Joe Rogan Sparks Climate Controversy and Comedy Debate Amid UFC Talk

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Joe Rogan has been making headlines again this week for all the reasons only Rogan can. Over the weekend, he hosted his latest JRE Fight Companion episode on September 6, joined by Gordon Ryan, Brendan Schaub, and Bryan Callen, talking fights with his trademark enthusiasm. The banter was all about striking technique, speed, and what’s next for top fighters. These marathon livestreams are catnip to MMA and podcast fans and help Rogan keep his brand solidly at the top of the streaming game, with The Joe Rogan Experience still the number one earning podcast in 2025, according to Amra and Elma, thanks to his blend of comedians, scientists, and wild cross-disciplinary chats.

But this week, Rogan’s real headline-grabbing moment had nothing to do with UFC and everything to do with science—and controversy. On a recent podcast, Rogan cited a major Nature climate study to claim the Earth is cooling, a move that immediately provoked a harsh wave of criticism from the scientific community. The paper’s author, Matthew Osman, went so far as to call Rogan’s interpretation “old-school denier nonsense” in The Guardian, stressing Rogan was misusing a graph and completely mischaracterizing the actual warning about rapid human-driven warming. The whole debacle lit up social media with climate experts and YouTubers like Rollie Williams from Climate Town piling on with accusations of Rogan spreading misinformation, highlighting how the power and reach of his podcast means millions are hearing and sharing these claims, for better or worse.

This is hardly the only way Rogan has stoked conversation in recent days. On September 8, WebProNews and Spanish outlet ENAS both reported on the climate story, while KPBS noted that the controversy keeps Spotify in the crosshairs. Though the Neil Young/Joni Mitchell Spotify exit was back in 2022, musicians leaving the platform in protest over Spotify’s backing of Rogan is still mentioned in new articles as a major streaming culture flashpoint.

Meanwhile, Rogan popped up on social media for less flattering reasons, too. On September 9, theTNHoller caught him apparently falling for and sharing a fake video of Minnesota Governor Walz, then publicly mocking the governor, again fueling online debate about Rogan’s fact-checking practices or lack thereof.

Amid all this, the opinion pages are abuzz. Flat Hat News ran a strongly worded piece labeling Rogan the “end of comedy,” blaming him for championing what the author calls anti-woke, free-speech-at-all-costs rhetoric and for platforming comedians that “punch down,” stirring up the old argument: is Rogan helping honest conversation, or just turning controversy into content?

With a constant flow of new episodes, viral clips, and backlash, Joe Rogan remains the most visible—and divisive—figure in modern media, simultaneously mega-influential and relentlessly controversial. Whether he’s commenting on UFC strategy or wading into climate science, the reaction is instant, fierce, and everywhere, confirming that nothing in the Rogansphere goes unnoticed.

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