Joe Rogan Experience #2492 - Ari Shaffir
In a Nutshell
Joe Rogan and Ari Shaffir recount Ari's 7-month global travels, psychedelic insights from ayahuasca and mushrooms revealing ego dissolution and clear self-perception, and advocacy for ibogaine/MDMA/psilocybin therapies amid drug policy shifts like Texas's $100M veteran initiative. They critique corporate malfeasance (opioids, Ford Pinto, Coca-Cola unions), ancient mysteries (Machu Picchu megaliths, Baalbek stones, Derinkuyu caves), MMA weight-cutting flaws, and gatekept comedy (Comedy Central canceling Ari's show over Netflix refusal, now self-financed via The End special). Key takeaways: prioritize nature/grounding for mental health, merit-based diversity over checklists, and internet's disruption of comedy gatekeepers enabling direct artist-audience success.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Joe Rogan calls Ari Shaffir "Ari the Wanderer" on his phone contact. Ari was at an Oasis concert in São Paulo, Brazil, not Mexico City as initially thought. He was gone for seven months. This is his third major disappearance; the Ecuador trip was a halfway point where he stayed in touch, doing podcasts remotely including a 21 Jump Street Breakdown podcast with Big Jay and Soda, started during the pandemic after switching from Sex and the City because Gayle Ian already had one.
Ari recounts Gayle Ian's shift from women to men, initially battling it while fucking girls but hating them. He went to glory holes claiming he wasn't gay. Ari assumed he was sucking dudes off but didn't confirm if he was the giver or taker. They debated: sticking dick in or sucking through the hole, with Joe joking about wanting to suck dick without eye contact to test technique. Ari failed as interviewer by not asking which side. Glory holes offer plausible deniability—many married men think it's a woman. Gayle now does everything, like Miami bisexual.
In Ecuador, Ari drank from a coconut with palm tree backdrop during podcasts. They discuss yerba mate (jar of hay-like leaves from yerba mate tree, poured with hot water, tastes like ass or hay), a ritual among gauchos in Argentina, spread to Chile and southern regions. Willie Nelson's drink is weed-infused (Willie's Reserve), Ron White brought legit batches to the Mothership; dose-dependent, one glass equals high milligrams, leading to a weird dimension like a facsimile of Earth.
Early unregulated edibles days pre-legalization via prescriptions. Joe's Fear Factor joke: doses labeled 1x, 2x, 3x but X had no numerical value—just bathtub mixes. Gummy bear seller advised "just a leg." Half a cookie is proper dose.
Joe's BART story: took strong edible on train under San Francisco Bay from Oakland, ears felt weird ("under the ocean"), longest 20 minutes fearing tube failure, no maintenance checks. Saw people as 2D cardboard cutouts with souls peeking around shoulders.
Pre-dabs, jiu-jitsu guy made THC pills for all-day highs. Joe took two (guy said start with one, he takes two), talked to creepy guy at tournament who later got arrested for rape, fled to Pacific Northwest (Seattle area), caught after dominating classes. On pills, Joe saw his dark, creepy energy and crazy in his eyes—drugs let you see souls and true natures.
Psychedelics reveal motivations clearly but not reliable (e.g., not for courtroom use). Ari and Big Jay at Blues Fest in Ottawa saw everyone's drug: mushrooms, acid, weed, drunk, molly.
Recent White House thing initially thought as ibogaine for addiction (Ed Clay pushed it, helps addiction, best hippie flip with MDMA/psilocybin). MAPS did MDMA studies for veterans' PTSD (watching friends blown up); Johns Hopkins psilocybin studies. Both advancing to FDA but no one signs off due to politics—opponents use "wants drugs legalized" attack.
Dan Patrick in Texas initially anti-weed, convinced by Rick Perry and Brian Hubbard on Texas Ibogaine Initiative (not recreational, neuroregenerative for veterans' opiate addiction, CTE, brain injuries from blasts); allocated $100 million.
Nixon-era Controlled Substances Act of 1970 brainwashed generations (56 years). Weed not for everyone—strong strains risky for schizophrenia-prone; prefer Mexican weed at 12% THC for mild highs (clouds above city, not Pluto). Dispensaries mock requests for mids. Early dispensary like Zen offered Mexican weed for mild habit while writing.
Ecuador Amazon border city tourism board rejected being "ayahuasca city" to avoid hippie backpackers; one guy took members on trips, changed minds (not addictive, come once a year). Elephants in Thailand: hippies pick mushrooms from patties; herders noticed dreadlock people coming at night.
Herders noticed dreadlock people sniffing around at night and realized it was for magic mushrooms, so they started selling them. Mushrooms' legality in Thailand is unclear, but weed was recently legalized. Back when illegal, bars sold joints and paid off cops, making it effectively fine. Joe warns against messing with drugs in foreign countries, citing Brittney Griner's case.
Griner spent 10 months in Russian jail, nearly a year, then 9 years in a penal colony. Her agency started every day with 15 minutes on getting her out. US told everyone to stay quiet as she was a nothing asset, but liberal housewives kept talking, making Russia see her as important. Biden reportedly said shut up to get her out, but it became a bigger issue to trade for the Merchant of Death.
Americans rush in full bore without knowledge. Once a story breaks, influencers must talk about it as their currency. Late night hosts knew talking about Trump helped him but did it for money. CNN's ratings came from talking about Trump; opposition made him more popular as Americans despised them.
Theory: Terrorism can't exist without US dominating their countries; US can't funnel money to weapons without terrorists. US and Israel need enemies for military budgets. Netanyahu funded Hamas to control the flame height. 9/11 unified against terrorism. Without threats, can't justify trillion-dollar military. Exaggerate small groups' training like monkey bars or jumping jacks.
Cynically, left behind weapons so enemies could use them. Older view: fewer accidents, more intentional. Left tanks and Blackhawk helicopters after 20 years; could have grenaded them like Vietnam. Chaotic withdrawal with people hanging off plane wheels. Abandoned Afghan allies promised protection. Equipment given to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, taken by Taliban.
Taliban like cartels in Colombia: build schools, run businesses, act as government despite bad actions. Question how much is terrorism vs. day-to-day operations.
70,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2024, mix of cartel fentanyl and oxycodone. Pharma like Sacklers in Painkiller series (Peter Berg, Matthew Broderick as creep). Series starts episodes with real people whose sons died. Companies lied opioids weren't addictive, operate on heroin pathway. Marketed for pain 3-10, not just 8-10 for terminal patients.
Joe refused opiates after nose surgery (mild discomfort from foam tubes). Dentist gave Vicodin after wisdom teeth (15-18 years ago, likely impacted), joked comedian friends would want it. Sold Vicodin after ACL reconstruction; made him stupid. Vicodin good with beers. Vicodin is hydrocodone + Tylenol. Tylenol caused liver failure death in COVID pain case.
Aspirin overdose seen as loser death. Girl in high school took bottle for attention. Chicago Tylenol murders: unsolved, tampered capsules with potassium cyanide killed 7; led to seals. Copycats with strychnine in California. 31 million bottles circulated ($100M retail, $334M in 2025). Company advertised not to consume acetaminophen products. Someone convicted of extortion demanding $1M.
Ford Pinto: rear gas tank exploded on impact; pre-production tests showed it, but cheaper to pay lawsuits than recall.
Coca-Cola hired paramilitary death squads in Colombia/Guatemala to kill/intimidate union leaders, funded FARC post-terrorist label. Dole (American fruit company) similar. Execs used fixers to eliminate leftist leaders threatening unionization/profits.
Perot warned of giant sucking sound as jobs moved to Mexico via WTO/NAFTA. Unions ensured good wages; CEOs wanted profits, offshored to slave wages ($1/day, no healthcare/retirement). Destroyed Detroit/Flint (Roger and Me documentary). Detroit bouncing back with cool restaurants, Made in Detroit companies, underrated square crispy thin-crust Detroit pizza.
Odd pizza must be circular, cut in triangles; square disturbs some (Ohio/pub style for sharing). Dave Portnoy responsible for most pizza sales via honest reviews; labor of love, argues with places. Seek his recs for local spots. NY guy reviewed every slice. Subjective; compare plain cheese pizzas.
A really good plain cheese pizza is phenomenal.
New York tip: Ask for anything fresh coming out. If it's 10 more minutes, wait. Like Krispy Kreme with the hot light on—hot donuts dissolve in your mouth, better than vitamins, cures diabetes. After eating a half-dozen, regret hits: "What's wrong with you? You ate yourself into feeling bad."
Ari eats a box of a dozen, chocolate cream-filled and varieties, six in the car, then home feeling poisoned. After 23, hurting post-indulgence means waiting an hour. "What a loser. You ate yourself into feeling bad."
In New York, eats into a coma—stomach stretched, pregnant-looking, burnt belly, swollen from pasta, bread, water, wine. IQ dips 40 points, can't think straight. Gluttony problem with volume: fasts 12-16 hours but devours everything at meals—steak, pasta—from poor kid days wanting it all. Never learns.
One more bite leads to two more plates. In Atlanta diner, ordered meatloaf and steak; waitress said too much, Ari insisted he would consume it all. "You don't know me. I can consume."
After long shows, ravenous. Ari brought hot dogs to Joe and Goldie at UFC.
Early-mid UFC access. Camera behind Joe on Duncan—made out on camera, timed it. Noticed monitor, did Illuminati triangles with hands, then kissed. Blog: "two bored bearded dudes make out during a UFC fight." Comics with camera during 6-hour fights (some boring) entertain themselves.
Weigh-ins wild: small crowds, Tapout guys. Joe joked calling Ari to weigh in. No rules, real weigh-ins then (now ceremonial). Fighters actually scaled.
Weight cutting gross, shouldn't exist. Casual fans want weigh-in at event. Discussed with Hunter Campbell: blow up weight classes, fight actual weight—arrive at camp at weight (pound or two below for safety), random, no prior knowledge.
185 vs 155 example. Like field goals deciding NFL game—minor part. Sanctions bigger frames vs skill; elite all cut, rewarding cutters. Biological: some cut easy, brutal for women (hold water weight harder).
High school wrestling: weigh day-of, still cut. Joe wrestled 128, then 134 lbs; Taekwondo 140 lbs at 15-16, starved/dehydrated last year, then 155 easier, better performance.
Wrestling depletes (no head hits), size bully vs full strength trade-off. Kurt Angle Olympic gold, no cut, full energy dominated bigger cutters—monster skill/strength.
Greg Fitzsimmons tiny, fought anybody. Attacked on stage at Stitches, brawl, bouncers removed guy; Greg mic'd: "Anybody else want some of this?" Finished set.
Ban cutting needs more classes. Boxing has 18 vs UFC 8. Welterweight (147, 160) huge; cruiserweight ignored (Usyk skilled but moved to heavyweight for attention).
Middleweight (185) to light heavyweight (205) giant gap; heavyweight cap 265 lbs (jeans at weigh-ins). Ceremonial now—morning official weigh-in, rehydrate slowly with water/electrolytes/science.
Heavyweight division older than US (1738), 160+ lbs then (people tiny). Rocky Marciano heavyweight champ, 185 lbs (15 lbs less than Joe).
Old fat guys normal-sized. Fought bare-knuckle, body punches to save hands. Lower head defense breaks puncher's hands. Threw knuckles out.
Stockton slap legendary then. Bare-knuckle boxing comeback.
Chess boxing: beat each other, play 5 minutes chess. Boxer advantage post-concussion. Psychopath idea for mediocre boxers/chess players—good boxer KOs, wins chess by default (hospital).
Minimum 1800 chess rating. Magnus Carlsen 2840 peak (highest ever 2882), top 5-10% math guy, alien vibe.
Bobby Fischer 2785 (one-year 2881, near Magnus peak), anti-Semitic. Rating like golf handicap, based on opponents/timing.
Pool Fargo rating. Chang Jong Lin (Taiwan) 1000 for match. Coping Chong (Taiwan) 11-0 perfect match, never missed on 4-inch pockets—broke/made 1-ball, lock-up safeties. Zone play.
Pool huge worldwide, Asia massive. Losing Taiwanese/Chinese to Chinese game (snooker-like table, rounded pockets, 9-ball), $600-700k purses vs US couple hundred grand.
Snooker China: 24.5M unique viewers third session final, 180M cumulative 2025 tournament—like NFL playoff (Super Bowl ~billion). 12ft table.
Snooker is played on a 12ft table with very small balls without numbers: mostly red, plus black, pink, brown. Ari Shaffir tried it in Scotland.
In Colombia, three cushion billiards is popular in casual bars with 20 tables everywhere. No holes on the table. Players move a scorer while playing continuously.
Three balls on a big pool table, no pockets. Hit one ball, contact at least three cushions/rails, then hit the second ball, positioning for the next shot or safety. Involves understanding angles, kicking (hitting rails to collide), spin, English. Harder hits make shorter angles; English spins wider or shorter. Improves pool by deepening understanding of ball movement with speed and side spin.
Ari had a three cushion table at Executive Billiards in White Plains for fun, but prefers pocketing balls over lingering ones.
Pool and darts are bar sports; pool tables take more space, unless used for dancing.
In Brazil, a pool hall turns into a samba place at night with high-level musicians; players continue amid dancing crowds, following bar etiquette.
In the Bronx, Dominican pool room with big money gambling streamed on YouTube. Chaotic: constant yelling in Spanish, flamboyant fun, pros get rattled by environment, guys standing near holes (no-no in regular pool), movement around table. Pros lose to locals due to chaos, even betting $30,000. Some use noise-cancelling AirPods, playing at 60% capacity. Legit tournaments are dead quiet, respectful clapping.
Oscar Dominguez, top pro on Mosconi Cup US team, lost there. Jeremy Jones, US Open champion, went once and said never again due to chaos and dank neighborhood where things can go sideways.
Joe Rogan made money winning pool and poker tournaments early in comedy, playing seriously like a job, reading books.
Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells (1970s): if someone looks at your chips, they have a killer hand thinking chips are theirs. Joe used it to bluff a pro at World Series of Poker by subtly glancing at chips; opponent folded thinking Joe read him.
Book has race-based tells: older white man re-raises, get out—he doesn't bluff. For Mexicans, check payday—they bluff post-payday. Sections on blacks. Written when honest observations were allowed.
Oriental term discussed as slur now, but correct for people/goods from Orient. Asia is huge: includes India, Pakistan (called Middle East), Israel, Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Russia (Asian/Siberian part), Kazakhstan, Iran, Yemen. Debate on what's "real" Asia (China, Japan, Korea core; others peripheral).
Kazakhstan fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov look Asian; Mongolian accent sounds half Chinese, half Russian.
Egypt-Palestine border heavily fortified with barb wire rolls, harder to cross than Israel-Palestine. Gaza wall shown.
Israel bombing southern Lebanon, including Christian villages, destroying solar panels with tractors.
Lebanon reporter killed: Israel followed with drones, bombed car ahead, then her building after hours. She contacted Lebanese authorities, who messaged IDF identifying her as reporter; IDF responded she's Hezbollah, threatened to kill.
Travelers distinguish Israel from Jews, anti-Israel but pro-Jewish. All Israelis do military service, but many oppose actions; protests against Netanyahu pre-Oct 7 (hundreds of thousands for 9 months over judicial reforms to undermine democracy, weaken Supreme Court, interfere with his corruption trial).
Israel only democracy there with parliament; trying to prosecute Netanyahu amid war. Not hive mind—diverse opinions.
Post-Oct 7, criticism stifled like post-9/11 or post-police overstep debates.
Gaza now wasteland like nuke damage from thousands of conventional bombs. Polarization: some need last name to feel bad about dead baby. Kids in Gaza didn't do Oct 7; analogy to nuking NYC over Iran actions—Bronx kids innocent. Tribal warfare unsustainable; pre-Oct 7, some Israelis discussed peace via internet.
Now bombing Lebanon terrifies; Wesley Clark's seven countries plan (including Iran) playing out over decades.
Dave Smith-Coleman Hughes debate: Hughes says Clark didn't read memo, not citable by historians, but events matched exactly.
Syria: excuses to intervene (overthrow Assad, then fight his opponents/ISIS, flip back).
Politics gross; stay out unless affects life, like psychedelics legalization.
Ari praises someone (context implies Rogan) for influence to push shrooms legalization. Unlike Obama, who knew about ibogaine and opioid crisis but didn't act; Johns Hopkins did psilocybin/MDMA studies with Spotify playlists (psilocybin playlist from 2020 researcher).
Bill Richards, psychologist and researcher, appears tripped out in footage, smiling with loosened tie. He describes trip support as a nonverbal safety net like for a trapeze artist: if all goes well, you're unaware of it, but it's there for anxiety, providing structure.
Ari Shaffir recalls during ayahuasca, the shaman beat a drum lightly, pulling him back in with slow booms.
7-hour 40-minute playlist mentioned; avoid Symphony of Sorrowful Songs while tripping. Mushrooms hyped as emotional/spiritual, but mainly laughing with friends. Heavy doses take you to strange places.
Ari had best mushroom trip ever on fresh ones: clear thoughts from unbiased places, no drug addict feeling. Mushrooms kill the ego, allowing objective view of own behavior like analyzing others. Stressful life wraps you in self-management; mushrooms break that, revealing pointless energy waste.
Ari saw father clearly as loving granddad, cool guy who immigrated to America starting new life—realizing he does the same.
Ari's father, nearly 90, sharp, Holocaust survivor from camps young (single digits to maybe 12). Works as docent at Holocaust memorial, has speeches for inner-city kids in Kansas City—makes history real, not fictional.
Joe wants him on podcast; Ari confirms he'd love it.
Weird time for Jewish topics: conflating Jews with Israeli/Netanyahu government actions in Gaza. Internet fuels questioning Holocaust death numbers.
Some Auschwitz photos post-liberation with staged people. But denial like "only 1 million" still horrific. Exact number unknown (6 million? 1 million? 3 million?), but massive. Survivors know only their camp, not Bergen-Belsen. Both sides equally sure of figures (6 million vs. 300k-600k).
Compare pre/post-WWII European Jews.
In Peru hiking Machu Picchu with O'Neal, pouring rain mid-October; locals note it's earlier than usual planting risk (normally November 1), no politics or "climate change" term—just observation.
Earth's climate always changes, even without humans (Sub-Saharan Africa was lush, whale bones in desert pre-cars/plastics). Problem: human pollution effect real, but Al Gore/greenies profit, clamp rights. Good causes misused for money. Fake recycling (landfills equal nothing) makes people feel good throwing bottles.
Bernie Sanders on podcast: climate changes always, humans affect it, but money/con issues.
Machu Picchu not Aztecs, but Incas; base megalithic structures from earlier unknown civilization—jigsaw-cut enormous stones, melted look, paper-tight after thousands of years. Earthquake-resistant interlocking design disperses energy vs. stacking.
Cusco trade hub; Christians added facades/crosses that fell in quakes, originals endured. Inca stuff above: stacked, less sophisticated/large.
Rocks hundreds/thousands of tons.
Lebanon Baalbek trilithon stones: >1,000 tons each, meters above ground; Roman structures on top smaller/less sophisticated. Romans meticulous record-keepers, never mentioned them—not theirs, prior civilization.
Nazca Lines huge, visible only from air; roads/cars provide scale (dot on giant monkey). Hundreds of years old, unknown duration. Theories: sky signals. AI scans found more undiscovered ones.
Nazca also has elongated skulls: 30% more capacity, no sagittal lines (unlike baby skulls tied for elongation). Different human structure?
Were they flying, making Sacsayhuamán/Machu Picchu? Died off 20-30k years ago, little left (e.g., Angkor Wat shocking any remains).
India: entire temple carved from one stone. Jordan Petra: canyon to giant three-story mountain temple, carved out (not added); where's removed stone? Human scale shows vastness.
Turkey Derinkuyu: 1920s, man loses chickens in hole, breaks wall—underground city for 20,000 people, many levels deep. No records of who/when/why.
China Longyou Caves: 1992, four farmers drain five village ponds revealing five large man-made caverns +19 more; >2,000 years old, no records. Own ecosystems (clouds, rain, blind insects losing sight). Straight carved lines for erosion resistance; later carvings.
Near Wuhan.
China extensive records (5,000+ years continuous), yet no mention. Pottery dates to ~200 BCE (late Qin/Western Han), so at least that old/older.
Mayan guide: mile-and-half tunnel from small abandoned temple to main one; frightening, pumas, pitch black—did once with brother, never again.
Mexico: Spaniards conquered Aztecs with ~12 muskets. Aztecs lived in pre-existing temples/pyramids (Teotihuacán/Teotihuacan), called "place gods born"—unknown builders.
Vietnam cave (1991, 60 Minutes): skyscraper-sized, own ecosystems, long journey.
Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam found 1991; 60 Minutes visited—haunted feel. Fly in, drive, hike. Fits skyscrapers, clouds, insects, animals adapted blind over time (hearing up, sight down). Bugs in Thailand too.
Special salamander in Barton Creek Springs that only lives there, got mixed with weird people swimming in the creek. Nude beaches at Lake Travis, topless boat rides showing hippie tits, some gross, some real influencers. Rafting at Barton Creek, asking guides worst customers: influencers make everything about them, pause for shots, get out of shots while rafting.
Influencers have no country, think it's all for them. Johnny Somali arrested in Korea for kissing statue about sex slavery, being rude, sentenced to six months hard labor. Need that for influencers doing selfies while walking, talking on speakerphone—not like black ladies who get to.
Black ladies love speakerphone, want everyone to hear. Possible reasons: nails cut face if too close. Certain cultures gravitate to behaviors—new racism, brand new observations not in books. Outside Rosco's Chicken and Waffles, observing black guys on speakerphone—not mad, just observation. Why worse hearing both sides vs one? Hasidic Jews on flip phones. During Jew hour Q&A, question why they wear matching clothes: two-for-one sales.
United threatens to kick off passengers without headphones—loud YouTube videos, Instagram all over South America. Overnight bus with guy playing Hollywood screams. Dominican pool hall chaos normal. New York jackhammers normal.
Brain part recognizes when birds aren't chirping, freaks out—means predators nearby. Circuit predates primates, mammals use ambient soundscape for 200 million years predator detection. Birds stop when large predator nearby; nervous system never updated. Loud quiet signals something's up. Max Planck Institute 2022: 295 participants, 6 minutes birdsong dropped anxiety medium effect size, traffic noise raised depression same effect—even urban dwellers no nature contact. Brain still runs check. Need nature or go crazy, protect parks.
One-issue voter: protect parks. Saved Elizabeth Street Gardens from low-income housing; community found alternative block for more houses. East Village/Lower East Side community-oriented, made parks from collapsed buildings. Eric Adams promised to protect, parks got nicer. New guy (democratic socialist) wants to raze it despite alternative. Always financial interest. Zilker Park fought underground garages—people won. Central Park huge idea, wouldn't do now.
Would live near Central Park for dog routine. Central Park rules, feels like Woody Allen movie with saxophones. Incredible scale from hotel view. They'd love to sell it off, stack like China. Green spaces important for mind, better than city but not as good as wilderness—Central Park buys two days sanity, woods a week or two. People nicer in Central Park vs Broadway. No smoking in Central Park (cigarettes, not weed). Can smoke on NY streets or joints—legal nationwide now Schedule 3 under Trump (Obama/Biden/Clinton/Trump one could have done).
Moments in middle of nowhere rejuvenate, no hiking culture, hours without passing anyone—at peace. Body recognizes real nature, no cell signal. Grounding: Huberman says real, electromagnetic waves from ground. Feels good barefoot in yard. Tree hugger from touching ground/trees. Tripping makes trees hug back, talk. Elk hunting mountains: no cell service, feel different, relaxed, brain firing creatively—all holding down pulled off.
6 months no social media, got YMH two months ahead on ads/podcast You Be Tripping—evergreen episodes. Recorded bunch in advance. Loves hearing travel stories: Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Uruguay. Banked through July, sometimes 0, sometimes 6-7/week. Avoided Skeptic Tank mistakes: minimum tech effort, YMH as Jamie (15 people doing one job). Do two/day for four days. Reschedule if busy—no stress. Ahead, afford empty weeks. Music choices flagged now on YouTube—used to play full songs wild west days.
Podcasting 2009, almost 20 years. Early days outlaw, fun, zero money—now corporate but helps more. First sponsor fleshlight, Sam Harris refused ad. Did ads/bumpers remote at waterfalls. Video with iPhone on tripod—stabilization incredible, hours battery. Jamie recommended iPhone over pocket camera 2017. Filmed Danny Brown in Sucre, Bolivia statue. Saw Bolivia inauguration first president in 20 years after old guy ran 20 years (farmers two votes, cities one; controlled media, heartland voted him in).
Danny Brown sober off alcohol. Bolivian salt flats miles of salt fields. Peru with O'Neal in alpaca hats (Steve Rinella called leftwing—it's warm). Brain alive without responsibility, came up with storytelling show The End (out now), prologue vision on mushroom trip.
Filmed 80% with Your Mom's House Studios, Tom Segura fills rest. Sigora no censoring. Guests: Miss Pat, Stephano, Duncan, Bobby Kelly, Big Jay, Shane. Prologue frames what happened/not happening, talked to artists, William Child did Danny Brown video. Filmed box in NYC (Chappelle comedian balls place). Outfit from This Is Not Happening (strip club stories)—wore ridiculous suits from Hong Kong, final year Indian outfit from LA saved 7-8 years.
Comedy Central tried to force Ari Shaffir into doing a comedy special with them despite his legal Netflix deal. They cancelled his successful show because he refused. Ari paid for his own special, a double special suited for streaming. He chose Netflix over Comedy Central. They resorted to blackmail. Netflix was huge in 2017; Ari became "mayor of New York" for three weeks—recognized biking through red lights. Netflix picked up Jew special, now streaming. Ari avoids networks after they killed his show; prefers going straight to people. Comedy Central no longer exists.
Joe offered to host Ari's show for free in 2017 to save it, even taking a loan to pay the crew contracted for multiple episodes. Joe had podcast success and TV pedigree from This Is Not Happening (liked Dolan, Alabama story). Ari suggested Ali Siddiq or others, but Comedy Central refused everyone to punish him. They chose Roy Wood Jr., who was great, but the show ended. It was a great concept with strong execution—real stories amid rising alt comedy and ironic distance. Gatekeeping executives blocked it; now they're gone.
Nine years later, internet drowns out comedy networks. Need trusted curators like Sam Harris for meditation or MMA podcasts. Ari curates his show for quality.
Ari created This Is Not Happening from scratch at The Lab at the Improv for 20 people. Developed stories themed by heartbreak, drugs, etc., helping comics craft material with metaphors. Many turned stories into biggest bits or specials. Provided excuse to write; comedy outside regular standup. Gatekeepers had no involvement but all power; their gross actions eroded trust.
Diversity of experience matters more than checklists: Ali Siddiq's life closer to Gary Owen's than Ari's. Rejected LA lists of "gays" or "blacks"; meritocracy essential. Worked harder to find talent like Miss Pat in Indianapolis or Houston prison comic. Forced diversity without merit fails.
Gatekeepers obsolete like cabs birthing Uber (now Waymo). Easier filming plus billionaire friends enables TV-level shows independently. Theo Von and David Spade self-financed movie, recouped budget day one. Ari's new season fills resume hole from bad ending; called The End (play on story titles). Huge comics like Shane Gillis wanted on original show. Four took private jets. Massive project: flew in 23 comics, housed/paid them with shares. Prologue by William Child bridges gap with punchlines, avoiding earnestness (not "they couldn't keep us down"). Real claymation: day per character, days for backdrop/animation; click-move process.
Artists like Anthony Shepard did stage designs at cost for vision (nature reclaiming society). William Child's Instagram: @williamchild.
Prologue: February 18, 2010, born in third most vapid city (LA); six comedians on psychedelics, 14 attendees, best show ever. Got TV deal alone, launched careers (fat comics losing/gaining weight, election influencers, child molest normalizers). Irony sickened. Joe appears. Duncan Trussell's episode: Taylor Swift as 15,000-year-old vampire feeding off fans; demonic GarageBand theme song. Available at arishaffir.com (thegreat.com redirects?).
YMH staff made production cards (one pixelated dick); used Eric Abrams directing credit. YMH made seven funny ones (e.g., giant coin from nose).
Traveling, people knew Shane Gillis except Brazil (only Rafinha Bastos). Ignore business drama, views, clips race. Stand-up comedian elicits universal awe: "What? With a microphone? Pays rent?" Coolest job worldwide—high/low all crafting dick jokes to entertain strangers.
Don't chase shorts or crowd work clips; do what you're good at. Your road may be longer, but you'll succeed. Big Jay's unique long-form crowd work: easygoing, mines heckles for laughs ("What specifically?") from New York practice. Ari co-hosts Legion of Skanks (not running it; Dave Smith political). Presidential election allegiance: three-month creativity/stupidity with Shane as VP. Protect Our Parks tomorrow.
Ari Shaffir: I love you too. You as well. We love you Jamie. Bye. [music]
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