Meta Monopoly Verdict, Trump Signs the Epstein Bill, and Nvidia's Q3 Earnings
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss Nvidia's blowout Q3 earnings, the sustainability of the current AI boom, and the risks of having the broader economy so dependent on a handful of tech giants. They analyze the federal court ruling that Meta did not break antitrust law with its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, Trump's signing of the bill to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and the emerging cultural backlash against billionaire entitlement revealed in leaked Epstein-related emails. The conversation also covers Trump's fawning visit with Mohammed bin Salman, Elon Musk's presence at that dinner, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery among Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix, and political implications including New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani's upcoming meeting with Trump and a possible progressive shift in U.S. politics.
#2404 - Elon Musk
Joe Rogan and Elon Musk discuss topics ranging from extreme human physiques and giant strongmen to SpaceX's Starship program, reusable rockets, and the vision of building cities on Mars and bases on the Moon. They examine government corruption and incentives, including homelessness policy, immigration, Social Security fraud, and how political parties allegedly exploit these systems, and they revisit controversial deaths such as an AI whistleblower and Jeffrey Epstein. Musk also explains his concerns about the "woke mind virus" in media and AI, outlines his work on X/Twitter and Grok, and describes a potential future of AI-driven universal high income, deep automation, and even the possibility that reality is a simulation.
#621 - Andrew Santino
Theo Von and comedian Andrew Santino catch up about touring, filming stand-up specials, and the intense pressure that comes with trying to "capture lightning in a bottle" on camera. They discuss Theo's turbulent Netflix taping, mental health struggles, paranoia after a government video used his clip, and the way online media distorted what happened. The conversation widens into technology and AI, Saudi and Qatari comedy festivals, hypocrisy in public outrage, aging, family, community, and what to do when having children may not be in the cards.
Crypto Pardon, Amazon Automation, and Reagan Tariff Ad
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss Kara's trip to Korea, plastic surgery culture among tech workers, and Donald Trump's tariff threats against Canada triggered by an Ontario ad using Ronald Reagan's anti-tariff speech. They analyze U.S.-China trade and the pending TikTok deal, Trump's pardon of Binance founder CZ and what it signals about corruption and crypto, Amazon's push to automate its warehouses with robots, and Trump's bailout of Argentina, framing these stories within a broader critique of speculative gambling economics and erosion of rule-of-law, before closing with reflections on sports betting and the war in Ukraine.
#2397 - Richard Lindzen & William Happer
Joe Rogan speaks with atmospheric scientist Dick Linson and physicist Will Happer about climate science, the history of climate narratives, and how they believe politics and funding have distorted the field. They discuss CO2, water vapor, ice ages, solar variability, and climate models, while arguing that the current climate crisis narrative is exaggerated and tightly tied to financial and political incentives. The conversation also explores historical analogies like eugenics and the Salem witch trials, structural issues in academia and peer review, and the psychological and societal impacts of climate alarmism.
Colleges Push Back, Ozempic Price Promise, and White House vs. Anthropic
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway open with personal banter about Las Vegas, aging, relationships, and Kara's upcoming trip to Korea to film a show about demographic aging. They then discuss the nationwide No Kings protests against Trump, the Trump administration's proposed Compact for Academic Excellence and universities' coordinated pushback, and the White House's conflict with Anthropic over AI regulation amid broader concerns about regulatory capture by big tech. The hosts also cover GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Trump's claim about cutting their price, a major Chinese-linked cyberattack on F5 and U.S. infrastructure vulnerabilities, the externalities of AI data centers, and wins and fails including the protests, George Santos' commuted sentence, and debates over billionaire influence and philanthropy.
Instagram Goes PG-13, ChatGPT Allows Erotica, and Netflix Grabs Podcasts
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss a series of political and tech stories, including leaked racist and violent Telegram messages from young Republican leaders and J.D. Vance's response, Virginia Giuffre's new book on Jeffrey Epstein, and concerns about Gavin Newsom's approach to AI regulation. They examine OpenAI's plan to allow erotica for verified adults, the risks of AI-powered synthetic relationships and pornography for young men, Instagram's new teen protections, and broader debates about regulating tech platforms and protecting minors. The hosts also cover Meta's removal of an ICE-doxxing Facebook page, fears of weaponizing agencies like the IRS and Pentagon under Trump, criticism of Mark Benioff's call for the National Guard in San Francisco, the Pentagon's contested new press rules, and Netflix's move to bring video podcasts onto its platform as part of a larger shift from traditional TV to low-cost podcast-based video content.
#2392 - John Kiriakou
Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou describes his career in U.S. intelligence, including counterterrorism work, the capture of Abu Zubaydah, and his refusal to participate in the CIA's post‑9/11 torture program. He explains how he went public about torture, the subsequent federal investigation and prosecution that led to his imprisonment, and his experiences inside federal prison and reentering society. The conversation broadens into critiques of the "deep state," FBI entrapment tactics, propaganda laws, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the influence of Israel and AIPAC on American politics.
#2391 - Duncan Trussell
Joe Rogan and Duncan Trussell discuss contemporary political polarization, authoritarian drift, economic frustration, homelessness, immigration policy, and how social media algorithms fuel fear and division. They range into speculative territory on UFOs, possible alien involvement in human evolution, and the social impact of potential disclosure while also exploring spirituality, Christianity, evil, and the importance of family and individual responsibility. Throughout, they contrast large-scale systemic problems with the need to focus on personal action, compassion, and tending to one's immediate community.
The Alabama Murders - Part 3: A Peculiar Institution
Malcolm Gladwell examines the trial of John Forrest Parker for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett, highlighting how medical evidence and timing cast serious doubt on whether Parker actually inflicted the fatal stab wounds, and pointing instead toward her husband, Reverend Charles Sennett. The episode then traces how Alabama's judicial override system allowed a judge to impose the death penalty against a jury's recommendation of life without parole, and how the state later abolished override without correcting past cases, leaving Parker on death row despite the system's acknowledged flaws.
#2390 - Jack Carr
Jack Carr discusses his new novel set in 1968 Vietnam, explaining the extensive historical research and immersive process he used to authentically capture the era and the experience of soldiers on the ground. He and Joe Rogan explore the Vietnam War, media influence on public perception, the decline of reading, the rise of AI in creative work, and the realities of Hollywood adaptations of his books like "The Terminal List" and "Dark Wolf." They also range into topics like stunt work, physical training, security concerns, political polarization, immigration, and the disturbing public reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
#482 - Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature
Lex Friedman interviews Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, about his philosophy on freedom, discipline, technology, and the design of secure, scalable messaging systems. Pavel describes his strict lifestyle, his refusal to compromise on user privacy under pressure from powerful governments, and the technical and organizational principles behind Telegram's lean but highly productive engineering team. They also discuss government overreach, Pavel's legal ordeal in France, earlier clashes with Russia and Iran, the economics and crypto ecosystem around Telegram, and broader reflections on human nature, education, abundance, and mortality.
#2386 - The Red Clay Strays
Joe Rogan talks with members of the Red Clay Strays about their origin as a bar cover band on the Gulf Coast, how their manager learned booking from scratch, and how the group has stayed together through heavy touring by centering their faith and a service-oriented mindset. They discuss writing emotionally heavy songs that resonate with depressed and suicidal fans, the grind of driving Uber during COVID to survive, and broader topics including hospitals as profit-driven businesses, extreme body modification and gene editing, social media-fueled hatred, government surveillance, UFOs, ancient civilizations, the Book of Enoch, and controversies around religious relics and the moon landing.
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: The Strange Unsolved Murder of Ken McElroy
Hosts Josh and Chuck recount the history of Ken Rex McElroy, a violent criminal who terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades through theft, assault, sexual abuse of minors, and systematic intimidation of witnesses and officials. They describe how repeated failures of the legal system and law enforcement to stop him culminated in a daytime vigilante killing in front of dozens of townspeople, none of whom ever cooperated with investigators. The episode explores McElroy's background, his pattern of coercive marriages to underage girls, the shooting of grocer Bo Bowenkamp, the town meeting that preceded his death, and the unresolved questions around who pulled the trigger.
Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)
Stephen Dubner interviews political scientist Yuen Yuen Ong about her research on corruption in China and the United States, based on her book "China's Gilded Age." Ong explains her four-part typology of corruption, how certain types of corruption can coexist with rapid economic growth, and why she believes the U.S. and China are both experiencing different versions of a "Gilded Age." She also critiques common corruption metrics, discusses China's evolving political-economic model under Mao, Deng, and Xi, and reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of capitalist prosperity and democracy.
#2383 - Ian Edwards
Joe Rogan and Ian Edwards reflect on three decades in stand-up comedy, from New York and Boston club days to the current Austin and Kill Tony scene, breaking down how comics develop, sustain, or lose their edge. They also dive into boxing and MMA, brain damage and fighter longevity, historical boxing greats like Muhammad Ali, and broader issues of war, government deception, corporate greed, social media control, and how individuals can maintain independence and purpose in a corrupt system.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
Josh and Chuck examine the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, a 40-year U.S. Public Health Service study in which hundreds of poor Black men in Macon County, Alabama with syphilis were misled, denied effective treatment, and used as research subjects without informed consent. They trace the medical and historical background of syphilis, how and why the study was designed and allowed to continue through the discovery of penicillin and the Nuremberg trials, and the whistleblowing that finally exposed it in 1972. The episode also explores the long-term impact on Black Americans' trust in medicine, subsequent ethical and legal reforms, and related abuses such as the Guatemalan syphilis experiments.