#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.
#2400 - Katee Sackhoff
Joe Rogan talks with actor Katie Sackhoff about her career-defining role as Starbuck in the Battlestar Galactica reboot, how that show reshaped science fiction television, and what it was like to gender-swap a beloved male character amid early internet backlash. They dive into the emotional power of sci‑fi and entertainment as escapism, the rise of AI in art and media, parenting in a social‑media-saturated world, and the profound perspective she gained from her young daughter's rare cancer diagnosis and the broken pediatric healthcare system. The conversation widens into AI as an emerging life form, homelessness and addiction, underfunded education and pediatric medicine, the possibility of extraterrestrial life and strange objects like 31 Atlas, and why strong female characters in sci‑fi mattered so much to her.
#619 - Stan the Chauffeur
Theo interviews professional chauffeur Stan the Chauffeur, whose real name is Stanford Boyay, about his life journey from growing up in the Bronx to building a career driving limos and sprinters in Charlotte and Columbia, South Carolina. Stan shares how he left New York to be closer to his daughter, stumbled into chauffeuring, and developed a customer-first philosophy with many wild passenger stories. He also talks about quitting cocaine, a violent confrontation with a scamming contractor, a serious burn incident caused by his much younger girlfriend, his complicated love life, and his advice to young men to avoid the streets and pursue education.
#2395 - Mariana van Zeller
Joe Rogan talks with investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller about her high‑risk reporting on global black and gray markets, the end of her TV series "Trafficked," and the launch of her new podcast "The Hidden Third" exploring the underground economy and people living outside the law. They discuss drug cartels, counterfeit money, rehab and insurance fraud, the fentanyl and "tranq dope" crisis, and systemic failures in U.S. drug policy and healthcare. The conversation also covers immigration raids and asylum, pharmaceutical corruption around OxyContin and fentanyl, the explosion of sophisticated online scams and scam factories in Asia, political polarization, and Mariana's belief that empathy‑driven journalism is essential to understanding crime and fixing broken systems.
#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.
#616 - Retired Boston Detective
Retired Boston police detective Kara Connolly discusses her 31-year career, from working busy 1990s patrol beats in Dorchester and South Boston to becoming a detective and later joining the human trafficking unit. She shares detailed stories about major cases, including armed robberies, a man who cut off his own penis, a baby abandoned in a trash can, long-term human trafficking investigations, and undercover stings targeting sex buyers. The conversation also explores how TV crime shows affect juries, the impact of politics and prosecutors on street-level policing, the emotional toll of the job, and how she is transitioning into retirement in South Carolina.
#2381 - Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch discusses bowhunting, life in Montana, and the craft and psychological toll of acting in intense, often real‑life roles. He describes deep preparation for projects like "Lone Survivor," "American Primeval," and "Waco," including working closely with Navy SEALs, Native communities, and survivors. Kitsch also opens up about helping his sister through years of severe fentanyl and heroin addiction, founding the Howler's Ridge nonprofit, his father's death and funeral, and broader reflections on veterans, cult dynamics, grief, and the importance of staying uncomfortable and fully committed to challenging work.