The Onion

Many years ago, I actually enjoyed listening to his podcast but it's hardly reminiscent of the goofy stoner podcast it used to be. Back when artists like Alex Gray would come on and talk about their inspirations or whatever drugs they were on when they created a masterpiece. Or when Maynard James Keenan would get on and talk about TOOL and wine making. Or about how many chimps you could fight before getting your limbs torn off your body. It was stupid, had variety, was largely innocent and Joe wasn't even close to wielding the influence he has now. About 6 years ago it stared shift gears and I just couldnt be bothered to catch-up on any episodes. It was just getting so dull, more mainstream and drawn out. But then came 2020 and covid 19, that was it. It was no longer a show for stoners on long drives or just coming home from work and wanting to hear some mindless brain candy. Shit was getting dangerous with his guests and he gave them a larger platform than even network TV stations could everhope for. At the exact same time, he basically sold his soul to Spotify for $500M. So he had a much wider audience, more money than anyone could ever need in 100 lifetimes and the show was now officially about listeners and ratings thanks to Spotify. I'm now too embarrassed to even mention I was an early fan IRL anymore. I don't understand why people still listen to or engage with him, his show and all the quacks he brings on. There was a reason he rose to popularity but that reason has long since died. All we get is more bullshit and misinformation posed as truth. Nobody took it seriously enough to even care about the dumb shit people said on his show then bc it was comedy centric. Now it political and a major artery by which deliberate misinformation is distributed to the masses.