ben didn’t explain it well.

I guess we have a difference of opinion. When anti gay and climate change deniers go on the show, their arguments usually break down because of the nature of it being long form. So many ideas can hold up in a two minute TV appearance that don’t hold up on a podcast.

He has also had on conservatives who don’t like the idea of legalizing weed and psychedelics, and they always end up looking stupid, especially when they were just ranting about personal freedom regarding other things.

He also pushes back on people on the left who talk nonsense, like when he had on Adam Conover and Bari Weiss.

The only people I don’t see him push back on are the intellectual moderates, like Jonathan Haidt, the Weinstein brothers, Jordan Peterson, Steven Pinker, etc., because I think Joe can tell he is outclassed among these people.

@kmj2318: If he thinks he is outclassed by Jordan Peterson that is profoundly sad.

Joe I don't like you but think better of yourself than that.

@kmj2318: great and true rebuttal. Freedom of speech means everyone has an equal right to say what they think, and an equal right to be challenged on it. That's what Rogan's podcast does so well. Someone like Milo Y will come across as funny, charming and clever until he makes a crass nasty joke which makes him look like a bit of a dick. Alex Jones will say fascinating things until he goes overboard, making him look a little unhinged. Long-form reveals a lot of true essence about people.

Being worried about 'signal-boosting' and claiming their own beliefs being more important than others just come across as somewhat fascist.

@efesell: Jordan P himself praises Joe's intellect, saying it is he himself who sometimes feels outclassed, which challenges him in a positive way.

Rogan is easy to under-estimate because he doesn't look like a stereotypical intellectual. Plus the podcasts aren't intended to have winners and losers.

Still, his filler podcasts with his 'comedian' and fighter mates are mostly not worth anyone's time. The ones with political, scientific or specialist fields are however valuable in this soundbitey Twitter-age.

@heidegger: Eh, I have seen instances where he has had at least mild push back and some of those people are honestly flimsy enough to where any actual repudiation of their nonsense causes them to go into a tailspin.. and that's fun I guess. It makes for a funny clip on twitter.

But there are a class of people that should not be given the chance to have that platform in the first place. People who are not spreading ideas but people who while ridiculous and cartoonish at times hold actual real ability to cause harm.