Why Millions of Men Are Choosing Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, and Shawn Ryan (And What It Means for You)
For the past seven years, something fascinating has been happening. It’s like a quiet revolution, but it’s making a whole lot of noise. Millions of men, maybe even you, are tuning into The Joe Rogan Experience. This isn’t just another podcast; it’s a cultural phenomenon. And if you’re part of an institution, say, like the Church, you need to lean in and listen.
But here’s the bigger question that hit me this morning, as I was grabbing my coffee from Twice Daily (no, they don’t pay me, but their Swiss grinder? That’s another story). I was thinking: We all know the names – Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Shawn Ryan. They dominate the conversation.
The larger issue is why are men turning to them?
Why aren’t they flocking to the best preachers, the insightful theologians, or even the most inspiring Christian writers of the day?
Think about this: Joe Rogan pulls in an average of 16-24 million listeners every single week.
That’s like the entire population of Taiwan tuning in, or Sweden and Greece combined.
Forget “Joe Rogan is big.”
Joe Rogan has become a country unto himself.
How in the world did we get here?
Now, before the “Pharisees” among us start whispering, let me be clear. Neither I nor Greg Driver, my partner at Wild & Kingdom, are saying Rogan is perfect. Nobody’s trying to “baptize Joe Rogan” and make him the new spiritual guru. His worldview has holes, definitely. And those holes don’t always line up with biblical living. But that’s not the point we’re making here.
The undeniable truth is this: Rogan has become a figurehead among men. He’s practically a modern-day prophet for men’s culture. Remember 15 years ago when young men and women ditched CNN and FOX, saying Jon Stewart was where they got their news? I was stunned.
Why a comedian?
Because they were sick of legacy media. They could smell the bias and the “money politics” a mile away. Younger generations have an acute BS detector.
That same “excrement filter” is why millions of men are gravitating to Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, and Shawn Ryan today.
So, the real question for you, for me, for the American evangelical church is: Why are men seeking these voices? And the church, frankly, better wake up and pay attention. We’ve largely lost men. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Now, usually, I’d save this for the end, but let’s put it upfront. If what you hear in the next few minutes actually helps you, actually resonates, would you do me a favor? Share it. Not just on social media, though that’s fine. I mean, text the link to a few of your buddies. Men are under attack, often labeled part of the “toxic masculinity problem,” and they don’t even know why.
At Wild & Kingdom, we’re not selling anything. No merch dreams, no event tickets, no next book. We’re in this for the truth. Period.
And one more thing, before we dive in. This has been affecting you for a long time, whether you knew it or not. You’re being subtly “canceled.” Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms are deciding what truth you get to hear. They literally filter your content. If you haven’t put your email into our tribal base, do it now. The link for the Wild & Kingdom distribution list is in the notes. We can email our content straight to you, keeping the algorithm from silencing your access to the truth.
You Google this issue, and holy cow, there’s a whole lot of “woke media” asking the same question, crying what I’d call “Rachel Maddow tears.” It’s almost comical.
The First Reason: Rogan Is Telling The Truth.
It’s simple. People on the right scratch their heads, and people on the left not only join them but hate the guy. Madeleine Connery, a young journalist out of Brown University, wrote a piece blaming Rogan for “widening the gender gap.” Hilarious, and a weak argument. But she got this one thing right:
Joe Rogan must be understood as more than an audio juggernaut. His show has become a magnet for young men who are disillusioned by the Democratic Party, forging a collective narrative of the Oppressed Straight White Man. Donald Trump was aware of this, and he used it to his advantage to reach the malleable minds of young male voters. – Madeleine Connery, Brown Political Review (https://brownpoliticalreview.org/how-rogan-widened-the-gender-gap/)
See that? Straight from her Ivy League indoctrination. Young white men are “malleable minds,” incapable of their own thought. That’s pure wokeism. Rogan didn’t widen the gender gap; God created gender. This whole “gender gap” talk is perhaps the most anti-intellectual and frankly embarrassing concept social scientists have foisted upon us. Genders are the way they are because they were designed that way.
But Connery did nail this:
In an age where fifteen second TikTok videos barely hold our attention, Joe Rogan’s 2-4 hour sit-down talks should be obsolete. Yet, his unique messaging makes them enthralling for so many men.
She’s right. In a TikTok world, young dudes are devouring Rogan’s long-form content by the millions. Why are young men flocking to Rogan? It’s not rocket science. He talks about what men care about, and there’s no softening filter.
Is there a “cool factor”? Sure. Is he funny? Absolutely. These help, but they’re symptoms, not the core reason. The real reasons go much deeper.
Rogan isn’t the enemy here. Deception is.
And people know it in their gut. They’re tired of being spun. Rogan is telling the truth about a lot of things, and he’ll go places the Church often won’t touch.
Muhadi Faiaz, a Political Analyst for the Government of Alberta, put it well:
It is because Joe Rogan is willing to discuss any idea that is interesting to him, regardless of it being considered ‘politically correct’ or not. It is because he does not shy away from talking about the lay man’s anxieties and concerns. – Muhadi Faiaz, Medium (https://medium.com/blog-faiaz/why-is-the-joe-rogan-experience-so-popular-among-men-42677de464fb)
It’s More Than Just Truth: Rogan Is Telling A Truth Not Wrapped In Politics.
Anna Merlan, a writer for The Guardian, might claim “he hosts many radical right-wing people with fringe ideas,” but that’s just not true. He hosts anyone. And that’s the lie of modern liberalism: if you disagree, you’re the problem. How’s that for tolerance? They’re tolerant of anyone who agrees with them. If you don’t, you’re a bigot, a fascist, a racist, or you have “white privilege.” They just slap a label on you before they try to cancel you.
People who preach tolerance the loudest are often the most intolerant I’ve ever met. True tolerance means we can live alongside each other. Today, it means: “You must agree and fully embrace my version of truth, or you’re a hater.” That’s pure deception. Rogan shines a light on that, and popular culture doesn’t know what to do because he genuinely invites all sorts of views to his microphone. And if he doesn’t agree? He’ll tell you, without backing down an inch.
Rogan’s planetary-sized audience of men has nothing to do with politics. Let’s go back to Ms. Connery from Brown; her article blaming Rogan for widening the gender gap:
As many young men drift further and further down the alt-right pipeline, it’s unclear how democrats can salvage this once-loyal voting block. What is clear, however, is that Rogan’s popularity is symptomatic of a greater collective movement: the rise of the Oppressed Straight White Male. – Madeleine Connery, LinkedIn (https://brownpoliticalreview.org/how-rogan-widened-the-gender-gap/)
Do you see it? Liberals and academic pundits cannot grasp that this is not a political issue. It’s not about Marxian oppression. It’s not about white privilege. It’s not Trump vs. Harris, Red vs. Blue, or Right vs. Left.
It’s super, super simple. It’s not about the politics of gender bias.
Calder McHugh at Politico is onto this truth about Rogan’s lack of political bias:
So far, Democrats have been unable to disrupt or replicate this idea, in large part because the problem they confront is more cultural than political in nature. – Calder McHugh, Politico (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/11/how-trump-won-the-podcast-bros-00188518)
He’s exactly right. This is not a politics game Rogan is playing. Helen Coster, a political writer for Reuters, recently pointed out that most Americans:
…share a natural distrust of authority, a belief that most politicians are lying to them and a vested interest in glomming on to whatever can help their personal brands. Over 70% of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year… In the United States, politicians are considered the biggest sources of false or misleading information. – Helen Coster, Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-news-consumers-are-turning-podcaster-joe-rogan-away-traditional-sources-2025-06-16/)
Rogan is telling truths not wrapped in politics. But I think it’s even deeper.
Rogan Puts A Stake In The Ground.
You won’t see Rogan, or Peterson, or Shawn Ryan tiptoe around issues. That is hugely attractive to a man. So, here’s a note for all you pastors out there: learn from Rogan that having the balls to state your conviction carries weight with men.
Pastors feel pressure to conform. They have boards looking over them, and being human, they sometimes cave. Sadly. A.W. Tozer nailed it: “In order for today’s churchgoer to approve of the message they demand first that they approve of the messenger.” He wasn’t complimenting them. But it’s true.
When are pastors going to start talking about real issues? Not just the safe stuff like grace and mercy, or “7 ways to be a better steward of your money.” When was the last time you heard a sermon series on what a husband should expect from his wife? Biblically?
Rogan has balls. There’s nothing he won’t discuss. And that matters in a culture where definitions of right and wrong change with the wind. This is why there has to be a stake in the ground. Drawing a line matters. But here’s the thing: We have to be super careful about who gets the authority to draw that line. For Rogan, it’s pretty much whatever he thinks is right. And that’s a problem.
But who gave liberals – or conservatives – the right to decide which version of masculinity is the right one? Both are flawed. Because both liberal and conservative media are backed and fueled by money.
This is why there has to be a stake in the ground. But the flag that’s planted has to be legitimate, not bent toward ideology.
Let me tell you something that is true today, was true 413 years ago, and will be true 413 years from now if Jesus hasn’t returned yet: God has never given popular culture the right to define truth.
Do you realize in 2020, during the pandemic, the same government that demanded you wear a mask, claiming you might literally be killing people, is the same government that tells you it’s perfectly permissible to kill a baby in the womb? The same government officials telling you that guns kill people and therefore we must wage war on guns are the same senators and congressmen and lawmakers telling you that we must relabel restrooms to allow dudes with a penis to take a leak in the girls’ bathroom so they can feel included.
We have lost our minds as a society. And people like Rogan are willing to call it out. And that is why men are following.
Society must have a ground zero that provides the definition. In America, we actually did have that ground zero decades ago. It was Scripture. Scripture was even etched in stone in our county seat courthouses. Now that’s gone, and look around. What you now have is chaos. We have chaos because we have no governing authority. When you have Scripture as your governing authority, you get order.
So let’s shift that to men. When you line up with the Creator of the universe and His model of men and women, you get order. And that is God’s definition of the male role. His authority is the only authority that has clear and eternal definitions of masculinity.
And that leads to the next truth about why men are turning to Joe Rogan.
Men Are Sick Of Being On The Receiving End Of Shame.
This is why Rogan is thriving. This is why men flock to Joe Rogan, and Jordan Peterson, and Shawn Ryan. Because those men understand that God made men and women. Separate and yet equal.
Devin Gordon, writing in The Atlantic, put it this way:
He understands men in America better than most people do. The rest of the country should start paying attention. – Devin Gordon, The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/08/my-joe-rogan-experience/594802/)
It’s not a white issue. It’s not a political issue. No matter how much liberal or legacy media tries to make it that. Yet, for the last 20 years, being a man has become a cultural and sociological epithet. Rogan punches that weak woke junk in the teeth and puts all of that in a philosophical chokehold. Rogan embraces masculinity; as he should.
Rogan Gives Men A Place To Belong.
Xiaowen Xu, a political psychologist at the College of William and Mary, noted:
A lot of places in the world we’re seeing young men starting to lean more conservative compared to young women of the same age and generation… If you’re on social media and on the internet, you see young men talking about how they feel like they don’t have a place to belong. – Xiaowen Xu, The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/14/young-men-election-joe-rogan-donald-trump)
Now, for all of you who go to church: what does this say to you? Are men knocking down the doors of your church? If Rogan were a church, he’d be the most mega-pastor America has ever seen, with a church full of men. Men are knocking down his door. Because he’s leading a cause.
Let me offer some encouragement.
MEN ARE WHERE THE RETURN IS FOUND: ROI.
The numbers don’t lie. Everywhere I go, I hear this “reach the man, reach the family.” But no church really believes that. Know how I know? Follow the money. Fellas, if your church put as much money into men’s ministry as it did Kids Ministry, your Kids ministry would be bigger than it is right now.
All of this presents us with an amazing opportunity. Why are men turning to Rogan? For the same reason men turn to anyone!
Men are thirsty for raw truth. Russell Brand, after his baptism, posted this: “No one trusts the government. No one trusts the media. So why are we surprised that more and more of us are turning to God?”
Brand is onto something. Why is Rogan interested in spiritual conversations? Why is Jordan Peterson so interested in the Christ narrative and Old Testament societal models? Why? Because there is truth there.
And that’s why we are in this fight at Wild & Kingdom. When Greg and I launched this, one of his greatest burdens was to do something about the confusion and biblical illiteracy we saw.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
We were heartbroken watching men, especially younger men, being controlled and confused by social media, by Meta, and all the other forces twisting their reality. We want the truth to set people free. And we know we must go back to Scripture as our authority. When you do, you see that principalities and dominions of spiritual forces are controlling this thing.
“Woke prophets” are simply prophets employed by the devil. Liberals are just people chopping away at biblical authority, one professor, one congressman, one television show host at a time. We live in an AI world now, but it’s all under the sway of the devil.
Here’s our hope at Wild & Kingdom. Our hope is that you can know you have a crew fighting and scraping to help men understand they are not alone. Men are not the problem. Neither are liberals the problem. And Republicans are not the problem.
Evil is the problem.
Satan is a widespread mass communicator of deception. And to that end, we are going to shine the light that Jesus told us to shine. And man, do we hope you join us, because we need you.
Look, I hope this meant something to you. More importantly, we hope you do something with it. Share this podcast with a brother or a pastor. But do more than share it. Live it.
And whatever you do, brother, stay in the fight.