The Joe Rogan Experience is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and producer until 2012 when Jamie Vernon, who would eventually take over production, was hired to co-produce. By 2015, it was one of the world's most popular podcasts, regularly receiving millions of views per episode, and including a wide array of guests, including business magnate Elon Musk, rapper Kanye West, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, whistleblower Edward Snowden, Senator Bernie Sanders, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and President Donald Trump. From December 2020 to February 2024, the podcast was exclusively available on Spotify, with highlights uploaded onto the main Joe Rogan Experience YouTube channel. The podcast was originally recorded at Rogan's home in California, before moving to a private studio in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Production was relocated to Austin, Texas, after the podcast was licensed exclusively on Spotify in 2020.
Although most episodes feature entertainers, academics, comics, UFC fighters, and other non-political figures, The New York Times described the podcast as an "unlikely political influencer" in the 2020 U.S. presidential election after presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard both had measurable surges in popularity and fundraising after making guest appearances on the program. Bernie Sanders received Rogan's endorsement after appearing on his show, and the Sanders campaign promoted it through its online channels. Four years later, Rogan endorsed then–former president Donald Trump.
The podcast has been described as a "boundary-free arena" and a platform for the intellectual dark web. It features an ideologically diverse mix of political guests. Rogan has been criticized for hosting far-right guests and has been accused of using racially insensitive language. He has also been criticized for his opinions concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, and for hosting a number of guests who expressed opinions that contradicted the present medical orthodoxy. Supporters of the podcast have praised Rogan for his advocacy of free speech.
