Rogan plays up his persona as a freethinking everyday guy, encouraging listeners to draw their own conclusions from his rambling conversations with guests. He’s undoubtedly controversial, regularly divisive, and has recently made headlines for racism and spreading Covid-19 disinformation. He draws in millions of listeners, as he free-wheels with (mostly male) guests in hours-long podcasts spanning topics from human-optimisation to politics to conspiracy theories. I am, however, (and against my better judgement) intrigued by Joe Rogan. I don’t like Joe Rogan and I don’t want to like Joe Rogan. Do streaming platforms like Spotify have a responsibility to protect their listeners from misinformation, or is this a disruption to freedom of speech?
