Former Joe Rogan Guest Calls Out Podcaster, Sparks Backlash

Sam Harris, the philosopher and author, has hit out at Joe Rogan over his podcast, receiving swift backlash on social media for his comments.

Harris first appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2012 and has been a guest on numerous occasions since, although his most recent appearance was back in 2019.

Newsweek has reached out to representatives for Rogan and Harris outside of regular working hours via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Rogan is one of the most influential podcasters in the world. Over the years, he has faced criticism over controversial guests who have appeared on his podcast and faced accusations of spreading misinformation, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

Rogan endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election though he had previously been highly critical of him. He interviewed Trump on his podcast shortly before America went to the polls and later attended his inauguration.

The podcast is considered to have shifted to the right in recent years, and has drawn criticism for its discussion of conspiracy theories and defense of controversial comments.

What To Know

Harris spoke about Rogan in a recent episode of his own podcast, clips of which have since been shared on social media.

Discussing Rogan, he said: “Joe is a genuinely good guy who wants good things for people. But he is honestly in over his head on so many topics of great consequence.”

He then says that society is “politically shattered” in part because of how Rogan has “interacted with information.”

“A lot of this is inadvertent, but it’s also avoidable,” Harris said. “[Rogan] could actually take the responsibility, that really is his to take at this point, to get his facts straight.

Harris then added: “He could have two brilliant journalists, whose full-time job, he could pay each of them a million dollars a year just to sit there and do, and make sure he doesn’t put his foot in his mouth in a colossally irresponsible way.”

Harris directly criticized the comedian Dave Smith, who has regularly appeared on Rogan’s podcast, as well as Tucker Carlson and Trump.

Smith addressed this on X, writing: “Sam’s correct. The only reason that anybody even knows who I am is because of Joe Rogan. I should have earned it the old-fashioned way: by having my mother create the Golden Girls.”

This is in reference to the fact that Harris’ mother is Susan Harris (née Spivak), a television writer and producer who created the series The Golden Girls.

Gad Saad, the evolutionary behavioral scientist spoke about Harris’ remarks in a clip on X, which was shared by Elon Musk.

Saad said: “In a free society you speak to people. In a free society, short of direct incitement of violence and so on, all bets are off. You either believe in free speech absolutism, or you don’t.”

What People Are Saying

Sam Harris, speaking on his podcast: “Our society is as politically shattered as it is in part because of how Joe [Rogan] has interacted with information.”

Elon Musk on X: “Sam Harris has lost all credibility.”

The JRE Companion on X: “As someone that listens to EVERY DETAIL of EVERY EPISODE of The Joe Rogan Experience, I think Sam Harris really missed the mark here. All Joe has been asking for from both mainstream media and the government is honesty and transparency. (IMO… Sam may need to listen more.)”

Another social media user on X: “Sam’s right. Rogan has become the propaganda and Joe is a grifter.”