I had fun talking with Joe on JRE in Texas. Episode should be out next week. A lot of folks asked me how the new studio is. This quick video is about that. TLDW: I love it.

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A couple of days ago, I got a chance to do the Joe Rogan experience for the fifth time, but first time in the new Texas studio.

I also got a chance to interview him afterwards for the podcast that I host and ask him all the usual philosophical, over-romanticized Russian questions that I usually do on the podcast.

A bunch of people messaged me asking So how's the new studio?

So instead of responding to everybody individually I thought I'd make this video to give my thoughts on the new Joe Rogan Austin, Texas studio.

There's a few quick points I want to make, but overall TLDR is, I love it.

So first let me say from the perspective of a guest and what the studio actually looks like in real life.

And I believe it's an improvement over the previous studio in several ways.

So 1, the previous studio actually has a lot of extra space that feels useless.

And there's something about removing that space that makes the studio feel more intimate.

I definitely felt like I was pulled into the conversation more.

Like if we take somebody like Larry King from CNN, check him out, look into it, is he has this like creepy closeness to the guests.

I think this new studio actually extracts a really nice balance.

To me, that's interesting as a podcaster, and that's something I talked to Joe with, is how do you create an atmosphere where you just forget that the rest of the world exists and you lose yourself in the conversation where you're really focused in on listening and thinking about what the other person is saying.

Another small thing that I think is actually really cool from a guest perspective is there's only now 1 big TV versus 2 TVs.

So when you're looking at something in the previous studio, the 1 chimp was looking at 1 TV and the other chimp was looking at the other TV.

And if you know anything about chimps or dogs or humans, there's a powerful signaling thing with our eyes when we're both looking at the same thing.

There's like a more of a bond to it when we're looking at the same thing, same object or like same image in the TV.

So there is just nicer experience to be able to look at the same thing together and then look back.

And also from a camera perspective, you can see what everyone is looking at, whether it's 2 people or 3 people or 4 people.

Now, from the perspective of what the video actually looks like, that goes into lighting, camera positions, also the texture of the background.

So when the camera is doing the autofocusing or adjusting the lights, it does a good job, all of that.

Now, to comment on that part, I want to say how amazing Jamie is.

For people who don't know, Jamie Varner is the, I guess, producer of the Joe Rogan Experience, but he also does a million other things.

He's just a creative mind of his own, a photographer, just a creator of all kinds.

Now, me again, as a podcaster, I do many of the things that Jamie does, but I do it much worse.

So I get to really appreciate the quality of his work.

So much of the setup, the wires, the configuration of the audio and the video, and the management of that, the switching of the cameras, the ability to Google, all that comes together as a vision and implementation by Jamie.

And so this new studio, from a video and audio engineering perspective, is very much a creation of Jamie.

And I'm telling you now, He's done a masterful job and is quickly improving.

So just like he did with the previous studio, to be constantly quickly improving until it got to that level there everybody got used to, he's doing the same thing here.

I guarantee you he'll be at a stellar level very quickly.

The previous times on the show, I knew how good he was, but this time I actually got a chance to chat with him offline about some of the details of all the stuff he's doing, and it just took my respect for him to another level.

And hopefully I'll convince him, he kind of said yes, to come on the podcast so we can talk about some of the genius behind Young Jamie.

And also I wanna say that to me as a podcaster and an aspiring Young Jamie myself, It was really nice to see how humble and self-critical he is.

You know, given all the success of the show, given everything that's been done, given so few screw-ups, so few imperfections, given the level at which he's able to, with 1 hand, be a solo producer of an entire video podcast where he's switching the cameras, and with another hand, be able to Google at a moment's notice.

Given all that, he's extremely self-critical, extremely humble.

That's just inspiring to me because it echoes to the way I see the world as well.

So it gives me hope that if I continue seeing the world that way I'll be able to eventually figure out how to do this podcasting and engineering thing the right way.

And I think just like the Cybertruck, which will likely be manufactured in the same city of Austin, Texas, I think people will eventually see it not as ugly as they did at first but as badass.

And also as I mentioned to him on the show, if Spotify is better than YouTube in terms of music, I hope that next time I take a ride in that spaceship I'd love to do a cover of Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix.

All right, check out the conversation with Joe.

Hopefully I didn't say anything ridiculous, but I probably did.


Speaker 0: A couple of days ago, I got a chance to do the Joe Rogan experience for the fifth time, but first time in the new Texas studio. I also got a chance to interview him afterwards for the podcast that I host and ask him all the usual philosophical, over-romanticized Russian questions that I usually do on the podcast. A bunch of people messaged me asking So how's the new studio? So instead of responding to everybody individually I thought I'd make this video to give my thoughts on the new Joe Rogan Austin, Texas studio. There's a few quick points I want to make, but overall TLDR is, I love it.

So first let me say from the perspective of a guest and what the studio actually looks like in real life. I think it looks great in real life. And I believe it's an improvement over the previous studio in several ways. So 1, the previous studio actually has a lot of extra space that feels useless. And there's something about removing that space that makes the studio feel more intimate.

I definitely felt like I was pulled into the conversation more. Like if we take somebody like Larry King from CNN, check him out, look into it, is he has this like creepy closeness to the guests. I think this new studio actually extracts a really nice balance. To me, that's interesting as a podcaster, and that's something I talked to Joe with, is how do you create an atmosphere where you just forget that the rest of the world exists and you lose yourself in the conversation where you're really focused in on listening and thinking about what the other person is saying. Another small thing that I think is actually really cool from a guest perspective is there's only now 1 big TV versus 2 TVs.

So when you're looking at something in the previous studio, the 1 chimp was looking at 1 TV and the other chimp was looking at the other TV. And if you know anything about chimps or dogs or humans, there's a powerful signaling thing with our eyes when we're both looking at the same thing. There's like a more of a bond to it when we're looking at the same thing, same object or like same image in the TV. So there is just nicer experience to be able to look at the same thing together and then look back. And also from a camera perspective, you can see what everyone is looking at, whether it's 2 people or 3 people or 4 people.

So I personally love it. Now, from the perspective of what the video actually looks like, that goes into lighting, camera positions, also the texture of the background. So when the camera is doing the autofocusing or adjusting the lights, it does a good job, all of that. Now, to comment on that part, I want to say how amazing Jamie is. For people who don't know, Jamie Varner is the, I guess, producer of the Joe Rogan Experience, but he also does a million other things.

He's just a creative mind of his own, a photographer, just a creator of all kinds. Now, me again, as a podcaster, I do many of the things that Jamie does, but I do it much worse. So I get to really appreciate the quality of his work. So much of the setup, the wires, the configuration of the audio and the video, and the management of that, the switching of the cameras, the ability to Google, all that comes together as a vision and implementation by Jamie. And so this new studio, from a video and audio engineering perspective, is very much a creation of Jamie.

And I'm telling you now, He's done a masterful job and is quickly improving. So just like he did with the previous studio, to be constantly quickly improving until it got to that level there everybody got used to, he's doing the same thing here. I guarantee you he'll be at a stellar level very quickly. The previous times on the show, I knew how good he was, but this time I actually got a chance to chat with him offline about some of the details of all the stuff he's doing, and it just took my respect for him to another level. And hopefully I'll convince him, he kind of said yes, to come on the podcast so we can talk about some of the genius behind Young Jamie.

And also I wanna say that to me as a podcaster and an aspiring Young Jamie myself, It was really nice to see how humble and self-critical he is. You know, given all the success of the show, given everything that's been done, given so few screw-ups, so few imperfections, given the level at which he's able to, with 1 hand, be a solo producer of an entire video podcast where he's switching the cameras, and with another hand, be able to Google at a moment's notice. Given all that, he's extremely self-critical, extremely humble. That's just inspiring to me because it echoes to the way I see the world as well. So it gives me hope that if I continue seeing the world that way I'll be able to eventually figure out how to do this podcasting and engineering thing the right way.

So for whatever it's worth, I love it. The video will keep improving. And I think just like the Cybertruck, which will likely be manufactured in the same city of Austin, Texas, I think people will eventually see it not as ugly as they did at first but as badass. And also as I mentioned to him on the show, if Spotify is better than YouTube in terms of music, I hope that next time I take a ride in that spaceship I'd love to do a cover of Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix. All right, check out the conversation with Joe.

It should come out next week. Hopefully I didn't say anything ridiculous, but I probably did. Love you all. I'll see you you

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Thoughts on Joe Rogan's New Texas Studio | Lex Fridman