Something fascinating keeps happening with Jon Stewart lately: The clips of him talking to his writers on their podcast (done on Zoom with almost no budget) keep getting WAY more buzz/views than the actual (big-ish budget) TV show they produce.

Caleb Howe @CalebHowe

"These are shifting sands." Jon Stewart makes such an excellent point here on Joe Rogan flap, one of the most important. "Who gets to decide" what's considered "misinformation." (Full clip: mediaite.com/a/lyvse) via @Mediaite @leia_idliby

February 10th 2022

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Why do these living room clips go viral? They’re real and immediate and people love Jon. Big media platforms keep throwing money at heavily produced shows when people under 35 just don’t want ‘em. Once you enter podcastland, old school polished TV feels overly scripted, rehearsed, and rather archaic.

Who cares about late night anymore? From a comedian perspective, a late night set – once the gold standard – barely moves the needle in views/ticket sales while an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast can help comics level up overnight. In that way, Rogan is the new Carson.

Increasingly, what people now want…

• Natural conversations - no scripting/reshoots

• Topical - talk immediately about what’s happening

• Not paywalled - don’t make people subscribe

• Quick thinking - real intellect shines through

• Charisma - a real star shines in any light

And they seem to care less and less about…

• Bells and whistles/fancy sets

• Writer’s room monologues-by-committee

• Credits and theme songs

• Celebs doing PR schtick

• Paint-by-numbers political (or other) views that are pre-approved by CapitalOne, AT&T, and Flo from Progressive

Will Smith and his family get this: Hollywood’s First Family of Putting It Out There.

For decades, he became one with his hardened facade; now he’s melting it down…It is a profound validation of the power of emotional directness and its destigmatization for the famous.

Matt Taibbi recently pointed out how Russell Brand’s online success comes from his non-judgmental approach compared to the out-group hatred often found in the MSM.

Of course, Brand’s real crime is the basis of the show’s success: a welcoming, positive tone, the breezy lack of judgment, and a refusal to denounce anyone as enemies…This willingness to court all audiences is an affront to the basic formula of current commercial media, which relies upon a strategy of identifying out-groups and rallying audiences to escalating hatreds. Any show that sends an opposite message that people with differing views can and should coexist, or that people who cross conventional wisdom may be interviewed for any reason beyond being “called out,” must now themselves be considered reactionary.

This form of freedom is a big reason why Rogan is so popular too.

Rogan offers a chance to win over new converts and, in principle, have a discussion that breaks free of partisan constraints. For many Rogan fans, this breadth of discussion and freedom from norms is the heart of the show.

There’s definitely an age component to this too. Young people don’t trust institutions and want to listen instead of merely follow. Ethan Strauss examines the difference in this super piece: Stan Van Gundy and the Boomer Doomer Phenomenon as Case of Trust (h/t JF).

The young live within the chaos of the Internet; the old live within the clarity of organized messaging from a few newspapers and news channels. The young obviously have their own groupthink detours and their own buzzwords, but it all seems to happen absent a belief in institutional competence…

A listener is someone who takes in information before knowing its applicability. A follower is someone who takes in information explicitly in pursuit of direction. The JRE is for listening, as you have no clue where most of these conversations are going. The major papers and cable news channels are for following — moral instruction disguised as relevant information…. But many of his listeners largely aren’t looking to be “informed.” I’m not even sure many people of a certain age feel they’re part of an interconnected “citizenry.” They just want to listen to people talking, absent the onerous taboos that pervade modern life. Just to hear that feels like a luxury sometimes.

Btw all the people who hate on Rogan would be wise to examine why he's so compelling to his audience and consider adopting some of his techniques. Steven Shapin, Harvard historian, explains:

We’ve got to find ways for “right-thinking people” to speak more convincingly. And there’s a science of that, as well as an art of doing that. It’s desperately needed. We should take it as seriously as we take the spike protein. And I don’t think we are. I think we should take very seriously that there is a science—provisional, not as consensual as the science of spike protein—about people’s beliefs and perceptions. And we should respect people who speak well about that, even though they may be wrong from time to time…We’ve got to take credibility and trust seriously.

Of course, Howard Stern is the OG of this “keep it real” approach and has been doing it forever.

The corporate media would be wise to reconsider its high horse/shame-based approach and start considering why no one cares what they think anymore. Also, they should do actual journalism (the kind that involves phone calls and legwork instead of scrolling and clicking) and hire folks in flyover states instead of running an info operation based entirely in NYC, DC, SF, and LA. Trust, like politics, is local. If people in MAGA country have literally never met a reporter, it’s no wonder they don’t trust ‘em.

What’s the lesson here for creators? Go to a big platform for the cash grab, if you 100% need a huge production budget, or require Pro Tools (or whatever) to be “in tune.” Otherwise, go the minimal viable production route, put the real you out there, and live in the future instead of the past.

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Just announced new MISGUIDED MEDITATION shows on 2/26 in NYC. Last one sold out so we're doing two this time. Get tix quick (flash sale this week only gets ya discount). It's funny and there are cool sounds and trippy visuals and a 1hr open bar (courtesy of Misguided Spirits) and it all takes place at a yoga (!) studio. Be there then. Tickets/info here.

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I’ll be getting in the (Mountain Time) zone in March…

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Standup clips

Below are some recent clips I’ve posted to social media.

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🅼🅰🆃🆃 💎 🆁🆄🅱🆈 @mattruby

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I used to be a bad boy

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