Joe Rogan

Joseph James Rogan Jr. (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, which is one of the most popular podcasts in the world and has been the most streamed podcast on Spotify since 2020.

Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey, and began his career in comedy in 1988 in the Boston area. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1994, he signed an exclusive developmental deal with Disney and appeared as an actor on several television shows, including Hardball and NewsRadio. In 1997, he started working for the UFC as an interviewer and color commentator. He released his first comedy special, I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday..., in 2000 and hosted the game show Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006. He launched The Joe Rogan Experience in 2009, and Spotify obtained exclusive distribution rights in 2020 for $200 million; in 2024 he renewed his deal with Spotify for an estimated $250 million.

Rogan developed an interest in martial arts in his early teens; at age 14 he took up karate and started taekwondo a year later, and when he was 19 he won the US Open Championship taekwondo tournament as a lightweight. He performed his first stand-up routine on August 27, 1988, at an open-mic night at a Stitches comedy club in Boston. He later cited Richard Jeni, Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinison and Bill Hicks as comedy influences. Rogan has been criticized for promoting conspiracy theories and COVID-19 misinformation.