Joe Rogan has revealed how he books the guests for his podcast—and he doesn't have a publicist do it for him.
Since its launch in 2009, The Joe Rogan Experience has consistently been the number-one podcast across the globe, with guests such as business magnate Elon Musk, psychologist and author Jordan Peterson and comedian Bill Burr making appearances over the years.
On Thursday's episode of the show, the comedian revealed the booking process for the podcast, which now boasts 17.1 million subscribers, while interviewing author and screenwriter Norman Ohler. In it, the 56-year-old said he doesn't pay close attention to numbers and simply reaches out to those he's interested in talking to.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Rogan for comment on Tuesday.
"I don't look at the numbers, I don't pay attention. I don't pay attention to how many downloads. I'm not like, feverishly checking, the what's good and what's bad, what—I don't look at like, what the retention is, when people drop out, I don't—that's up to them," he said.
"My job is to just have an interesting conversation with people that I'm actually excited about talking to, that's my only job. So the way I book it, I completely book it based on my interests.
"I don't, I don't have a publicist that's like examining trends and this person's popu—I don't do any of that."
Elsewhere during the show, Rogan said that despite being the long-serving host, he didn't feel "responsible" for the podcast and its domination of the listening charts. He said it just started with him "having fun" with friends and morphed into what it is today thanks to listeners' support.
As Rogan and Ohler discussed the media, the host suggested people are "far more skeptical" about what they read now, "particularly after the pandemic."
Rogan said: "I think the pandemic shook things up to a point where it's much more difficult to pass off propaganda today than it was even just four years ago."
Ohler replied: "That's why I was quite excited to come on this podcast, on this experience—I think you have actually created a space where free thought is possible and free communication.
"I think it's quite an important artwork that you have established here. It's not so easy to create your own media that has a global reach."
Thanking his guest, Rogan said he thinks the show "made itself."
"I think this thing wanted to be made and it made itself and it did in a very sneaky way. Originally, it was just me having fun with my friends, a webcam, me and Brian [Redban], then Eddie Bravo. We'd come over and just talk, have a good time," he said.
Rogan said that eventually when the show got "enough downloads," he could get in contact with the likes of British writer Graham Hancock and chef Anthony Bourdain.
He added: "Then it became much, much bigger...I genuinely believe [the show] tricked me into making it."
When Ohler asked the podcast host about the point when he realized the show had become "big," he said it was a "gradual" process before recalling a night in 2011 or 2012.
"I'll tell you when I realized it, I think it was like 2011 or 2012. I was on stage in the Chicago theater and I was doing comedy and I—I asked the audience, I was going to tell a story from the podcast, and I said, 'How many of you guys listen to the podcast' and it was just 'Yeaahhh.' 3,700 people cheering and I was like, 'Whoa,'" he said.
"I'll never forget that moment."
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
