477 Joe Rogan Experience Review of Theo Von

Summary

Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast

Episode 477: Joe Rogan Experience Review of Theo Von

Date: November 25, 2025
Hosts: Adam Thorne and Brandon

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Overview

This episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Review focuses on Joe Rogan’s recent interview with comedian Theo Von. Adam and Brandon dissect the intense, unpredictable, and at times deeply anxious conversation between Joe and Theo. They discuss the turning point the episode represents for the JRE, the escalating political entanglements, and Theo Von’s visible distress over the pressures of influence and politics. The review is as much about the changing mood of Rogan’s podcast as it is about the behind-the-scenes emotional landscape of its guests and hosts.

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Main Discussion Themes

1. The “Turning Point” for JRE: Heavy Politics & Influence

• Adam: Points out that having guests like Theo, fresh from intense personal and political drama, marks a new, deeply political era on JRE.
  • "This is like the pinnacle episode of politics where Joe's at right now." [02:17]
• Brandon: Observes the shift from expected goofs to a surprisingly serious and chaotic episode:
  • "I thought it would be a very silly, fun episode, but wow, I don't know what to say." [01:45]

2. Theo Von's Mental State and Anxiety Spiral

• The episode traces Theo’s emotional distress through several recent events:

  • Hanging out with Candace Owens (who feeds him anxious, conspiratorial ideas)
  • Fallout and online labeling of his “mental breakdown”
  • The impact of Charlie Kirk's (fictional) death
  • The Department of Homeland Security using his image in a controversial video
  • Comedic and personal backlash from peers like Mark Maron

• Brandon:

  • "He's just getting crushed by the weight of all this. And that's what's happening. And you see that unfold on this episode. You really do." [10:49]
  • "Theo was definitely coming from a place from anxiety. All this was stemming from anxiety, for sure." [37:57]

3. Politics, Podcasting, and the Influence Web

• Both hosts speculate that Rogan and Theo feel regret and fatigue from political involvement:
  • Adam: "I really think they're both regretting kind of having Trump on to some degree, or just getting involved at that level of politics. I think they're both pretty disillusioned by the state of politics." [02:47]
• Discussion about the risk of politicians using podcast platforms for their own agendas.
  • "It's like podcasting got too close to that world and almost got taken advantage of, I think." [02:59]

4. Social Media Radicalization vs. Censorship

• The hosts analyze a point of friction:
  • Theo: Cites algorithmic radicalization as a real danger, affecting young minds via unwanted extremist content. [14:38]
  • Joe: Counters that efforts to counter this can become dangerous censorship.
• Adam:
  • "Censorship... generally bad move. That's a slippery slope... But is it that fair... if someone's trying to lose weight, and then their algorithm is just sending them pizza videos all the time?" [15:57]

5. The Homeland Security Video Controversy

• Theo’s image was allegedly used by Homeland Security in a video alongside ICE. Both hosts mull over the aired and perceived context.
  • Adam:
    • "They put him on there. It's not like he was paid to do it... He just wouldn't have said anything like that to be mean." [18:33 and 17:24]

6. Joe’s Deflection and The “Billionaire Bubble”

• Joe’s repeated deflection from Israel/Palantir topics is noted and debated:
  • Adam:
    • "Everyone is trying to... steer clear of any Israel questions, right?" [19:42]
    • Suggests Joe is spending more time with billionaires and defending their interests.
  • Brandon:
    • "The famous catch line of a lot of these guests that Joe has who are tech people: 'My good friend Peter Thiel.'" [24:07]
• The dangerous allure and influence of billionaire power on discourse is a recurring motif:
  • Adam:
    • "Billionaires are super rare... incredibly powerful. They could literally just be like, 'Hey, Joe, want to come to my giant castle with your whole family? I'll fly you there in my solid gold jet.'" [25:20]

7. Palantir, Israel, and the Surveillance State

• Detailed discussion about Palantir (Peter Thiel's company), its relationships to Israel and ICE, and broader surveillance concerns.
  • Brandon:
    • "What's scary about it is that it's surveillance, but it might be Israel surveilling us." [22:12]
    • "It's a mess, it really is... Israel has its fingerprints all over this." [23:47]
• Theo voices reasonable skepticism about the cross-pollination of U.S. and Israeli defense contracts and worries about civil liberty implications.
  • "They were getting data on people there and were operating weaponized drones, which is true." [22:44]

8. Joe’s Possible Motives for Deflection: ADHD or Protection?

• Both hosts debate if Joe's frequent conversational left-turns are due to media training, self-preservation, genuine ADHD, or looking after Theo.
  • Brandon:
    • "I think the Joe kind of deflecting from Israel comments... seemed like a little more than just ADHD." [27:39]
  • Adam:
    • "I also think he might have been trying to save Theo a little bit too. I mean, that's a rabbit hole that you might not want to go down." [27:55]

9. Theo’s Future: Burnout, Platform Power & Potential Pivot

• Ongoing speculation about whether this public crisis will make Theo withdraw from politics or emerge as a critic of figures like Peter Thiel & Palantir.
  • Brandon:
    • "He might become a big voice against Peter Teal, Palantir, Israel. Because this whole Israel debate is becoming a bipartisan issue." [32:53]
• Chart rankings discussed as measures of Theo’s influence and pressure.
  • "Theo's podcast is like, top four, top three in the world." [33:43]
• Comparison with Rogan’s resilience in the face of controversy.
  • Adam:
    • "Rogan is built for this type of attention... Other people, it's a lot harder." [34:30]

10. Notable Friendship & Vulnerability Moments

• Joe reveals he sometimes only learns about Theo’s struggles through the podcast itself:
  • "There was this really kind of sweet moment of friendship between the two of them where Joe is, like, I often learn more about you from podcasts... I like to check in with you, because I don't always know." [36:11]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Theo's shifting persona:

  • "He's flying too close to the sun of conspiracies." – Adam [10:59]

• YouTube community reaction:

  • "The top comment on YouTube was, 'Joe redirecting the convo every time Theo mentions Israel.' 6.5,000 likes." – Brandon [04:06]

• Spotify comments culture:

  • "It's just very short. It's just like, 'blah. Pretty good.'" – Adam [05:17]

• On Rogan’s billionaire connections:

  • "To say that a billionaire is your good friend... They could buy us so easy, dude." – Adam [24:47; 26:18]

• Theo’s fragile state:

  • "He just struggles with a lot of pressure... I'm glad Joe's close to him, and I'm glad this episode actually happened." – Adam [35:39, 36:23]

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Key Timestamps for Major Topics

• 01:32 – Episode intro and framing: “Theo Vaughn, the legend that is. And man, was he on fire.”
• 02:47 – Discussion of JRE’s political entanglements; regret and disillusionment.
• 07:57 – Joe missing Theo’s “weighted glasses” joke, a sign of mismatched moods.
• 10:44 – Theo’s anxiety spiral detailed (Charlie Kirk, Mark Maron, Candace Owens).
• 14:38 – Social media radicalization vs. censorship debate between Joe and Theo.
• 17:24 – Adam’s perspective as an immigrant on the ICE/Homeland video.
• 19:42 – 22:47 – Joe’s persistent deflection, discussion of Palantir, Israel, surveillance, and billionaire influence.
• 24:47 – Discussion on billionaires' influence on media, including the “good friend Peter Thiel” meme.
• 27:39 – Speculation about Joe's deflections: ADHD or strategic protection?
• 32:53 – Is Theo about to pivot? Where will his anxiety and activism lead?
• 36:11 – 37:38 – Friendship moments and the difficulty of opening up; podcast as therapy.
• 39:42 – Joe’s closing argument: “AI will just make decisions for us.” Theo’s further anxiety.

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Final Impressions & Ratings

• Brandon:

  • "Theo was definitely coming from a place from anxiety... But when it comes to a lot of the things that are coming out of Theo, there's a lot of truth in it at the same time." [37:57]

• Adam:

  • "Honestly, you know, ever since I heard about his special, like, really, I've been worried about Theo... this really cemented that for me." [41:20]

• Overall Ratings:

  • "I was into it. Like, I was really—it was very entertaining for me, honestly. I give it an eight. Solid eight." – Adam [42:54]
  • "Eight as well. That's... a solid eight. One of the best episodes. Very entertaining, a lot of drama. It's what I like." – Brandon [43:00]

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Summary

• The episode is a must-listen for Rogan fans interested in the pressures high-profile podcasting is putting on both guests and hosts.
• It captures a tense but illuminating moment for both the Joe Rogan Experience and for Theo Von, with themes of political exhaustion, radicalization, surveillance, and the weight of unintended influence.
• Throughout, Adam and Brandon blend critique, empathy, and humor, echoing concern for Theo’s wellbeing, and raising pointed questions about media power, billionaire influence, and the future of political podcasting.

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Recommended segment for snippet listening:

• Theo’s anxiety spiral & the Homeland Security controversy [10:44–18:59]
• The debate over algorithmic radicalization vs. censorship [14:38–16:34]
• Palantir, Israel, surveillance, and billionaire influence [19:42–24:47]
• Friendship/therapy moments between Joe and Theo [36:11–37:38]

Transcript

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[Brandon]

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[Adam Thorne]

With your host, Adam Thorne. This might either be the worst podcast or the best one of all time. One go.

[Brandon]

Enjoy the show.

[Adam Thorne]

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Review. Wow, Brandon, we got a good one this week. Theo Vaughn, the legend that is. And man, was he on fire.

[Brandon]

I was looking for Goofs. I thought it would be a very silly, fun episode, but wow, I don't. I don't know what to say.

[Adam Thorne]

He's just gotten in too deep now. His podcast is too big. He's too influential. People are telling him too much stuff. It's starting to scramble his brain.

[Brandon]

He's been also hanging out with Candace Owens, which shows that'd do it. And she seems to have planted some things in his head that he's been spiraling about. Oh my God, man, this episode is insane. This is like a turning point. For the podcast, in my opinion. Oh, yeah, it really is. You can look at this whole podcast, the entire timeline, and definitely, like, pick out eras, whatever era this is. This is like the pinnacle episode of Politics where Joe's at right now. Wow. Yeah, we have a lot to talk about. It's.

[Adam Thorne]

I. I really think that both of them, I think to some degree, they're both regretting kind of having Trump on to some degree, or just getting involved with that kind of level of politics. I think they're both pretty disillusioned by the state of politics, and I think they just want to go back to podcasting, and they're in to stay away from it. It's like podcasting got too close to that world and almost. Almost got taken advantage of, I think. I think those politicians came in and just said, oh, we're using this space for what we want.

[Brandon]

They're in too deep.

[Adam Thorne]

Smart move.

[Brandon]

It is. Duncan Trussell warned Joe about this. Remember where he goes, hey, man, your podcast is blowing up. There's going to be some evil people who are going to try to take advantage of your platform since it's the biggest in the world. And Joe's like, come on, we'll just hug him. We'll just hug it out. Unfortunately, that didn't really work out because Theo's having a mental breakdown on the podcast. Joe is tiptoeing around certain subjects. It's crazy. This was a crazy episode.

[Adam Thorne]

It was nuts, dude.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Yeah. The reaction to it was interesting, too. Like, the top comment on YouTube was, quote, Joe redirecting the convo every time Theo mentions Israel. 6.5,000 likes. Yeah, and Spotify was really trying to.

[Adam Thorne]

Stay clear of that. But, you know, he was also making it a little bit of a joke as well. I mean, it wasn't like he cut it from the episode, right?

[Brandon]

Yeah, but if you were to cut, like, you can't hide it. Like, the thing is, if he cut.

[Adam Thorne]

All that out, it wouldn't even make sense.

[Brandon]

What would you cut out? 30 minutes, you know, and there would be all these jump cuts. It would be. People would be like, what is happening in this podcast? Yeah, Spotify people seem to be very chill about it. Top comment. You guys better not complain. It's King Theo Vaughn, where. That's the thing. Of course, we're seeing a lot of people kind of complaining in the comments. Oh, get this guy. I didn't like this episode.

[Adam Thorne]

You know, the. The. The comments on Spotify newer. Right. This is kind of a new feature that they've added to Spotify, and I don't think it has the kind of community that, like, a YouTube has. Not at all. YouTube has a very developed comment community. Right. There's a style to it. There's a. It's like. When I look at the Spotify ones, it's. It's a whole different feel in there, you know, I'm not saying they're necessarily like. Or it's just very short. It's just like, blah. Pretty good. You know, it is.

[Brandon]

But it's also like an. A massive part of Joe's listener base. That's the only reason why I'm including it because. Oh, yeah, I listen to him on Spotify. You know, I don't use YouTube, but yeah, also, top comment. When is Nick Fuentes coming on? We see that every single episode. Nick Fuentes. Get him on. Get Nick Fuentes on. And. And the. The comment after that. Thank you for speaking up about things Joe is afraid to talk about. So it seems like people are seeing it right through this, right through the. And people also want Nick Fuentes on, which I'm not sure if that will ever happen because, I don't know. Joe seemed like he really disagreed with Charlie Kirk. I feel like Nick Fuentes is a little more extreme on that side, and Joe might see that and disagree with a lot of that, because I don't know if you disagree with Charlie Kirk. I don't know anyone who disagrees with Charlie Kirk but agrees with Nick Fuentes, you know?

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.

[Brandon]

And I'm just saying that because I'm trying to look at this through Joe's perspective because he got a lot of backlash from. From after Charlie Kirk's death, being like, yeah, I didn't agree with this, this, this, and this. And people were like, off, you know, Anyway. Yeah. So let's just get this out of the way. I thought what was hilarious on this episode was how Joe just misses the glasses joke right away. You know, in the beginning when he puts on the glasses and Theo's like, oh, they're like weighted glasses so you can do like. Well, what did he say? He's like, they're weighted glasses so you can, like, work out your neck. And she's like, why would you do that? It's like, he's obviously kidding.

[Adam Thorne]

I love it when Joe misses.

[Brandon]

Yeah, yeah. And this is like, literally like 10 seconds in. So I'm like, this is going to be a good episode.

[Adam Thorne]

He does. He does like to get in a pretty serious mood sometimes. Joe does like, he gets. He gets real serious. And then, I mean, doing that with Theo is like, come on, what are you doing? Obviously, Theo is. He's a goofball.

[Brandon]

Yeah. It's like everything Theo says should be suspect. And we really saw that this episode, but not for the reason you would think it is. You know, where it's like, everything he says, it's like, oh, it's probably a joke or something. Like, this is right off of Theo's mental breakdown. That's a good point. Like, that also was a reason why I was really anticipating this, because he didn't.

[Adam Thorne]

I mean, it's just online called it a breakdown. Right. He just had. He just had, like, a bit of a moment during his special, and, you know, there was just kind of a bit of a reaction. He's spoken about it and kind of downplayed it, right?

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

But something definitely happened. Something was going on with Theo for sure.

[Brandon]

Well, Charlie Kirk's death was a big part of that, you know, because Charlie Kirk got killed. And then the home security, Homeland Security. I. I forget the timeline. I think it was right after Homeland Security put out out the. The video of Theo Vaughn being like, by.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh, that was nuts.

[Brandon]

Promoting ice.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, that was.

[Brandon]

And Theo was fearing for his life. That's what he was saying. Like, he was saying. He was calling Joe. He's calling all his friends. He's like, you guys all right? Because he's like, I guess they're just killing these political figures now. Any kind of figure that's on Tick Tock or a podcaster. So he started fearing for his life, and then apparently Mark Marin threw a wrench in that as well. As we talked about on the last episode, we did just talking about the Mark Marin beef, which was a lot of fun. Kind of a new format we were messing with for this podcast. Last episode, we just covered the entire Mark Maron, Joe Rogan beef. But when Mark Marin made a joke about Theo, that also set him off. It was really just many things that made him explode. And then the special taping, he's freaking out. He's panicking. He's having anxiety. He's missing the jokes, he's forgetting lines. And then he's going over Ken Owen's house, and she's saying, oh, Palantir is going to kill you. Peter Thiel is coming to your house with a knife. It's getting scary, you know?

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

And he's just.

[Adam Thorne]

He needed to have just gone on vacation. He is.

[Brandon]

And he's just getting crushed by the weight of all this. And that's what's happening. And you see that unfold on this episode. You really do.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. He's like flying too close to the sun of conspiracies.

[Brandon]

Yes.

[Adam Thorne]

And to be fair, I mean, some of it is not unwarranted. I mean, that Homeland ice thing is. I mean, we don't know what the messages were like that he was getting. I mean, people have not been happy. I mean, Joe's not even happy with some of this ice stuff. I mean, it seems like this is some real heavy handed behavior in some areas. And, you know, it's, it's pretty sad to see and to be tied to that, you know, to be seen as someone out of context. It's like, promotes it, not even promotes it. Like, mocks it. Like, later. Get out of the country.

[Brandon]

Like, yeah. Hi.

[Adam Thorne]

Mm.

[Brandon]

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[Adam Thorne]

Right.

[Brandon]

So you put two and two together.

[Adam Thorne]

Time.

[Brandon]

And then that video exists. So it's like, oh, this is what he helped create. He's promoting this. He. He won't mind us using this video. So I understand that perspective because they were acting on this podcast, like, how could they.

[Adam Thorne]

How.

[Brandon]

Why would they think that's all right, where it's like, you got. There is. There is some conversations on if Theo and Joe got Trump elected. There's a lot of dialogue on that out there that people believe that Theo Vaughan and Joe got Trump elected.

[Adam Thorne]

And so, yeah, it's reasonable to say, yeah, some degree. I mean, they definitely helped. And, you know, Joe's alluded to that he's kind of after Trump won, and then there was a lot of positive support behind Trump. And it was before, you know, he did this Epstein180 and started to kind of lose faith with people. You know, a lot more people were excited about it, and he was happier to kind of take a bit of that credit for it. Now I'm sure he's wanting to kind of take a bit of a step back, but, yeah, they definitely played a role.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And it creates this debate between Theo and Joe. That's what was interesting about this episode as well, how there was a lot of pushback from Joe Rogan and Theo. Like, they seem to clash on a lot of things. Like, for example, when it came to that Homeland Security debate and like them talking about it and what happened and what happened to Theo because of it. Theo argues that social media should be held accountable for radicalization, but Joe disagrees and says it's censorship and it's dangerous. And the thing that Theo's talking about is algorithmic radicalization. And it's studies that show that algorithms have been pushing extremist content even when the subjects haven't been searching for it. I'm not sure if you're some of this, but I've gotten this a lot. I've gotten a lot of neo Nazi stuff on my feed. And I'm like, oh, if I was a dumb 12 year old, I would be. I might be a Nazi by 13. You get some of this stuff on your feed and you're like, where the is this coming from? Where. I believe that's what Theo was trying to say. Where Joe is like, oh, it's just. It's censorship. Don't even think about it. You know.

[Adam Thorne]

Sure, sure. You know, so really, basically they both have a good point there, right? So censorship, you know, across the board, generally bad move. Right. That's a slippery slope. But also, you know, is it that to just be like, you know, if someone is trying to lose weight and then their algorithm is just sending them pizza videos all the time, it's like, well, it's a little unfair. Right? Give him a chance.

[Brandon]

Yeah. It's like, what's going on here? Something's not working. Something's not working. Or someone's trying to fuck with people. Yeah, I don't know what it is, unfortunately.

[Adam Thorne]

So what did. What did Theo do? He got a lawyer. They contacted Homeland Security, and he was like, I'm, like, gonna sue you.

[Brandon]

I'm not 100% sure.

[Adam Thorne]

All I know is Homeland Security.

[Brandon]

I'm not sure you can. I'd be afraid they'd deport me if I tried.

[Adam Thorne]

They're like, theo, you are Argentinian. Go back.

[Brandon]

Sending you to. You're gonna have to make a new studio in Guantanamo Bay. Yeah, yeah. It was taken down. I know that the video was taken.

[Adam Thorne]

They took it down pretty quick, but everyone saw it. Dude, I saw it.

[Brandon]

Oh, yeah. And it's been reposted.

[Adam Thorne]

But I'd actually seen that clip before they connected it. I'd seen it just, like, just being posted around.

[Brandon]

What was your reaction to that?

[Adam Thorne]

Well, they were just talking to someone on the street, so I didn't really see it as, like, him making fun of a deported. I didn't even know if anyone had been deported. Right. I thought that he was just joking with some fans. So I didn't think about, like, for me, when I first saw it, it was completely out of the context of, like, ice, So I wasn't even putting any of those pieces together. And, you know, I'm saying that as someone that when I was in high school, they started deportation or threatened to start a deportation process on me. So I was like, right in that, you know, so I could have got triggered by it. Right. It just didn't. It didn't hit me that way. I was like, oh, Theo's just being funny. Also, I've met Theo a bunch of times. He's not mean at all. He's a nice, sweet person. He just. He wouldn't have said anything like that to be mean. So I just wasn't even looking at it. Now. As soon as they connected it to the Homeland Security page, I mean, it clearly looked like. I mean, it looked bad.

[Brandon]

Look Rough. Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh, yeah. It's a bad look.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

I mean, and, you know, they put him on there. It's like. It's not like he was paid to do it. Right. It's like they use his whole thing, and it's like, no, not that he would have taken money for it. That would have been a gross way to make some money. But it's like they. They just put him out there and go, there you go. I'm sure this won't do anything negative for his life.

[Brandon]

It's like, what? It's wild that they would think that now. I have a question for you. So you look at. You look at Joe's responses and you look at his deflection on this episode. So Theo goes, the government is defending billionaire pedophiles. And Joe responds with, isn't Tim Dylan funny? And then Theo goes, israel killed jfk. And then Joe goes, l Ron Hubbard is crazy. Like, what do you think is going on? Do you think Joe just has adhd? Or do you think he's. He's, you know, in a. I don't know, positioned in the machine.

[Adam Thorne]

Maybe took too much alpha brain that morning. Look, I mean, he. Every. Everyone is trying to stay steer clear of any Israel questions, right? I mean, he's not looking to jump in the mix there and then. Yeah, he has been on a bit of a thing about sticking up for Peter and Elon and, like, not really getting in the mix with them. I mean, he doesn't mind shitting on politicians right now or the government, but yeah, he is kind of. You know, I think he's just. He's getting uber, uber rich. Like, I think he's hanging out with billionaires a lot more, and he's just seeing them in a different way than. I mean, they're also. They're easy to demonize, too. They have all the money and a ton of power. Like, it's really easy to make them assholes, right? So they're probably not as bad as people like to make them out. And also, they're kind of odd. They're all nerds and goofy, so it's easy to pick on them for being weirdos and jump in there. The whole thing with Peter's thing and Palantir, it's like, look, somebody has to create a surveillance system. We need it. Other countries are going to do it. We can't not have one, and we can't not have a good one. And we should have a really smart nerd with tons of money making it. I don't know. Like, what is the alternative to him doing it? That's my question. I'm like, okay, it sucks he's doing it. Maybe he's a bad guy. And who else should we have do it instead?

[Brandon]

Maybe for, in my opinion, the United States and not Israel. You know, like, because that's the big thing with Palantir is that it's. It's, you know, he made it for Israel to, like, weaponize drones to get and then ice.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh, that's right.

[Brandon]

It's a mess. It really is. And that's a whole thing we can get into with. With Theo's view on Palantir, which Joe seemed really uncomfortable with.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, he.

[Brandon]

Because it's real criticism. Yeah, because that. That's the issue with Palantir. It's like it is used by Israel and then it seems like ice. A lot of people are straight up.

[Adam Thorne]

Right, right, straight up.

[Brandon]

And people are saying that ICE is the excuse to implement it into the States. But what's scary about it is that it's surveillance, but it might be Israel surveilling us. I don't know it like, you know, just to talk about real quick, Theo on Palantir, Theo goes to quote, they were getting data on people there and were operating weaponized drones, which is true. Joe goes, is that real? And then he goes, jamie isn't even willing to talk on camera.

[Adam Thorne]

Jamie was like, get me out of here now.

[Brandon]

But then Joe starts to defend Peter Thiel a little bit and goes, Joe, he's like, America needs to integrate drones and all this stuff because China is doing it. But Theo goes, it's just scary to me that the same company that does that is also creating a database and potentially doing the same thing here. So I don't know. And it's reasonable. It's a mess. It really is a mess because Israel has its fingerprints all over this. Also, if you really want to, like, you know, if you want to get into some conspiracies, Peter Teal is all over the emails and, you know, there's some also conspiracies that Epstein had ties to Israel. Weirdly enough, Peter T. Is doing all.

[Adam Thorne]

Is that even a conspiracy anymore or.

[Brandon]

Is like a fact? It really isn't.

[Adam Thorne]

That happened.

[Brandon]

He did. I'm just trying to not get a bomb through my. Thrown through my window. But yeah, yeah, so it's.

[Adam Thorne]

It's like a small drone just comes up behind you. I'm like, buddy, what's up?

[Brandon]

Just get a lit up. So, yeah, it's. It's valid criticism. And Joe's in an uncomfortable position because what do a lot. What's the famous catch line of a lot of these guests that Joe has who are tech people? My good friend Peter Thiel. That is the catch line of a lot of these tech people who are on the podcast. I think Eric Weinstein, the la. He literally said that. It's. It's a line. They all fucking say, not my friend Peter Thiel. They all say, my good friend Peter Thiel. As it's. As it's like a. Like a soundboard that goes off in them.

[Adam Thorne]

To say that a billionaire is your good Friend. I mean, listen, a billionaire and this is something that, you know, you should really think about. It's like they are kings or queens if they're female. Like, that's how powerful they are. Like, what really sets them apart. Kings and queens in the past, yeah, they just owned a bunch of land and had a ton of money, you know, but it's like billionaires are super rare and they are mega wealthy people, like, incredibly powerful.

[Brandon]

So.

[Adam Thorne]

And now they have these platforms if they're cool with Joe. So of course they're doing everything. And think how easy would be for a billionaire to impress someone. They could literally just be like, hey, Joe, you want to come to my giant castle with your whole family? I'll fly you there in my solid gold jet. And you know what I mean? It's like nothing. Everything is free for them. So they can just blow your mind with all this extravagance and be like, oh, yeah, you can just stay and borrow my Bugatti and smash it into another Bugatti if you want. And that's fine. Here's a free jet ski. Go have fun.

[Brandon]

I had a friend who they have.

[Adam Thorne]

Access to the biggest media platform in the world whenever they want to talk about anything they want with a positive light and a spin. Yeah.

[Brandon]

Like, I had a friend who got 100 bucks recently and I was impressed, you know, so put that on times a billion. A billion.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. They could buy us so easy, dude.

[Brandon]

It would be ridiculous easily.

[Adam Thorne]

So all of a sudden it's you and I just going, our good friend Peter deal.

[Brandon]

Every episode. Yeah. And we're looking up everything in perplexity too.

[Adam Thorne]

He just gave us like a $40 gift card. We're like our good friend. Our wonderful good friend.

[Brandon]

Yeah, that's how to sell me out. 40 gift card to GameStop. So. So what is your whole view on Joe kind of deflecting a little bit of when he goes. Because I. I think it might be a little adhd. I think it might be adhd because Joe does this thing where Theo's like, isn't aliens. What do you think aliens are? Just, they're, they're. This isn't a tourist attack attraction anymore. Don't you think aliens are maybe not interested in visiting? And Joe's response is, isn't, there's this crazy ass temple in India. Do you know about it? So I think there's a bit of adhd. I do think so. Because that was a whole happened with that temple in India was just so out of nowhere.

[Adam Thorne]

It did seem like The. They maybe both had a bit too much coffee before the podcast started.

[Brandon]

It did.

[Adam Thorne]

So they were a little excited.

[Brandon]

At the same time, I think the Joe kind of deflecting from Israel comments, what seemed a little. I don't know, seemed a little more than just adhd. Seemed like a little purposeful. Seemed like he didn't want to talk about Israel.

[Adam Thorne]

True. I also think he might have been trying to save Theo a little bit too. I mean, that's. That's a rabbit hole that you might not want to go down. And there's a chance that after this pod, Joe had a bit of a chat with him and said, hey, bud, I get it. Like, I know where you're coming from. A lot of people are talking like this. Go easy, tread lightly. Maybe, maybe don't even go into that direction because you've been pretty stressed out recently. There's a lot on your plate. Don't add to it. You know, I mean, Joe's pretty practical like that. He's not looking for wars, you know, that are unnecessary. So it felt like a bit of that was going on. I didn't feel like he was necessarily, like, protecting Israel. He might have been protecting Peter a.

[Brandon]

Little bit, if anything.

[Adam Thorne]

For sure. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, there's those clips.

[Brandon]

Right.

[Adam Thorne]

What was. What were the two big clips that I pulled aside, like, how long will Israel keep us alive? And then they turned it to Israel Adesanya, like, you know, good recovery. And then the whole Palantir Israel drone thing. Yeah. I mean, he kind of wouldn't let it go. I think he's still had to drop it.

[Brandon]

Exactly. And I think this is a part of his mental breakdown because, again, where did it start? It started with Charlie Kirk and a lot of criticism directed at him politically. And Charlie Kirk gets killed. He starts looking into it. He's hanging out with Ken Owens, which he says, who's definitely planting these ideas into him. He's starting to freak out. He's starting to become self aware. What the did I get myself into? This is crazy. I don't know. I. I think he's starting to, like, kind of wake up to the world because the whole Peter Thiel thing, a lot of these tech guys, Israel, there's. There's a lot of debate and a lot of good evidence that some really slimy, evil stuff is going on.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. And, you know, I haven't been following Candace too closely, but, you know, you see her on. See clips of stuff that she's getting into. And. And yeah, she's. She's going down her own rabbit holes. I mean, she's blowing up. Her show's getting massive, which has given her a ton of confidence and, you know, is kind of like supporting these new directions that she's going. But as she does that and people get close to her, like Theo. Right. And you can imagine that these conversations are going very much one way. It's not like Theo is hanging out with her, bringing a bunch of, like, news and knowledge to the table. It's like Candace is spilling it all into Theo's ear. And, you know, that's gonna have an effect.

[Brandon]

It is. Yeah. And someone like him, he's gonna soak that all up like a sponge. Really.

[Adam Thorne]

I don't know where he needs to take a break. He needs to go on vacation, and.

[Brandon]

I don't know where this is gonna lead him to.

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Oh, hey.

[Adam Thorne]

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[Brandon]

Whoa. So is Saldana.

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Wow.

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[Adam Thorne]

Sounds like my family drops drama.

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[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

See where this might. Where the trajectory might lead this to, because I. Do you think he's just going to calm down and be like, all right, time to.

[Adam Thorne]

I think he's going to take a step back. I mean, right now, on Spotify charts, Rogan is number one, which is, you know, that's usual. This past weekend, number four. Tucker, number five. So Theo's podcast is like, top four, top three in the world.

[Brandon]

What's that?

[Adam Thorne]

Huge. Yeah, Tony, right now it's says Spotify anniversary. I don't even know what that is. And then good hang with Amy Poehler. So. But, you know, here's the thing. Sometimes these newer ones that. I don't know if that one is new, but I haven't heard of it, sometimes they get, like, an unusual boost just because of, like, their growth metric can be high. That's how Joe gets occasionally kicked off the number one spot. It's not necessarily because someone actually is bigger than him. It's. It's just part of, like, how they put the metrics together, I believe is what somebody wants kind of explained to me. But, yeah, either way, I mean, it's. It's just that this is like, that's a ton of focus on him. And, you know, Theo. Theo doesn't have the same kind of stability mentally as Rogan does. Like, Rogan is built for this type of attention. Like, he can navigate it well. I mean, even with the big ivermectin cancellation thing followed up by the N Word video that came out like, two weeks after that. Yeah, I mean, he navigated it like a boss. Honestly, that was. Must have been a huge amount of stress. And it was like, oh, they're coming for him hard. And he just took a deep breath, and I'm pretty sure he said he just did some mushrooms for a few days and he just. He just weathered the storm and got right through it. Other people, it's a lot harder. Say what?

[Brandon]

Maybe Theo has to do that. Just take some mushrooms, relax.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, I don't know if that would be the best idea for the. I mean, he just struggles. He just struggles with. With a lot of pressure. And like, Like Joe said on this pod, you don't always know how Theo's feeling. Like this. That was a big part of this pod that I found really interesting. There was like, this really kind of sweet moment of friendship between the two of them where Joe is, like, I often learn more about you from podcasts, like, how you feel and, like, where your mind is at. He goes, that's why I like to check in with you, because I don't always know, like, I'll see you in person. And you're like, yeah, yeah, I'm cool, dude. And then later on, he finds out that, you know, Theo's been really struggling with some stuff.

[Brandon]

Yeah, that's a dangerous thing to be dealing with, that you can only open up on a platform like that.

[Adam Thorne]

It can be hard. Yeah, it can be hard. It just means you're carrying a lot with you, you know, And. And. But, you know, he's gone through, like, his AA and a bunch of, like, addiction type things, so he has these tendencies. And at least, you know, he is good at searching for that help and getting out there and finding that support. But, yeah, I think a lot of pressure, like, this is. Is a lot for him. I'm glad Joe's close to him, and I'm glad this episode actually happened because it gives Joe a chance to really. I would love to have seen some of the behind the scenes of Joe just being like, hey, bro, let's go to dinner tonight. Let's have a real chat. I. I just got to check in with you.

[Brandon]

That would have been great to hear again, to be a fly on the wall for this episode. I'm so curious what some of those conversations were like between him being like, yo, Peter Thiel, might want to keep your mouth shut. Also, at the same time, like, let's go to dinner. Everything's going to be all right.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, that's why we need some of those Palantir drones. We can stop flying them around. Flies on the wall. Yeah, Listening people. Also, man. I mean, overall, what was. What was just, like, your sense of the whole episode and. And really, like, where Theo was coming from?

[Brandon]

Like, Theo was definitely coming from a place from anxiety. All this was stemming from anxiety, for sure. Everything. The future of humanity, Israel, the. The United States, where he is in all of this. It's. It's all coming out of anxiety. It really is. He's really having, like, almost a mental breakdown. And I just kind of saw this as, like, a therapy session between friends, like, going crazy and having all these thoughts in your head and then going on a platform like this, talking to your friend, your really good friend, and be like, hey, I think this is gonna happen, and this is gonna happen, and just, like, letting your anxiety speak instead of really thinking about these subjects and what you actually have to say about them. But I think when it comes to a lot of the things that are coming out of Theo, there's a lot of truth in it at the same time, and I think that he is very. It's very deserving anxiety. Like, he. It makes sense. I feel like I understand where he's coming from, and he has a good reason to be anxious, because everything that's been going on in the world, unfortunately, this whole Palantir Israel debacle just seems less and, like, less like a conspiracy by the day. So he has a really good reason to be anxious as well as, like, the future of the world. And the fact that Joe is like, don't worry. Worst case scenario, Skynet will take over. I. I feel like maybe won't chill Theo out. I think, if anything, now he's even more anxious.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, well, they ended it with. I mean, Theo is, like, freaking out about the state of politicians and how much they will suck. And Joe's solution is, oh, I think AI will take over and just make decisions for us. And I'm like, is this. Is this really the best we have? This is the best we can hope for right now.

[Brandon]

It says so much about Joe, doesn't it, that he's just. He's fully into it, all the Elon stuff all the time. Yeah, he loves AI he is like, I'm in.

[Adam Thorne]

I.

[Brandon]

He's almost Elon level of, like, just fucking transmit my consciousness into this computer. It. Like, the whole. Even the Peter Thiel. The transhumanism stuff, where they even talked about the whole Peter Thiel thing of, like, where he's like, should humanity survive? And he's like, huh? The guy's like, yes. Yes, it should. It should. What are you talking about? You know? And Joe's like, well, sometimes he has to think about and. And carefully. It's like, yeah, dude, but we talked about this on an episode prior. But it's like, just say, oh, yes, and then go say yes. Just say yes, and then think about it and also.

[Adam Thorne]

Also just be like, it is odd as hell. Like, sure, fine. You like to think about things. I get it. But that was weird, and it didn't look good. Dude, you can't put humanity on the back burner. No, yeah, it was an interesting episode. And honestly, you know, ever since I heard about his special, like, really, I've been worried about Theo.

[Brandon]

Like, yeah, same. And this really cemented that for me because even before this episode, I was nervous. I was like, God, I wonder what he's up to. I wonder what's going on. Like, even watched some of his podcasts to just, like, see what's up, but this is when he really just cracked open. Like, he really cracked open. And, yeah, I wonder if we see more of this. That's what I'm really anticipating. Whether he just closes up completely and pretends like none of this ever happened or leans into it and becomes even more anxious about it. And where this past weekend just becomes like a Tim Dillon show. Oh, he's just ranting. And he's talking about Palantir. He's talking about Peter Thiel. Dude, even. Even Tim Dillon is on his show now. He is starting to bash a lot of this and call it out. So I don't see a lot of.

[Adam Thorne]

People have flipped, for sure.

[Brandon]

I don't see Rogan doing that. I'm not sure how you feel about it, but I think Rogan is a lock for his positions right now.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, time will tell. I mean, but who knows? Things are changing so quickly. Like, if. If, you know, some big developments come and they look really ugly. We'll see where. Where he goes. But anyway, good episode. Check it out. God bless the.

[Brandon]

Rate it.

[Adam Thorne]

And what'd you say?

[Brandon]

What do you rate it out of two?

[Adam Thorne]

Man, I was into it. Like, I was really. It was very entertaining for me, honestly. I give it an eight. Solid eight.

[Brandon]

Eight as well. That's. I've been thinking about that the whole time. A solid eight, Right. One of the best episodes. Very entertaining, a lot of drama. It's what I like.

[Adam Thorne]

Like it. All right, excellent. Thanks.

[Brandon]

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Adam Thorne]

Thank you.

[Brandon]

Yep. Be thankful for all the kettle bells, smelling salts, alpha brain, all the complexity.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, there we go. And, well, 50 Cent AI, of course.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Not nowhere to be seen on this episode. So go listen to many men.

[Adam Thorne]

That's how busy they were.

[Brandon]

Turkey.

[Adam Thorne]

There we go. All right, guys, take it easy. Bye. 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 Libsynads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.