3 ms·

And yet people watch Joe Rogan instead of Lex Fridman.

darepublic 6y ago
Lex's guest list has broadened recently to more closely resemble Joe's, with recent interviews on UFO's and MMA. Which seem like organic interests for Lex but I don't care for when he interviews on these topics
- bonoboTP 6y ago
  I'm a big fan of Lex, but we have to see that he basically kickstarted his podcasting career by using his MIT cred then made it into a personal thing. Basically it started as the accompanying podcast for the Artificial General Intelligence course at MIT, given by Lex. Given that it's a podcast for an MIT course, he managed to get a very highly esteemed AI guest list, because who would refuse to give an interview as part of MIT lecture materials? In the beginning it had less to do with Lex as a person I think. With that ex-guest list, he managed to continue after the course as "AI podcast", now not connected to a specific course. But if you tell people this podcast had X and Y top expert in it, you can get many more top people. Again after some time he rebranded it all under his name as Lex Podcast and is slowly entering culture war territory and is becoming a second Joe Rogan. I guess he used good tactics, but I'm not sure the initial guests would all agree that their interviews are now part of the Lex-branded podcast. He started tame and uncontroversial, gained "fuck you money" (his phrasing) and is now using it to spread his broader views. Smart, but a little distasteful.
  - gvhst 6y ago
    I've listened to a number of his recent episodes in full and haven't really heard any culture wars topics addressed. Is this related to his recent episode with Joe Rogan?
  - specialist 6y ago
    "...then made it into a personal thing." His interview of his own father is just about the best thing ever. One surprising reward from my recent addiction to podcasts are the fresh looks at people I thought I knew. Roger Penrose, Malcolm Gladwell, others. So rewarding. The long dialog format of podcasts is a much welcome relief. Allowing people to finish a thought, the unhurried back & forth. I recently watched "I Am Not Your Negro" on Netflix. The footage of James Baldwin on programs like Dick Cavett Show is so much like today's podcast. Made me hungry for more.
    - bonoboTP 6y ago
      I definitely love the long format as well. But I predict there will be a strong backlash against him as he reveals more of his culture war views and how he agrees with Jordan Peterson on some issues etc. I think over the next months many previous guests will disown him.
      - abnercoimbre 6y ago
        Isn't it inevitable for Lex to want to try? If he's into a group's approach -- you mentioned Joe Rogan , Jordan Peterson, guess I'll vaguely add Sam Harris, etc. -- and they all make money being independent podcasters, then surely he wants to compete in that space.
        bonoboTP 6y ago
        Yes, add to that Bret and Eric Weinstein. Essentially he's joining the "intellectual darkweb" as Eric Weinstein calls it. But I guess the initial big name AI people will be pissed off that they are associated with him, because of gender and race issues. For example at this point I wouldn't want to share his interviews in an AI related company on informal internal corporate communication channels even if relevant workwise, because Lex will be (or already is) known as "problematic" regarding his broad views.
        deathgrips 6y ago
        That sounds like a problem with your company first and foremost. If you ignore useful information from people you dislike, your competitors will innovate faster than you.
      - specialist 6y ago
        Darn. That'd be very disappointing. Don't have heroes. They'll only disappoint.
        alentist 6y ago
  - specialist 6y ago
    Followup. Just noticed the interview with Michael Malice. So your concern is well founded. Darn.
simonh 6y ago
Both serve a useful function. Some of us might find Joe frustrating, but he's a genial and entertaining interviewer. He's further on the entertainment spectrum than Lex, who is probably a better bet for most of us because we're probably more interested in the content. That's not a knock against Joe though. The fact he's so entertaining and relatable attracts in a huge audience his interviewees would otherwise never reach, and that's fantastic. OK maybe they don't get to expound their ideas as broadly and deeply, but the fact that they get exposure to so many people at all is a huge win.

Lex's guest list has broadened recently to more closely resemble Joe's, with recent interviews on UFO's and MMA. Which seem like organic interests for Lex but I don't care for when he interviews on these topics

bonoboTP 6y ago
I'm a big fan of Lex, but we have to see that he basically kickstarted his podcasting career by using his MIT cred then made it into a personal thing. Basically it started as the accompanying podcast for the Artificial General Intelligence course at MIT, given by Lex. Given that it's a podcast for an MIT course, he managed to get a very highly esteemed AI guest list, because who would refuse to give an interview as part of MIT lecture materials? In the beginning it had less to do with Lex as a person I think. With that ex-guest list, he managed to continue after the course as "AI podcast", now not connected to a specific course. But if you tell people this podcast had X and Y top expert in it, you can get many more top people. Again after some time he rebranded it all under his name as Lex Podcast and is slowly entering culture war territory and is becoming a second Joe Rogan. I guess he used good tactics, but I'm not sure the initial guests would all agree that their interviews are now part of the Lex-branded podcast. He started tame and uncontroversial, gained "fuck you money" (his phrasing) and is now using it to spread his broader views. Smart, but a little distasteful.
- gvhst 6y ago
  I've listened to a number of his recent episodes in full and haven't really heard any culture wars topics addressed. Is this related to his recent episode with Joe Rogan?
- specialist 6y ago
  "...then made it into a personal thing." His interview of his own father is just about the best thing ever. One surprising reward from my recent addiction to podcasts are the fresh looks at people I thought I knew. Roger Penrose, Malcolm Gladwell, others. So rewarding. The long dialog format of podcasts is a much welcome relief. Allowing people to finish a thought, the unhurried back & forth. I recently watched "I Am Not Your Negro" on Netflix. The footage of James Baldwin on programs like Dick Cavett Show is so much like today's podcast. Made me hungry for more.
  - bonoboTP 6y ago
    I definitely love the long format as well. But I predict there will be a strong backlash against him as he reveals more of his culture war views and how he agrees with Jordan Peterson on some issues etc. I think over the next months many previous guests will disown him.
    - abnercoimbre 6y ago
      Isn't it inevitable for Lex to want to try? If he's into a group's approach -- you mentioned Joe Rogan , Jordan Peterson, guess I'll vaguely add Sam Harris, etc. -- and they all make money being independent podcasters, then surely he wants to compete in that space.
      - bonoboTP 6y ago
        Yes, add to that Bret and Eric Weinstein. Essentially he's joining the "intellectual darkweb" as Eric Weinstein calls it. But I guess the initial big name AI people will be pissed off that they are associated with him, because of gender and race issues. For example at this point I wouldn't want to share his interviews in an AI related company on informal internal corporate communication channels even if relevant workwise, because Lex will be (or already is) known as "problematic" regarding his broad views.
        deathgrips 6y ago
        That sounds like a problem with your company first and foremost. If you ignore useful information from people you dislike, your competitors will innovate faster than you.
    - specialist 6y ago
      Darn. That'd be very disappointing. Don't have heroes. They'll only disappoint.
      - alentist 6y ago
- specialist 6y ago
  Followup. Just noticed the interview with Michael Malice. So your concern is well founded. Darn.

simonh 6y ago

Both serve a useful function. Some of us might find Joe frustrating, but he's a genial and entertaining interviewer. He's further on the entertainment spectrum than Lex, who is probably a better bet for most of us because we're probably more interested in the content. That's not a knock against Joe though. The fact he's so entertaining and relatable attracts in a huge audience his interviewees would otherwise never reach, and that's fantastic. OK maybe they don't get to expound their ideas as broadly and deeply, but the fact that they get exposure to so many people at all is a huge win.