#2581 - Protect Our Parks 18

Episode of The Joe Rogan Experience · November 13, 2026 · 3 h 47 min

Joe Rogan reunites with comedians Shane Gillis, Mark Normand, and Ari Shaffir for a freewheeling, drink-fueled conversation about comedy, history, ICE, fame, fighting, and actors.

Summary

In the eighteenth installment of the "Protect Our Parks" series, Joe Rogan hosted comedians Shane Gillis, Mark Normand, and Ari Shaffir for a loosely structured, alcohol-heavy hangout spanning more than three and a half hours. Topics ranged from Ari Shaffir's move to England, where he said he was bombing at a level he had not experienced since early in his career, to historical tangents on North Carolina's eugenics board, the Vikings, the emperor Nero and Sporus, Shackleton's Endurance, and Hiroo Onoda.

The group discussed comedy-industry practices, with Rogan criticizing clubs that bar comics from working competitors and arguing comedians should earn most of the money. Gillis described the fallout from his recent controversial Saturday Night Live hosting appearance, his decision to delete social media, and a cortisol spike shown in his blood work. Rogan also discussed peptides, Tesla self-driving, a canceled Cybertruck, and the power of tech companies developing AI.

Political segments included Rogan's view that the Trump administration had lost support through an unpopular war and aggressive immigration enforcement, while crediting it with closing the border; the group compared deportation figures under Obama, Biden, and Trump. Rogan discussed the Sig Sauer P320's reputation for accidental discharges in connection with a fatal Border Patrol shooting, and alleged links between Minneapolis protests and daycare fraud. Gillis argued Protestants, not Catholics, fund searches for Noah's Ark.

Later the conversation turned to Jon Jones, Mike Tyson, the suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Brody Stevens, Dave Attell, iconic sports calls, the Will Smith–Chris Rock slap, which actors are pleasant to be around, the Dane Cook documentary, and Andrew Dice Clay's intentional bombing album.

Chapters

0:03
Reunion and Ari in England
The four reconvene, joke about Ari Shaffir's life in London and what British audiences find offensive, and riff on Mexican immigrants and the Spanish conquest.
9:14
Eugenics, Goggins, and a man who walked the world
Rogan reads about North Carolina's forced sterilization program, praises David Goggins, and the group marvels at a man walking around the world for 28 years.
23:50
Philly crime, Roman cruelty, and surveillance
Talk moves from Philadelphia drill rappers and Chicago gang wars to Nero and Sporus, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and police misuse of Flock cameras.
46:51
4chan, QAnon, and tech power
Rogan recounts 4chan's capture of Shia LaBeouf's flag and role in QAnon, then argues tech leaders want unstoppable AI power.
54:47
Bombing abroad and comedy club business
Shaffir describes bombing in England, and Rogan criticizes club exclusivity rules while praising club owners who treat comics well.
1:05:44
Sirius, self-driving cars, and peptides
The group discusses SiriusXM royalties, Tesla and Cadillac self-driving, Waymos, a California supplement law, and Rogan explains peptides.
1:21:43
Shane's SNL fallout
Gillis describes his cortisol spike, quitting social media after his SNL monologue backlash, and comics who criticized him.
1:28:47
Tunisia, the Ark, and lost explorers
Shaffir recounts traveling Tunisia, leading to Ethiopia's claimed Ark of the Covenant, Noah's Ark digs, the Endurance wreck, and Hiroo Onoda.
1:55:57
Trump, ICE, and Minneapolis fraud
Rogan critiques the administration's immigration enforcement, the group compares deportation statistics, and Rogan discusses the Sig P320 shooting and daycare fraud.
2:13:19
Madden, Jon Jones, and Tyson
Gillis talks about his weight while filming Madden, and Rogan recalls advising a young Jon Jones and Mike Tyson's intensity.
2:38:28
Fame, suicide, and Dave Attell
The group discusses fame, losing friends Anthony Bourdain and Brody Stevens, Phil Gillis at Notre Dame, and praises Dave Attell.
2:53:46
Sports calls, the slap, and actors
They share famous sports calls, rewatch the Will Smith slap, debate which actors are cool, and close with Dane Cook, Dice Clay, and Ken Burns.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Joe Rogan
Rogan argues Texas's crackdown on weed and vape pens was driven by older lawmakers pushing a reefer-madness mindset.
“And it's a bunch of old fucks who wanted to bring us back to fucking reefer madness from the 1950s”
Listen from 7:55
Joe Rogan
Rogan believes tech leaders view government power over them as temporary and expects AI companies to become impossible to stop.
“I think there's a quite a few of these guys that are running these tech companies that realize that whatever power the government has over them that's for now”
Listen from 52:47 · Artificial intelligence
Linked moment · 55:47Skip to 55:47 using a listen link in the info box.
Ari Shaffir
Shaffir says he is bombing in England at a level he has not experienced since his second year in comedy.
“I am bombing on a level that I have not since my second year of comedy”
Listen from 55:47 · Stand-up comedy craft
Joe Rogan
Rogan opposes clubs forbidding comics from working competing venues, saying he just wants more people seeing comedy.
“I want more people to come see comedy. Why would I give a fuck if they're at my club or some other club?”
Listen from 59:42 · Stand-up comedy craft
Joe Rogan
Rogan says his club's philosophy is that audiences come for comedy, so comedians should receive most of the money.
“people are there to see comedy. They're not there to buy drinks. The comedian should make most of the money”
Listen from 1:01:28 · Stand-up comedy craft
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues Tesla's self-driving is so good that licensing it would transform the electric car market.
“I mean if Tesla licensed that, the whole electric car world would explode because it's so good”
Listen from 1:10:13 · Tesla Autopilot
Joe Rogan
Rogan says peptides from legitimate compounding pharmacies are reliable while black-market versions are dangerous.
“if you get it from somewhere that's legitimate, what you're getting is the actual real amino acids, the actual real peptides”
Listen from 1:17:17 · Peptide therapy
Shane Gillis
Gillis says that unlike his first SNL firing, after this controversy he deleted social media immediately.
“the first time I got fired, I kept social media. And in my head, I was like, that guy talks shit. This one, I just deleted everything immediately”
Listen from 1:23:25 · Cancel culture
Shane Gillis
Gillis says he assured SNL his monologue was mediocre but uncontroversial, consisting mostly of self-deprecating fat jokes.
“fellas, I'm giving you a solid C minus of a monologue, but I promise there's no controversy”
Listen from 1:25:41 · Saturday Night Live
Shane Gillis
Gillis argues American Protestants fund literalist Noah's Ark searches, whereas the Catholic Church treats the story as non-literal.
“The Catholic Church understands it's a story. It's a story. It's not literal”
Listen from 1:48:14 · Noah's Ark
Joe Rogan
Rogan says podcasters should not be given press-conference seats because they are not journalists and their opinions are given too much weight.
“We're not press people. We talk shit. Right. Okay? And it's a sickness of our society that people take our opinions so importantly”
Listen from 1:58:21
Joe Rogan
Rogan credits the administration with closing the border but criticizes arresting long-settled, law-abiding immigrants.
“Also, not a good thing to snatch people out of their fucking taco stand that have been in the country for 20 years and are nice, good people”
Listen from 1:59:40 · U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Ari Shaffir
Shaffir recounts meeting a Colombian deportee who had been sponsored by a North Carolina couple before being arrested.
“Got sort of sponsored by this couple in North Carolina. Like, come, you're a hard worker. We'll try to do the paperwork. Got snatched”
Listen from 2:00:23 · U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Joe Rogan
Rogan says the Sig P320 is notorious for accidental discharges and should be withdrawn, and believes such a discharge triggered a fatal shooting by agents.
“That P320 is a fucking problem. Get rid of it. And everybody in the gun community 100% knows about this”
Listen from 2:09:03 · SIG Sauer P320
Joe Rogan
Rogan suggests violent Minneapolis protests were connected to the area's daycare fraud scandal.
“It's not a coincidence that these crazy, violent protests popped off in the area where there's the most fraud”
Listen from 2:09:56 · Government fraud and waste
Joe Rogan
Rogan recounts advising a young Jon Jones to join a top camp to maximize his potential.
“you're going to be a great fighter, a world-class fighter no matter what. But to maximize your potential, you have to be with the best”
Listen from 2:23:43 · Ultimate Fighting Championship
Joe Rogan
Rogan says Anthony Bourdain's suicide shocked him because Bourdain showed no prior signs of that struggle.
“I would have never thought Bourdain was going to kill himself”
Listen from 2:41:09
Joe Rogan
Rogan says Dave Attell is rare among comedians in having improved after getting sober.
“one of the few guys that got better when he got sober”
Listen from 2:49:06 · Stand-up comedy craft
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues long-term head trauma inevitably causes problems for fighters, citing BJ Penn's struggles.
“Everybody who gets punched in the head for long periods of time has problems”
Listen from 3:04:19 · Ultimate Fighting Championship
Joe Rogan
Rogan calls Andrew Dice Clay underrated, noting he released an album of himself bombing while at his peak.
“He's the only guy that I've ever even heard of who was on top and released an album of him bombing”
Listen from 3:36:14 · Stand-up comedy craft

People

In the conversation

Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
Shane GillisAmerican comedian and co-creator of the Netflix series Tires
Ari ShaffirAmerican stand-up comedian, storyteller and host of the podcast You Be Trippin'
Mark NormandAmerican comedian and podcaster, co-host of Tuesdays with Stories! and We Might Be Drunk

Discussed

David GogginsAmerican ultra-endurance athlete and author among Prince's clients
NeroRoman emperor
SporusYouth forcibly castrated and married by Nero
Julian AssangeWikiLeaks founder whose detention Rogan criticized
Edward SnowdenFormer NSA contractor cited as an example of a creative disruptor
Shia LaBeoufActor behind the He Will Not Divide Us project
Jon JonesAmerican mixed martial artist and former UFC champion
Mike TysonFormer heavyweight boxing champion who fought Jake Paul
Anthony BourdainLate chef and travel-show host to whom Keep the Meter Running has been compared
Brody StevensComedian who died by suicide
Dave AttellComedian whose joke-tweaking Jarecki observed while filming
Will SmithAmerican actor and rapper who attended high school with Domingo
Chris RockComedian Devine cites as showing up to clubs alone without an entourage
Hiroo OnodaJapanese soldier who kept fighting in the Philippines until 1974
Ernest ShackletonAnglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led the Endurance expedition
Graham HancockBritish writer on alternative history and lost civilizations
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Barack ObamaFormer president referenced in comparing 2010 midterm conditions
Joey DiazComedian and podcaster known for The Church of What's Happening Now
Andrew Dice ClayComedian who released an album of himself bombing
Phil GillisShane Gillis's father
Joe DeRosaComedian and Sal's co-host on Taste Buds
Dane CookAmerican stand-up comedian and subject of the Netflix documentary Funny Money

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From the publisher

Shane Gillis is the co-host of "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast," creator and star of Netflix's comedy series "Tires," and one half of the sketch comedy duo Gilly and Keeves. His new movie, "Madden," premieres November 18 on Amazon Prime.www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0G6M9313Xwww.netflix.com/title/81758875www.youtube.com/@MSsecretpodwww.youtube.com/@GillyandKeeveswww.mssecretpodcast.comwww.shanemgillis.comMark Normand is the co-host of the "Tuesdays with Stories!" and "We Might Be Drunk" podcasts. His latest special, "None Too Pleased," is streaming on Netflix.www.netflix.com/title/82155387www.youtube.com/@TuesdayswithStorieswww.youtube.com/@WeMightBeDrunkPodwww.youtube.com/@marknormandwww.marknormandcomedy.comAri Shaffir is the host of the "You Be Trippin'" podcast. His seven-episode live storytelling series, "The End," is available from YMH Studios.theend.ymhstudios.comwww.youtube.com/@youbetrippinpodwww.youtube.com/@arishaffirwww.arishaffir.com Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Visit https://superpower.com/rogan for $50 off your membership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 14, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy Interviews·Stand-Up·News Commentary