Welcome to ComedyNerd, Cracked’s new deep dive series on the history of making people laugh (we’re talking about humor, not tickling strangers’ toes with an oversized feather like an old-timey pervert). Today’s topic: how did Joe Rogan become famous? (Also, the ComedyNerd newsletter launches September 30. Sign up here.)
Ten years ago, if asked which stand-up comedian would become the Edward R. Murrow of podcasting, chances are insanely high you would not have predicted one Joe Rogan.
Even at his pre-podcast heights, Joe Rogan was definitively B-list. From the seventh lead on NewsRadio (itself a B-list sitcom) to fight commentator for UFC (an XFL-caliber sport back in the ’90s) to the host of Fear Factor (a B-list reality show), Rogan was always floating out there in the quasi-celebrity cosmos but never someone you would call a “star.”
NBC
Remember, only a decade ago, Rogan was a punchline on 30 Rock. He was co-hosting The Man Show long after most people forgot The Man Show existed. His celebrity was so dim that he was being interviewed by the likes of, well, us.
Despite being pretty much the only NewsRadio cast member who didn’t appear behind a microphone on the show, he started a podcast with fellow comic Brian Redban in 2009. It was the beginning of an unlikely success story. Remember, a dozen years ago, not every cut-rate comic had a podcast. Rogan’s took off, became The Joe Rogan Experience in the summer of 2010, and has rarely left the iTunes Top 10 ever since.
But of all the podcasters in all the world, why Rogan? The reason for his success is deceptively simple: He appeals to Guys with a capital G.
“It’s a massive group congregating in plain sight,” says The Atlantic’s Devin Gordon. “It’s made up of people you know from high school, guys who work three cubicles down who are still paying off student loans, who forward jealous-girlfriend memes, who spot you at the gym. Single guys. Married guys. White guys, black guys, Dominican guys. Two South Asian friends of mine swear by him. My college roommate. My little brother. Normal guys. American guys.”
Pop culture used to cater to Guys; one could argue pop culture was built by them and for them. But those same men aren’t feeling much in vogue these days. Rogan is talking right at them, without condescension or blaming them for the world’s troubles. Guys identify with Rogan’s attitude. And what’s that attitude all about? The answer can be found in his comedy.
MTV
Rogan has been working the stand-up scene for a hot minute (here’s a 1994 bit about the differences between men and women, always a go-to for a young comic). Through all of the second-tier acting, hosting, and fight commentary, comedy always remained Rogan’s North Star. “One of the things I realized … is [TV is] not nearly as fun as the live standup comedy,” he said back in 2007. “Live standup comedy is always better, it’s more exciting, it’s more enjoyable when it’s done right. It’s definitely more entertaining.”
But here’s the ‘funny’ thing about Rogan’s comedy: It’s barely comedy at all. If one listens to his routines, it’s difficult to identify a joke, per se. His bits are more like free-form rants, about being a guy, about the possibility of alien life, about smoking pot. In other words, he just needed the podcast form to be invented so his act could find its rightful outlet.
Rogan’s podcast worldview was developed through stand-up, and listening to his comedy tells you everything you need to know about his Everyguy appeal. Check it out on Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix—and gain some insight into why so many listeners believe Rogan is just like them.
Joe Is A Man’s Man, Just Like Me
Listen, if you’ve seen any of this show, and you said, “I think some of the stuff you’re saying is really funny, but I sense a lot of, like, macho posturing from you. I sense a lot of, like, bullsh*t, tough-guy stuff …” You’re totally correct. (Joe Rogan: Triggered, 2016, Netflix)
Netflix