487 JRE Review James McCann

Summary

Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast

Episode 487: JRE Review – James McCann

Release Date: January 10, 2026
Hosts: Adam Thorne & Pete
Guest Reviewed: James Donald Forbes McCann (Australian comedian, podcaster, and writer)

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Episode Overview

This episode provides a comprehensive and humorous analysis of James McCann’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. The hosts, Adam Thorne and Pete, explore McCann’s distinctive style of comedy, his background, and the various eclectic topics discussed during his conversation with Joe Rogan. The review covers McCann’s absurdist humor, cultural commentary, touch on recent events, social issues in Australia, and the ever-present discourse on AI and its cultural implications, alongside their trademark light banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. James McCann’s Comedy & Persona

• Introduction to McCann
  Adam describes McCann as coming from the “more absurd, surreal, dark humor end of comedy,” a “culture favorite” rather than a mainstream comic, and highlights Shane Gillis’s role in promoting McCann’s career (01:03).
• Comedy Style
  • McCann’s standup special, Black Israelite, is intentionally provocative and explores sensitive cultural issues through comedy (02:19).
  • His delivery is lauded for clever, dark humor and energetic performance:

    “He makes some pretty horrible... like, one of his goals with that mashup comedy in England was making light of very sad events.” (06:32)

  • Appreciation for his stage mannerisms, vocal volume, and almost “spoken word” energy (07:41, 08:12).
• Unique Projects
  • The “catamaran plan” podcast and special filmed across several venues with repeated jokes and wardrobe changes is discussed as an original approach that lets viewers experience joke delivery and audience reactions from different perspectives (02:27).

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2. Comedic Commentary on Dark Subjects

• The hosts discuss McCann’s boundary-pushing jokes about tragic events, emphasizing that his delivery allows him to make such subjects funny rather than mean-spirited (06:32-07:41).
• Quote on the comedic probability of “at least one asshole” in a tragic event (07:27):

  "I think we can all agree that the chances of at least one person in that room really being an asshole is something that is likely." – Adam (07:27)

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3. Observations on Australia & Cultural References

• Australia vs. New Zealand
  Lighthearted observations about the similarities and rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, referencing rugby and breakdancing mishaps (09:44–11:59).
• Australian Gun Laws
  In-depth recap of the conversation on Australia’s post-1996 gun reforms, notable mass shootings, and ongoing debates about weapon ownership (14:08–16:49).

  “...after that, the government just said no more. We're taking all the guns." – Adam (14:35)

• Gambling Issues
  • Notable statistics on Australia’s gambling habits and the prevalence of slot machines ("pokies"); debate on personal choice versus societal intervention (18:02–21:47).
  • Quote on gambling addiction:

    “That seems problematic. That seems like... Especially because you’re not winning if you’re gambling.” – Adam (19:33)

• Australian Humor & Stereotypes
  Joking about mullets, animal names, and poking fun at Australian customs in the hosts’ signature irreverent tone (06:20–08:33, 19:16).

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4. Technological & Societal Issues

• AI Discourse
  Consistent with JRE trends, the review revisits fears and inevitability of AI:

  “It’s going to be. It's coming quick, and it's coming for everybody.” – Pete (24:03)

  • Discussion on the convergence of AI in content creation, Hollywood writers’ strikes, and future cultural homogenization (24:22–25:52).
• AI Bias & Information
  • Hosts recount experiments with AI chat models and highlight how biases and perspectives can differ drastically between platforms (29:02–31:50).

    “Between ChatGPT and Grok, it was completely different and I ran it through a bunch of times...” – Adam (30:19)

• Social Media Manipulation
  • Exploration of how AI-driven bot farms could soon evade detection, manufacture entire “realistic” online people, and target individuals or businesses (26:15–27:11).

    “As soon as good AI is connected... it'd be impossible to tell what is or is not real.” – Adam (26:47)

  • Discussion of the echo chamber and “yes-man” effect in both AI and social media (33:36).

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5. Religion & Ancient Texts

• Book of Enoch, Ethiopian Christianity
  • McCann and Joe’s fascination with the Book of Enoch and its weird, spacey qualities—“just to make [himself] feel weird” (34:10–35:25).
• Indigenous Groups & WWII History
  • Short digression into Papua New Guinea tribal warfare, cultural norms, and WWII-era alliances (36:09–37:51).
• Comedic Take on Indiana Jones
  Joking about the impracticality of using a whip to swing across gaps, referencing Indiana Jones (34:36).

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6. Listener & Fan Reaction

• The hosts summarize generally positive feedback from Rogan’s audience about McCann, who was new to many listeners but won them over with his humor and ease on the podcast (39:28–40:33).
• “Boneyard guy” expected but absent, with fans hoping for his return in future episodes (40:46–41:13).

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7. Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Dark Comedy:

  “He makes some pretty horrible... like, his goal was making light of very sad events.” – Pete (06:32)

• On AI Bias:

  "Between Chat GPT and Grok, it was completely different and I ran it through a bunch of times..." – Adam (30:19)

• On Gambling:

  "That seems problematic. That seems like... Especially because you’re not winning if you’re gambling." – Adam (19:33)

• On Audience Reception of McCann:

  “He just is, you know, and he. And he's good on podcasts, too.” – Adam (39:30)

• On Australian Culture:

  "That's like the haircut of Australian men is a chopped up mullet." – Pete (06:23)

• On AI and Echo Chambers:

  “It’s like, what’s the best way to keep using it? It’s like a friend that becomes a yes man to you.” – Adam (33:36)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [01:03] McCann Introduction & Comedy Style
• [06:32] Dark Humor & Audience Reaction
• [14:08] Australian Gun Laws
• [18:02] Australian Gambling Problems
• [20:47] Gambling vs. Freedom of Choice Debate
• [23:20] AI Discourse; “Heebie Jeebies”
• [26:15] Social Media Manipulation via AI
• [29:02] Running Political Figures through AI
• [34:10] Book of Enoch & Ancient Texts
• [36:09] Papua New Guinea War Video
• [39:28] Fan Reaction & Boneyard Guy

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Overall Take & Closing Thoughts

• The hosts score the reviewed episode “an 8 out of 10” for entertainment, insight, and fun (43:10).
• James McCann is endorsed as a fresh, compelling JRE guest, praised for natural podcasting ability, comfort with Rogan, and unique comedic style.
• Thoughtful concerns are raised about AI’s societal impact and the continued relevance of independent, boundary-pushing comedians in an algorithm-driven world.
• The camaraderie and banter between the hosts make the episode both informative and engaging—even for those unfamiliar with McCann or the original JRE episode.

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Links Recommended in the Episode:

• James McCann’s Black Israelite special (YouTube)
• James Donald Forbes McCann Catamaran Plan podcast
  (Links indicated for reference as promised by the hosts)

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For any Joe Rogan fan or new listener, this review gives you all the key moments, laughs, and insights from McCann’s JRE appearance—making it easy to jump in wherever your curiosity leads.

Transcript

[A]

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.

[B]

To Joe's Walking Dead.

[A]

You're listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review. What a bizarre thing we've created now with your host, Adam Thorne. This might either be the worst podcast or the best one. One go. Enjoy the show. Hey, guys, and welcome to another episode of the JRE Review. First off, I want to give a shout out to our brother Ed over at the JRE Companion Instagram, the best Joe Rogan fan Instagram in the game. Best wishes to him on his road to recovery. Love you, brother. All the best. This week, joined by Pete. How you doing, bud?

[B]

Oh, thanks. I'm doing good.

[A]

Come back, Come back, Pete. And we are reviewing James Donald Forbes McCann. He's an Australian standup comedian, writer, podcast host who came out of the more absurd, surreal, dark humor end of comedy. He's not really mainstream comic. He's more of a kind of culture favorite, Internet comic, good friend of Shane Gillis, and really appreciate Shane for kind of blowing up his career. And really, anyone that Shane finds and pulls along with him, you know, is going to be good or, you know, eventually will be. And he's the host of the James Donald Forbes McCann catamaran plan. Say that 10 times fast. Good luck.

[B]

No way.

[A]

Which is basically a long form, absurdist riffing mixed with social commentary. He also released a standup special called Black Israelite, which is funny as hell. It's intentionally provocative, weird, and designed to poke at identity politics, race and modern taboos through comedy rather than politics. Some clever jokes in there.

[B]

Yeah, he has got some good ones.

[A]

He's got some good ones. And I didn't quite make it all the way through that mashup one he did in London.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Where it's like three different specials together. Kind of the same jokes, the same.

[B]

Same set, but they, you know, pick the best of each and he's wearing like different shirts and each cut. It's pretty fun.

[A]

Interesting, interesting angle. It's almost like you get to see the same joke reaction multiple times.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And then he mixes it up. That's. That's actually kind of interesting. I like the way he did it.

[B]

I think that was an impromptu set of shows that he just went there and started just getting offers to do shows.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

Could be wrong, but that's what I took from the beginning of that.

[A]

You know, Australian comics do quite well in England. I mean, you know, we're similar folk.

[B]

They're funny voices.

[A]

They are hilarious people. God bless. Yeah. So they start off the pod kind of talking about, well, the difference between mammoths and mastodons. And, you know, that was a thing I thought I knew until they said it. And then I realized I actually don't know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I couldn't have. As soon as they said mastodon, I was like, I think I know what that is now.

[B]

Actually, I don't, but now I do.

[A]

Now I do.

[B]

Yeah. The woolly mammoth, the big hairy one. And then there's the mastodon, which are more elephant like, smaller and eats robust.

[A]

Eats the woody.

[B]

Woody bits. Woody debris.

[A]

So do what just sticks.

[B]

They eat grass and whatever. Whatever they could pick up with their trunk, mind.

[A]

Small trees.

[B]

Small trees. Whatever they can grab. And it's great. All right.

[A]

Yeah. They got different teeth and fur. They got different teeth and fur. You know they're bringing the mammoths back. Right. It's about time they got some. I think.

[B]

I think they're into it. I don't know if. I don't know if they've popped one out.

[A]

They haven't done one yet?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

What do they. They did the wolf. They got the dire wolf, which is maybe not real.

[A]

You don't think so?

[B]

It's. There's some contention about if it's actually a direwolf.

[A]

Close.

[B]

We don't know yet.

[A]

Rogan saw it.

[B]

He probably owns one now. He's got one.

[A]

He's got one. His Navy seals just walk around with one outside his house.

[B]

Legendary. That'd be so awesome.

[A]

Be dope. I wonder how big they get.

[B]

I guess they're not even much. They're kind of not even related to our common wolf that we have here, the timberwolf. They're just our different offshoot.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Along the canids.

[A]

Yeah. Pretty dope, though. I'd have them and I think bring the mammoths back. They'd be. Now is a regular mammoth as big as elephants.

[B]

What is it? The Colombian mammoth. They're existed all over the world. They're probably 13% taller than an African elephant.

[A]

Oh, shit.

[B]

Big.

[A]

Huge. Well, that'd be pretty dope.

[B]

And then it sounds like the mastodon is similarly sized.

[A]

Unless we figure out something that we're not paying attention to, which I'm sure we're gonna miss. It's like we Bring them back. And then it's just like all the forests are gone because they're just knocking everything over.

[B]

Probably keep them in a zoo.

[A]

Whoops.

[B]

We'd keep them in a zoo.

[A]

We got to keep them somewhere.

[B]

Yeah. Africa doesn't need them.

[A]

Well, they get too hot. We'd have to shave them.

[B]

We would have to shave them. That's a lot of clipping.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We have to get an Australian to do it. With their sheep shagging. They can do it.

[A]

Right. We could put them through one of those, like a regular car wash to wash them with a big.

[B]

I don't see any problems. I don't see anything that could go wrong.

[A]

How else are you gonna wash them? They'd love it.

[B]

Be just a big tickle, but a lot of water.

[A]

They'd be into it. They'd be into it. Yep. So what's your overall feel of this guy? You know, I'll say. I like his style.

[B]

He's got a great head of mullet. Great mullet going on.

[A]

Funny guy.

[B]

That's like. To me, that's like the haircut of Australian men is a chopped up mullet. He's got a good one.

[A]

It's a good look.

[B]

I love his delivery when he's doing his jokes. Like, he makes some pretty horrible. Like, I think one of his goals with that mashup comedy in England was making light of very sad events. Like the 72 people died in a fire. He's like, but yeah, 72 innocent people. But maybe one was bad. Had it coming. So he, like, just had it. Just made me chuckle the way his delivery is awesome.

[A]

Right? Yeah. He's got some clever, dark humor for sure. And, you know, even though you would want to believe that everybody in the room, like, nobody deserves it, right out of everybody in the room, like, no, of course nobody deserves that. But I think we can all agree that the chances of at least one person in that room really being an asshole is something that is likely.

[B]

It's high.

[A]

It's high.

[B]

They might even deserve getting burned alive.

[A]

Well, I don't think anyone does, but we could all agree they're an asshole. That's where the jokes get. Agree to disagree. Pete. You're off the pod. That is outrageous.

[B]

That's it for me, folks.

[A]

That's it. He's got to go. We got to get rid of him. But no, really. I love also how he shouts when he tells us. He's like. He just goes into his joke is like, the way he deals with volume is. It's very clever.

[B]

He's a performer. He's not just telling crazy stories and dick jokes. He actually is kind of like a spoken word performer artist. I like that. You don't get a whole lot of that in the stand up field.

[A]

Sure. It almost makes me think that when he started out, he was going to open mics that either didn't give him a microphone or had bad sound.

[B]

Probably both.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He kind of like uses like a crutch. He has the microphone stand behind him. He's like wiggling it a bunch. Kind of. Kind of fun.

[A]

It's hard to get comfortable up there though. And then I think. I think even your kind of awkward discomfort becomes your safety blanket.

[B]

I see.

[A]

And then that's what you just carry forward because you even see that from tried and true, you know, long term tested comedians. Like even. Even Shane Gillis doesn't stand like he's completely comfortable up there. He's just like Mike in front of.

[B]

Him and just does it kind of hunched.

[A]

It's like. Yeah, it's just like that's. That's how he does it until he's loosened up. Just. That's his comfortable spot.

[B]

Definitely see why Shane likes this guy. Oh yeah, they gotta. They could probably craft pretty funny sketch comedy show.

[A]

No doubt.

[B]

I'm putting that in the universe. Well, let's do it.

[A]

Ty is season three. I wonder if he's gonna show up on there.

[B]

Oh, he's gonna show up on there. There's a good chance he's a. I.

[A]

Can imagine they need an Australian cameo.

[B]

Like a tire expert. Of course it's not gonna do it. Down under.

[A]

We drive on the other side straight.

[B]

I've never been. I want to go.

[A]

Yes. Sounds beautiful.

[B]

Maybe that's our first trip.

[A]

It'd be nice. It'd be nice. I definitely want to go to. I would love to go there. And also New Zealand. You know, I'm going to lump them.

[B]

In as they generally get lumped right in.

[A]

I can imagine both of them would get mad if you did that. But far away from us.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, this sounds the same. Sounds similar. And yeah, I'd be. I'd be. Definitely be into it.

[B]

Good rugby teams down there. The All Blacks and the other ones.

[A]

Y.

[B]

Bad break dancers.

[A]

Oh, probably the worst break dancers. Man. I wonder what happened to her.

[B]

She's just teaching kids in school. She's a pet professor.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What was her name? Regan or something? Reagan. I can't remember. The fact that she did a kangaroo hop is just too much.

[B]

I turned it off too Much.

[A]

Did south park ever do an episode they had that had her? I don't know, maybe. Maybe even for them. They're like, the joke was already made. We don't need to do that.

[B]

Just ruin a country's reputation, really.

[A]

I mean, what's. I saw a mashup once, and not to harp on because she's taken enough shit, but I watched a mashup once where it was showing the men's best breakdancing of that year and then just comparing some of her highlights. Now, don't get me wrong, they were obviously picking. Well, I guess they probably didn't even need to pick her worst. They could have picked her best bits, but then they were comparing it to, like the men's best and it was just night and day. It looked like two different things.

[B]

Those guys fly.

[A]

Flying.

[B]

They can.

[A]

Spinning around like a drone.

[B]

Defy gravity.

[A]

She was like my two year old. My two year old, if I've given her too Many M&Ms, like spinning around.

[B]

The floor like a clock. That's like Homer Simpson used to do, dude.

[A]

I. When I saw her first perform, it like popped up on my Instagram because it was like round one of it. And of course that went viral. I have never been so locked into the Olympics waiting for her, you know, next round and beyond.

[B]

Did she get gold?

[A]

No, she got zero points.

[B]

Gotcha. Gotcha. Gosh.

[A]

Literally, if cabbage. Okay, this is mean to even say we'll go for it, but, like, if nothing had entered against all the people, they would have got the same score.

[B]

Like a bit of wind in a plastic bag would have won compared to her.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, bless. Well, you know, but saying that there was that one competition, I don't think it was the Olympics, but it was some competition where a person from a particular country that couldn't get a qualifier for whatever reason, the guy couldn't even swim.

[B]

Oh, I remember that.

[A]

Yeah, he was. And then there were, I think three people in the race and the two false started twice, so they were disqualified. And he was the only person left.

[B]

And it took him like 25 minutes.

[A]

To do it forever. He almost, like gave up. I think he could barely make it.

[B]

I think he had to stop and.

[A]

Have a breath, but bless him, finished and I think qualified to the next round.

[B]

If I remember Cameroon or Liberia, I think somewhere.

[A]

Somewhere without a lot of pools.

[B]

You don't really want to swim in those kind of waters. You get eaten by a crocodile.

[A]

Crocodiles everywhere.

[B]

Snatched by a hippo.

[A]

So nice.

[B]

Tibets.

[A]

So, yeah, I think made it to the next round. I don't know how that works, but What a hero. And that takes some guts. That takes some guts. Totally. That takes some guts.

[B]

But are we back to our boy over here?

[A]

Oh, yeah, we gotta be. We gotta be. What else you thinking?

[B]

Let's just. I liked how they, you know, the. The gun thing. Remember that terrible, terrible tragedy that happened down there recently?

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I guess there I thought they had already taken all of Australia's guns, but they're trying to take some. All of them again. And.

[A]

Yeah. So there was a. Mentioned that, I guess a school shooting. I think it was like 96 or some, sometime in the 90s, and it was awful.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

And after that, the government just said no more. Were taking all the guns. And they had, you know, gun access, I think, equivalent to, like the US Like a lot of guns.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

But the people wants to kill you down there. Yeah, the people agreed and they handed them in en masse. So, you know, they got rid of a lot of them. And I would assume, you know, kind of like the bush out in the bush and the farmers and things probably kept them.

[B]

Those are the exceptions. And you have to register them and be a part of clubs.

[A]

No doubt.

[B]

I think something like that. That's how. That's how these guys had them. They had many guns, like five, seven guns.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. Now. Now, what was the deal with that whole thing? Did they claim to be part of an extremist group or.

[B]

You know, me, I don't. I shouldn't even mention what I think about it.

[A]

Okay, Don't.

[B]

But yeah, it was.

[A]

Don't get us in trouble. We can't afford that.

[B]

It was a. It was a father son of Middle Eastern descent that shot some people. Okay. I mean, the cops did little to nothing. Another man from Middle Eastern descent, Muslim, stopped one of the guys.

[A]

That was great.

[B]

Got his gun, didn't shoot him. And then that guy got. Then that guy ran away, rearmed and killed more people.

[A]

Yeah, but to be fair, you've just ran over there, you've grabbed the gun off a guy. That takes some guts. That's not easy to do.

[B]

You blast him, just give him a blast.

[A]

Well, but maybe he's not like all that clued up on guns, and maybe he also doesn't want to kill someone.

[B]

I don't really want to kill anybody.

[A]

I don't want to kill anyone.

[B]

That'll be on the.

[A]

He's already stressful enough and, you know, but crikey, why me? What was that guy, the guy that took the gun. What was his deal? Did he work there or was he just hanging out?

[B]

He was just a dude. Just a guy. I know as much about it as the next idiot.

[A]

Yeah, I didn't follow the whole story there, but yeah. Okay, so now you're saying what they're doing is they're gonna take some more guns, Are they?

[B]

Yeah, they might. I don't think it's gonna be successful because they have some really strict rules anyways.

[A]

They also talked about some of the, I guess, freedom of speech style rules they have over there in Australia. I guess they're not. Not very good.

[B]

They've cracked down. You can.

[A]

Can't say much.

[B]

It's like England. You can get arrested for posts and tweets and.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Listening to this podcast.

[A]

Yeah. We're banned there, I guess.

[B]

Geez.

[A]

We wouldn't be.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

They like us.

[B]

Danny Dananda. Danny. We're not racist. I guess. You can be racist against Australians. It's still one. You can be racist against.

[A]

Racist against Australia.

[B]

Yeah. Might as well be. Then why would you be flipping. They're fun kangaroo humpers.

[A]

You can't. Don't say that. They're not. Take that back.

[B]

Koala. Koala bear kissers.

[A]

Well, you don't. You don't want to do that. Because they have chlamydia. Fun fact.

[B]

Yeah, Because. Because I've been kissing them.

[A]

Oh, Pete, get away from them.

[B]

Cute little guys.

[A]

Yeah, cute.

[B]

Yeah. Another nasty little scratcher.

[A]

Well, they got a scream, too. They're not as cute as you think.

[B]

Yeah, there's like two front teeth that look like Nosferatu. Mm. Not cool.

[A]

Mm. And then also, bad gambling problem down there. Some of those stats they were reading out. Unbelievable.

[B]

People gambling down there to massive gambling.

[A]

They have 20% of the gambling machines in the world? I think so, yeah. 20%. And there's not even that many people in Australia, is there? What's the population of Australia? This is where we need a Jamie. Jamie.

[B]

We can't afford Jamie.

[A]

We can't afford a Jamie. We couldn't even begin to afford a Jamie. Well, but really, what is it? Jamie's turned into perplexity now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Brought to us by. He's getting replaced.

[B]

Rogan just says, hey, Jamie, type that into perplexity. Let's see what's going on.

[A]

Let's see how many gambling machines are in Australia. Did it. There are around 190,000 and yep. They call them pokies, which I kind of like the name of, actually.

[B]

Pokeys, because you poke at him a lot. Of lot of button pushing, poking. Australians do that. They just make up a sound of an. Of an object and an action and then call an animal that.

[A]

Yeah, it's a ding dong.

[B]

Okay. We call it a dog over here.

[A]

Well, that's how they like to do it. Let them.

[B]

They're fine. I like them.

[A]

Oh, actually, I made it up. It's 2.59% of the world's total. That makes more sense.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, but that's pretty big, right?

[A]

3%. Yeah. I wonder what Vegas has. But anyway, the percentages of people just gambling as a whole, I mean, that, that seems problematic. That seems like. Especially because you're not winning if you're gambling. Very few people come out on top because that's, that's how it's designed. Like, maybe some of those poker players, you know, the top guys at the end of the year are like making a living or blackjack guys.

[B]

Some of them have huge wins, but.

[A]

Generally you're not winning on average. So it's. It's like its own tax and everyone's paying into it in the country.

[B]

Well, you can just do it from your phone now. So, like, that's probably what the. Like even young, young guys are getting into it on their phones and gambling on the go.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

It's probably what driving that surge.

[A]

Right? Yeah. It's not. Not a great habit. I mean, listen, it's. It can be fun. I get it. But also, if, you know, you notice that you can't stop doing it, then it's a problem. You gotta watch out. You really gotta watch out.

[B]

You're paying somebody, not. Not yourself.

[A]

But then I guess again, like, we're. We're big. Freedom of speech people. Isn't that also kind of like freedom of choice and action? You know, it's like, I don't want to ban Coca Cola just because a lot of people drink it and then they get sick because they drink too much of it. It's like I barely drink it, but.

[B]

I mean, they are quite tasty, you know.

[A]

Where is the balance, though? It's like people often are like, well, get. Have education about it. Well, yeah, that's helpful. I mean, that's probably why I don't drink Coca Cola five times a day, because I do think it tastes good.

[B]

Ever since I don't drink Jack and Cokes anymore, I don't drink cola.

[A]

Right. That's probably when I. The last time I was drinking a lot of it.

[B]

They're delicious. They are good Coca Cola.

[A]

Well, it's a good way to drink A cheap whiskey.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is to add a Coke. Because you wouldn't drink an expensive whiskey with a Coke. That's a waste of time.

[B]

101 and Coke. Wild Turkey.

[A]

101. Wild Turkey. Yeah. Wild Turkey.

[B]

It's not a cheap whiskey. It's just a delicious drink.

[A]

That's true. That's true.

[B]

We're alcoholics.

[A]

Not this year.

[B]

Dry January. Dry Jan. Dry January.

[A]

It's going well. Ten days in. Strong.

[B]

Got wasted last night. You did? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Sorry, buddy.

[A]

Oh, you did. Okay.

[B]

I'm off the wagon.

[A]

You're off the wagon. Well, you've done pretty good.

[B]

Yeah, I cut it back. I'm definitely cutting it back.

[A]

You're cutting it back, dude. That's what's important. But anyway, you didn't gamble. That's the important.

[B]

Just with my liver, you know, I.

[A]

Say all this, and I haven't checked which sponsors follow this podcast. Knowing my luck, there's a DraftKings sponsor that comes with this. I'm gonna sound like, let's just hope the sponsors don't check out the rest of the podcast.

[B]

We're for gambling in moderation.

[A]

Look, I'm for the freedom of choice with it. I don't want to be a hypocrite. But also, like anything, you know, too much of it is bad. We're also probably brought to you by hims. Erectile dysfunction. Don't eat 12 of them.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You're gonna have to go to the hospital.

[B]

Yeah. It's a hard, hard boner.

[A]

Read the instructions.

[B]

It's hard to get rid of that boner.

[A]

You gotta read the instructions. What does it say if it lasts more than eight hours? Go see a doctor.

[B]

I call that a party.

[A]

Hopefully a hot one. Too soon. Sorry about that.

[B]

That was a good one.

[A]

There we go. Bless. Yeah.

[B]

Well, what else? They talked about AI quite a bit, of course, the recurring theme of Joe's podcast always.

[A]

Well, it's kind of the recurring theme of the world at the moment, to be honest.

[B]

Yes, it is.

[A]

We can't get away from it. And, you know, it sounds like. It sounds like McCann is a little afraid of it. He doesn't like. What did he say? The videos give him the heebie jeebies, which I agree with.

[B]

Excellent Australianism.

[A]

Yeah. They are kind of weird. And, you know, that is basically something that they do. And that's just kind of what's happening.

[B]

It's going to be. It's coming quick, and it's coming for everybody.

[A]

Yep. So. Yeah. And. But also, it's valuable and.

[B]

It'S inevitable.

[A]

It's inevitable.

[B]

It's inevitable.

[A]

It's going to be making movies.

[B]

I think it's already has. It already has been writing movies. And that's, I think they did that too soon because they had been hot garbage.

[A]

Some of those Marvel movies, they've been written by AI.

[B]

There was a heavy AI usage. Ooh. Yeah.

[A]

Well, all the writers in Hollywood went on strike over AI writing concerns. And then they came to some sort of agreement through the unions and then all the writers went, okay, cool, we'll take this. And all the actors kind of jumped on board and they're like, we support these writers. And then everybody went home with their new agreement. And I would imagine they all pulled up ChatGPT and carried on writing using AI. Yes, because everyone's using it.

[B]

That's what we do now.

[A]

I don't believe anyone pulled out their quill and their dab dab, dab dab their scribble away their long scroll and carried on writing, you know, with our old style typewriter. Everyone's taking advantage of this new piece of technology.

[B]

Yep. It'll, it'll, we'll have to adjust. There will be a cult of anti AI technology. Art will be, you know, disclaimer. This is not made by AI. Like a lot of stuff is going to be controlled by this and affected by this. Can't take our jobs. Well. Yeah, good.

[A]

Yeah. Well, that kind of leads into like some of the social media manipulation stuff they were talking about as well. I mean, bot farms, for one, they're gonna change significantly. I mean, it's been pretty easy to once if you take some time to spot bot farms, like you know, in the last five, six years.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you just spend a bit of time, you go into the comments, you look at the page.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then really quickly you see what else they post on. And it's super generic, it's nothing personal. And then you, you know, it's all very kind of pointed and bias. And then you're like, oh, well, this is a bot, right?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

But as soon as good AI is connected to it, I mean, they can make individual real life profiles for all of them, for thousands of them, instantly.

[B]

And they're getting a lot better with.

[A]

AI pictures that show families, that show a life, that have likes and comments, and before you know it, you know, all actually commenting on each other's stuff that creates a network. In a family tree algorithm, it'd be impossible to tell, you know, what is or is not real. And they could literally use those to kind of attack anybody.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Anyone that they choose. I mean, individuals that set up a network like that could just go after any business or any individual and kind of take them down, at least on social media, which is a little bit terrifying.

[B]

McCann, he says that there's, after a while, there won't be any real content left. Just infinite remixes of dead celebrities and synthetic influencers.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, well, that's some of the concern of what AI is going to produce anyway. It's almost like all of the new content online is coming from AI, which is just cleverly regurgitated information anyway. And because of that, it's. It just already is becoming this remix.

[B]

Yeah. We are all kind of homogenized. Our thoughts are more similar than they are different now. Just because we've got the same incoming information. Mm.

[A]

Yeah. Just gonna get to a point where we're like, hold on, I've got a thought. But I'm just gonna run it through AI just to check and make sure it's a good thought or it's correct.

[B]

See if I can get away with this one.

[A]

I'm just gonna check this one.

[B]

Check with my legal department. Mm.

[A]

And you know, we raw people up and also it's like, who. Who is controlling, you know, these things? You know, it's like that makes you think, like, which AI do you follow? Which ones are you listening to? And does it make. This is why I use so many different ones.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I'll jump on Gemini, I'll jump on Grok, I'll jump on Chat. I even look at Deep Seek every now and again and that one is Chinese controlled. And it's, you know, I'm just curious to see how the answers are different. And I'm not even jumping in with political questions.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, a lot of times I'm just asking for like basic fact checking on stuff, you know, that's really not all that controversial that people really wouldn't necessarily need to have a specific bias over. But I like to just look at it from different angles, see what they think. Yeah. One that I did actually recently, which was interesting, is I put in a bunch of political figures. It included Elon Tucker, Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Nick Fuentes. Just kind of like these online. Somewhat right wing, but then I also had like Jeff Bezos and Zuckerberg. I don't know why I was like picking these certain people, but it was just like I was just putting them in and then having them rated on different things, like their influence right. Online. Their like, how liked they were online and whether they were trending in a positive or negative direction for their popularity and also how quick their growth was for popularity as well.

[B]

Did you find some interesting stuff?

[A]

Yes. So between Chat GPT and Grok, it was completely different and I ran it through a bunch of times because here's the thing, even with the same AI, you can run things through a few times. Because it will get it wrong. Oh yeah, it'll get it wrong. For example, if you ask Chat GPT how many Ds there are in the word diddy, it says two. It like has errors.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And there's three in there. You can ask it like five times and it just keeps saying two.

[B]

Diddy's had three Ds in him.

[A]

Well, D. Oh, I thought I was.

[B]

Thinking of something else. Excuse me.

[A]

Stop it. I shouldn't have. I should have used a different word.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But yeah, it's like, there's just. It has these like hallucinations. It messes things up. So you ask it a few times, but it was giving all these ratings. Now guess which one was highly favorable to Elon Grock?

[B]

Of course.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

His.

[A]

And it was like almost 10 out of 10 for like popularity king of the world things. When of course, I went to Chat GPT, there was a lot more criticism, much lower rating. A lot of it focused on, you know, the controversy around Doge, the issues with the protests and the Tesla dealerships and those sorts of things. And you know, I mean, it was just interesting to see those differences. I mean, they were starkly different. That's a stark difference.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[A]

But these are also systems that we're going to expecting some kind of answer.

[B]

And guidance and hopefully no bias. Yeah, just facts. It's not that.

[A]

But in a way the. That kind of highlights that none of them are facts. They're just kind of an opinion.

[B]

So in that way, it's like a.

[A]

Huge knowledge base with some sort of opinion on there. And you need to figure out are these sorts of opinions opinions that you are willing to stand behind.

[B]

Can you make a new one from this one? It's in that way. It's like a human. It's like a weird. We might be smart, but we have our bias. AI is driven by humans inputting all the data. So there's implicate bias there.

[A]

Sure, sure. And then the weird thing is you can sit there messing with the question and you can keep saying things to it like, okay, give me this answer again, but with no bias. So then it redoes it and kind of calculates into there it is assuming that you think there is a bias, so it reanalyzes it and is making guesses of where you think a bias may be and tries to make it more neutral. But really all it's doing is changing what it thinks you want the answer to be, not what the answer probably is. So it just is kind of designed to just give you what you want to hear, which is really what social media does when it creates your kind of echo chamber that you start liking, because it just wants you to keep using it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So it's like, what's the best way to keep using it? It's like a friend that becomes a yes man to you. You know, it's like, yeah, you want to hang out with them because they're always telling you what you want to hear, even if it's bullshit.

[B]

He really.

[A]

You're looking strong.

[B]

Well, thank you. Jeez.

[A]

Looking lean.

[B]

Well, that's a lie.

[A]

That's a nice shirt, handsome.

[B]

God, this is out of the. I found this on the ground.

[A]

You're like, I don't trust this at all. They get into, oh, a little bit of Catholicism, the Book of Enoch.

[B]

Oh, I've talked about that before. I love that. It's a weird one.

[A]

It's a weird one. Do you know much about it?

[B]

Not anymore. I can't recall much, but it's kind of trippy. It's spacey. Lot of space.

[A]

I guess the Ethiopians kept it in. They're one of the few.

[B]

Yeah, they're one of the oldest groups of Christians. Mm.

[A]

They got some old churches over there.

[B]

I think maybe the Ark of the Covenant. Covenant's over there.

[A]

Let's go find it.

[B]

Indiana Jones. Put our hats on.

[A]

We gotta put our hats on.

[B]

Get our whips.

[A]

Yeah. Why did he have a whip?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

I mean, he used it a lot, and it seemed really useful, but I don't think it would be that useful. I mean, can you just whip it at anything and then swing on it? That's not how whips work.

[B]

If you're good enough.

[A]

Really?

[B]

I think if you're good enough, how.

[A]

Good do you have to be?

[B]

But then how do you get it off once you're on the other side?

[A]

He just kind of did a little wiggle. Came off.

[B]

Throw me the idol. Throw me the idol.

[A]

He was just that good.

[B]

Alfred Molina. Shout Out. That guy's amazing.

[A]

Yeah, he was great.

[B]

Give me the whip and I'll throw you the idol.

[A]

It was a great outfit, I'll give him that. But, yeah, Book Of Enoch. I like how Joe says occasionally he just puts it on when he's going to the comedy club. When he just, like, wants to puts.

[B]

On the Book of Enoch.

[A]

Yeah. Just make himself feel weird. He's got it on audio.

[B]

I wonder who reads that for him.

[A]

It's just like, audiobook.

[B]

Stephen Fry.

[A]

I know, right?

[B]

That would be good. That guy can read anything. And I'll listen to it.

[A]

He's very good. Shout out. Yeah. Religion. What are you gonna do?

[B]

Well, get into it, I guess.

[A]

I like it. I like it.

[B]

The peaceful kind. Mmm.

[A]

Bless. Wow. What else did they. How did they kind of.

[B]

Joe just watched a video about a. Well, they just watched a video of people in Papua New guinea having a war.

[A]

Oh, that's right.

[B]

Just for, like. Like 15 minutes.

[A]

Yeah. Just shooting. Critiqued the whole thing.

[B]

He's like, it's not how. I had a shot of an arrow.

[A]

He's like, that's not a good arrow. Why are they doing it like that? So that you're criticizing. They've probably been doing it like that for hundreds of years.

[B]

I think sometimes they don't actually want to kill each other. They're just having it out. They're just having it out because they can shoot, like. Are there monkeys down there? They can shoot monkeys out of trees. Directly up. No problem. They're dead.

[A]

So it's like a friendly. Stop doing that thing.

[B]

I guess so. But also, they did used to eat each other, and maybe they still do. Whoa. Yeah. Papua New guinea is.

[A]

It's a wild place.

[B]

It's wild. The Australians had a lot of time there in World War II, and they loved those guys. They were so helpful to them. Really. Yeah. They would run. I think I listened to a Dan Carlin about it.

[A]

Oh, nice.

[B]

And they would, like, you know, be their foresters, rangers, scouts, and sometimes dispatch wounded enemy soldiers. Japanese. Ooh. You know, because the Japanese were terrible back then to everyone. Yeah.

[A]

They didn't really take prisoners, did they?

[B]

So they treated the New Guineans as nothing, less than nothing. And whereas Australians were coming, like, come on, give them noogies and stuff.

[A]

Yeah. Give them some chocolate.

[B]

Yeah, they. They.

[A]

Of course, the Vegemite.

[B]

Vegemite. They loved them. They helped them win that. That arena.

[A]

Really? Well, you gotta. You gotta treat the locals well, get them on your side.

[B]

So that's the smart thing to do.

[A]

They want to just barge in there, you know, messing them up. It's one thing, you know, people don't think about too much is. Is During World War II, how much was Going on down in Africa. My grandfather was a tank driver in Africa. Drove a tank.

[B]

Germany. Oh, no.

[A]

England. No. England. Come on.

[B]

Just having a joke now. He was a giddy think.

[A]

There was no air conditioning clearly in those tanks. Imagine how hot that was. Yeah. Leave the lid open, Fred.

[B]

Get a breath of fresh air in here. Yeah, because they don't have bathrooms. But you're stuck in there for eight.

[A]

Hours, you just poop in the desert.

[B]

I don't think you get out to do that.

[A]

You can get out. Surely you're not pooping in there. No, I never asked them. I should have asked.

[B]

Perplexity. Let's check that out.

[A]

Plaques. Pull it up.

[B]

We're not opposed to being sponsored by them, by the way.

[A]

No, Come on, Plex. I've never even used them, actually. I should pull it up. That should be another one of my ones I use. Check on. Yeah. Wild old times. Let's look at a little bit. Let's finish up with some of the fan reaction online. Yeah, it was pretty positive overall. You know, a lot of people had not heard of McCann before, and many people found him surprisingly funny.

[B]

He's just funny as heck.

[A]

He just is, you know, and he. And he's good on podcasts, too.

[B]

He has his own.

[A]

Right. So a lot of experience there. But, you know, when people come on Rogan, they often kind of try too hard. I mean, I don't know if you remember Shane Gillis first appearance. He really. And Shane is the master on podcasts. I mean, he's brilliant and he's.

[B]

He probably had the jitters, didn't he?

[A]

A little bit. He was almost trying too hard. He was a little nervous and it was coming across. And it's not uncommon, you know, because it's such a big platform and you really can, you know, you do blow up from it and a lot can happen.

[B]

And he was banking on that. Yes, because he was just fired from SNL.

[A]

Exactly. And McCann, just supernatural.

[B]

Very free and easy, chill, throw a strip on the Barbie kind of guy.

[A]

Yeah. But also, I think what was different is Shane didn't know Rogan as well as McCann does. He's been performing at the Comedy Store. He's been on Kill Tony a bunch of times. He's really good on Kill Tony.

[B]

So they know each other.

[A]

They've known each other for some time. Yeah. So he's comfortable that way. I mean, they've hung out. Right. So he's familiar with that space. That must help a great deal.

[B]

A little. A little bit of controversy as well, in the comments they were hoping for the boneyard guy.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Many people.

[A]

Yeah, the boneyard guy usually starts out the year or finishes it.

[B]

Finishes it.

[A]

Finishes the year. And yeah, no boneyard guy.

[B]

So his last one for me was kind of.

[A]

I wonder where he's at. He might be having some health issues.

[B]

Oh, I hope not.

[A]

I know he's had. He's a great big factor some before. He's a big dude. Yeah, he's a giant.

[B]

I don't think they treat their bodies well up there in Alaska.

[A]

Well, actually, I'll tell you what, he does message us on the Instagram, so maybe we should reach out and say hey and see if he's okay.

[B]

What is his name?

[A]

That'd be. Don't put me on the spot.

[B]

Sorry about that.

[A]

Supposed to be a friend.

[B]

Oh, gosh. Sure does look okay, though.

[A]

Damn it.

[B]

You find that one on the ground?

[A]

This one? Yeah, this is a good one. Oh, it's John.

[B]

Sorry. John.

[A]

His name's John.

[B]

Sorry. Sorry about that, buddy. We were hoping you were on there.

[A]

Yeah, we'll see. Yeah, he first messaged me when, I guess he heard my review, and I was questioning whether something he said could even be possible. But I was just saying it out of, you know, kind of.

[B]

We're riffing.

[A]

I'm riffing and I'm reviewing. And also, it sounds crazy, like it's wild to be like, you found 50 tons of bones. Like, what?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And yeah, he wrote me to tell me for sure he had and that I need to believe him.

[B]

So.

[A]

John, I do.

[B]

I believe you, John.

[A]

I believe you, John. And I hope you're well. My apologies for even doubting you. How dare I?

[B]

Sorry.

[A]

What do I know about bones? And Pete is also sorry he called.

[B]

You a fat guy.

[A]

He meant a stout gentleman. Strong.

[B]

It's coming from another stout gentleman, by the way.

[A]

Yeah, we were checking Pete's BMI earlier, and he's obese.

[B]

Sorry, everybody.

[A]

Oh, now I'm picking on you. Yeah, we're all terrible.

[B]

At least we're not yes men.

[A]

It's a good point. We're honest. That's what you got to be in the world of podcasting, though. That's why it's so controversial out there. Doing our best. But overall, I would say that this pod, this was an 8 out of 10 for me. What did you think?

[B]

Easy to watch and listen to. I was working when I listened to it. Chuckling out loud. I really wanted to watch the video of them, of those folks in New guinea having it out.

[A]

I think we can look it up.

[B]

Maybe we'll look it up after this.

[A]

We try and look it up. And if I find it, I'll put it in the bio so you guys can watch it yourself. Hopefully I can find it, but otherwise, thank you so much for listening. We appreciate you guys. Check out Black Israelite on YouTube and his other specials. They're very funny. I'll put a link in the bio for those so you can find them right away. And have a great rest of your week. We'll talk to you soon. See you later.