
For all marketing questions and inquiries:
Loading summary
T-Mobile Ad
Unlike what you're listening to, T Mobile's coverage is no joke because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com keepnswitch up to 4.
Lines of your virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service support in 90 plus days device ineligible carrier and timely repetition required. Card is no cash access and expires in six months.
Podcast Host 1
You are listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast. We find little nuggets, treasures, valuable pieces of gold in the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast and pass them on to you. Perhaps expand a little bit. We are not associated with Joe Rogan in any way. Think of us as the talking dead to Joe's Walking Dead.
Podcast Host 2
You're listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review. What a bizarre thing we've created. Now with your hosts, Adam Thorne might.
Sean Houlahan
Either be the worst podcast or the best one. One go.
Podcast Host 1
Enjoy the show.
Podcast Host 2
Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Review. This week we have Mike Benz. This was a crazy, crazy podcast. I took a lot of notes and then I got really stressed and I had to take a break. And anyway, quick shout out to our recent patreon. Kathy, George and Sam, thank you for joining. We love you. You guys head over there, join up. We appreciate the support. We're putting all kinds of goodies over there. I'm gonna play just a little clip here and then we're gonna jump into it. But it's really to set the tone of the just wildness that we heard in this podcast. Let's go. The Joe Rogan Experience.
Mike Benz
But we kept those relationships in order to run this pro democracy regime change thing. So in 1948, when we established the secrecy doctrine that we now live under, and all these NGOs work under this cover effectively because of their sponsoring organizations, USAID or CIA or State. And he called it the inauguration of organized political warfare. And what he said is, we need to create a covert apparatus to hide what we do from the rest of the world to do secret political warfare on the low. And the problem is the American people are not going to like this. The American people do not understand the intricacies of international relations. They think there's always an easy political cure all. And they think there's a fundamental difference between peace and war. And what he proposed is, and this is just two months before this would formally be given to the CIA to do. But at the time, what he said was, this worked gangbusters in Italy. We need to replicate this everywhere. We need to create a capacity to do black propaganda, to do economic sabotage, demolition. There's a whole list of what's authorized under NSC 10.
Podcast Host 2
2.
Mike Benz
And what he says is, the American people are not necessarily going to like this, and we're going to need to effectively hide what we do from them, because if they find out, then the rest of the world finds out. If we're trying to run an operation in Eurasia and we report this in U.S. news, well, then any person in Eurasia who reads U.S. news now knows about it.
Podcast Host 2
Oh, and that's just the tip of the iceberg for this one. I mean. Wowza. Wowza. This week, I'm joined by a good friend and legendary podcaster, Sean Houlahan. Thanks for being here.
Sean Houlahan
Thank you for inviting me.
Podcast Host 2
I had to bring in the big guns for this.
Sean Houlahan
This is. You could have not chosen a perfect episode for this. This is, like, right up my alley, dude.
Podcast Host 2
The amount of emails and text messages I got about this one.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, well, it kind of blew the lid open of a lot of things. I mean, honestly, like, after I listened to the podcast, like, someone at work earlier was like, yo, are you okay? But it just, like, killed my mood. I was like, oh, so sad. So sad.
Podcast Host 2
What are we supposed to think?
Sean Houlahan
But I thought it was interesting in that. Well, there was a lot of interesting things that he said in that clip. But the first part about the American people don't understand foreign relations. Like, I wonder why that is. You know, why don't they. Because we don't teach it in schools. Our education system sucks. Like, you can teach people these things. You know, they don't have to understand all of the intricacies, but at least try to make an effort to teach people international relations. But I never got a single class about that when I was in school. Now, why would you teach people that? Why not just control everything, you know?
Podcast Host 2
Well, we took civics, which was just about, you know, our government doing stuff.
Sean Houlahan
The way that they want us to think our government works, not the way it actually does.
Podcast Host 2
Imagine if there was a high school class that taught conspiracy theories, and it was like, yeah, let's just have some fun.
Sean Houlahan
How many of the ideas around. How many of the lessons would include. Include Rogan clips, like, every 15 minutes?
Podcast Host 2
Yeah, it would be. It would just be Rogan teaching it.
Sean Houlahan
He honestly should. He should start A course.
Podcast Host 2
He'd make a lot of money.
Sean Houlahan
Conspiracy Theory was one on one with Rogan.
Podcast Host 2
Right.
Sean Houlahan
I would. I would pay for that.
Podcast Host 2
It'd be good. I'd be down. All right. Mike Benz, he was State Department guy, has a hell of a resume. Knew a ton about USAID before, you know, Doge went in there and was very excited to see kind of like, this audit take place. And not only that, but to get confirmation on a lot of the things that he already knew, you know, because he had really looked at it. Wild, dude.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Like, if you listen. I listened to the first podcast, too, because I started playing the second one, and I was like, I don't know what they're talking about. So I listened to the first one, and you can hear like, oh, a lot of the stuff that he's talking about is like, we'd like to do this. We'd like to help. We'd like to expose this. We'd like to do this and that. And then the second one is like, oh, we have the door open now. Like, Doge is investigating this. We're actually working on improving this. We're trying to find ways to combat the situation. And just in general, I think the biggest thing is actually tell people what's going on, because, I mean, you always know that the government does shady stuff with international policy, but you have no idea that it's, like, all controlled by this conglomerate called usaid, which is basically the new version of the CIA, Right.
Podcast Host 2
Which I don't think people understand, because.
Sean Houlahan
You know, I had never heard of the USAID before this.
Podcast Host 2
But even more than that, like, those that know about it now because of all the publicity on the left, and I've talked to a bunch of my friends and people that are very much on the left. They love their politics, as far as they can tell, and what they've heard, US Aid only helps people. It's helping the poorest, you know, people. And if any aid is cut from it, it's. People are dying.
Sean Houlahan
It's evil.
Podcast Host 2
Sad. Yeah, it's evil. Yeah. So we should support it. And, you know, if you heard that message and believe that to be true, it's reasonable you be behind it because you don't want people to be suffering. However, then you get someone like Mike that comes on and he's like, this is what's really going on, guys. Yeah, they're worse than that. If it's too dirty for the CIA.
Sean Houlahan
You give it to these guys.
Podcast Host 2
Do it.
Sean Houlahan
They do it.
Podcast Host 2
And it's like, well, what is this, then.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Also $40 million budget per year. Like, that's insane.
Podcast Host 2
Million or Billion.
Sean Houlahan
Billion. Billion dollar. Yeah. $40 billion. Wow. Which he said in the podcast is more than the CIA gets.
Podcast Host 2
No shit.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah. Yeah, he said the. The Pentagon's budget is $900 billion, which the fuck knows where that's going. They don't.
Podcast Host 2
They don't.
Sean Houlahan
They don't know. Literally, the IRS has tried to do audits on the Pentagon for years, and they've never once passed an audit. Never once.
Podcast Host 2
And then they just imagine the person that shows up for that audit, and then the IRS goes, yeah, you didn't pass. And they're like, okay, see you next year.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, exactly.
Podcast Host 2
Like, later.
Sean Houlahan
We still got to keep doing this.
Podcast Host 2
They just get in a helicopter and fly away.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Like, okay, this is how this works, dude. It clearly isn't checks and balances, you know, when it comes to spending in a lot of areas. And, you know, I know people are worried about the access of doge. What they can look at is this. Privacy concerns, you know, are certain. I had a conversation today with somebody, and he's like, yeah, they're cutting off all these subsidies for farms. They just stopped all the funding immediately. Like, people are suffering. Yeah, I don't want that either. Like, I think America is an incredible country, and we can do good and help people. However, we might have to slam on the brakes for a minute.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Who are we helping? Are we helping terrorists in other countries produce heroin? Yes, we are. We shouldn't be doing that.
Podcast Host 2
It sounds like we are.
Sean Houlahan
Well, the thing that genuinely baffles me is how many people, especially young people, are pro censorship. I genuinely don't understand it. Like, if you've read any. Any George Orwell book, you know, like, censorship leads to a bad, bad path, and you need, like. I'm not saying overall blanket censorship is. Is bad, but the way that it has been weaponized nowadays is scary.
Podcast Host 2
Well, I think.
Sean Houlahan
Is not helpful.
Podcast Host 2
I think what happens is the censorship is on their side.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And they're young, so they don't extrapolate out what it could be like for the censorship to not be on their side. They believe that it will only be more and more on their side, and that's because this side is the correct side to be on.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And it's actually a reasonable position they take.
Sean Houlahan
But it's still, like, if people that you don't agree with can't speak and say things that you don't agree with, you don't have free speech, which is fundamental. To running a healthy country. That is true at the end of.
T-Mobile Ad
The day, like unlike what you're listening to, T Mobile's coverage is no joke because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to 4.
Lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlocked device, credit service port in 90 plus days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required card has no cash access and expires in six months.
Libsyn Ad
Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements, or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn Ads, go to libsyn ads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.
Sean Houlahan
You can't have the side that you don't like say things then that's just, you know, it's just all one sided.
Podcast Host 2
What they do though, is they. Because this happens in England. When I go to England and I talk about this, I go, we have more free speech in America. And then they go, oh, there's like hate speech and horrible. And I'm like, yeah, that's free speech is all the speeches you get to say all the things. They're like, oh, well that's not good. So they're openly happy to admit that there should be considerable limitations on speech. And their idea of, you know what good speech is is this kind of moderated, limited speech. I mean, Germany is kind of off the rails right now with arresting people for putting things online. In fact, if you put something online, you can go to jail for longer than if you say it directly to somebody's face with the. And this is how they justify it when it's online. It stays forever. And if you just like, I don't know, you're a cunt straight to someone's Face. But that wouldn't be the illegal thing. It would be something to do with race or. Yeah, you know, pronouns. That is not as bad, even though that's awful.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
And just in general, like, again, you don't have free speech if people can't say things that you disagree with. And also, maybe some censorship is necessary, just hypothetically. Maybe it is necessary, but do we really want a governing institution that has a massive budget to do it on a massive scale, like globally? Do we want one person controlling that? Like one person setting the narrative of what you can and can't say? That's not the way it should be. No, it needs to be more collective if we're really going to try and have some sort of censorship in place. It needs to be balanced and not one sided.
Podcast Host 2
Well, it's just like an ultimate propaganda tool.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
I thought it was really interesting though, in the podcast. I can't remember if it was the second or the first one, but he said a large reason why a lot of these young people are so on board with it is because it just advances their career. Like, if they go to these censorship councils and learn about all these things and become experts in censorship, that's necessary for them to advance their career, which I understand to a certain point, but that shouldn't be that way, you know, like, you shouldn't have to abide by some governing body who's trying to control things just to get a promotion, you know?
Podcast Host 2
Well, that, that sounds like a whole type of government position that shouldn't even exist anyway.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, exactly.
Podcast Host 2
So it's just another bureaucracy, like layers of these jobs. And I think that's what is going to start to be uncovered with the Doge investigations. It's like there, you know, just like Elon did with Twitter, he's gonna realize, wait, we don't need 70% of these people to make this stuff work. Yeah, and that's, that's hard for people to swallow because they're already releasing stories now of, like, I read it yesterday, this park ranger, and they just had this long, heartfelt story. And I'm sure the guy's a great guy. I feel for him. He works so hard to get his dream job. And now because of these cuts from Doge, they got rid of him. And I'm like, yeah, that really sucks. I hope that he does get that severance that they're talking about. So it's nice and long and they don't have to suffer. Also, that does happen when you have a really inflated system or a company like Companies downsize for a good reason. Right. Bezos just let, I think a third of his space program employee for like troop, like they're fired because it's just not making money. It's not. Is like these certain areas are just not working and it's going to collapse the company. You have to do it with the government because it can't go bankrupt. They just keep having all these people and it's, you know, it's running like a company. You have to make some decisions like that, move some people around. Luckily they can just get jobs somewhere else.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
If you're a great park ranger, you can park range anywhere.
Sean Houlahan
Although there's lots of parks.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. Private parks. I don't know.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, I mean that happens with everything. That's why, as much as it's unfortunate, economic recesses are necessary because it clears out a lot of useful businesses. Like a lot of businesses that are just like not helping at all, barely scraping by. It's like, do those people really need to be spending their time doing that anyways or should they move on and do something else that's actually helpful, that's actually profitable.
Podcast Host 2
Right.
Sean Houlahan
So it kind of cleans things out a bit. And there are losses. There's always going to be genuine losses in scenarios where people just get cut and it's unfair. But as long as things are moving in a healthy direction and we're genuinely trying to make reform and make things better, I think that it's somewhat necessary. I can't speak on every individual case and say that it's all necessary, but sure, a certain level of that is going to happen regardless.
Podcast Host 2
They're going to make some mistakes. But what's happening now is they're exposing the problems in each section of these government agencies, you know, and there is an argument out there that's like, oh, well, they're just highlighting the worst things and you know, they just. I don't know if you saw this Social Security payment stuff. There's like 200 year old people getting Social Security. You see this?
Sean Houlahan
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
There's like millions of them. And somebody said to me today in pushback, how is this, how could we fact check this? And I'm like, well, I think, I think that's what Elon is doing. And he's like, well, I don't trust him and I don't think that it could be true. And I'm like, okay, well, I don't know how you play that game or how you play that argument at all. You know, how do you, how do you even Start. It's like I can't look at it, so I have to trust somebody to do it.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, you gotta pick where you put your trust in, you know, I mean, it's crazy that people, regardless of what you think of Elon, that you're. One person comes in and you're like, I don't trust them. They're shady. We need to look in on them. Meanwhile, you turn a blind eye to what the government's doing and you're just like, yeah, they have our best interests.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
That's so high. So crazy.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah, I'm sure it was an accident that a 240 year old person still get collecting Social Security.
Sean Houlahan
They might be still. Hey, I saw them last week.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah, imagine. Imagine.
Sean Houlahan
No, that's crazy. Yeah. Social Security is a whole thing as well. Like. Yeah, I don't even want to.
Podcast Host 2
The hard thing about it, honestly, is like when they start breaking down the USAID stuff, it's like they spent $20 million on bringing sesame street to Iraq or something. And then, you know, there's just like all this crazy spending, dude. And it's like the list goes on forever. I don't want to sit just yammering it off. You go to ChatGPT if you want to know. It'd tell you and you know, it'd just. It's alarming the amount of money.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And you can also ask Chat what you as a taxpayer are likely to have donated yourself personally to that program and it will kind of figure it out. It may not be much, maybe like 12 bucks, but you add up 10 of them.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Then all of a sudden you're like.
Sean Houlahan
Fuck, I could have bought a sandwich, you know.
Podcast Host 2
Well, you work for hours to do some of these programs, so that's worth thinking about because that's on a big scale. And the hardest part is when you hear that during COVID they gave people $500 or $650. The fires in Maui where they lost everything, they got $700. I think it was 750.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
All right, give.
Sean Houlahan
By my bad, $50 are going to make a big difference when your whole house is burned to the ground.
Podcast Host 2
$750.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And then paying millions for these wacky programs.
Guest
Yeah, yeah.
Sean Houlahan
It's insane the way that the government is like, oh, yeah, we have plenty of money. We have plenty of money. And then you start asking for money on. On things where people need it. You know, people are struggling and they're like, oh, sorry, we spent it all. It's like, no, you fucking Didn't.
Podcast Host 2
They're like, went to Ukraine, spent it.
Sean Houlahan
On the wrong shit.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah, to the Ukraine. And then the Ukrainian president is like, we actually didn't get $100 billion of that. So if you could answer that question.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, where'd all that go?
Podcast Host 2
That's wild, dude. How could you even flush quietly or move around $100 billion?
Sean Houlahan
No, it's insane. And it's crazy, too, because you hear that and you're like, oh, shit, the government lost $100 billion. And at first you're like, damn, that's. That's crazy. But then after like a week, you're like, that's. That's what the government does. You know, it's so crazy how normalized it is nowadays. Like, people don't even bat an eye when they hear that anymore. Yeah, that's crazy.
Podcast Host 2
Dude. I had a friend that got nailed by the IRS for $400. $400 that he didn't, like, I guess he didn't, like, put in his expense. I don't know. He fucked up $400. 400. They spotted that.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Where you can't figure out where a hundred billion went? Like, I. I got a feeling we're focusing on the wrong things here.
Guest
Yeah.
T-Mobile Ad
Or unlike what you're listening to, T Mobile's coverage is no joke, because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network switch. Now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off at the $800 per line via prepaid cart. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com keepandswitch up to 4.
Lines via virtual prepaid card will have 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card is no cash access and expires in six months.
Sean Houlahan
What was the amount that they lost pre 9? 11? It was in the trillions, wasn't it?
Podcast Host 2
Like, oh, yeah, Donald Rumsfeld, like, $2.5 trillion.
Sean Houlahan
They're like, yeah, we lost it. You're like, it's not a library card.
Podcast Host 2
From the Pentagon or something. And then two days later, they were like, we just blow up these buildings and don't ever question us again.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And Donna Rumsfeld's like, okay, let's invade Iraq.
Sean Houlahan
Yep.
Podcast Host 2
Nice. Yeah. No, nobody. Nobody kept looking for that money.
Sean Houlahan
No.
Podcast Host 2
And now it's just a meme that pops up on Instagram.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
That's all their blowback. Yeah. It just seems like there's no real repercussions for this stuff. Right. And when it gets close and when there's a potential. The President just pardons his whole family and a bunch of his friends.
Sean Houlahan
Oh, yeah. The Biden.
Podcast Host 2
Sweeping pardons. Like, we're not even focusing on a crime. We're just saying from this date to this date, they could literally have cut the heads off children and you can't do anything.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
That's.
Podcast Host 2
That is insane. The King of England can't have that. He cannot have that. That's the King of England.
Sean Houlahan
I know.
Podcast Host 2
I'm not saying he's a big deal, but he's a king of England.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Nobody can give him a pardon. Like, that doesn't exist.
Sean Houlahan
No. Are you a big pro king guy?
Podcast Host 2
No, fuck that. I'm just saying that Hunter Biden, during that period.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Has the ultimate get out of jail free card. And there's videos of him smoking crack, driving around in a Porsche all crazy and just hanging out with prostitutes.
Sean Houlahan
Cocaine in the White House, everything. Yeah. And then the fact that he did it, like, right before he left is like kind of just a huge fuck you to the U.S. like, you didn't even try and, like, hide it at all. You really didn't. He.
Podcast Host 2
He didn't make that decision. Dude. He's in there where he's at.
Sean Houlahan
Oh, no.
Podcast Host 2
They have him sat in a room right now just staring out the window.
Sean Houlahan
He probably did that voluntarily.
Podcast Host 2
You know what they've done? They put that thing on YouTube where you can just, like, play fishes and it's like, hypnotic. They're just like, there you go.
Sean Houlahan
He's watching the fire with lo fi beats for 20 hours. Those videos have insane amounts of views, though. You look at them and you're like, how does this have 200 million views?
Podcast Host 2
Someone's making some money. Oh, yeah, probably USAID just laundering it through YouTube nonsense. Logging in. What was the biggest standout for the first off, what is your feel of this guy? Like, do you believe that he is genuine? Do you believe that he's a patriot? Do you believe that he just wants to spread misinformation and rile people up? Like, what's your genuine feeling?
Sean Houlahan
I got a good feeling from him. I think in the world of journalism, he has very. Like, he's doubled down on the whole censorship thing. So that's like his deal. He's a censorship journalist. And so because he's specialized in that for so long, I mean, he was doing this when no one was listening to him, when no one cared about any of this. No one even knew about any of this stuff. He was still researching, trying to get people aware. Like, he's been doing this for years and years and years, and just now he's kind of caught some wind, which I think is good. But, I mean, he's incredibly knowledgeable. It was insane to me how many times on the podcast he would just be like, yeah, they're doing this. This is insane. And then he's like, yeah, Jamie, just Google, like, three words. And you find it on government websites, like, them just blatantly being like, yeah, we did this. We spent that money on stupid shit. Like, a lot of the things that he said are insanely easy to access.
Podcast Host 2
Well, what's really nice about a lot of areas of government spending and government behavior when it comes to contracts or things that they're doing, they have to publicly put it somewhere, but nobody's fucking looking at that, and no one even knows what it means.
Sean Houlahan
Again, education system. We don't teach people this shit.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. People don't know that high school is this. They would be able to be Hulks on the US Government. Watching him constantly, what are you up to? What are you doing?
Sean Houlahan
Or just, like, genuinely just, like, not listening to the news media, like, at least having some sort of a thought in the back of their head of, like, should I blindly trust this person? Maybe not. You know, like, people just don't have that by design and it's really, really scary. Or people just don't give a fuck, which is insane to me. Like, how, like, you have to care at least a little bit, you know.
Podcast Host 2
Dude, there could be a really. It's because they're living in what they think is the beautiful future. And I want to live there, too. I want to get to a point where you actually can, for the most part, trust your government and then be blindly ignorant and just be like, yep, I believe that there's checks and balances in place. I believe there's systems like the DOGE that are checking every bit of spending throughout. And, you know, we're in a position where I don't have to watch the news anymore.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
It almost makes me feel more responsible now. Well, be like, shit, do I have to play a part? I didn't want to do this.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
And. But a lot of people nowadays, like I said, you know, they're advancing in their career. They're like, my bank accounts up. The world must be going well, you know.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Just won the lottery. I think that everything is in place.
Sean Houlahan
Everything's going well. My, my. I can afford to go to McDonald's today. It might be insane. What do you think about the Atlantic Council? They were probably one of the scariest ones in there.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Seven of their board members are previous CIA head officials. Like, that's not. That's suspicious. That seems like immediate red flag.
Podcast Host 2
That seems like an immediate red flag.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
But no, they give, they gave Dua Lupa the. I can't remember what award it was, but they gave her some award for her singing, which is insane. Yeah, well, I like Dua Lupa. I'll just say. I mean, her music is good. I think a lot of it's just kind of poppy, the same shit. But I respect her as a person. But it's insane that like government organizations are using music to influence people.
Podcast Host 2
Well, you know the story of Jackson Pollock, right? The splash art guy. Just like splash paintings, you know, just looks like, I don't know, a monkey with a, with a paintbrush just like threw it at the canvas and, you.
Sean Houlahan
Know, and they sell for millions of dollars.
Podcast Host 2
They sell for millions of dollars. And it was, it was because of the. It was because of the CIA. So it was to do with Russia and Let's see if I can. Oh, what, what did I say, Andrew? I think I meant Jackson, dumbass. Yeah, well, that's because I don't know shit about art people. I apologize. All right, so I'm just going to pull this up for Sean to look at. So this is it. So Jackson Pollock's work and it's millions of dollars. Right. So what happened with this?
Sean Houlahan
They got it on Wayfair is.
Podcast Host 2
I know it's a big deal. So basically something to do with the Russians and the CIA started like putting like funding this guy's galleries. And then all the big art people were going to it and being like, this is amazing, buying this. And somehow it was like downplaying like. I don't know if it was Russian art or what, but it was driving them crazy somehow. And it was just this, this play of art that they were using. And I was kind of connecting it to the same thing that he, that Mike was saying about like, why they using all these rappers to do shit. Yeah, it's just like, is this some sort of like cultural manipulation that is like, very useful for the CIA? Like they, they know what they're doing.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
When they're doing what they want to do. Yeah, but what the fuck are they up to?
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, I mean, we've, we've kind of known that certain musicians will make deals with the government to suppress things and control what they want to say and things like that, but I didn't have any idea that it was going on to this extent. Like insane.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
And also in other countries, like not only in the us they're doing it in other countries. A lot of them.
Podcast Host 2
Well, didn't Mike say that USAID or some subsidiary of that is funding like 90% of Ukrainian media outlets?
Guest
Oh, yeah. Yep.
Podcast Host 2
Holy shit, dude.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Also are involved in over 140 countries. Like that's insane.
Podcast Host 2
Well, think how much poorer most countries are than the United States. It's like we could lean in with agencies and propagandize their entire country by funding. You know, it's like, how does media work? It works with advertising.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And what does advertising do to the company? We've seen it on a local level. Like we're in a studio where people produce.
T-Mobile Ad
Unlike what you're listening to. T Mobile's coverage is no joke because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com backslash keepandswitch up to.
Four lines of your virtual prepaid card. Last 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days device eligible carrier and timely redemption required card is no cash access and expires in six months.
Podcast Host 2
Magazines and newspapers and they've changed the way that they do their advertising, their, their media, print media in general, because of advertiser influence. They're like, we, we don't like these kind of pictures. And you know, it like it will change. The media will bend. You know, CNN hasn't done any negative stories on Pfizer. Look at that.
Sean Houlahan
Well, yeah, they're, yeah, they're sponsored by Pfizer. Brought to you by COVID Vaccine. Vaccine. Yeah. No, it's crazy, I think.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
And then they're just like literally funding terrorism. Like the part about, I really wish I remembered what country it is, but 95 of the heroin comes out of that country.
Podcast Host 2
Afghanistan.
Sean Houlahan
Afghanistan, yeah. And they literally said, they literally said they're going to keep funding the supply of heroin because it will have a negative economic and humanitarian consequences because heroin is obviously very lucrative. But it's like, why do we have to fucking pay for that? Why are we paying for that? And like justifying that on public news is insane. Like he literally said that to the public.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Like we can't afford to stop producing Heroin in this country. We can't stop funding these people.
Podcast Host 2
Well, it's control.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
You know.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
I thought it was. Because I've always wondered about this. Like, you know, the CIA was kind of running things back in the 60s, you know, with the whole hippie movement and the war in Vietnam and controlling narratives in that sense. And so once a lot of those reforms came around in the 70s, they had to pivot and they handed off the baton to usaid, which is not a technical government organization. They're private.
Podcast Host 2
Is that right?
Sean Houlahan
Yeah. That's how they can get away with all this stuff is because when the CIA wants to do something, they have to go to the government and be like, hey, we're doing this. Can we. Can we do this? We have to get authorization and stuff. But now the CIA is just like, hey, usa, take care of this real quick. And then they do it because there's no regulation for them.
Podcast Host 2
No shit.
Sean Houlahan
But we're still giving them billions of dollars per year from taxpayers to do whatever they want, whatever they want, unregulated.
Podcast Host 2
Wow.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And then, you know, they're also having a bunch of programs that look nice.
Guest
Yep.
Podcast Host 2
So they can be like, hey, it's aid, guys.
Sean Houlahan
We're serving aid.
Mike Benz
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
It says usaid. We don't just give our. You know, give ourselves this name if we're not helping people. I mean, it would be pretty ironic if they just called themselves US Terrorists. It would have been easier to figure out that they were a terrible organization.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, it's just Agency for International Development. So that doesn't mean aid at all.
Podcast Host 2
No, no, no. It just sounds good.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
They make them seem like international development.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Also, a lot of the things that the USAID was talking about is backed by this narrative of promoting democracy, establishing democracy. It's like, who's democracy?
Podcast Host 2
Good point.
Sean Houlahan
You just use that as a blanket statement, and everyone just goes along with it. Like, what exactly? Whose democracy are we helping?
Podcast Host 2
It sounds more like bureaucracy.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, it's bureaucracy.
Podcast Host 2
Because if people aren't voting on all of these programs, which they're not, that's not democracy by definition, Right?
Sean Houlahan
No.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
There's no regulation to it, and they just do whatever they want. And yeah, he kept saying throughout the podcast, when it's too dirty for the CIA, you give it to usaid, which is just a scary statement.
Podcast Host 2
What did you think about what he was saying about the eu, which is obviously not an American organization. It's, you know, the European Union sending documents to the major social media companies, mostly in America. Saying if you don't censor in the way that they would like, you're going to lose 6% of your global revenue. Like, that's a big.
Sean Houlahan
That's scary that they have the power to do that.
Podcast Host 2
Well, they, you know, they can enact legislation in. In the areas they control. And a lot of people using social media there. What do you think a social media company is going to do? I'll tell you who's not going to do it. X. Yeah, X doesn't give off, I think.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, that was a big get back to the UA stuff in a second. But the X had a huge role in kind of blowing the lid open on this. First of all, Elon buying X and prioritizing free speech on the platform.
Podcast Host 2
It's the most insane move of all time.
Sean Houlahan
And then came the Twitter files, which opened the door and kind of told a lot of people like, hey, the government is literally colluding with big tech companies to manipulate elections.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Like, that's literally what they were doing. And everyone was like, oh, shit, why? Like, can we not.
Podcast Host 2
Barely anyone talks about, like, if you're on the other side of the. Like, here's the thing. It's like, I was never on the right of anything and I heard about the Twitter files and I wanted to know about them. I think a lot of people were there. A lot of Democrats, solid Democrats were there that went, what the fuck is this Twitter files thing? But the amount that won't even look at it won't take a. Just like, oh, that's just crazy Elon doing his thing. It's like, have a look at it.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Pay attention to it and tell me, doesn't this sound bad? And I think it just sounded so bad to me because I could just imagine what it would be like if a party or group that I didn't, like, had that power.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
So it's not about whether the group that I agreed with had it or not. That doesn't. I don't care who. No one should have that power. That's very dangerous.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, that's the thing is, like, it's very smart of you to make that observation of, like, if the people that I didn't agree with were doing this, it would still be wrong. Whether or not I agree with what they're doing and what the central message is. It's still collusion, it's still wrong. It's still not okay for the government to use platforms like that. And then you think about it and you're like, oh, well, that was just Twitter, that's only one of them. You know, not even to mention what Facebook and Instagram and, you know, Google with YouTube, all they're all doing the.
Podcast Host 2
Same book was just on Rogan and talked about that. You know, we. We now have Zuckerberg 2.0. He's got. And he surfs. Yeah. Knows jiu jitsu. But you know, he came on to be like, hey, they told us this. We took it in good faith. They tried to really censor our whole system and now we don't want to be a part of it. And we're getting rid of fact checkers. Honestly, it's a brave move because people are upset about it. Like, even. Even to hear we're getting rid of fact checkers is a very easy clickbait title to put in an article and be like, clearly Zuck's lost his mind. Now there's no facts on Facebook. And it's like, dude, there would very few facts on Facebook to start with for sure. The fact that he is taking this brave step and kind of like just, you know, he's always just been a huge nerd. That's why everyone knows him as a huge nerd. He just. Troy wants to keep everyone happy. Get everyone on Facebook, like, whatever you need. Government, I'll do what you want. The only thing about that that I didn't really care for is like, okay, so you did this before. You bent to all this before, but now you won't do it again.
Sean Houlahan
You've decided, and we're supposed to just believe that it's a step in the right direction, even just acknowledging it. But. No, I agree. I hear your point.
Podcast Host 2
And it's gonna take more than jiu jitsu and a cool gold chain.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
Before I'm fully on board with, there's.
Sean Houlahan
Still maybe a lizard.
Podcast Host 2
I've seen me drink water. It's odd.
Sean Houlahan
Don't. Yeah, I was gonna say, don't lizards drink water? They do. Yeah. But they're also cold blooded. Does anyone have, like, evidence of him, like, tanning for long periods of time, keep his body temperature up?
Podcast Host 2
Good point.
Sean Houlahan
Gotta look into that.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. If he just like lays on hot rocks.
Sean Houlahan
Someone get a video of him laying an egg, please.
Podcast Host 2
Look, I like, I like the direction he's taking. It's gonna take a little bit of time for me to be like, totally on board with him, but I like his style. I'm kind of curious why Bezos is like saying very little in all of this. I mean, he's a big player in it all. He did show up to the inauguration. You know, he bought his absolute dime piece that, let's be fair, caused the most expensive divorce in human history. And maybe for good reason.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, I mean, he's still. He's still doing all right. That's crazy. I. Yeah. Chris Rock is. Has a hilarious joke that he's. He is the only person who went through a divorce and is still the richest man in the world. Like, that's insane.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. Well, went through the most expensive divorce of all time, and it still is.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
But I'm really curious to see where his play is.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Also Google. Google isn't doing shit right now. They own YouTube. YouTube is massive, massive influence on YouTube. And they've been a big part of the censorship movement for a long time.
Podcast Host 2
Nobody seems to be holding them accountable either. Like, Rogan talks about it a lot, and I think they've left him alone since he's come back. I don't think they're constantly on his case. However, they did. They did downplay the Trump podcast. It was growing at like. Like multiple millions a day at one point. And then all of a sudden, you couldn't search for it. You couldn't find it.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, that's weird.
Podcast Host 2
And it wasn't trending. So then Rogan obviously text Elon and said, there's a problem here. Elon put it up on his ex. Joe did the same thing. Boom. Through the roof.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
I mean, we're talking hundreds of millions of views.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah. It's definitely his biggest podcast of all time.
Podcast Host 2
So I. Yeah, I don't know if there's any improvement with the whole YouTube thing.
Sean Houlahan
No. And I mean, even. I think a lot of people kind of notice the censorship stuff. During COVID there was a big push to control anti vax quote propaganda, if you will. And a lot of silencing went on during the. On YouTube and all platforms during COVID And I think that was a big part of people waking up to this is because they actually saw it happening in real time.
Podcast Host 2
It was hard to deny that.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, exactly.
Podcast Host 2
You had to, like, literally work to deny it.
Sean Houlahan
And then, you know, there is an argument during a global pandemic for controlling misinformation and stuff, but the levels that they were going to were extremely dangerous. And still, like, the amount of control they were having is like, okay, sure, we're in the middle of a pandemic, but that's still not okay. To be able to doing it, to be able to do it on that level, like, just straight up silencing people, blacklisting People so that no one sees their information. Like, just completely controlling narratives. Again, whether you agree with them or not, you should not have that amount of control to be able to silence people.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah. And you know, Mike didn't really get into it. He clearly had his own theory.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
Which I respect.
Podcast Host 2
On what was happening. Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
It's like he's going to talk about what he knows.
Podcast Host 2
He's doing enough controversial stuff. But he brought up some good points and so did Joe. Like, they lied to us about lab leak. They lied to us about spread. They lied to us about numbers. Like, there was a lot of things they lied about.
Guest
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And you know, Joe's question a little bit was like, hey, do you think that this was intentional? Which is like, wow, we're getting out there. Yeah, we're getting moon landing.
Sean Houlahan
I mean, that is. That is the ultimate question though, is like, was the whole thing of COVID planned from the get go? You know, because if you look at what it did and you look at who it benefited from, it seems. It seems hard to deny a scenario where that is possible.
Podcast Host 2
Dude, it was the largest movement of wealth ever.
Guest
Yep.
Podcast Host 2
Like the billionaires went from like 40, 50 billion.
T-Mobile Ad
Unlike what you're listening to, T Mobile's coverage is no joke because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network switch. Now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to 4.
Lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required card is no cash access and expires in six months.
Podcast Host 2
To hundreds. Hundreds.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
And who, where's. Where did that money come from? It come from people that were told they can't work.
Sean Houlahan
And the people who were in the middle class or the lower class went from having something to having nothing.
Podcast Host 2
And now no one can buy houses.
Sean Houlahan
No one can buy houses. I'm 23 years old and I've just come to the conclusion that I will never be able to afford a house in this country.
Podcast Host 2
Sean lives in the studio. From now on, we're going to get you a hammock. We're going to take care of you, brother.
Sean Houlahan
You're going to make me whole. I'm very grateful. Can I start using the toilet, though? I know I have my piss mat, but I'd really like to use the toilet. From now on, if.
Podcast Host 2
Oh, here. No, no, you just get a hammock and a bucket and a sad bucket that you can use. I mean, look, we live in Bozeman, Montana, and the housing prices here are like a million dollars average.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, I think the average in Bozeman is kind of. It skyrocketed during COVID and it's kind of topped out at around 700,000 thereabouts. 700 to 800,000. Oh, eight.
Podcast Host 2
Okay.
Sean Houlahan
What's the minimum wage in Montana? I don't know. It's still federally 7. Something hasn't changed federally in so many years. I think In Montana it's 12 to $13 an hour.
Podcast Host 2
All right.
Sean Houlahan
And a lot of businesses out here provide more than that.
Podcast Host 2
It's 1055 in Montana. Yeah. City of Bozeman increasing the minimum wage for a city employees to 21 per hour.
Sean Houlahan
Oh, really?
Podcast Host 2
20, 21. All right, 2021. We are Gallatin. Yeah. Basically, you can't buy a house. No, that's the conclusion of that number. You can't buy a house. You could buy one of those sheds that they sell like Home Depot and you can play a really small bit of land and get a good sleeping bag.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah.
Podcast Host 2
You know, raise some kids. So it's basically. It's like. It's like back in the pioneer days, you know, you have a little stove, your whole family dies. Dysentery. But you have net.
Sean Houlahan
We have quality time together.
Podcast Host 2
You have. We have social media.
Guest
Yeah.
Sean Houlahan
You can just live. Otherwise we're all going to get meta quests and we're all going to move to the utopia whenever they build it.
Podcast Host 2
I think that's. I think that's. What's the next. Well, I think that's it for now. I mean, there was so much in this podcast. You have to listen to it if you're curious at all. It's so insane. And I'd love to hear your thoughts. Go to our website. The link is in the bio. Message us there. We love to hear from you. We do our best to get back to people, but we get literally hundreds of emails a day. So it's a bit of a struggle, but I do what I can. Okay. And Sean, thank you.
Sean Houlahan
Thank you for inviting me. This was a great episode.
Podcast Host 2
Excited to have you back on. And you have done Rogan with me before, right?
Sean Houlahan
No, this is the first time people hearing my voice.
Podcast Host 2
Yeah, well, I used to do another show with you, so. Yeah, I can't believe that's the first time we're gonna have you on again.
Sean Houlahan
Yeah, I'm excited.
Podcast Host 2
This is great. The lessons need it. Thank you, everyone, for listening. We'll talk to you next week later.
Summary of Episode 427: Joe Rogan Experience Review of Mike Benz
Release Date: February 19, 2025
In Episode 427 of the Joe Rogan Experience Review podcast, hosts Adam Thorne and his co-host engage in a deep and multifaceted discussion about Mike Benz's episode on the Joe Rogan Experience. Joined by special guest Sean Houlahan, the hosts dissect topics ranging from government secrecy and censorship to the influence of big tech and the handling of COVID-19 policies. This comprehensive summary captures the key points, notable quotes, and insightful conclusions drawn during the 45-minute breakdown.
The episode kicks off with the hosts expressing their enthusiasm for Mike Benz's particularly intense and information-rich appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. They acknowledge the overwhelming amount of material covered, indicating a need for a thorough analysis to unpack the complexities discussed by Benz.
Notable Quote:
“This was a crazy, crazy podcast. I took a lot of notes and then I got really stressed and I had to take a break.”
— Host 2 [01:02]
Mike Benz delves into the historical foundations of government secrecy, tracing back to the "secrecy doctrine" established in 1948. He argues that this doctrine paved the way for NGOs like USAID, the CIA, and the State Department to engage in covert operations, effectively conducting "organized political warfare."
Notable Quote:
“We need to create a covert apparatus to hide what we do from the rest of the world to do secret political warfare on the low.”
— Mike Benz [01:57]
Benz emphasizes the dissonance between governmental actions and public awareness, highlighting the Americans' limited understanding of international relations and the hidden nature of political interventions.
The discussion shifts to USAID's significant budget and its expanded role in global operations, often surpassing the CIA in funding. Benz points out that USAID functions as a modern extension of the CIA, handling operations that are too clandestine for traditional intelligence agencies.
Notable Quote:
“USAID is basically the new version of the CIA... They have $40 billion, which is more than the CIA gets.”
— Sean Houlahan [07:57]
The hosts express astonishment at the lack of transparency and accountability within USAID, questioning how such a large budget can operate with minimal oversight.
A significant portion of the episode centers on the themes of censorship and free speech. Sean Houlahan critiques contemporary censorship practices, arguing that they undermine fundamental democratic principles by silencing dissenting voices.
Notable Quote:
“If people that you don't agree with can't speak and say things that you don't agree with, you don't have free speech, which is fundamental to running a healthy country.”
— Sean Houlahan [10:18]
The hosts debate the implications of censorship, particularly in the context of social media platforms and government regulations. They highlight the problematic nature of enforcing censorship that favors specific narratives, thereby compromising genuine free speech.
The podcast delves into the inefficiencies and mismanagement within government spending. The hosts cite examples like excessive budgets for USAID and the Pentagon, juxtaposed with inadequate financial support for domestic crises such as natural disasters.
Notable Quote:
“The Pentagon's budget is $900 billion, which the fuck knows where that's going.”
— Sean Houlahan [07:57]
They critique the allocation of funds towards seemingly frivolous projects (e.g., bringing "Sesame Street" to Iraq) and point out the lack of effective oversight, leading to wastage and potential corruption.
The relationship between governments and big tech companies is scrutinized, particularly focusing on how entities like the European Union exert control over social media companies to enforce censorship through financial penalties.
Notable Quote:
“The European Union sending documents to major social media companies, telling them to censor or lose 6% of their global revenue... that's a big threat.”
— Podcast Host 2 [36:47]
The discussion extends to the role of platforms like Twitter (now X) and YouTube in shaping public discourse, referencing Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and the subsequent "Twitter Files" revelation as pivotal moments exposing government-tech collusion.
The hosts critique the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the distribution of financial aid. They argue that the support provided was insufficient compared to the vast sums allocated to foreign operations, exacerbating economic disparities.
Notable Quote:
“During COVID they gave people $500 or $650... but paying millions for these wacky programs.”
— Podcast Host 2 [20:15]
The inadequacy of aid packages is contrasted with the government's overspending on projects that do not directly benefit the American populace, questioning the prioritization of resources.
The episode touches on conspiracy theories regarding the origins of COVID-19, pondering whether the pandemic was orchestrated to benefit certain economic interests. The hosts discuss the massive wealth shifts during the pandemic, suggesting that it could have been strategically planned.
Notable Quote:
“Was the whole thing of COVID planned from the get-go? ... It seems hard to deny a scenario where that is possible.”
— Sean Houlahan [45:55]
A segment explores how cultural elements like art and music are co-opted by government agencies to manipulate public perception. References are made to Jackson Pollock's artwork and its potential use in governmental propaganda efforts.
Notable Quote:
“They were funding this guy’s galleries... it's like cultural manipulation that is very useful for the CIA.”
— Sean Houlahan [29:55]
As the episode draws to a close, the hosts and Sean Houlahan emphasize the critical need for public awareness and education regarding government operations and media manipulation. They advocate for greater transparency, accountability, and active engagement from citizens to safeguard democratic freedoms and ensure that governmental powers remain checked and balanced.
Notable Quote:
“You don't have free speech if people can't say things you don't agree with, and the government shouldn't have that much control...”
— Sean Houlahan [10:18]
The episode serves as a call to action for listeners to become more informed and vigilant about the intricate dynamics between government agencies, big tech, and media, underscoring the importance of maintaining democratic integrity and protecting free speech.
This summary provides a structured and detailed overview of Episode 427, capturing the essential discussions, insights, and conclusions presented by the hosts and their guest. Notable quotes with precise timestamps offer authenticity and allow readers to reference specific moments within the podcast.