Why I believe Joe Rogan is the modern-day Art Bell

Let me start by saying I love Art Bell. I love listening to his old Coast to Coast AM shows. I love listening to his Dreamland episodes. I can’t get enough. I also enjoy Joe Rogan. I think he is fantastic at what he does and the guests he has on are super interesting. I also want to point out that this is an opinion piece and it’s okay to disagree with me. I don’t know why but for some reason I feel like this post might upset people who love either one of these men. Anyways, here is why I believe Joe Rogan is the modern-day Art Bell. 

Endless Curiosity

Like Art, Joe Rogan has a never-ending curiosity for just about everything. Whether it’s comedy, martial arts, politics, UFO’s, or any type of conspiracy theory, Joe is interested. He’s invested in the conversation. He wants to learn everything his guests know about a topic. One example that comes to mind as I write this is his interest in archaeology and ancient civilizations. He has on fantastic guests who are very intelligent about the topics mentioned above. Joe’s had on Graham Hancock (who was also a guest on Art Bell’s show back in the 90’s and early 2000’s), who is “formerly a foreign correspondent for “The Economist,” has been an international bestselling author for more than 30 years with a series of books, most notably “Fingerprints of the Gods,” “Magicians of the Gods,” and “America Before,” which investigates the controversial possibility of a lost civilization of the Ice Age destroyed in a global cataclysm some 12,000 years ago. Graham is the presenter of the hit Netflix documentary series “Ancient Apocalypse”, per The Joe Rogan Experience bio from their latest episode on October 17^th, 2024.

Rogan has also interviewed Jimmy Corsetti, who is “the independent researcher behind “Bright Insight”: a YouTube channel exploring ancient mysteries and lost civilizations” per The Joe Rogan Experience bio from December 1, 2021. Both interviews are fantastic and both have been on The Joe Rogan Experience multiple times. 

Rogan’s curiosity always leads him to ask great questions, which helps the interviewee provide incredible answers. Art Bell was the same exact way. He always knew the right question to ask and exactly when to ask it. He pushed for more, but he never pushed too much to make his guest uncomfortable. In this way, Joe is fairly similar to Art. It’s pretty cool to see.

Interesting guests

Like Art, Joe has on really interesting guests from all walks of life. Aside from the two mentioned above, he’s had on other scholars, actors, comedians, singers, UFO researchers (along with government employees who are knowledgeable on the topic), and so many more people with all kinds of knowledge and different backgrounds. It doesn’t matter who the guest is, Joe is always locked in and ready to go. He does his research on the guest and comes prepared with many thoughtful questions (as mentioned above). He shows them respect and does not interrupt their train of thought. Like Art, he lets them speak and only interrupts if he has to (like if he has a question or wants to add context for his listeners who may not understand). 

One difference between Art Bell’s show and The Joe Rogan Experience when it comes to guests is that Coast to Coast AM was on the radio. Meaning it was a live show every night and listeners could call in and ask questions. They could speak with Art and his guest, which made the show more entertaining. Rogan does not have the live call-in feature for his podcast, although I’m sure if he really wanted to he could figure out a way to do it, but he doesn’t have to. His show is HUGE just the way it is. I do recognize radio and podcasting are different, but I still think it’s fair to compare Bell and Rogan. Like Art Bell was with AM radio, Joe Rogan is with podcasting: The King.

Episode length

I didn’t start listening to Art Bell fully until I was an adult, and by that time his show was long over, but I used to listen to short clips on YouTube when I was a kid. Anyway, my point is I never stayed up late at night listening to his live show, but I am almost positive they were at least five hours long (correct me if I’m wrong). Art’s shows uploaded to Apple Podcasts range between two-to-three hours long and I assume those are edited to shorten them. 

Like Art’s Coast to Coast AM, The Joe Rogan Experience has very long episodes, which makes for great podcasting in my opinion. Especially when it’s an interview/casual conversation format. Another difference between the two is the video option Rogan has for his listeners. Obviously, Art never had that, although as I listen to his old episodes he’s occasionally mentioned a webcam where his listeners could see him. I’m not sure if that meant they could listen to the entire show or not though, but they definitely could not watch Coast to Coast AM the way we can watch The Joe Rogan Experience today. Again, I think it’s fair to compare. They definitely have more things in common than they do differences. 

Listeners/Viewership

Per the Radio Hall of Fame, “By the late 1990’s he [Art Bell] was reaching 15 million listeners a night as the host of Coast to Coast AM.” A NIGHT. That is insane. “Syndication of the program began in 1993 and reached 500 stations at its peak (Radiohalloffame.com).” Now compare this with Joe Rogan’s stats for The Joe Rogan Experience and you will understand why I have concluded Joe is the modern-day Art Bell. Per Waverroom.com, “As of this writing, The Joe Rogan Experience has reached the following stats: According to a report by TIME magazine, the podcast boasts a viewership of an estimated 11 million people per episode, making it Spotify’s most popular podcast.” 

Keep in mind this article was written in February of 2024. If I had to guess I would say Joe Rogan has millions of new listeners now and either ties Art at 15 million an episode or surpasses him. It’s very cool to see how both of these men built their empires from the ground up and turned them into these monster shows.

Legendary & Influential

Lastly, I wanted to talk about how legendary Art Bell is and how Joe Rogan is on his way to earning that status. Not only was Art’s show legendary, but his voice is often mentioned as the greatest radio voice ever (at least in my house). That deep, soothing voice over the airwaves at night (or whenever you listen) is addicting. You just want to keep listening to see what he’s going to say next. Joe’s voice is not like Art’s (no one’s voice is), but his show is just as addicting. The information that is shared from his guests, uncensored, is a great benefit to society, and one thing I appreciate is Joe and his guests constantly pushing the listeners to do their own research and to fact check everything they’re saying.

Joe Rogan is an influential voice in our culture today. Whether you like him or not you cannot deny this fact. Like Art Bell, Joe’s enormous show gives him a platform to speak his mind and to share with his listeners what he believes and what his guests believe. There’s a lot of power in that and I think he fully recognizes this. With this, and everything mentioned above, I believe Joe Rogan is the modern-day Art Bell, and I believe if Art were with us today (Rest in Peace) he would be a big fan of Joe’s. 

They are probably alike in more ways than what I’ve just written here, but those are the main comparisons I thought of when this came to mind the other day. If you haven’t listened to either show I highly recommend them both! 

What do you think? Is Joe Rogan the modern-day Art Bell? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Peter

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