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As a ’90s kid, it’s been pretty fun to watch the lovefest unfold the last couple weeks between Tom Green and Joe Rogan.
A couple weeks ago, Tom Green shared a clip of Rogan on his 2007 live Internet show gushing about how Green was pioneer with the format. Rogan had mentioned multiple times over years that Green’s show – hosted on a set built in the middle of his living room – was an inspiration for what eventually became the Joe Rogan Experience.
So, if you’re a historian tracing the origins of the podcast boom, Tom Green’s House Tonight, is essentially where the genre all begins. He filled his house with server stacks and invited an assortment of comedians and Hollywood characters to come drink live for the Internet.
Tom Green, godfather of modern podcast.
Flash forward a couple days after the clip went viral. Green appears in-studio on the Joe Rogan Experience to discuss the evolution of digital media, podcasts, and comedy.
In the episode, Green discusses how he eventually canceled his live web show over his frustration to monetize it, then praises Rogan for figuring out how to make it work by riding YouTube’s dominance in the online video space. Green said he completely missed the boat on YouTube because he was focused on his website at the time, with his own server.
“What’s crazy about YouTube is that there’s not another one. There’s Vimeo and these other sites where you might get a couple of views.. But it’s like comparing XFL to the NFL. And now, the XFL’s done,” Rogan exclaims.
As the episode continues, Green eventually reverses roles with Rogan to ask a question.
“Everyone is riveted by your show. When you say something, it matters – which is different than when others do a show. I have a people that listen to my show, but when I say something, it doesn’t matter. That’s a responsibility. When you say something here, it will effect the entire society… Like how you have people who don’t believe in the stay home order…”
It’s a fascinating question and a rare meta moment where the guest on the Joe Rogan Experience asks Rogan a question about his own influencer as a podcast personality.
Green’s question is a valid one.
In the past couple years, Rogan has become one of the most influential media personalities in the world. His long-form interviews with Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard were lauded for their sincerity outside the mainstream media. Rogan’s interview with alleged former Area 51 employee Bob Lazar opened up a box of questions about what the government knows about UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
His alarming interview with infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm in March was a bullhorn from the scientific community about the lethal seriousness of the COVID-19. I’ll never forget it: The day after the Osterholm episode came out, a friendly stranger at my neighborhood coffee shop was urging everyone in earshot to watch to inform ourselves.
And this was just a day or two before COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the WHO and the world stopped in its tracks, with closures, social distancing, and shelter-in-place orders.
Green eventually continues….
“That’s a lot of pressure, Joe. Because if you say something wrong… I’m just kind of curious. How much time do you spend researching? Is it instinct? Do you see truth through the bullsh*t?”
Rogan’s response is blunt:
“No, you sort of out in real-time…”
Listen, process, synthesize.
Rogan continues:
“I told him he was my daddy, now he’s giving me the hard conversation…. I don’t have an agenda. I just want to be able to talk with friends about stuff that’s actually happening.”
“If I have an agenda at all, it’s just that I want people to do better – me included.”
Here’s the clip. It’s a fascinating segment for us digital media nerds.