#2405 - Luis J Gomez & Big Jay Oakerson
Joe Rogan talks with comedians Big Jay and Louis J. Gomez in a wide‑ranging, comedic conversation that spans stand‑up comedy, mosh pits, drugs, porn, plastic surgery, crime, and artificial intelligence. They trade stories about clean vs. dirty comedy, chaotic metal shows, being secretly dosed with LSD, New York City politics and drug laws, and the realities of prison life. The discussion eventually turns to the rapid advancement of AI, its implications for media and warfare, and what that could mean for the future of humanity.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Masterpiece
The hosts take a deep dive into the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, exploring why it is widely regarded as a masterpiece despite its low budget and brutal subject matter. They walk through the full plot beat by beat, then detail the movie's origins, inspirations, difficult production, and chaotic distribution history, including mob-linked financing and rating battles. The conversation also covers the film's critical reevaluation, influence on the horror genre, and why they believe its particular mix of naivete, constraint, and inventiveness can never truly be replicated.
THE HUMAN SCREAM
Hosts Josh and Chuck explore the human scream, examining its acoustic properties, evolutionary functions, and how the brain uniquely processes it compared to normal speech. They discuss research on the "roughness" domain that makes screams and artificial alarms especially effective at triggering amygdala-based fear responses, even during sleep. The episode also covers different emotional types of screams, iconic film screams, extreme metal vocal techniques, the potential role of screaming in pain control, and the limited evidence for primal scream therapy.
Short Stuff: The Call is Coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
The hosts discuss the classic urban legend known as "the call is coming from inside the house," also called "the babysitter and the man upstairs," explaining its narrative structure, cultural impact, and why it resonated in the pre-cell phone era. They share related campfire-style horror stories and their own experiences with being scared and startling others. The episode then explores a likely real-life inspiration for the trope, the 1950 unsolved murder of 13-year-old babysitter Janet Christman in Missouri, and how this case and others influenced horror films like "When a Stranger Calls," "Black Christmas," and "Halloween."
The Happy Place of Saturday Morning Cartoons
Josh and Chuck take a nostalgic and critical look at the era of Saturday morning cartoons, tracing how they emerged, peaked, and eventually disappeared from broadcast television. They discuss the programming's cultural role for kids, the heavy commercialization and sugary-food advertising attached to it, and the regulatory battles over violence and marketing to children. The episode also covers the impact of deregulation, the rise of cable and gaming, and how these shifts ended the Saturday morning ritual while leaving a strong shared cultural legacy.