Joe Rogan is the most influential podcaster in America. And this year, his podcast has been filled with multiple proclamations of the gospel from both Wesley Huff and Mel Gibson. Additionally, he has platformed multiple people who drew the ire of liberals such as Ian Carroll, who did a lot of reporting on the behind-the-scenes at Daily Wire, Darryl Cooper, and Dave Smith who was recently on with Douglas Murray.
Mikale Olson is an anti-Christian Nationalist who emerged last year and has bylines in Not The Bee. His work is curated by Christian Post which is in part run by Richard Land, a liberal Southern Baptist who enjoyed his time at the World Economic Forum. Olson writes, Joe Rogan: Please don’t feed the anti-establishment propagandists a headline begs Joe Rogan to change his ways.
But it must be pointed out that Joe Rogan platforming antisemites is a marked improvement from how Rogan used to be. Joe Rogan used to be notoriously hostile to Christianity, especially in standup, part of the reason he’s a better podcaster. But 2025 Rogan is quite open to Christianity. I would argue these swings are not a coincidence nor contradictory.
Olson writes:
On a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” journalist and author Douglas Murray joined to discuss his new book, On Democracies and Death Cults — a pro-Israel take on the Israel-Hamas-Palestine conflict. But in a now-predictable twist, comedian Dave Smith — who’s shifted more toward anti-Israel talking points than actual comedy — also appeared on the panel.
Murray opened by calling out the slew of anti-Israel voices Rogan has platformed lately (Darryl Cooper, Ian Carroll, Dave Smith, to name a few) and made it clear he wasn’t going to back down quietly. The conversation quickly devolved into a two-on-one dogpile of sorts against Murray, sparking heated debate across the internet.
Of course, Olson lets slip the his main issue with Rogan was his platforming of people critical of Israel and or the Jews. But even when Rogan platforms a Zionist that will do what John Hagee hasn’t in Douglas Murray, that is still insufficient for Olson.
Take Darryl Cooper — he gained some media buzz after being featured on Tucker Carlson’s show, where Carlson quite literally introduced him as one of the ”most important historians of our time.” Cooper, both on that episode and on X, went so far as to call Winston Churchill the “chief villain of World War II,” downplaying, if not excusing, the atrocities of The Third Reich. Dave and Joe dismiss Darryl’s take as mere “hyperbole” or say he was just “joking around” with his friend Jocko Willink (judge for yourself — clown nose on/off) — but let’s look at what Darryl actually said, in his own words, from a tweet he had pinned to the top of his profile.
Cooper does not downplay atrocities, but he does argue they would not have happened without the ongoing war effort which he credits Churchill for. This is the basis of Cooper’s views, but it upsets the Post War Consensus that Olson adheres to more than an objective pursuit of truth or even the ability to have adult conversations.
. Because the truth is, despite their claims of being outsiders, alternative unserious media, or underdogs, figures like Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith, and Darryl Cooper hold enormous influence in the social, historical, and political arenas — perhaps more than legacy media itself. For all intents and purposes, they are the new mainstream media — trusted by millions and fully capable of shaping public opinion, even swinging elections. And as Murray rightly points out, it’s time they started taking that responsibility a lot more seriously.
Ironically, these men have taken their roles more seriously, and that’s why liberals are mad. They are platforming new experts, going places to do controversial interviews (ie Tucker and Putin), and putting out content that is juxtaposed with the mindless doomscrolling oft seen on social media.
But Rogan and Carlson are also men. They respond to strength, admire courage, and pursue uncharted realms of discussion. In contrast, Mikale Olson writes from a position of weakness which is why he will neither convince Joe Rogan nor Christians.
