Disclaimer: Joe Rogan, and some of his guests, may express views and opinions that are offensive to some listeners. The content of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast does not reflect the views of Android Authority.
Joe Rogan is a name everyone is sure to know by now. He’s a stand-up comedian, an MMA commentator, and a major podcast host. His podcast is titled The Joe Rogan Experience and on each episode, he usually features a prominent guest.
His guests range drastically, from the famous to the controversial to the famously controversial. He’s featured politicians, fellow comedians, musicians, actors, athletes, business moguls, scientists, authors and journalists, video game designers, contentious figures, and many other colorful people with interesting stories to tell.
Over the past decade, he has released over 1,750 podcast episodes on YouTube and Spotify. The top 10 most popular Joe Rogan Experience podcasts on YouTube have ~250 million views alone. While it’s difficult to choose with so many episodes, we’ve rounded up some of the best Joe Rogan podcasts you can listen to on Spotify right now.
The best Joe Rogan podcasts
Joe Rogan signed a deal with Spotify to release his podcast exclusively on Spotify as of December 2020. All of his episodes up until #1567 are still available to watch or listen to on YouTube. All episodes from #1568 and on are only available on Spotify. Regardless of how you choose to listen, the following are some of the most significant Joe Rogan has released to date.
- Elon Musk – #1169
- Bernie Sanders – #1330
- Edward Snowden – #1368
- Lance Armstrong – #737
- Neil deGrasse Tyson – #919
- Dr. Rhonda Patrick – #1054
- Bob Lazar and Jeremy Corbell – #1315
- Jack Dorsey and Vijayya Gadde – #1258
- Kanye West – #1554
- Quentin Tarantino – #1675
- Anthony Bourdain – #138
- Russell Brand – #1283
- Randall Carlson – #606
- Graham Hanco*ck – #1284
- Matthew Walker – #1109
- Jocko Willink – #962
- Bill Burr – #967
- Andrew Yang – #1245
- Michael Osterholm – #1439
- Kevin Hart – #1278
- Dan Bilzerian – #857
- Mike Tyson – #1227
- Paul Stamets – #1043
- Sam Harris – #543
- Megan Phelps-Roper – #974
1. Elon Musk – #1169
This episode of the Joe Rogan Experience with Elon Musk is Rogan’s most popular podcast episode on YouTube. It aired in September of 2018 and has since gained over 39 million views. Musk is most widely known as the CEO of Tesla SpaceX; his innovations have made him a huge public figure across the globe.
In this 2.5 hour episode, Rogan and Musk discuss his recent business ventures and what future plans he has for himself and his company. Musk also discusses AI technology and how he fosters his many ideas into success. In this episode, Musk also takes Rogan up on his offer of smoking weed (which then made Tesla stock drop significantly).
There’s a reason this is one of the most highly viewed JRE episodes and we promise it’s not just because Elon Musk smokes weed in it. If you’re a fan of Elon Musk, you should also check out episode #1470, which aired in 2020, and episode #1609 from 2021.
2. Bernie Sanders – #1330
Bernie Sanders has only been on one JRE podcast episode to date, but it’s definitely one of the best overall. This episode aired in 2019 while Sanders was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Even though he lost this nomination to Joe Biden, this episode is still worth the watch or listen.
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Sanders doesn’t skate around topics in this episode and Rogan does an excellent job of interviewing him. Since we usually only get to hear politicians speak on their views of the issues in little pieces, it was nice to hear a long, drawn-out conversation between Sanders and Rogan on these topics. Plus, it was Sanders’ appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience that prompted the next guest on this list to come on the podcast.
3. Edward Snowden – #1368
After seeing Bernie Sanders come on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Edward Snowden felt comfortable appearing as well. He first appears in episode #1368, which aired in 2019. Edward Snowden is most famous for leaking classified information from the NSA, which he discusses in detail on this podcast.
On this episode, Snowden also promotes his book “Permanent Record” that discusses mass surveillance within the US government and why he felt compelled to share classified NSA documents. He, of course, also discusses this with Rogan during the podcast and enlightens listeners to how much of your lives the government is currently observing. To hear more conversation between Rogan and Snowden, check out episode #1536, which aired in 2020.
4. Lance Armstrong – #737
Although this podcast episode is more than 6 years old, it’s still one of the best Joe Rogan Experience episodes to date. If you don’t know who Lance Armstrong is, he’s famous for winning the Tour de France 7 times and afterwards revealing that he took performance-enhancing drugs.
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In episode #737, Rogan talks with Lance Armstrong about his cycling accomplishments and about his scandal with performance-enhancing drugs. Rogan does an excellent job interviewing Armstrong and opening up a discussion rather than calling him out for his mistakes. Armstrong’s story is surely a historical one and it was fascinating to listen to the two of them discuss the controversy surrounding Armstrong.
5. Neil deGrasse Tyson – #919
Neil deGrasse Tyson has so many titles to attach to his name. He’s an astrophysicist, an author, and overall a huge science buff and figure to the world. He’s a delight to listen to and he tackles a lot of huge topics that a lot of us might feel are too difficult to comprehend. He explains things in ways that are easy to understand and Rogan always seems to ask just the right questions to further the conversation.
JRE episode #919 aired in 2017. Joe Rogan and Neil deGrasse Tyson discuss a variety of topics, the most legendary of which is the concept of infinity. Both Rogan’s and deGrasse Tyson’s passions for science come through in this interview and make it such a pleasant episode to listen to.
deGrasse Tyson returned to the Joe Rogan Experience two more times after his initial episode. He appears on episode #1159 and episode #1347, both of which are also fascinating episodes to listen to if you’re at all interested in science.
6. Dr. Rhonda Patrick – #1054
Dr. Rhonda Patrick has her Ph.D in biomedical science and she’s a renowned expert on nutritional health. She’s certainly an expert in her field and quickly became a favorite guest of Rogan’s to have on the podcast. To date, she’s appeared on 9 JRE episodes.
This particular episode, #1054, aired in 2017. In this episode, Dr. Patrick demonstrates her knowledge of diet and exercise and how both affect our overall health. She explains everything so well and helps highlight which areas of our health we need to continuously be working on and monitoring. Again, Rogan does a great job of asking all the right questions and getting the most useful information out of the interview.
If you’re a fan of Dr. Rhonda Patrick, here are a few more episodes you can find her on: #459, #502,#568,#672, #773, #901, #1178, and most recently #1474.
7. Bob Lazar and Jeremy Corbell – #1315
Have you ever wanted to know more information about Area 51 and aliens? Check out episode #1315 with Bob Lazar and Jeremy Corbell. This episode aired in 2019 and includes over 2 hours of conversation about everything strange that’s happened at Area 51. Bob Lazar has shared quite a bit of information about Area 51 in the past and he delves into all of it in detail with Joe Rogan.
Even if you don’t buy into everything that’s said in this episode, it’s fascinating to listen to and ponder the possibilities.
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8. Jack Dorsey and Vijaya Gadde – #1258
Jack Dorsey is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter and the founder and CEO of Block (previously known as Square). Vijaya Gadde is the head of legal, policy, and trust at Twitter. They are joined by Tim Pool, an independent journalist, who directs a lot of the questions while Rogan serves more as a moderator.
Dorsey and Gadde address some tough accusations of bias and censorship at Twitter, and, whether or not you believe their answers, it’s enlightening to hear what they have to say when confronted with pretty pointed questions. Twitter may not be perfect but, like this episode, it certainly is a conversation starter for interesting topics.
9. Kanye West – #1554
Kanye West has had a rather bizarre, sometimes concerning public persona over the last few years. Always a big personality, with vocal opinions on everything from Taylor Swift to the history of slavery, the celebrated and award-winning hip-hop artist and producer swings from beloved icon to reviled villain on a dime. In this nearly three-hour conversation with Rogan in 2020, West covered a lot of ground.
During the discussion, West described his relationship with God, his regrets about his past lyrics, his own journey with bipolar disorder treatment, Black history, COVID-19, and his reasoning behind running for President of the United States and past support of Donald Trump, and he (in)famously described his way of speaking not as rants but as “a symphony of ideas.”
10. Quentin Tarantino – #1675
One of Rogan’s biggest guests after his move to Spotify was Quentin Tarantino in 2021. Rogan and the Pulp Fiction director had plenty to talk about.
Tarantino addressed his critics, rejecting the discussions surrounding his negative portrayal of Bruce Lee in his 2020 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While the director expressed some understanding of Lee’s daughter and her critiques, he flatly rejected all others. His response to claims of misogyny in his work was similarly dismissive. The interview went in many other directions too, with Tarantino getting into his plans to retire, his own upcoming podcast, his relationship to disgraced producer Harvey Weisntein, and plenty more.
11. Anthony Bourdain – #138
Episode #138 with Anthony Bourdain is one of Joe Rogan’s earlier podcasts and it’s stood the test of time. Sadly, Bourdain is no longer with us, but at least we have this podcast alongside his many other accomplishments to remember him by.
Bourdain was an American chef who authored multiple books and starred on multiple television shows. He was beloved by many and his stories are so relatable and fun to listen to. This episode is a fun walk down memory lane to remember both Bourdain and the early years of Rogan’s podcast.
12. Russell Brand – #1283
Like Rogan, Russell Brand is also a comedian. He has also starred in quite a few movies and TV shows. Listening to the over 3-hour long conversation between these two comedians was a hilarious treat. Despite a huge portion of the conversation being quirky and funny, Rogan asks a few questions that tackle deeper issues. It was nice to hear Russell Brand’s insight on things instead of just listening to him crack jokes.
This particular episode with Russell Brand aired in 2019, but he’s appeared on Rogan’s podcast twice before on episode #812 in 2016 and episode #1021 in 2017.While the other episodes are entertaining as well, #1283 is my favorite.
13. Randall Carlson – #606
This is another highly intellectual podcast episode. In episode #606, Randall Carlson pays a visit to Rogan and speaks with him for a whole three hours on a variety of scientific topics. Carlson has many titles to his name, including teacher, geomythologist, and geological explorer.
He also appeared on episode #501 by himself and then on a few other episodes with other scholars: #725 with Graham Hanco*ck, #872 with Hanco*ck, and #961 with Hanco*ck and Michael Shermer.
14. Graham Hanco*ck – #1284
Graham Hanco*ck is a British writer and journalist, most widely known for his theories on ancient myths and civilizations, altered states of consciousness, changes in the Earth, and more. In episode #1284, aired in 2019, Rogan and Hanco*ck discuss a few of Hanco*ck’s theories and how they have been accepted in the community.
He’s appeared on a few episodes of the JRE podcast with Randall Carlson (listed above), but has also been on quite a few episodes by himself. If you want to hear more about what Hanco*ck has to say, you can find him on episodes #142, #417, #551, #630, and #1543 (with Brian Muraresku).
15. Matthew Walker – #1109
Haven’t you ever wanted to know more about sleep? Patterns, what’s healthy, what’s not – Matthew Walker covers all of this and so much more in podcast episode #1109. And, believe it or not, he actually makes the subject of sleep an interesting one.
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Walker authored a book titled “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.” If you have a chance to read the book, definitely do. If you don’t have the time, give this podcast a listen. Although Walker obviously can’t go into as much detail as he does in his book, he does expand on certain topics, like why we oversleep and why sleep is so important.
16. Jocko Willink – #962
The first podcast episode Jocko Willink appears on, episode #962, is a riveting listen. Willink is a retired US Navy SEAL Commander who served in the Iraq War who has since become an author and host to his own podcast. Although Willink may come across as no-nonsense, he has a lot of very good advice and useful information. He talks about everything that makes a great leader, how to develop willpower, and so much more.
Willink was such a great guest that Rogan has had him back three times since his original appearance. You can listen to him on episodes #729, #1391 (with Tulsi Gabbard), and #1492. If you want to feel inspired and ready to take on the world, these are all great episodes to listen to.
17. Bill Burr – #967
Bill Burr, a fellow comedian, has been a long-time guest of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He was a guest on Rogan’s early episodes and has been on the show consistently over the past decade. Here are the other episodes you can catch Burr on: #26, #91, #228, #343, #583, #727, #909, #1219, #1348, #1491, and #1575.
Once you listen to the rapport between Burr and Rogan, you’ll quickly see why. Although Bill Burr and Joe Rogan attempt to tackle a few serious topics here and there in episode #967, the overall podcast is just really funny. Any Joe Rogan podcast episode that Burr appears on is highly entertaining and just the best.
18. Andrew Yang – #1245
Andrew Yang is most famous for running for president in our most recent election. Ultimately, Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election, but Yang’s views on the issues are unique and still worth a listen to in this podcast episode.
Yang’s personality was something that didn’t always show on camera during debates, but in this interview, Rogan helped break down the barrier between the politician and the everyday citizen. The two of them talk for almost two hours and Yang is able to freely give his unique takes on the issues.
If you’ve seen Yang speak before or maybe thought his ideas on the issues were a little extreme, you should definitely give this episode a chance; he comes off as a lot less intimidating and gives explanations behind his views. Even if you don’t agree with his views, it’s still an entertaining interview.
19. Michael Osterholm – #1439
Episode #1439 was recorded in early March of 2020 when the coronavirus was starting to take hold in the United States. Michael Osterholm is an American epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research Policy at the University of Minnesota. When Covid-19 was just starting to appear in large clusters throughout the United States, there was a lot of conflicting information spreading around.
Joe Rogan had Osterholm come on the podcast to help best explain Covid-19 to the public and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the virus. At the time of this episode, Osterholm knew more about the virus than a lot of people in the US; and still today, he’s considered an expert on the subject and was appointed as a member of President-elect Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Board.
20. Kevin Hart – #1278
2019 episode #1278 with comedian and actor Kevin Hart is a joy to listen to. He’s such a happy, witty individual and it was so nice to listen to him and Rogan speak candidly. If you ever wondered whether Kevin Hart is as funny as he is during his stand-up, the answer is yes. Nothing was scripted, but this episode was hilarious.
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This episode was a great window into why Kevin Hart chose to pursue the career he did and how he feels about his fame and success. Even if you’re not a huge fan of his stand-up, this episode showed insight into a lot of the mantras and lessons Hart has carried with him from the beginning. You can also catch Hart in a more recent 2020 episode, #1480.
21. Dan Bilzerian – #857
Dan Bilzerian has led a pretty invigorating life, that’s for sure. He’s the son of a Wall Street corporate raider, set up with a trust fund, who went on to become a professional poker player. Once the media caught wind of Bilzerian, his life became a lot more colorful. He developed a company that sells CBD products, Ignite, dabbled in acting, had a heart attack or two at a young age due to drug use, and more.
Rogan and Bilzerian talk about all of the things listed above as well as his various relationships with women over his lifetime.Episode #857 is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. Though, it’s certainly a fascinating episode to listen to.
22. Mike Tyson – #1227
Mike Tyson is a heavyweight boxing champion legend, so it’s no surprise that this is one of the most popular podcast episodes on Rogan’s YouTube channel. Tyson’s career has been crazy, especially if you remember that he bit someone’s ear off and owned tigers as pets.
Rogan makes sure to ask about all of the crazy details of Tyson’s past while giving him the opportunity to explain whatever he wants to in however much detail he wants to. Tyson also discusses his experiences with drugs, including acid, marijuana, and mushrooms; he even talks about how he’s growing his own strain of marijuana on his ranch.
Mike Tyson also appears on a more recent episode in 2020, #1532.
23. Paul Stamets – #1035
Paul Stamets originally appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2017 and later returned in 2019 for episode #1385. He’s an American mycologist who works with various strains of mushrooms. He is a dedicated advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation, which is when fungi-based tech is utilized to help clean up an environment. He has also authored multiple books on the subject of mushrooms.
You can tell that Rogan was very excited to have Stamets on the show and discuss mushrooms and even DMT. Stamets does a fantastic job explaining just how multifaceted mushrooms are and how beneficial they can be to both humans and the environment.
24. Sam Harris – #543
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist who has authored multiple New York Times bestseller books, like Letter to a Christian Nation and The Moral Landscape. He also hosts his own podcast titled Making Sense where he discusses atheism, politics, philosophy, free will, and plenty of other topics.
When Harris comes on Rogan’s podcast, which is often, he talks about any and all of the topics listed above. In this particular episode, Harris discusses mindfulness, the field of neuroscience, where religion fits into our modern society, and more. The conversation between Rogan and Harris goes on for three hours, diving deep into philosophical questions that make this episode so gripping.
If you want to hear more from Harris, check out episodes #192, #410, #641, #804, #940 (with Dan Harris), #1107 (with Maajid Nawaz), and #1241.
25. Megan Phelps-Roper – #974
Last, but surely not least, is episode #974 with Megan Phelps-Roper. Growing up, Phelps-Roper was an active member of the Westboro Baptist Church, a Hyper-Calvinist Cult and hate group. Her grandfather, Fred Phelps, was the church’s founder. She has since distanced herself and spoken out against the cruel hate speech and acts committed by Westboro Baptist.
This episode is such an interesting listen. She talks about what it was like growing up inside the compound and participating in church protests. Then, she reflects on what it’s like to look back at it now after leaving. Rogan asks all the right questions, showing interest without pressuring her to answer anything she doesn’t feel comfortable answering.
FAQ
While it definitely comes down to your sense of humor, Episode 1647 with Dave Chappelle certainly stands out. When Dave’s in front of a mic, you know you’re going to laugh (or get angry, or both).
Joe Rogan’s net worth was never tiny, seeing as he came from a moderately successful stand-up comedy and TV hosting career. The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, though, is where most of his $120 million net worth comes from.
With more than 2,000 episodes under his belt, Joe Rogan’s entire podcast would take roughly 5,300 hours to finish.
Depending on the time period discussed, The Joe Rogan Experience is often the number one podcast by number of listeners. The Daily, a podcast from The New York Times, occasionally trades places with JRE for #1.
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