Rogan promoted the conspiracy theory that Epps was an “agent provocateur” for the feds, a baseless claim that has led to a defamation suit against Fox News.

  • Cool Beance@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I had a hard time understanding why people would listen to Rogan after reading all these articles about him. Then my wife and I talked about it for a little bit and I took a listen to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.

    I’m completely talking out of my ass here but I think Rogan is a good/influential conversationalist. I think people get carried away by his views because of the convenience of his skill, kinda similar to how some people tend to err on the broad side of being agreeable when talking to a stranger for the first time, at least in a North American context. Set up the “conversation” as a podcast and it’s easy for familiarity to build with his audience. People getting familiar with his content then subconsciously decide that they really agreed in the first place because he talks nice and now they’re a fan.

    Great orators are amazing at getting you to nod your head in agreement. I’ve “fallen victim” to it as well with Obama in his 2004 DNC speech. Just rose tint everywhere. It’s a little easier to understand through this but of course I am so open to being completely wrong about this. What do you guys think?

    • glassblock@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I disagree that he has any particular skill that is notable. He was also a lousy comedian, most remembered for his crusade against joke stealing than anything else (I dare you to ask anyone their favorite Joe Rogan joke).

      He had first mover advantage. Then he started to realize the right wing hits were drawing his viewers, and went further in further in that direction.

    • oxjox@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      The problem, from the limited exposure I have to him, is he does a lot of "I heard"s and "they say"s and presents it as fact. Eventually, the hearsay becomes “it’s a fact”. He’s doing the same thing Tucker Carlson has done. I can’t say if the man’s an idiot or not but he certainly plays one for a living.

    • RhetoricalOrator@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Oration is a personal interest I have. (See username) I’m not great at it, but it is an interest.

      I think you’re correct on all accounts. I’ve listened to a few of his clips, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan or even a listener. His cadence is often casual but slows a bit when he wants to stress a point. He likes storytelling. If he speaks about things that are universally frustrating, you can feel his speech begin to clip faster and his voice raise. Good intonations. And he seems good at having something to talk about and staying on task.

      Good and bad people can be fantastic storytellers. I don’t know enough about him to make a judgement on his character, but I think he’s a good communicator.

    • BastianAI@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I agree 100%. His podcasts can be interesting or entertaining some times, depending on the guests. When he talks to some other comedians like Theo Von and Joey Diaz it can be very entertaining, or when he’s talking to people in sports & fitness. To me he’s always been this wacky stoner triphead character, someone that can be fun to have around occasionally but not someone that you want to talk about serious topics with. My impression is that he’s been getting more crazy and conspiratorical after covid hit, I certainly listen to him a lot less ever since.

    • nymwit@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Thanks for the distinction with conversationalist vs. interviewer. The folks that seem to listen the most seem to be into bros having casual conversation, not an in depth interview while being well versed in the subject’s expertise like a Terry Gross or Ezra Klein interview. The show seems like a slightly elevated bros bullshitting session.

      • Zengen@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Thats literally the premise of 90% of the show. Hes stated that several times. He started the podcast with the intent of it being a bullshit fun project to have his Bros come on smoke weed and talk shit. Which is great entertainment and funny. Now he has said it many times. He wants to talk to anyone his cave man brain finds interesting. He admits hes very uneducated on a lot of matters and tells people that outside the realms of fitness and nutrition you shouldn’t be looking to him for advice or following what he says. The reason his viewership is as large as it is is because he thinks about things very very similarly to how honestly most people up here in that I know in new england think of things. He thinks about shit in the same way the average working class dude does.

        • wagoner@infosec.pub
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          1 year ago

          So, all that nice innocent stuff plus: believes (and propagates) that Jan 6 was a false flag, publicly berates respected scientists on Twitter to get them to debate him, casts doubts on vaccines, etc etc.