Context Description The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) is a Spotify exclusive audio and video podcast. Since its creation, JRE has been on a constant rise in viewers and popularity while expanding its range to include a wide array of guests. JRE was founded, is hosted, and produced by Joe Rogan himself and the help of his longtime friends, co-founder and co-producer Brian Redband and Jamie Vernon. This podcast has been considered one of the most popular in the world since around 2015 receiving millions of views per episode. As it evolved over the years, spanning 1,000 plus episodes and guests, the format, one he personally describes as “listening and learning” has forwarded him to superstardom. Rogan didn’t do almost any of the things that successful podcasters do on his path to success. Even though he has a ton of industry connections, he didn’t join a network. That makes it a lot harder for a small podcast to take off. Most people who start their own podcast might not have the option of joining a network, but Rogan likely did. A network provides artists with support and infrastructure needed to grow listenership. In some cases, the network may do some or all of the marketing work, meaning all the artist has to do is create. Not joining a network means that Rogan did a lot of the work himself. He also didn’t listen to experts who say that podcasts should be short and sweet. The recommended length is 22 minutes. Rogan’s typically run longer because he wants to get all the material in, no matter how long it takes. Each episode spans anywhere from two to three hours, and Rogan owns an additional channel where shorter clips of the long conversations are uploaded. When Rogan originally launched JRE on Youtube, Christmas Eve of 2009, he wanted to create an environment where Rogan and his friends could address the fans and followers and have fun and open discourse on whatever they may please. With that being said, Joe didn’t pay for any marketing for his podcast in the beginning, or even try to monetize it right away. Instead, he let the show grow organically. He let listeners find him, and they usually like what they find. Joe has also never asked for reviews for his podcast which is important because he knows a lot of famous people, and a simple shoutout from one of them could have boosted his podcast’s numbers, but it wouldn’t have been organic growth. The show became popular over time and constant incline. Rogan claims to have been influenced and attracted to the idea of the open discussion style podcast from appearing on the Opie and Anthony comedy radio show. This style of podcasting is unique because it has brought a different dynamic to its mediums. Its success has signified a somewhat profound shift in podcasting and surrounding culture. Joe Rogan has become a figure that is trusted by people on all sides of the social spectrum. With guests that range from voices like Elon Musk and Bernie Sanders to Kevin Hart and even Alex Jones, he sits down and listens to everyone, regardless of whether or not he is familiar with them. Rogan is also very difficult to put into a political box. He has described his views as being mostly liberal, with the exception of his feelings about gun rights. However, I think that it is more complex than that. When he sits down with somebody that doesn’t see the same politically, he tries to find out everything that they agree on. As he focuses on that, we find that he and his guests usually share a lot of ideas in common. It’s not that he is afraid of confrontation. In fact, he welcomes it at times and some of his podcasts take a turn for the uncomfortable side every once and a while for the sake of ideological integrity. It seems to me that he believes that if people tried to understand each other’s views rather than attack them, discussions would become much more effective. That being said, in today's climate, Rogan has curated a new way of viewing for his audience that they can’t access or experience anywhere else. By adapting to the new ways that we consume information Rogan’s been able to capture the audience, captivated by the conversations. Joe is not new to catching others attention either, as he has been a stand up comedian since the late 1980’s, he found success in this field early, performing his first show at just 21 years old and continues on to perform and tour today. He's done stand-up comedy specials for both Netflix and Comedy Central and is a part of The Comedy Club which was started by a group of comics in LA. Rogan talks about all sorts of things in his comedy routines, drugs, life, sex, mysteries of space, and the world. I think his comedic background is a very important detail in analysis of JRE because Rogan’s background plays very heavily into his discourse throughout the podcasts. The ways his comedy plays a role in the way Joe receives and interprets the world in his experience is a theme worth digging deeper into during the analysis. Rogan has also had success as a national television host for the show Fear Factor and a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) since the late 90’s, early 2000’s. His fighting background runs deep as he pursued a kick boxing career for the early portion of his life. He has said on the podcast that martial arts gave him confidence and a different perspective of looking at what he was capable of. Rogan started working at the UFC doing backstage and post-fight interviews for the martial arts promotion company. By 2002, he started doing commentary. UFC Founder, President, and close friend of Rogan told Rolling Stone Magazine, “He's educated more people in mixed martial arts than anybody ever, he’s the best fight announcer who has ever called a fight in the history of fighting.” I think this is a very bold and controversial statement by him but one worth arguing. Rogan has interviewed some of the biggest fighters in the industry over the years and played a major role in the faces and development of the sport today. Some intrinsic details about Joe’s personal life and career like these all have an effect and will be used as stepping stones to convey my ideas and points that I want to highlight on JRE, podcasting, and culture. With over 1,600 episodes and counting, many with millions of views, the JRE podcast has seemed to be one of the longest running and undoubtedly influential pieces of media in recent years given the success and crowd it has drawn. Rogan’s conversational skills seem like perfected art in the midst of these episodes, as he leaves room for real life and honest stories. During the podcast Joe asks guests questions they might not want to answer or were even expected to be asked, but he lets people tell their side of the story, where the public may have only gotten one side of a story. Yet, Joe is also known to keep a high integrity in the show and has gotten better at that since its beginnings. He aims to create a platform that is in equal parts educational, entertaining, motivational and amusing. With the JRE Youtube channel having just under 8.5 million subscribers, with videos collectively pulling in more than 2 billion views, the video addition to a podcasting format has helped bring in an entire new audience for JRE and its guests platforms. Rogan videos give the ability to not only hear what is being said, but see it simultaneously. That makes it more enjoyable for some people who like to see the genuinity and feel the energy of their conversations, as well as those who are tuning in because they are fans of guests. Many similar podcasts are only available in audio, this is where I think JRE separates itself from the pack, having the video option for listeners to watch the conversation adds an extra engaging feel to the show. I also believe that being on Youtube brought in viewers who would not typically be a part of the podcasting community, which is heavily dominated by audio mediums like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. Now as I mentioned before, JRE is now exclusively available on Spotify only, the deal is assumed to be a multiple year licensing agreement valued at 100 million dollars, the deal made Rogan “the highest paid broadcaster” The Guardian reported. Spotify has more than 700,000 podcasts on its platform and reaches nearly 300 million monthly users, and has been investing heavily in the podcasting format, looking to turn itself into some kind of Netflix for audio. I think Spotify sees a massive business opportunity around podcasts. For one, there is now no single competitor that can take the company on by itself. They have been making big waves in the recent year with podcasting and have taken over the lead from Apple as the most widely used podcasting medium, despite them dominating this space for years.. Apple doesn’t make shows at this time, and they also don't sell any ads, because it would go against their position on privacy anyway. Therefore Spotify has a chance to own this space.