I know of someone who says they listen to Joe Rogan podcasts (political I assume) but I don’t know what this means or what the connotations are. Both this person and I live in east asia.

  • Mothra
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    1 year ago

    I’ll try to give an unbiased answer. Joe Rogan podcasts aren’t just political, but they do discuss political topics frequently in conversation. The connotation for a regular listener is that they are very likely to be misinformed, plain and simple as that. As many have already said, it’s likely that they are libertarian at best or into conspiracy theories and alt-right at worst. I’ll explain why:

    He brings in a lot of different guests to his podcasts. These guests could be celebrities, athletes, book authors, researchers, actors, etc. Sometimes he would have politicians, from left and right. He would also bring in people who spread conspiracy theories, aka “qanon” types.

    He never confronts any of his guests. Some people hate him for it, others listen to him precisely because of that.

    Rogan gives a platform equally to all of his guests and presents and treats them all as if on the same level of legitimacy. This means, today he interviews a scientist who is an eminence in their field, with 30 years experience in research… and next week he brings in some influencer on the same topic, who doesn’t understand the science behind what they say. Both guests sound equally knowledgeable to the average listener.

    The problem with this is that this spreads misinformation, and if you as a listener are not already well informed on the topic then you are likely to fall for it. Most people don’t question everything they hear, let alone understand in depth anything discussed superficially over a podcast. This is evident with science, but it gets really hairy when you add politics and personal values/morals to the mix.

    I hope this helps you understand better.

    • Silverseren@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      "He never confronts any of his guests. "

      This is false as of the past year or two (post-Covid). Now whenever he has a scientist on, he’ll argue and disagree with them, especially if the topic is Covid, vaccines, or climate change. He really likes the gish-gallop argument method where he spews a bunch of long since discredited claims on the topic.

      • Veraticus@lib.lgbt
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        1 year ago

        Yeah he does confront his guests (though not any of the alt-right or qanon ones). It’s pretty clear he has an agenda, despite everyone claiming he’s just some kind of enlightened centrist.

      • Mothra
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        1 year ago

        I’ll take your word for it, I haven’t listened to any of his for several years now.

        • TheDankHold@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          I mean before COVID there was also that time he furiously berated a primatologist for telling him he was mistaken for thinking Bondo Apes were a unique species.

          He’s always been an angry meathead when facts make him feel stupid. He’s just doing it in more mainstream ways now so he gets more exposure.