The Joe Rogan Experience
4.1/5
Critic Rating
4.1/5
Listener Rating
Critic Reviews
Score: 4.3
Matt Hanson • The Arts Fuse • Oct 16, 2021
"The JRE podcast is informal by design. In a certain sense, Rogan’s podcast puts the concept of unlimited free speech into practice. Rogan once admitted, with endearing honesty, that he once went to college (UMass Boston, my alma mater) simply because he didn’t want other people to think he was stupid. As amusing and informative as the show can be, a few podcast interviews doth not an actual education make."
Score: 4.5
Ambrose Leung • Hype Beast • Oct 25, 2020
"While West is clearly doing all the talking in this special episode, Joe Rogan does a good job of asking questions that let viewers learn of a more personal side of ‘Ye that’s typically not represented in other one-on-ones — giving clarification on the artist’s ideologies and outspoken demeanor."
Score: 4.3
Dani Di Placido • Forbes • Oct 25, 2020
"West is a man who discusses multiple, unrelated topics simultaneously; at one point, he compares his thought process to Super Mario, frantically jumping from one rapidly disintegrating cloud platform to another. Seems like a pretty appropriate analogy. Joe Rogan didn’t get much of a chance to speak in this one, as West took what few questions he had and ran with them, sprinting through several subjects without ever quite reaching a coherent point. The thing about Kanye West, is that he’s really quite endearing to listen to. He’s not coherent, well-informed, or particularly logical, but he seems to genuinely believe in what he’s saying. Plus, he just seems like a nice guy, with a quirky sense of humor. I wouldn’t be surprised if West managed to build a Trump-esque personality cult during his next presidential run. I wouldn’t call it informative, but Rogan’s podcast offered a more honest insight into the mind of Kanye West than any other interview I’ve seen."
Score: 3.5
Ashley Iasimone • Billboard • Oct 24, 2020
"Kanye West talked for nearly three hours straight -- circling around topics like his relationships with God and the music industry, his presidential run, and his takes on abortion, medication and racism -- on the latest episode of Joe Rogan's podcast.The broad conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience premiered on Saturday (Oct. 24), a week after he expressed interest in making an appearance on the show, and it offered a glimpse into what exactly is on West's mind."
Score: 4
Will Gompertz • BBC • May 23, 2020
"I quite enjoyed listening to his conversation with Musk, but I wouldn't download another show in a rush for entertainment's sake. It wasn't just because the entrepreneur could say almost anything without being challenged - there's a section about Covid-19 when I found my eyebrows rise while Joe's and Elon's were furrowed in agreement (I believe in previous episodes Rogan has been more sceptical).The main problem is my cultural reference points are different, I don't relate to Joe Rogan. I'm not interested in mixed martial arts or conspiracy theories or smoking weed or drinking hard liquor or camping or "dumb things". I don't care if a Tesla car can accelerate to 60 mph in under two seconds or want to hear what Elon Musk has to say to "all the fools out there" - another throwaway remark that went unchallenged. Nevertheless, the host clearly reflects the views and tastes of a vast number of American people, and has developed a format with which they can connect and hear his thoughts and those of his guests (male-skewed, judging by the recent roster). And that's why I will continue to download his show: Not to be amused but to be informed. Listen to The Joe Rogan Experience and you hear America."
Score: 4
Justin Peters • Slate • Mar 21, 2019
"I have listened to a lot of Rogan episodes over the past few months in order to try to understand why the show is so popular. It is a bizarro Fresh Air, a rambling, profane interview program in which the host is often high, loves to talk about cage fighting—Rogan has long worked as a UFC commentator—and never lets his guests go home. His interviewees are an esoteric lot spanning Rogan’s wide range of interests: stand-up comedy, mixed martial arts, evolutionary psychology, alternative medicine, music, acting, business, and the excesses of leftist identity politics. Listening to the show is sort of like crashing an intense, intimate dinner party in which the only courses are whiskey and weed."
Listener Reviews
Score: 4.5
Shabnam T. • Oct 31, 2020
"This was very interesting. Glen Greenwald broke the Snowden story, so hearing his perspective on the US political and media situation is a must listen for everyone. "
Score: 4
Sebastian G • Sep 6, 2020
"This podcast is all about Mike Tyson coming back to fight. Very surprising since Mike Tyson previously mentioned on Joe Rogan that fighting had a negative impact on his mental health. Joe Rogan dives directly into that line of questioning, and given Tyson's interesting training regimen and life values, this episode was pretty entertaining for anybody interested in the next chapter of Mike Tyson."
Score: 3.5
Sebastian G • Jun 30, 2020
"Joe Rogan keeps it real, I appreciate his measured, smart viewpoints. It feels like Jon Stewart is the progressive version of Joe Rogan in some ways. Good to hear Stewart after so many years aways from TV."
Score: 4.5
Imran A. • Jun 29, 2020
"This was a more logical episode of Joe Rogan. Jon Stewart talking a lot of sense in the landscape we live in right now. Sometimes solutions can be so simple, people just need to realize it. Good to hear Jon in a long form conversation again. "
