Clip from Joe Rogan Experience #2570 - Mystery Boys (PowerfulJRE). Watch the full episode on YouTube.
More clips like this on Viral Podcast Shorts on YouTube.
Quick answer: Joe Rogan Experience #2570, "Mystery Boys," features comedians Kurt Metzger and Duncan Trussell, co-hosts of the Mystery Boys podcast. The loose, comedic episode (about 2 hours 44 minutes) covers phone addiction, glyphosate, a dark Kia joke, Elizabeth Holmes, and the true story of how Hunter S. Thompson started a rumor in 1972 that candidate Ed Muskie was on the drug Ibogaine, then reported it himself.
Who are the Mystery Boys on JRE #2570?
According to the episode description, Kurt Metzger and Duncan Trussell are comedians who co-host the Mystery Boys podcast. Metzger also hosts The Derp with Kurp, and Trussell hosts The Duncan Trussell Family Hour. For the full backstories, read our Kurt Metzger bio, Duncan Trussell bio and host Joe Rogan's bio (born Joseph James Rogan). The highlights below come from roughly the first 55 minutes.
JRE #2570 highlights: screen time, glyphosate and Theranos
These are claims and jokes made in conversation, not verified facts.
- Screen time confessions. One person on the episode guesses their phone screen time at "probably 5 or 6 hours" a day.
- Glyphosate. Rogan argues, by way of a story about RFK Jr., that the food industry couldn't survive without the weedkiller glyphosate.
- "Mystery solved." The crew riffs on a dark-comedy story about someone shot over their Kia.
- Elizabeth Holmes's "aura." The group discusses how the Theranos founder fooled people, tying it to a clip from Nathan Fielder.
Did Hunter S. Thompson make up the Ed Muskie Ibogaine rumor?
Yes. Covering the 1972 Democratic primary for Rolling Stone, Hunter S. Thompson wrote that frontrunner Ed Muskie might be under the influence of Ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive drug, supposedly given to him by a mysterious Brazilian doctor. There was no evidence for it. Thompson later said he had started the rumor himself, and in a CBC interview explained, "I couldn't believe that people took this stuff seriously" (Plaid Zebra).
The dispatches were collected in Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 (1973), which the New York Times reviewed that year. Muskie's campaign did collapse that spring, but it had plenty of other problems, as the Times' 1972 post-mortem shows. The rumor is best seen as one gonzo jab, not the reason he lost.
Hunter S. Thompson's pen name: Raoul Duke
Thompson fits realnameof.com perfectly. In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas he wrote himself in as his alter ego Raoul Duke (Britannica), and the 1973 Times review notes he was Rolling Stone's sports editor "under the name Raoul Duke." His full name was Hunter Stockton Thompson; read our full Hunter S. Thompson bio. See more writers' pen names.
Elizabeth Holmes is a lesson in image versus reality. In January 2022 a federal jury convicted her of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud against Theranos investors, and in November 2022 she was sentenced to 135 months, more than 11 years, in prison (U.S. DOJ). More in con artists and comedians.
FAQ
Who are the guests on JRE #2570? Comedians Kurt Metzger and Duncan Trussell.
Did Hunter S. Thompson really make up the Muskie rumor? Yes. He wrote about an Ibogaine rumor he had started himself and later admitted it was a joke.
What was Hunter S. Thompson's pseudonym? Raoul Duke.
Was Elizabeth Holmes convicted? Yes, in 2022, on four counts of defrauding Theranos investors (one conspiracy count and three wire fraud counts).