Joe Rogan is currently the undisputed most watched podcast/YouTube channel on earth. His influence and reach dwarfs some mainstream media outlets.

Rogan’s show comes with its share of controversy which is to be expected in the entertainment genre. Nevertheless, Joe Rogan is at the top of his game. His longest interview: “JRE #1530 with Duncan Trussell released on August 31, 2020 is 5 hours and 19 minutes long.” They cover a lot of topics as friends and celebrity communicators but still 5 hours and 19 minutes is a very long interview in today’s instant/distracted/compartmentalized world.

If you were Rogan’s guest… what would he ask you?

 

Picture yourself sitting on the other side of Rogan’s desk at his studio in Austin Texas. After the intro bumper Rogan introduces the episode and launches into the first question.

Rogan: So Steven Falk, how did a kid from the backwoods of Western Canada end up becoming a human factor expert within the US Government?

Falk: Good question. My specialty is both suicide and industrial fatality reduction.

Here’s a sobering fact: 10,000 plus US Forest Service employees run chainsaws in remote, extreme conditions like wildland fires. Within this highly skilled workforce did you know that suicide fatalities dwarf chainsaw fatalities by a factor of 5?

Rogan: So what’s going on in people’s brains when they kill themselves?

Falk: Suicides and accidents both involve a moment of brain hijacking which means the brain can suspend training, values and common sense for a micro moment. In that moment, irrational thought / action sequences with devastating consequences can dominate.

Rogan: Come on: Sometimes trees just fall the wrong way and people end up under them or people just give up on life.

Falk: Yes, but in most cases there is a, “canary in the mine” an early warning system that was ignored, trumped or clouded by the powers of past trauma, ego or adrenaline. Like in MMA, if you can trigger your opponent’s brain to flash into rage the mind battle advantage is established. The head game is as big a factor as the physical/tactical.

Rogan: I would agree with that. I have seen the physical underdog win just by managing his mental toughness. Steve, give me a real life example.

Falk: Ok, It will become crystal clear that two operating systems are at war with each other within our brains. I’ll frame it out on paper.

And then we talk and laugh and talk.…. 2 hours 13 min later Rogan wraps up the interview with, “that was fascinating, let’s book again soon.”

If you were Rogan’s guest… what would he ask you?

 

I believe we all have a Joe Rogan Experience interview inside of us. Finding yours could help you sort out a piece of the, “purpose of life question,” that gets asked throughout our lives.

What part of this beautiful blue planet has captured you?