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Dec. 14, 2021 - The Joe Rogan Experience
02:50:10
Joe Rogan Experience #1748 - Beeple
Participants
Main voices
b
beeple
01:05:42
j
joe rogan
01:37:36
Appearances
j
jamie vernon
03:14
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
Joe Rogan podcast, check it out The Joe Rogan experience Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day Hello Mike Hey, how's it going?
joe rogan
You look exactly how I thought you were gonna look.
Isn't that perfect?
beeple
How is that?
joe rogan
Good.
You look like an eccentric, fun art guy.
beeple
An eccentric, fun art guy.
All those things are positive.
It's all positive.
joe rogan
It's all positive.
beeple
That's actually pretty accurate right now, I guess.
joe rogan
Yeah.
unidentified
You're an eccentric, fun art guy.
joe rogan
And I brought you in here for one specific reason.
beeple
Two reasons.
joe rogan
One, because I think you're really talented and I enjoy your stuff.
beeple
Thank you.
joe rogan
Two, because I want you to explain NFTs to me.
unidentified
Okay.
joe rogan
Jamie's tried.
Everyone's tried.
jamie vernon
I've tried multiple times.
joe rogan
And you are probably the most famous NFT guy right now, in terms of your success with NFTs.
Your NFTs, what did you sell for an exorbitant amount of money?
beeple
We did over $100 million this year.
joe rogan
$100 million?
beeple
Over $100 million.
unidentified
See, that's what I'm saying.
beeple
Not counting, like, secondary sales.
Like, just primary sales over $100 million.
joe rogan
That's an incredible amount of money.
beeple
Yeah, it's an incredible amount of money.
It's insane.
Like, it's...
Like, saying that is just...
joe rogan
What does that mean?
beeple
Like, mind-boggling to me.
joe rogan
Does that even...
beeple
I don't know what that means.
joe rogan
It's like you're speaking words in French that you don't know the names...
Pretty much.
You don't know the definitions of?
beeple
It's...
Something that I think is going to take a long time to process because it's so new and it's something that just came out of nowhere.
joe rogan
Right.
beeple
Like again, I did not know of this like a year ago.
joe rogan
What does it mean?
beeple
What does NFT mean?
joe rogan
Yeah, what does it mean?
I know it's a non-fungible token, but what is that?
beeple
So it's basically just a proof of sort of like ownership of something.
It really can be sort of like applied to like a bunch of different things.
And to be quite honest, there's a bunch of ways you could use it.
And like, I think it would be very interesting way to sort of like interact with your fans.
And I think it will sort of...
It's going to permeate a bunch of different sort of like industries, not just art.
That's just sort of the beginning of it.
I think it's going to be like email.
It's going to be like something where you don't get to be like, I don't like it.
It's just going to be like you have, it's like part of being on the internet.
joe rogan
NF is just going to be part of the internet.
beeple
Yes.
joe rogan
I've thought about doing something.
This is my thought.
I thought about creating a separate branch of this company and then having that entirely dedicated to charity.
beeple
Yep.
joe rogan
And then just use the NFTs to generate money for charity.
beeple
100% you could do that.
joe rogan
Because it seems like a great way to just generate money for charity.
beeple
Absolutely you could do that.
joe rogan
It seems gross if I generate money for myself at this point in time.
But if I just generate just money for charity with that, I think it's a good idea.
beeple
You could generate a lot of money.
Because that's the thing.
It's really just a great way to sort of organize people around a common goal.
Like, did you see the Constitution DAO thing?
joe rogan
No.
beeple
The Constitution what thing?
It's called Constitution DAO. DAO? Like T-A-O? No, D-A-O. DAOs are sort of Decentral Autonomous Organizations.
And so that's another sort of thing kind of in this NFT ecosystem.
joe rogan
Hold on a second.
Did you know about this?
Is this a new thing for you?
unidentified
Uh, nope.
jamie vernon
I've tried to explain this too, once or twice.
The Dow thing?
I know it gets lost.
joe rogan
Did you know the Dow thing?
unidentified
I literally told you this multiple times, Joe.
joe rogan
What the fuck?
You never tried to explain a Dow to me, did you?
jamie vernon
I wouldn't have started with that.
beeple
No, no, no.
It's definitely...
All these things are very new.
Literally, this is a term that pretty much came to prominence six months ago, eight months ago.
They were around, but not that popular.
Now they're becoming very popular.
And so what happened is with this constitution now is people organized to buy the constitution.
It was up at auction at Sotheby's or Christie's or one of these.
unidentified
What?
beeple
And it was like $40 million.
joe rogan
The actual constitution you could buy?
beeple
Part of the constitution.
joe rogan
Why doesn't Bill Gates have that and just start editing it?
Put his own words there.
Everyone must be vaccinated.
My vaccine.
beeple
Everyone who just wins those.
unidentified
How does it go to that?
joe rogan
It doesn't go to anything.
But if you have the Constitution, technically.
jamie vernon
It was a copy.
beeple
Fuck it!
jamie vernon
There's like 10, 11 copies.
It was one of them.
joe rogan
Imagine if whoever owns the Constitution gets to write in whatever the fuck he wants.
jamie vernon
I think that's what some people might have thought as they were joining us.
joe rogan
Could you imagine?
beeple
Just added it.
joe rogan
Could you imagine if you have your own Constitution?
beeple
Mike gets to be king.
It's tokenized.
Yeah.
We need it.
joe rogan
It's free and legal.
beeple
So, they basically kind of like pooled all their money together really quickly.
They pooled together from like 20,000 people like $40 million and like tried to buy it and they just barely lost out by like, I don't know, $5 million or something.
I don't know who bought it.
joe rogan
But it was a copy of the Constitution.
beeple
It was a copy.
It was just like a fucking piece of paper.
It's like a baseball card for the government.
joe rogan
Right, but the copy was generated when?
beeple
Like 1800 or 1790, whatever.
It's just an artifact.
It's just literally just like a...
joe rogan
Ancient script.
beeple
Yeah, just kind of like a thing.
But sort of...
It kind of shows how people can sort of like organize very quickly around sort of like a goal.
And so that's where if you had like a DAO for like charity, you could sort of like organize people to sort of like have voting power and like these are the charities we want to support.
You could kind of like have a role in it as well.
joe rogan
And the problem with that is you could have groups that are organized that would go and generate money for a specific charity and that charity might be bullshit.
beeple
Well, and that's where you can program in the rules for it.
So you can make it very like checks and balances.
So it's not just like, okay, one person's just like, okay, here, let's give it to whatever.
joe rogan
I don't want to do that.
I want to have control.
beeple
And you could do that, too.
You could have that, too.
You can set it up however you want.
Here's the choices.
Like, okay, I'm going to pick these charities that I like, and I approve all of them, and you guys vote with the community.
So you can set it up however you want.
joe rogan
Do you know much about charities?
unidentified
No.
beeple
I know not that much.
I'm learning more and we're doing a bunch of charity work like next year that we're like selling artworks and stuff and like a bunch of auctions.
joe rogan
There's a few charities that I support because I know the people that are responsible for the charity.
I know like how they organize and how they run it.
But man, a lot of charities are slippery.
And what's slippery about them is...
Well, it's not necessarily that they're bullshit.
beeple
Or they waste a lot of money.
The money goes to fucking just bullshit.
joe rogan
Well, it's bloated.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
So what happens is a lot of the people that are running these charities wind up making an exorbitant amount of money while running charities.
And you find out that these people are making like high six figures and they're running charities.
And you're like, wait a minute.
How much of the money actually goes to the charitable – Sure.
beeple
Yeah, that's important.
joe rogan
And generally speaking, it's not much.
Yeah, yeah.
We've pulled it up before.
We've shown some of the best charities and worst charities in terms of how much you donate where it actually goes.
I'm like Charity Navigator.
Yeah.
The best charities, obviously, if you could go to the source, right?
If you could figure out a way to get money directly to people that are in need, right?
That's like the best charity.
But then you have to get people to facilitate that and you have to pay them, which obviously they deserve to be paid, right?
But it's like, should they be getting rich off a charity?
Then the thing is like, okay, but they just want a job.
The wealthy people are supposed to be donating, but if you need people to run that job, they shouldn't be doing it for charitable donations.
They should be getting paid like a normal person.
They should be able to live comfortably while they're doing this hard work.
So I get both sides of it.
beeple
It's definitely something, though, that you can...
If you want to see your money do the maximum amount of good, which I'm sure you do, it's something you do need to keep tabs on.
joe rogan
I also just don't want to donate to anything that's bullshit.
beeple
But again, that's where you can control it and you sort of give the options to the like thing that are all sort of like already approved by you.
So it's sort of like it's not just giving up control.
You can kind of like bring in the community in ways that you want and sort of like augment it and kind of like, you know, kind of get feedback.
But it's still in a sort of like controlled manner.
So it's there's a lot of different ways to like kind of like...
Use this technology to interact with your fans or followers.
joe rogan
Ever since I had this woman, Renee DiResta, who researched the internet research agency from Russia.
They run troll farms.
They influence all of our social media from top to bottom.
This is how bad it is.
They found out recently that 19 of the top 20 Christian sites on Facebook are run by troll farms.
Jesus!
It's that intertwined.
There are so many times where someone...
I'll read a comment...
unidentified
Like groups?
beeple
Like Christian what?
Like groups?
Like Facebook groups?
joe rogan
Yeah, like Facebook groups organizing because Obama's a Satanist, like that kind of shit.
And you go like, who is this?
Who thinks Obama's a Satanist?
And then you go and look into it and you're like, oh, this isn't even a real person.
You go to their Twitter page.
There's so many times recently that I've gone to people's Twitter pages and I've looked at what they're writing.
I'm like, I don't think this is a real person.
No.
And they have a weird name.
It's a bot.
It's not a bot.
beeple
It could just be a person.
joe rogan
It's a person that's getting paid.
This is why it's complicated.
Because a lot of them are funny.
This is one of the things that Renee DiResta said.
She went over hundreds of thousands of memes.
And a lot of them were actually funny.
So my point is, whenever you allow people to vote on things online now, you're dealing with an exorbitant amount of fuckery.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
Organized fuckery.
Organized fuckery from these countries that literally have a vested interest in causing mistrust.
So what they could do is, if you had a bunch of people that were voting on a charity, they would develop a fake charity that sucks, and then they would rig the voting.
They would have thousands of people vote for this.
Because a lot of people don't vote.
They're fucking busy, right?
So they would have an organized campaign.
They have thousands of people working for them.
With hundreds of thousands of accounts.
beeple
I will say with this, though, you make it so that they have to pay to vote.
And that's the difference.
unidentified
How much?
beeple
And that filters a lot.
That's where you'd be sort of selling some sort of basic voting right in this DAO or organization.
You already lost me.
joe rogan
It's over.
beeple
I'm out.
joe rogan
I'm out.
I don't like what you're saying.
I think it'd be better if I just sell NFTs and no DAOs.
beeple
There's a bunch of different ways where I think you can sort of use it.
And we're still very much at the beginning of this.
And it's like, these things are very new.
And yeah, there's going to be downsides too.
100%.
You're not incorrect to approach this with...
Yeah.
Hesitation because there's no like rush to it because it's still being figured out and like people are figuring out what works, what doesn't work.
And so I think it's something to sort of like, you know, have on your radar, but it's not like something where you need to like super, super like rush into it because it's not going away.
joe rogan
Out of all the things that are ridiculously profitable, this is one of the most confusing and one of the ones that I never saw coming.
When it was happening, I was like, what is this?
And I've had 20 people explain it to me.
How did you find out?
Well, let's go back to this.
You've been basically putting up a new piece of art every single day on your website.
And it's amazing stuff.
A lot of it is animated.
A lot of it is not.
It's like...
First of all, how do you generate this stuff?
beeple
So I've been doing, yeah, a picture every day for the last 14 plus years.
And it's every single day...
No days off.
joe rogan
That's crazy.
beeple
It's done that day.
Start to finish.
unidentified
Christmas.
New years.
beeple
Kids born.
Wow.
Wife's, you know, about to go to the hospital.
joe rogan
Is your wife like, hey, fuck face.
Take a day off.
beeple
No.
unidentified
No.
beeple
Absolutely not.
Insanely supportive.
unidentified
Wow.
beeple
She's been there the whole time.
We started going out a year before I started this.
So she's seen the whole thing when nobody gave any fuck about what I was doing.
joe rogan
But now you've got to be like...
beeple
Like, seeing the whole sort of, like, progression.
joe rogan
Now you have to be like, I told you so.
beeple
No, no, no.
She knew, like, she was super supportive the whole time.
So it's like, she honestly...
And I think what people don't maybe realize is my story is a little more incremental than it looks like.
It kind of...
It got...
It went a little fucking hockey stick at the end here.
But, like...
joe rogan
I like that.
beeple
But it was like sort of, you know, gaining popularity.
And that's how I learned of NFTs is sort of like my fans kept coming up to me and like, look at this.
You got to like, look at this.
And it was like, and I also was just like, what the fuck is this?
It's not fucking for me.
It's fucking complicated as shit.
joe rogan
And you were just into the art.
beeple
Yeah, I was just doing, I mean, this was a year ago.
This was sort of like, I was already, I'd already done 20 years of art and build, you know, a couple million followers on, you know, social media and stuff and sort of like, you know, you'd see my stuff a couple years ago and like...
joe rogan
Yeah, when did we first get in contact with each other?
I think I reached out to you.
beeple
2019. Like when I started doing that Trump stuff.
It was actually right around when I started doing that Trump stuff.
joe rogan
Some of them were so preposterous.
Like mechanical Trumps with things off of his nipples.
Wasn't there one with Hillary Clinton's head was inside of his gut or something like that?
beeple
There's been a lot of bad stuff.
joe rogan
Bad stuff?
You mean the best artwork ever.
beeple
Picture.
joe rogan
Yeah, there's one.
Look at that one.
beeple
Can you pull up the picture from last night?
joe rogan
Look at that one.
Oh my god.
beeple
Yeah, there's been some stuff.
joe rogan
How are you generating these images?
What are you using?
beeple
So, the program is called Cinema 4D, and the renderer that I use is Octane, and it's basically, it's kind of like a sort of like 3D space.
Like, you play, that's the thing, you used to play, I heard, Quake, and like, yeah.
So it's like that.
It's like a 3D space like that, where I can like, think about the monsters, you can like, place them wherever.
That's, I could just place whatever sort of like, Images or sort of like 3D models wherever I want.
Scale them up, break them apart, put boobs on them, draw on them afterwards, draw on the picture on top of it too, like change out any sort of like piece of it.
Oh, the penises.
joe rogan
I saw that.
I saw you had it blurred out on Instagram.
beeple
This is literally just, you know, this was like a bit longer, but like four hours in my hotel room last night on a laptop, sitting alone, listening to music.
joe rogan
Looking at dicks.
beeple
Not looking at dicks, making dicks.
joe rogan
Making all of them uncircumcised.
Drawing.
beeple
And so basically I found a 3D model of a dick.
I went and bought or I bought a 3D model of a dick.
And so I've got a lot of these other sort of like models of like people and like stuff like this.
I've got like a huge library of like these like models that I can like put jam shit in.
It's called kit bashing.
I can like bash shit in really fast.
joe rogan
I got to interject sometimes.
Like what do you mean you bought a 3D model of a dick?
What does that mean?
He just glossed over that.
beeple
You noticed that?
unidentified
That's true.
joe rogan
How did you do this?
I don't know what you're saying.
beeple
Okay, so a 3D model of a dick is basically just a...
It's kind of like a representation in a game engine of a dick.
So it's like the shape of a dick, and you can put any sort of texture on it.
So again, think of in a 3D world, you see a gun or a car.
unidentified
Right.
beeple
Instead of it being a car, it's a dick.
And I can place it wherever I want and then sort of compose a picture with it.
joe rogan
But you purchase it.
beeple
Yeah, you can just buy it.
There's just sites where you can just go on there, dick, penis, 3D model.
joe rogan
How much does a 3D dick model cost?
beeple
I believe it was $12.
joe rogan
So you get a 3D dick model.
Is it use Bitcoin?
How are you paying for this?
beeple
No, it's just like a fucking, it's like nothing.
It's like fucking Amazon.
It's just like two seconds.
joe rogan
So it's a one click?
beeple
Yeah, it's like not, no, it's not on Amazon.
I know what you're saying.
It's like, yeah, it's like nothing.
It's like their sites, TurboSquid is another one.
TurboSquid has literally probably, I don't even know, millions of 3D models.
They're the like biggest one.
I've used tons and tons of models from them.
You just type anything, a bike, bicycle, car, helmet, whatever.
And literally, you could pull up an enormous amount of models, and you could just buy them in two seconds.
And you could put them into the thing and animate them, light them, do whatever with them.
joe rogan
So when you're doing something like this, like the Dick one, or this Kanye-Drake one?
beeple
Yeah, when they did the concert thing.
joe rogan
Yeah, so when you do something like this, do you have an idea and you just sit down or do you sit down and then just start fucking around and then eventually an idea comes to you?
What's your process?
beeple
Usually I have an idea.
Like this, I knew they were doing that concert, and so it was like, okay, I'm going to do something with a freaking monster that's both of them.
A lot of these things are sort of ideas of current events sort of extrapolated out into a fucking crazy future.
And so this is sort of like, far in the future, they'd sort of merge their bodies into this one giant Kanye...
joe rogan
Go back to the past.
beeple
Drake Beast.
joe rogan
Go back to all the images.
Scroll back.
So who's that guy on the right hand side with the missile silos?
What is that?
That guy.
beeple
So it's like a Santa kind of like...
Like imagining Santa was some sort of like in like a giant trash heap with all of these sort of like this industry that sort of like grown around him like far in the future and it's just sort of this desolate area where this giant commerce beast used to like roam the earth like it's very like I kind of sort of I don't know Usually just place these things and then sort of like after almost I'm sort of like able to see and kind of like
I have like a vague idea when I'm doing it sometimes a very specific idea but a lot of times it's sort of like just playing around until I like find something that sort of I don't know resonates and sort of feels like a And a lot of times I usually just run out of time because it has to be done by midnight, too.
joe rogan
What time do you usually start?
Do you sit down at a specific time every night?
beeple
No, it's sort of like usually it's late.
joe rogan
But it has to be done by midnight that day.
beeple
It has to be done by midnight and posted online.
To get one a day.
That's it.
It's never sort of like, oh, okay, I'm staying up until 3 a.m.
It's done by midnight and posted online.
That is very sort of...
joe rogan
That's your rule.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
This is two humans, it says.
What is this supposed to represent?
beeple
I'm going to be honest, I have no idea.
This was just like I liked how this monkey head looked.
I have no idea on this one.
I do not have some flowery bullshit for this one.
joe rogan
It's pretty dope, though.
beeple
I don't know.
I just kind of like how the teeth of the monkey, and just their, I don't know, their eyes are so crazy looking.
joe rogan
And is this another thing where you got an image online and you just started working with it?
beeple
Yeah, same thing.
It's sort of like I've got a bunch of things.
So in that picture, I've got sort of I can make the...
The ground sort of glossy to make it look like it's water.
And then I've got a texture that looks like dirt and I can just apply it to just a flat sort of like plain and then it just looks like dirt.
And then I can populate grass and then just pull in like a 3D deer model and then sort of tweak the lighting.
I can also put lights wherever I want.
So I can sort of change it from daylight or make any sort of lighting condition.
joe rogan
That's pretty dope.
So it's like a 3D game engine.
beeple
It's like a game engine, exactly.
And then I have a virtual camera that I'm pointing wherever, and then I just take a still of it.
joe rogan
Go back to that, Jamie.
This smiley face, where do you get the texture for that thing?
Look at the texture on that.
That's so dope.
beeple
Yeah, so I've got like a bunch of different textures.
And then I also run it through a filter that makes it look more like a painting.
So you can see on the edge there how it's kind of like overpainted almost kind of.
Like I'm also running it through like kind of like a, not an AI, but sort of this filter that makes it look more almost like painterly too.
So I'm doing a lot of things afterwards, like painting on top of it and like.
joe rogan
And you're sort of getting these ideas as you're doing it, just kind of going with the flow?
beeple
Yeah, as I've sort of like, you know, the style of these has sort of like evolved a lot over the last 14 years.
Like if you go back like, you know, three years, they look nothing like this.
And if you go back another three years, they look totally, totally different.
Most of them are like abstract and they were just like sort of like colors and shapes, like no weird sort of like people or anything like that.
joe rogan
So when you first started doing this, this kind of digital art, did you have a regular job?
And were you just doing this for fun?
beeple
So I started when I was in college.
joe rogan
There's water in this thing too if you want some.
There's a glass right there for you.
beeple
I started when I was in college and I went to school for computer science and then just started making these weird digital art things and short films with my friends and stuff like that.
And then out of school, I got a job doing web design and then just kept making this stuff on the side.
There was no way to sell it.
It was just sort of like putting it out online.
It was getting me better freelance jobs, though.
So I was slowly sort of getting better stuff.
At the end, I'm doing stuff for the Super Bowl and Louis Vuitton and Imagine Dragons.
joe rogan
When did that start happening?
beeple
It just slowly kept building.
joe rogan
And this is because of your presence online?
Like, people would find out about you?
beeple
Yeah, and so, like, Louis Vuitton came, and they were just sort of like, okay, we want to put the everydays on the, like, clothes.
And it was just like, what?
Like, you're just going to put these pictures on, like, women's clothes?
joe rogan
What are you saying?
Everydays?
beeple
The everydays.
Those pictures.
joe rogan
Oh.
beeple
The everydays.
Just each one of those, like, images.
joe rogan
Oh, you call your images everydays.
beeple
Yeah, well, those pictures.
joe rogan
Most people don't know what the fuck you're talking about, so slow down.
Slow down.
So this is one of your images on clothes?
beeple
That's fair.
That's fair.
Yeah.
joe rogan
You're saying everydays like everybody knows.
Right?
You didn't know what he was saying, did you?
jamie vernon
I do, yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah, he speaks spectrum.
unidentified
He did!
He did, bro.
jamie vernon
I'm deep in the internet.
joe rogan
Both of you guys are on the same level of spectrum.
beeple
That's on you.
unidentified
That's on you.
joe rogan
That is not on me.
You're saying everydays?
I put these everydays on people.
I don't know what you're saying.
beeple
He knew.
joe rogan
A lot of people listening don't know what the fuck.
I'm trying to speak for everybody.
So that's your original image in the lower right hand corner and then the actual clothes is what Louis Vuitton.
Did these sell well?
beeple
I have no idea.
joe rogan
Did you ever walk down the street and see some dork wearing one of these?
beeple
I did not.
I did not.
Honestly, I have no idea.
It's just...
joe rogan
Pretty dope.
beeple
It's definitely very, like, super weird.
And, like, we were at the, like, opening of this, and I did not think they had actually used it.
Like, I assume they were just, like, you know, some...
joe rogan
These are real images, right?
beeple
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That was the original image.
Basically, the original image had that McDonald's logo on it.
They're like, change that McDonald's logo to a Louis Vuitton logo, and then they just put it on the middle of the shirt.
joe rogan
I want you to imagine being on a date with a girl, and she shows up wearing that thing.
First of all, I'm like, do you live on Tatooine?
Are you in Star Wars?
What the fuck is that shirt you're wearing?
What is this outfit?
Why do you have a hood on?
Right?
You have a skirt with a hood.
You are sending mixed messages.
Are you cold?
Or is it breezy?
beeple
It can go a lot of ways.
joe rogan
Do you have a rope around?
Is that shirt tied with a rope?
What kind of drugs do you like, lady?
That would be a short date.
Short or long, depending on how she answers the questions.
Can you imagine?
beeple
It's definitely interesting.
joe rogan
Yeah, really interesting.
So they started doing that, and what other companies have utilized the images?
beeple
A bunch of different sort of like, and I've also done a bunch of like concert visuals.
That was another sort of like other whole other thing that I did where I was basically giving away these sort of like short abstract clips that are just kind of 15 second long clips that I don't know if you can pull up some of those, but they're kind of just abstract ambient things that people can use for anything.
And so a bunch of people started, they became very popular in sort of the concert visual world and like So popular that they were not cool to use because it's like, oh, you're just using the people clips.
joe rogan
So they would put them in the background on those giant screens?
beeple
Yeah.
And so all over the world, people use these clips.
They're super, super popular.
If you just type in VJ clip, that's what comes up.
joe rogan
Like this kind of stuff?
beeple
Yeah.
unidentified
Oh, wow.
beeple
And so this is one of them.
Because I'm just giving them away for free.
joe rogan
Hold on.
Just always remember that most people are just listening.
So what we're looking at here is this wild thing where you're going through a pond and Or like some kind of a lake or something and these wild floating digital red images are in the air.
This is wild stuff, man.
So this would be playing in the background and someone would be jamming out on stage.
beeple
Yeah, so if some band wanted to use this and it loops.
It's like a perfect loop that will just keep going forever.
You can just download it for free.
You don't have to credit me.
You don't have to do anything.
You just literally take this and put it in your show.
joe rogan
Oh, that's cool.
beeple
And so I have hundreds of these out.
joe rogan
And so most people just kind of know it's you?
beeple
No, no.
They like, yeah, they sort of like, if they download it from me, they sort of like see it and they're sort of very well known that these like clips are like free because I've been doing this for like 10 years, like It's cool that you put them out for free.
Yeah, it's just sort of like something where I love making these clips.
I had no use for them.
I tried VJing a couple times and it was sort of like, nah, it's not really for me.
But I like making the clips and so it's sort of like other people can use these.
joe rogan
And there's another one?
beeple
Yeah, like a couple hundred of these.
And so they all loop so that you can just keep them going for a long time.
joe rogan
How are you making that?
beeple
So it's the same sort of, like, program.
It's just, like, animated.
That's not one.
joe rogan
If I feel like you could almost make a whole movie, man.
Can you make people's mouths work?
beeple
Yeah, it's very time-consuming, though.
joe rogan
Can you make people's mouths move?
beeple
Yeah, that's the kind of shit that's, like, very, like...
joe rogan
That's the time-consuming stuff?
beeple
Very, very time-consuming.
joe rogan
What if everybody had a mask on so you don't have to fuck with their face?
beeple
You could do that.
That's something I do.
I do put a lot of masks on.
So these are just clips people can download and use for whatever.
And so that's how I got connected and did a bunch of jobs for Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
And through a company in LA called Possible, they sort of have hired me for a bunch of different stuff.
And I've worked on the Super Bowl and sort of a bunch of different things through this stuff.
joe rogan
So what we're looking at here, it says Crystal Dust Free VJ Loop.
So you can look at all these online and they all say Free VJ Loop.
So how many of these do you have available for VJs?
beeple
Probably like 250 or something like that.
Wow.
joe rogan
So I think I found out about you from, it's Free VJ Loops.
beeple
If you just type in VJ Loops.
joe rogan
Yeah, and it's Beeple is the YouTube page.
I found out about you, somebody sent me, I think it was one of the earlier animated ones.
Whether it was a Trump one or a Kim Jong-un one or something like that.
And I was like, what in the fuck is this?
beeple
So that's actually a pretty recent one because that was only like two, three years ago.
joe rogan
Yeah, that's when I found out about you.
beeple
Yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
I mean, a while back for me.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
Not a while back for you.
beeple
Yeah.
And so, like, those kind of, like, sort of, you know, more political ones and sort of, like, ones that are, like, commentating on stuff have been sort of recent.
But honestly, they weren't really, like, possible, like, you know, when I started.
Like, there wasn't all these, like, model libraries where you could just super quickly, like, grab Kanye, grab...
Well, or just have models because it's sort of, like, I didn't make the, like, Trump face model.
I just got it and, like, can use it for whatever.
joe rogan
How much did the Trump face model cost?
beeple
That, I think, actually, I got from a buddy.
I think that was from a friend, actually.
joe rogan
What is that phone call like?
unidentified
Hey, man.
beeple
No, he's like a guy.
joe rogan
I'm going to have Trump with nipples that shoot out laser beams.
beeple
Oh, maybe it was that one.
I don't know.
Actually, I think it is that one.
joe rogan
How much, Jamie?
jamie vernon
$84.
joe rogan
Oh, that's expensive.
Well, they know you need it.
That's why.
beeple
Yeah, so this is a site where you can just, like, kind of, like, download sort of, like, all these things.
Like, so those are, like, full sort of, like, you could download that entire sort of, like, set.
And so you have that entire, like, scene.
joe rogan
Oh, okay.
beeple
Right there for $100.
And so it's sort of, like, these things are relatively...
Very, very, very cheap.
For how long it would take to make that from scratch, very, very cheap.
joe rogan
I was listening to some old rap music, some 90s rap yesterday, and I was thinking, God, so many guys use Trump in rap songs in a positive way in the 90s.
Yeah.
Guys were calling themselves the Black Trump.
They're talking, I'm rich like Trump, holding cash like Trump.
beeple
You think he's going to run?
You think he's going to run?
100%.
100%.
jamie vernon
Did you catch the Nancy Reagan stuff over the weekend?
joe rogan
No.
jamie vernon
No?
beeple
Nancy Reagan stuff?
No, what is that?
jamie vernon
Someone put up a picture of comparing Nancy Reagan, actually it was Ben Shapiro's sister, I think.
Oh boy.
Nancy Reagan to Madonna at age like 63 or 64. And then someone commented below that, hey, Nancy Reagan is known historically in Hollywood as being very good at blowjobs.
unidentified
What?
beeple
Yeah.
unidentified
What?
jamie vernon
Yeah.
unidentified
What history?
joe rogan
What does that mean?
I can pull that out, but Jamie Vernon is known historically for being very good at blowdrops.
And people are like, Jamie...
jamie vernon
It was in a book that someone wrote, like a historical book, and there was a bunch of guys that talked about it.
joe rogan
As soon as a historical book starts mentioning old ladies sucking dicks, I get skeptical.
jamie vernon
I just saw she was trending on Twitter.
I was like, why is Nancy Reagan trending for two days?
And I started digging through it.
I was like, holy...
It's become like an internet meme now about...
joe rogan
That's why I'm off Twitter.
Show me this image that compares Nancy Reagan to Madonna at the same age.
The thing about Madonna is, like, you never really know what she looks like, because every picture is so heavily filtered.
Like, if you didn't know anybody, you'd think she's 30 years old.
beeple
We're actually working on a thing.
jamie vernon
See, here's even, like, Ben Shapiro's sister tried to slut-shame Madonna by comparing her to Nancy Reagan, and it backfired.
joe rogan
Oh, God.
Who wrote this?
Oh, the Daily Dot.
Oh, you silly people.
jamie vernon
But that's the tweet.
joe rogan
Oh, didn't fucking...
She got mad at 50 Cent.
I saw that.
Because 50 Cent was making fun of her for being in her underwear in some Instagram post.
Where is this comparison?
jamie vernon
That was the picture right there.
That was it.
joe rogan
Oh, right there?
jamie vernon
Yeah, she's 63 in that picture.
Nancy Reagan is 64 in that picture.
joe rogan
See, look at...
That's what I'm saying.
That might as well be a beeple.
jamie vernon
Right?
joe rogan
That's not really her.
She's got one titty hanging out.
beeple
Dude, we are working on something.
I am working on something with Madonna.
joe rogan
But look at that image.
Make that larger if you can.
Because what is that?
That's not even a picture.
That's a cartoon.
beeple
What do you mean?
joe rogan
I mean, she's got...
For sure.
She's got one titty out, right?
And she's got a heart over the nipple.
beeple
What do you mean?
What do you think's Photoshopped?
I don't think it's that Photoshopped.
joe rogan
What are you talking about?
Look at her face.
beeple
Dude, I know Photoshopped shit.
I don't think it's...
joe rogan
Okay, you don't think that that's...
unidentified
Maybe a little bit.
joe rogan
Listen to me.
You don't think that's filter?
beeple
There's some filter, but I don't think it's that much.
What?
joe rogan
Are you crazy?
beeple
A little, maybe.
joe rogan
No human skin looks like that, bro.
beeple
A little on the face, maybe.
joe rogan
Oh, a lot on the face.
What are you, a secret Madonna fan?
We found a Madonna apologist here.
This man is a Madonna apologist.
By the way, I was a giant Madonna fan as a young boy.
Look at those shoes.
She never wore them a day in her life.
Go back.
Try running in those shoes, lady.
You'll fall flat on your fucking ass.
unidentified
That is definitely a shoe.
joe rogan
Look how slippery the bottoms of those things are.
beeple
That is a feat.
joe rogan
Imagine her trying to run on wet grass with those things on.
Good luck.
Preposterous.
But it's still like, when you're 63 years old, and you're doing that.
And Nancy Reagan is with her whole grandchildren and shit.
Let's see the picture of her.
I don't know which one I'd rather hang out with.
I think Madonna.
She probably has a lot of cool gay friends, and it's probably a cool underground place she could take you to with great music and good hors d'oeuvres.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
She's got that.
She would know a place to go to.
beeple
She's got that.
joe rogan
Good martinis.
Yeah, she knows people.
There's her there.
Okay.
Okay, so that is odd.
That picture's odd.
But you know, she's always been odd.
She's just odd in her 60s now.
beeple
Yeah, the thing we're working on, I will say, it goes pretty hard.
unidentified
I'm sure it does.
beeple
It will be interesting.
joe rogan
When have you ever done one that doesn't go hard?
beeple
It goes pretty hard.
We'll see people's reaction to it.
joe rogan
So when did you first start doing the animations?
beeple
So I've been doing animations for like a very long time but they looked very very different like 20 years ago like they were very simple and like the tools were it was not 3d it was like sort of like very synced audio and video and so slowly I've sort of like the tools have gotten much more sophisticated that like the things you could do now were like you know Hollywood like full effects like you know 15 years ago yeah that it's like okay that shot would have cost like you know 15 million dollars now you can do it for a thousand bucks Yeah,
joe rogan
there's all sorts of fan-created videos online now.
beeple
They're fucking good, too, dude.
They're fucking insane.
joe rogan
Amazing.
beeple
They're fucking insane.
joe rogan
Well, the special effects that you can do with a regular computer now are just off the charts.
beeple
The fucking phone now, dude.
The fucking phone's fucking crazy.
The tools are getting cheaper and cheaper, and there's so much information out there, too, to let people...
Get really, really quickly assimilated into a technology and then they share their information and it's just like multiplying like so fast how these things sort of like, you know.
joe rogan
It's very exciting.
beeple
Yeah, it's definitely.
joe rogan
Just the cameras on these phones.
Digital cameras, like a small digital camera.
Jamie's a real photography nut and so he still uses a real camera camera.
But for regular photos, it's totally unnecessary now.
beeple
They're insane.
joe rogan
I have an iPhone that I use.
I carry two phones.
And I have a Galaxy S21 Ultra.
And you can take a photo of the fucking moon with this thing.
Have you seen that?
beeple
No, no.
joe rogan
Dude, it's incredible.
It has some sort of AI fuckery is involved in it, but it also has some insane digital zoom, where you hold the galaxy towards the moon, and it recognizes that you're looking at the moon, so it frames it up in a small square, and then you spread it apart and zoom, and you can get these high-resolution, beautiful images of the surface of the fucking moon.
beeple
That's crazy, and they specifically programmed it for the moon.
joe rogan
Yes, it's called Moonshot.
beeple
That's crazy.
joe rogan
The Galaxy cameras are like...
Look, iPhone cameras are fucking incredible, no doubt.
But the Galaxy cameras have way more adjustability.
If you're into fucking around with the stuff, there's way more features.
There's way more different modes and things you can do.
beeple
I think they're starting to unlock it a little more with the iPhone now.
It's sort of like raw and shooting and all that stuff.
joe rogan
I took that photo.
beeple
That's crazy.
joe rogan
For the phone, man.
I mean, how wild is that?
beeple
That is insane.
joe rogan
I took that with a phone.
beeple
It's definitely...
It's just...
And that's the thing.
We haven't even had these phones that long.
joe rogan
I know.
beeple
The phones...
joe rogan
Every year they get better.
beeple
They're like a phone like, you know, 16 years.
Like, that's not that long.
joe rogan
Yeah, and the real phones, like in terms of like smartphones, is 2007. Yeah.
That's when it started.
beeple
Yeah, that's true.
I mean, that's really like, until it's really, you know, got real.
joe rogan
So really 14 years.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
It's wild, man.
And they keep getting fucking better.
Every year they get better.
The battery life on them is insane now.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
It's just...
beeple
They charge super fast.
unidentified
Super fast.
beeple
It's just like an hour's like, boom, smashed up.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
Do you remember when those Samsung phones were making people's houses burn to the ground?
unidentified
I can't watch.
beeple
Sponsored by Samsung.
joe rogan
Well, I say good things, I say bad things.
I'm not sponsored by anybody.
But you remember they had the Note?
I think it was the Note 7. Yeah, I was blowing up a bit.
beeple
I was blowing up.
That one got away from him.
joe rogan
I remember there was one guy left it in his car, his truck, and he came out to his truck on fire in his driveway and he was filming it with someone else's phone, I guess.
jamie vernon
Didn't they specifically say on airplanes, like, if you have a Note?
unidentified
Oh, yeah.
beeple
They would basically tell you.
unidentified
No, no, no.
joe rogan
You had to take the battery out.
You had to take the battery out.
You either couldn't travel with it or you had to take the battery out while you're traveling.
beeple
Oh yeah, if you were at a frickin' note 12, you were basically on the frickin' no-fly list, dude.
Note 7. Note 7, note 7. I don't think they're at note 12. No, they would frickin', that was not your thing.
You were not going.
joe rogan
Yeah, well, you know, you gotta break a few eggs if you wanna make an omelet.
Sometimes you burn a plane down.
beeple
Yeah, I mean, that's the thing.
How many actual, yeah, I mean, how many actual sort of like incidents happened?
joe rogan
Let's find out.
Jamie, Google, how many houses burnt to the ground because of Samsung Galaxy Note 7?
It was really the battery.
Well, there was also, they were doing super fast charging way early on.
beeple
Oh, they were trying to do it faster than they could actually do it.
joe rogan
Well, iPhones are pretty conservative in that regard.
I think the iPhone's USB-C charger, I think it works at, I think it's 20 watts.
Where some of them are like 85. Oh, I don't know.
I think some of them are like 80. There's some Chinese ones that are super fast.
How do you say it?
Xiaomi?
Do you say Xiaomi?
beeple
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know what you're talking about.
joe rogan
I don't know how you say it.
beeple
Yeah, now some of those cameras are crazy too.
They've got like 2,000 megapixel cameras and like crazy stuff.
joe rogan
But it doesn't necessarily translate to better images.
So like the iPhones, it's about like image quality.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Like you don't necessarily need, yeah, you don't necessarily need the most pixels.
Like the amount of pixels that most of them have now is pretty fucking crazy.
Megapixels.
beeple
Yeah, but that's the thing.
In the future, there'll be 1,000 megapixels, and you'll be able to zoom way in.
So you'll basically, in effect, be able to see very far.
That's basically what you have with the moon thing.
It's basically almost acting like a telescope.
And so that's the thing.
In the future, if this keeps going at higher and higher resolution, you'll basically be able to see insanely far with these things, like 20 years from now.
joe rogan
I don't even think it's going to be that long ago.
beeple
Maybe not.
joe rogan
Because if you look at what you're seeing now with that Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is what I used to take that moon photo, that wasn't available two years ago.
beeple
Oh, yeah, yeah.
It's a brand new camera.
joe rogan
So that ability is pretty fucking recent.
Here's why Samsung Galaxy...
beeple
Okay, that was actually way worse than I thought.
joe rogan
It said, when the Galaxy Note 7 was recalled by Samsung in 2016, only about 100 of the 2.5 million units shipped worldwide were reported to have exploded.
Go back, please.
Hold on.
I'm still reading.
It says, that's still scarier than zero.
beeple
Okay.
Come on.
joe rogan
But if you're concerned about ruining your phone, there are more common issues to worry about.
Ruining my phone?
Concerned about dying?
The fuck are you talking about?
Go to that other one that you were just going to?
beeple
So concerned for that phone.
jamie vernon
35 incidents.
joe rogan
But it said 100. Maybe this was in the early days.
What year was this?
Go back to that?
jamie vernon
Same article.
joe rogan
Oh, the same article?
jamie vernon
Yeah.
joe rogan
So why does it say 100?
jamie vernon
I don't know.
I was trying to find that out.
joe rogan
It says it caught fire as many as 112 times.
It says it right there.
jamie vernon
Right, but it says after 35 instances is when they started the recall.
And then I was trying to read through here where the 112 was.
joe rogan
Okay, so after 35 instances of them catching fire, they started the recall, but ultimately it was like 112 people.
beeple
Oh, jeez.
Wait, that's what it looks like?
Oh, my God.
joe rogan
Yeah, look at that.
That's wild, dude.
unidentified
Oh, my God.
beeple
I don't think I've ever seen a video of it.
Holy shit.
That's what it looks like?
joe rogan
Yeah, go back to that.
beeple
That's not real.
jamie vernon
Not the same phone, I don't think.
beeple
But that's what it looks like when it catches fire?
jamie vernon
Oh, phone.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
beeple
Holy fuck.
I don't think I've ever actually seen a video of it.
That's fucking crazy as shit.
joe rogan
And that's just sitting on someone's desk.
That's not even plugged in.
unidentified
Oh, my God.
beeple
That would be fucking terrifying.
unidentified
Terrifying.
beeple
That would be fucking terrifying.
I don't know if it's just going to fucking explode.
unidentified
What the fuck?
joe rogan
Right, like, what do you do?
beeple
I would just get the fuck away from it.
I'd run the fuck away.
What the fuck are you going to do?
jamie vernon
Interesting thing on this, the final update.
beeple
Maybe try and kick it away or like...
joe rogan
What do you do?
jamie vernon
Samsung blamed the battery as of 2017. This is like an old article.
joe rogan
Well, no, it was a battery.
beeple
Yeah, but it's a fucking battery in their phone.
I mean, come on, guy.
It's not us.
It's a battery in your fucking phone.
I like, I don't...
joe rogan
They've officially explained what went wrong and identified them as the cause of the burning phones.
They got much more conservative after that.
They got much more conservative with their charging speeds and stuff.
beeple
Yeah, that's definitely crazy.
joe rogan
Anyway, the technology, just getting back to what we're talking about, the technology is getting to the point where you're going to be able to do a full-length feature movie on your phone easily.
I mean, look, they already have portrait mode on iPhones where it looks like a film.
Like you would be in focus, but what's behind you would be kind of blurry.
And I think they can do that with some phones with video.
beeple
Yeah, they can do that on the iPhone with video.
joe rogan
Portrait?
beeple
Yeah, it does the depth of field with something like video.
unidentified
That's crazy.
joe rogan
It makes it look like a movie.
beeple
Yeah, yeah.
It's definitely insane.
And there already have been like, there's been films in like Sundance that have been entirely shot on iPhones even a couple years ago.
joe rogan
Isn't it wild that we want the background to be blurry?
Like that's a feature?
beeple
Well, it kind of brings the focus.
joe rogan
No, I understand.
I understand.
But it's like, if you see something shot on video, one of the things that makes it look cheap is that you can see everything.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Which is odd.
beeple
It is odd that it's sort of like, I don't know.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know why that sort of makes it look more sort of like filmic, having less...
I guess it's just more control over the information.
joe rogan
Well, we're also accustomed to it.
Like if you go to the movies, the film is always like you would be in focus and what's behind you would be blurry.
beeple
Yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
And when the focus changes, it's because you're supposed to look at what's behind you, right?
beeple
Yeah.
I mean, I'm not an actor like you.
joe rogan
I'm not an actor.
I'm going to have acted.
unidentified
I've played basketball.
joe rogan
I'm not a basketball player.
beeple
What's the last time you were in a full movie or something like that?
Has it been a long time?
joe rogan
Yeah, here comes the boom.
More than 10 years.
beeple
Would you ever do it again?
joe rogan
No, I'm done.
unidentified
Totally done.
joe rogan
I passed on some good ones.
beeple
You never just even like a small role in something?
joe rogan
No, no, no.
Kevin Smith offered me a nice role.
I can't.
I don't want to do it anymore.
I don't like it.
beeple
Just don't like it.
joe rogan
It's too time-consuming.
I don't have the time.
Financially, it's not viable.
But then there's also the actor factor.
The actor factor's big.
beeple
What do you mean?
joe rogan
Hanging out with actors.
beeple
Don't like them.
joe rogan
It's exhausting.
beeple
Don't like them, not so much.
joe rogan
Well, I like a lot of them.
I like, like, 20% of them.
beeple
Okay.
joe rogan
But the other ones are fucking exhausting.
They're just so full of shit, and they're so scared of everything...
Scared of what?
Well, their whole existence is about getting cast in things.
So they have to constantly be saying the right things and following the right progressive ideology and espousing it whenever possible to let everybody know that you're on the right team because you're worried about being cast in things.
So this is what's absolutely wrong with Los Angeles.
The entire city, whether they admit it or not, the main focus of the city is Hollywood.
The main focus is films and television.
And if you don't think that's the case, they'll shut down giant chunks of Hollywood Boulevard to film a shitty movie.
They do it all the time.
And you're like, what the fuck is this?
How come they get to do this and I'm in traffic because this fucking terrible movie is being made?
beeple
That would be actually super annoying.
joe rogan
It's super annoying.
It doesn't happen all the time, but it's annoying enough that it happens.
But that's one part of the problem.
You take people that are mostly fucked up and insecure.
That's why they want to be actors in the first place.
They need this exorbitant amount of attention.
And so then you put them in this system where you have to apply for things.
You have to try to get cast in things.
You don't just get cast in a movie.
Unless you're Leonardo DiCaprio or someone huge.
So you have to audition.
So you go into a room and you want everybody to like you, first of all.
And then after everybody likes you, then you have to perform for these people that like you.
Oh, they brought in the whiskey.
beeple
It's time to get fucked up.
joe rogan
Listen, people.
It's time to throw down.
I had some really old whiskey when I was in Vegas this weekend.
And I was like, this stuff is fucking incredible.
How old is that one?
They're both 18 years old?
Macallan, this sounds like the right stuff.
beeple
Oh, sweet baby Jesus.
joe rogan
What are you worried about?
beeple
We're just going to have one glass.
Yeah, no, I think...
joe rogan
You know what I'm saying though?
So the whole business is based on getting people to like you.
beeple
How many auditions did you go on?
joe rogan
Quite a few.
beeple
How many would you say total in your lifetime?
Just ballpark.
joe rogan
Oh, I don't know.
beeple
A couple hundred?
joe rogan
Nah, not that many.
I got really, really fortunate.
I got really, really fortunate in that when I first started out, and this is the craziest story.
It's true, I swear to God, even though it sounds nuts.
The first two things I ever auditioned for I got.
beeple
Really?
joe rogan
Yeah.
Yeah, the first two things I ever auditioned for I got.
It doesn't make any sense.
It's so ridiculous.
beeple
So you got a part and then you did another one.
joe rogan
Then I got a part and the other one.
beeple
Wait, were they big, like, were they commercials or what were they for?
joe rogan
News Radio and Fear Factor.
beeple
Okay, those were like, wait, those were the first two fucking things.
joe rogan
Well, the first one that I got, I didn't even audition for.
That was a show called Hardball.
beeple
You didn't do anything before those?
joe rogan
No.
beeple
Are you serious?
joe rogan
No.
Dude, I didn't even want to act.
That's the crazy thing.
That was the best part about it.
beeple
You did nothing before news radio?
joe rogan
I did a show called Hardball.
And I didn't really audition for that because I had a development deal with Disney.
beeple
How did you get that?
joe rogan
They just cast me.
beeple
Oh, just from seeing stand-up?
joe rogan
I had a development deal.
Yeah, it's from stand-up.
I had a development deal.
And so I did that.
And...
beeple
How long had you been doing stand-up before that happened?
joe rogan
Not that long.
I did not pay my dues.
I did it like six years, which is not long.
beeple
That's not that long.
joe rogan
For stand-ups, that's not that long.
I mean, you're not really a stand-up until you're ten years in.
What it's like is operating on people's hearts when you're just out of a four-year college.
You don't do that.
beeple
How old were you when you got that news radio?
joe rogan
In my 20s.
Like, uh...
26?
27, maybe?
beeple
I know, it's crazy.
jamie vernon
I haven't seen this before.
joe rogan
You haven't seen what?
jamie vernon
This.
This promo for Hardball.
It hasn't been on YouTube, I don't think.
beeple
Wait, what was Hardball?
joe rogan
That was a sitcom that I was in in my 20s.
That's me.
Look at me.
beeple
That's crazy, dude.
joe rogan
Little sweetie.
Back in the day.
beeple
Where was that shot?
joe rogan
Out here in Hollywood.
So that was the first thing that I ever did as far as acting goes.
beeple
Cheers, sir.
Thank you, sir.
joe rogan
My point is, I got very lucky.
beeple
What do we got here?
joe rogan
Delicious.
unidentified
Scottish.
joe rogan
Oh, my God.
It's great.
unidentified
You don't like it?
beeple
Oh my lord.
joe rogan
Come on bro, settle in.
So the point is, that system is crazy, and I got very fortunate that I didn't really have to be a part of that system.
I snuck in.
I snuck in with this hardball show, and because of the hardball show, they let me audition for news radio.
I got news radio.
And then Fear Factor was right after that.
I think maybe I auditioned for like a thing or two in between that I didn't get.
beeple
That's crazy.
How long did you do Fear Factor for?
joe rogan
Six years.
Yeah.
And then when I was done with that...
beeple
News Radio was like six years?
joe rogan
Five years.
So I was like, I'm out.
I'm out.
Totally done.
Yeah, it's like...
It's too much...
It's not necessarily the best thing to do for stand-ups.
Because it's good in that people get to see you and that you develop an audience, but it's not good in that you become part of that system where you have to be very liberal.
And I am very liberal.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
But you have to be.
beeple
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
There's a bunch of things that you have to set.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
Like, you know, you want trans women competing because they're regular women.
You want them competing against women in sports.
You have to say that.
Even if it doesn't make any sense.
Even if you're like, but what about that UPenn swimmer who's like 38 seconds faster than all the other women?
Shut up.
Don't be a bigot.
That kind of thinking is what happens in Hollywood.
And it's not because they really think that way.
It's because they're terrified that they step outside the lines and they'll be, you know, oh, he's another Scott Baio or something.
Even Chris Pratt gets in trouble because he's Christian.
beeple
I saw that he was the worst Chris for a while.
joe rogan
Bro, he is the nicest fucking guy I've ever met in my life.
I mean, I've met people equally nice.
beeple
What were people...
I don't know.
Honestly, I just saw something where it was just like, worst Chris or something.
joe rogan
I don't give a fuck what they're thinking.
They're all insane people that hate their jobs or sitting in front of the cubicle when their boss isn't looking.
They're tweeting bad things about Chris Pratt.
beeple
It's definitely interesting how the power of people, though, that can kind of blow up something that's sort of like, you know, Just maybe not that big of a deal and it becomes a big deal because...
joe rogan
That's a nice way to put it.
What it is is a bully pile-on.
That's what it is.
You see someone being vulnerable and you could snipe at them and you don't have any repercussions and they're not in front of you, so you attack the guy.
He hasn't done nothing.
beeple
I honestly have no idea what the thing is.
The people are even like, I don't know anything about it.
joe rogan
Chris Pat is one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.
He's genuinely friendly.
I've been in hunting camp with him.
He's nice to everybody.
To the ladies that work in the kitchen.
beeple
Where were you guys hunting?
joe rogan
Elk.
beeple
Where?
joe rogan
In Utah.
beeple
That's crazy.
So you just went to a camp for a weekend or something?
joe rogan
Yeah, for a week.
beeple
That's interesting.
Did you get an elk?
joe rogan
Yes, I did.
beeple
That's interesting.
joe rogan
And he did too.
But my point is, I've seen him interact with people.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
He sits at these cafeteria-style tables with everybody, with people from all walks of life.
He's super normal.
beeple
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
And I've been around him multiple times like that.
He's a super kind, super normal guy.
beeple
It'll be interesting.
joe rogan
It's fun, too.
He's a fun guy to be around.
beeple
I'm excited to see that Mario movie.
Did you see that?
No.
I'm pretty sure he's the voice of Mario.
joe rogan
Oh, the voice.
I thought you were saying he's going to be a live-action Mario.
beeple
No, no, I'm pretty sure it's all animated.
joe rogan
He's, you know, what else has he done other than the Guardians of the Galaxy?
He's got something else.
beeple
It's Jurassic Park.
joe rogan
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, he's in the new Jack Carr series that they're doing for Amazon.
Do you know what that is?
Jack Carr, he's got these amazing books about this character, James Reese, this Navy SEAL James Reese, a really great thriller, action book.
beeple
Like a Tom Clancy type?
joe rogan
Yeah, very similar.
Like a Jack Reacher type thing.
But this guy, James Reese, is his primary character, and he's being played by Christopher.
beeple
That's for like Amazon or something like that.
joe rogan
Anyway, the point is, he's one of the rare guys.
It's like, he's kind of outside the lines in terms of his ideology.
He's a Christian.
Oh, sure.
And he's pretty open about it.
And because of that, they attack him.
It's something so simple.
Like, he just believes in Jesus, and he likes to be a good person.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
And they're like, fuck him!
beeple
It's definitely, it's an interesting time and I think it's, I don't know, I think it's just going to keep getting weirder and weirder as these sort of like technologies and like people, you're like mixing like massive, you know, populations with these technologies in ways where we don't even understand technology.
Like, what the fuck we're doing?
joe rogan
You're also mixing people that are shut-ins, that don't have good social interactions.
beeple
And the virus now, they've been inside for fucking a year.
joe rogan
They don't have to be, like, vetted out in terms of, like, if you're working with people, right, on a daily, and this one guy's annoying as fuck, like, you just avoid him.
unidentified
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
And then he can't get hired because he's annoying.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
But if that guy's online, that guy interacts with everybody all day long.
And there's so many accounts where you go and look at their Twitter page and you realize, like, this is a mentally ill person.
beeple
Or it's just a fucking bot.
It's just a troll or it's some bot or it's some, like, bullshit like that.
Or, yeah, it's just somebody who's, like...
joe rogan
There's more mentally ill people, but there are a lot of bots, for sure.
Mentally ill.
beeple
And I think there's a lot of people who just feel shitty and they're, like, having a bad day and they just fucking go online and, like, go, fuck you.
And, like, they just put a shitty comment because they're having a shitty day.
And so it's sort of like...
But that's where I don't...
Like, I kind of look at that shit and it's sort of like, when you do something, that says way more about you and what's going on in your life.
unidentified
Yeah, for sure.
beeple
That has nothing to do with, like, me.
Like, if you could just go on and are, like, being a dick and, like, just trying to spread shittiness, like, I don't know.
And I think if people looked at it that way, they wouldn't be so affected by it.
That it's sort of like...
Feel sorry for those people because it's like that person's not in a good place.
If you're literally like getting up and like...
You're not having a great day.
That's not like...
Of course.
You're not having an awesome day.
joe rogan
It goes without saying.
Yeah, these are not healthy people.
If you go and look at...
If you're a person that's just spreading venom, emotional venom and poison all day long, that's all you're doing.
There's things in life that should annoy you.
There's things in life that should piss you off.
But not all things.
Like, if that's what you're really...
Your concentration is entirely on negative things, it says more about you.
If this is what your jam is, your jam is going online and shitting on things and being mean to people, I gotta think most likely something's fucked up with you.
beeple
Yeah, no, you're not living a great life.
And, like, those people are not, like...
They're hurting themselves, and so that's why they're spreading that stuff.
And I think sometimes people are quick to not recognize that and take offense to it.
joe rogan
It's hard to do.
beeple
It is hard.
I will say it's very hard when you see it because it's directed at you.
It makes it seem like it's about you when it's like, okay, that's really not about you.
That's about that person is in a shitty place mentally, and they're spreading that.
joe rogan
It's just hard for someone to recognize when you're the receiving end of it.
beeple
100%.
That's easier said than done.
When you see something, especially if it cuts in and it's like, oh, that's true, and they say something about you, you're like, goddammit, that is something that I could work on or I could change.
joe rogan
Well, that's the good aspect of it.
It's like a little bit of snake venom.
beeple
Yes.
joe rogan
Like a little bit of snake venom is probably good for you.
beeple
He knows it.
Yes.
That's what I always say, that it's sort of like getting a little bit of that kind of like negative sort of like, I don't know.
joe rogan
I'm going to have to stop you from saying like.
Like.
You're saying a few too many likes for my taste.
Have you noticed, Jamie?
It's a bit of an issue.
unidentified
Oh.
beeple
I'm not as accomplished speaking.
I'm definitely...
joe rogan
You don't have to be.
Your art's awesome.
beeple
It's this.
I'm fucking all...
joe rogan
Oh, you have one half a baby sip of this McAllen 18-year-old scotch?
beeple
Are you drinking this entire thing?
joe rogan
Yeah, I'll drink the entire thing.
beeple
I would literally be, like, frickin' on the ground.
I'm gonna take one actual drink.
unidentified
Listen, you're fine.
beeple
Let me hear it.
joe rogan
You're fine.
I am, uh...
beeple
Oh, my God.
joe rogan
I enjoy alcohol.
I think it's good for you.
It's not good for your body, but I think it's good for you.
Overall, I think there's a net positive effect.
beeple
How often do you?
joe rogan
I just take IV vitamin drips, and I do a lot to recover.
beeple
From drinking?
joe rogan
Yeah.
I don't drink a lot, but I drink a little often.
What's in the bag, bro?
What's in the bag?
No, the bag.
What's in the bag?
beeple
This is what I wanted to bring you.
joe rogan
Is it a towel?
beeple
No, that is a...
joe rogan
It says medium adult anus.
A 3.5 inch fully dilated regular butthole.
That's what it really says.
I'm not making this up.
beeple
That is a pair of underwear to sort of put on before the box.
joe rogan
The contents of this box are entirely visually pleasing and have been known to cause a loss of normal bowel function.
Adult onset pants shitting.
Please make sure this disposable underwear is properly fastened prior to opening the box for the first time.
Bro, what the fuck is wrong with you?
I'm going to shit myself?
And I don't understand how this says medium adult anus.
Is this just underwear?
beeple
It's underwear.
joe rogan
But why does it say medium adult anus?
You know, your anus is just like a small hole.
I don't know.
beeple
I was just assuming you were a medium.
Are you not medium?
joe rogan
I don't know.
I have a big ass.
I don't think I'll fit in these.
Bro, you want to try to kill my balls?
These are so small.
It's cute, though.
beeple
So those are the underwear that you are supposed to put on before opening the box.
I'll let you open the box.
joe rogan
I'm nervous now.
I gotta say, that's a first.
It says Beeple Spring Summer Collection 2021. Oh, shit.
Okay, I should open this like this.
Can you get it with that camera, maybe?
jamie vernon
Yeah, I'm going over top.
joe rogan
Okay.
So this is wild.
beeple
Is this an NFT? So this is from the spring collection that I released this year.
And so yeah, this is the sort of like physical and an NFT sort of like goes with it.
joe rogan
Is that Elon Musk as a Hulk?
beeple
Dig it, Chad.
Yeah.
joe rogan
Oh, that's hilarious.
With a little, that dogecoin?
beeple
Yeah, the dogecoin dog.
joe rogan
Wow.
beeple
Yeah, so this is sort of like something that we built in our sort of like studio this last year.
And you sort of like, that comes out.
unidentified
Should I turn it that way?
joe rogan
That'd be better?
jamie vernon
Yeah.
You can still kind of see it pretty much as it is.
beeple
So then it like comes out and you can like kind of like put that on the like, put the...
joe rogan
You hear all the likes coming out of your mouth?
beeple
Put the screen on the stand there, and the stand lights up.
And so this is just the box.
joe rogan
It's the light box?
beeple
This is just the box.
joe rogan
Jesus Christ, that's an amazing visual.
beeple
Yeah, no, it definitely...
joe rogan
Elon's going to see this and hit the gym.
He's going to be like...
beeple
I gave one to, like, Kimball and him.
joe rogan
Yeah?
beeple
Yeah, yeah, I met him in Basel last week.
joe rogan
Oh, no shit.
beeple
Yeah, no, it's definitely...
It's been a crazy year.
joe rogan
This is super cool.
And what is this thing on this side of it?
What is that?
beeple
So that's the bass.
That's the, like...
The base that you put the screen on.
joe rogan
Oh, so you pull this out?
unidentified
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
beeple
You pull both of them out.
unidentified
And so you pull that out, too.
beeple
And so there's cords behind that.
joe rogan
Dude, this is so dope.
beeple
And then it lights it.
So if you pull out that cord bag, too.
So then this, too.
Pull that out.
That's a hair sample.
joe rogan
That's a hair sample?
beeple
From who?
From me.
joe rogan
You have a hair sample?
beeple
There's a hair sample in there.
What are you supposed to do with the hair sample?
So it goes on the base there.
joe rogan
On the base.
Where?
beeple
On the other side.
That's where it plugs in.
joe rogan
It plugs into the base.
beeple
Here, do you want me to grab it real quick?
joe rogan
Is it plugging back here?
beeple
That's what kind of...
This goes like this.
joe rogan
Okay.
beeple
And then this goes on that.
And then it like plugs in on the like back here.
joe rogan
Okay.
beeple
Take these cords and like here.
joe rogan
And when it plugs in, it just lights up?
Is that the idea?
Okay.
For folks listening, what we have here is a...
Well, it's interesting.
It looks like a glass or some sort of plexiglass.
Yeah, some sort of a plastic...
Like a mini iPad that has this beautiful image of a jacked Elon Musk in his underwear.
I think it's probably more effort than it's worth to put this in while we're doing the show.
Good?
Alright, perfect.
Ta-da!
And what is this little cord here?
This one, this extra one?
beeple
That just plugs into the back of the, like, screen there.
joe rogan
Oh, okay.
And what does that do?
beeple
It just powers the screen.
The screen has, like, a battery, but then over time it'll, over a couple hours.
joe rogan
So there.
Ta-da!
beeple
There you go.
joe rogan
There we go.
Oh, and now it's black and white somehow.
beeple
It's, like, going through, like, kind of, like, a loop showing the, like, sort of, like, image and kind of, like, how the image was made and sort of kind of a little bit of the, like, kind of behind the scenes.
joe rogan
Pretty dope.
And what is this Q code?
beeple
So that goes to, like, my site, and you can kind of see the other people who own this.
So this is, on the back, you can see how it's signed.
It says 60 out of 100. So there's only 100 of these that exist.
And so you've got the, like, number 61 and, like, Who's got number 69?
I'm not sure who has number 69, but somebody bought number 69 because they wanted to have that one.
joe rogan
That's very dope.
Thank you very much.
That's super cool.
beeple
Yeah, so this is sort of one of a few different pieces that were released in spring, and this was one of the everydays that sort of day.
joe rogan
Okay, cool.
Well, thank you very much.
That's awesome.
beeple
I appreciate that.
joe rogan
Very dope.
I'll put that right there.
I don't know if we can keep it on the desk because it needs a lot of attention.
beeple
It does.
It's something that definitely sort of like draws you in, but it can be a lot.
joe rogan
I think it should be right in front of you, Jamie, like right there.
Is that right there?
That's not too bad.
jamie vernon
I have plugs for it.
joe rogan
That would work, right?
Yeah.
No, we'll keep it here for now, but then after the show.
beeple
It's a big thing.
It's pretty dope.
joe rogan
Thank you very much.
Very cool.
beeple
Yeah, I appreciate it.
joe rogan
So how long do you think you're going to keep doing this?
Is this a lifetime project?
beeple
Probably the rest of my life.
Really?
joe rogan
Every day?
One a day?
beeple
We've got to see it through at this point.
unidentified
Wow.
beeple
We've got to see it through at this point.
joe rogan
See it through to the end.
On your deathbed.
unidentified
Hold on.
Before you put me in the suicide pod.
joe rogan
Have you seen those suicide pods they have now?
You ever seen that?
beeple
Suicide pods?
joe rogan
Yeah, I think some European country has developed an actual suicide pod.
And you climb into this thing when you want to end your life.
And it's designed to peacefully send you into the next realm.
beeple
Jesus.
And what does it do?
joe rogan
I'm not sure.
I just saw the headline.
I didn't read into it.
That's it right there.
It looks dope though, doesn't it?
Maker of Suicide Pod plans to launch in Switzerland.
beeple
That's fucking disturbing.
joe rogan
It is, but, I mean, what do you want to do, live forever?
beeple
No, no, I mean, it definitely...
joe rogan
If you're 95 years old and you're dying of cancer, isn't that a way to go?
beeple
It's definitely a way to go, I will say that.
If there is the time when you need to get into the pod, you probably know when it's time.
joe rogan
Look at that.
No, no, scroll down, please.
Look at that.
Assisted suicide, which somebody's given the means to end their own life, is legal in Switzerland.
About 1,300 people died there that way in 2020. Listen, I don't think there's anything wrong with suicide at the end of life.
If, like, the idea that people are supposed to suffer but your dog isn't.
You know, my dog Johnny Cash, I miss him terribly and I love him to death.
He was, um, 13, which is 14. Was very old for a mastiff.
And he couldn't walk.
And it was the saddest shit ever.
I had to carry him.
beeple
How long ago was this?
joe rogan
He's been dead for two or three years, I think.
Almost three years.
I had to carry him outside.
So in the morning, he would be in his little...
There was like a mudroom where his food was, and he would generally sleep there because his dog bed was there.
And in the morning, I'd have to carry him.
And he was a big-ass fucking dog.
I was the only one that could carry him.
He was like 140 pounds.
And I'd have to walk with him outside and then set him down in the grass.
beeple
140 pounds?
Jesus fucking Christ, that is massive.
joe rogan
And he was a Mastiff.
unidentified
Oh, Jesus Christ.
joe rogan
And so then he would struggle to go to the bathroom because his hips would hold him.
beeple
How long did you guys have him?
joe rogan
14 years.
Jesus.
That's old for a Mastiff.
beeple
That is crazy.
joe rogan
Little dogs can live a long time.
beeple
How long did you have to do carrying him like that?
joe rogan
I did it for a while.
beeple
Like years?
joe rogan
No, no, no.
It was several months and it was just...
It was one of those things where I was like, I didn't want to do it, but I knew he had...
I didn't want to just go out there and watch him suffering, like moaning and dying slowly.
beeple
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
But he was...
beeple
For the kids, like...
joe rogan
He couldn't see anymore.
He had cataracts.
Yeah.
So his eyes had gotten...
They'd gotten gray and glossed over.
It was rough.
beeple
That's crazy.
joe rogan
The only thing that helped the kids is that we had Marshall at the same time, who was our dog that we have now.
He was young, so they could still play with Marshall.
beeple
What kind of dog is that?
joe rogan
He's a golden retriever.
beeple
How old is that dog now?
joe rogan
He's five.
He just turned five.
He had a birthday the other day.
beeple
So the kids like the dogs, and do they care for the dogs?
Because that's the thing.
I don't want to fucking pick up poop.
I'm not fucking picking up poop.
Do you pick up the dog's poop?
joe rogan
I have, for sure.
I hire people to do it now.
beeple
My kids are fucking old enough.
It's like, I don't want to fucking pick up poop.
I just don't want to pick up poop of another thing.
joe rogan
Well, you know, there's worse things in this world, bro.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
I only shit like a couple times a day.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
It's a minute out of your day.
And you're like, I can't.
unidentified
I don't have the time.
joe rogan
I'm busy making digital art.
I'm making non-fungible tokens.
beeple
It's not busy.
It's just, I don't know.
It smells.
Do you have a dog?
I'm like, everybody has a dog.
Like, I'm definitely recognized.
I'm the only person on earth who doesn't have a dog.
joe rogan
But if that's the thing that's holding you back, you made $100 million this year, bro.
Hire someone to clean your poop.
People need jobs.
You contribute to the economy.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
Someone comes over if you have a decent-sized yard.
It's no big deal.
beeple
It's true.
That's fair.
joe rogan
Yeah, it's not that bad.
I don't know.
beeple
We didn't grow up with a dog.
Did you grow up with a dog?
joe rogan
Oh, yeah.
beeple
See, my wife and I, neither of us grew up with a dog.
It's definitely like...
joe rogan
It's a lot of work.
beeple
It's a lot of work.
To the outside, to somebody who did not grow up with a dog, it's like kids are...
My kids are five and eight now, so it's sort of like...
joe rogan
Yeah, but if you had a puppy, oh my god, they would love it.
beeple
Oh god, don't.
You're killing me here, dude.
You're killing me here.
joe rogan
Do you have a yard?
A good-sized yard?
beeple
No, it's very small.
joe rogan
Where do you live?
beeple
In Charleston.
unidentified
Very, very small.
joe rogan
North Carolina?
beeple
South Carolina.
joe rogan
South Carolina.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Oh, well, if you have a small yard, you're off the hook.
Because you really need a yard.
unidentified
It's pretty small.
joe rogan
I have a buddy who has a couple dogs, and he has a very small yard.
And so he's got to walk his dogs to go shit.
And then he has to pick it up in a bag.
And I'm like, that's a bummer.
beeple
Then he's got to carry it back.
joe rogan
He can't just let his dogs out and then they run around the yard and have fun.
He can't throw the ball in his yard.
Dogs need some space.
They need space.
And if you don't have space, you've got to take them places.
beeple
Well, then you kind of feel bad, too, that it's sort of like, what am I doing?
I got this, like, big dog, and I've got, like, this, like, tiny area that I'm sort of, like, keeping it in.
Like, that's not, like, a thing.
But I could see getting, like, a small dog at some point.
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
Maybe I need to...
joe rogan
They're great.
beeple
Take the dive here.
joe rogan
Yeah, but if you don't want to, you don't have to.
beeple
It's definitely...
I don't know.
It's just...
I feel like it's another thing that...
I don't know.
The kids, for me, are enough.
I feel like...
joe rogan
Oh, it's a lot of work.
Yeah.
No, it's definitely a lot of work.
Dogs are a lot of work.
And they chew things up.
And sometimes...
One of my dogs chewed through an electric cord once and almost died.
beeple
Jesus.
joe rogan
Yeah, they'll chew through the cords and get electrocuted.
beeple
What was the cord to?
joe rogan
It just doesn't matter.
They just bite things.
They're dogs.
They don't know what the fuck electricity is.
I barely do.
beeple
That's fair.
That's fair.
joe rogan
I don't know, man.
I love dogs.
If I lived without a dog, I would feel weird.
beeple
Do you take them on the hunting trips and stuff like that?
joe rogan
No, no, no.
My dog now, he is, like I said, he's a golden retriever.
And they are bird hunting dogs.
They're really good for that.
They love to retrieve things.
They love to bring things back.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
And they were sort of bred to retrieve and retrieve when they hunt.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
You shoot a bird and the bird falls out of the sky and the dog brings it back to you.
beeple
Yeah, all my friends back in Wisconsin, like, haunt.
Like, pretty much I'm the only person who's like, okay, fucking weirdo, digital freaking art goon.
Like, everybody else haunts, like, 100%.
joe rogan
Well, there's nothing wrong with being a digital art goon.
You're contributing to society.
It's amazing work.
But it's not a bad thing also to do different stuff, to do other things as well.
beeple
I'm not very well-rounded.
Like, I'm not...
I don't have many other interests outside this stuff.
joe rogan
Does it bother you that you're not well-rounded?
beeple
No.
joe rogan
Then it's fine.
beeple
Yeah, it's definitely one of these things.
Sometimes I feel like I wish I had more things that I was interested in.
You've got all the working out.
It seems like you have a lot of interests.
joe rogan
I wish I had less things I'm interested in.
I really do.
I would like to have multiple versions of me that can run several different lives simultaneously.
Because I've often thought, like, if I decided, if I went out of, if I had a moment where I could say, alright, this is what I'm going to do and only this, how much How much further could I get in that?
And there's something about one solitary pursuit where there's some sort of benefit in focusing all your attention.
Like, look how far you've gotten with your digital art.
I do multiple things simultaneously.
The only thing that helps me is that these things Definitely feed off of each other.
The podcast and stand-up work together.
beeple
100%.
joe rogan
They have synchronicity.
They work together.
And then the UFC, it benefits for me doing the podcast and benefits for me doing stand-up because when I talk in front of millions of people live during the broadcast, I'm not nervous.
I'm so accustomed to talking.
beeple
You seem totally fine.
joe rogan
It's no different than talking right now, which is no different than me talking.
Like we were talking before, right?
Before the show, when I first met you, it's the same as now.
It's because I do it so often.
So they work together.
But I have a deep fascination with so many different things.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
I have like multiple things that I'm really interested in that I'd like to pursue all day long.
beeple
You seem like you're very curious about a lot of different things.
But I think, yeah, like you said, all these things sort of like feed into each other together.
That it's sort of like the same demographic of a lot of these things.
Or similar demographics that sort of like are all kind of like interested in these, you know, various different things.
But if you were going to focus on one thing, what would that thing be?
Or is it just too hard to like sort of like pick one?
joe rogan
Other than the things that I already do?
beeple
Yeah, is there one of those things that you're most sort of like excited about?
Or they're all kind of like equally sort of like interesting to you?
Like you have so many things going.
I wonder how you sort of like decide to sort of like spend your time.
joe rogan
Well, there's obligations.
Like, I have obligations with stand-up to perform on a regular basis, because if you don't, you get out of shape, and then write on a regular basis, because if you don't, your act gets stale.
So there's obligations to do that.
If I had to do one thing, if I had to abandon everything and just do one, it would be stand-up.
beeple
Stand-up.
joe rogan
I would say I'm just going to abandon everything else and just do stand-up.
beeple
That's the most sort of, like, kind of, like, pure, like, sort of, like, thing that you're most...
joe rogan
It's a pure exchange, right?
Because if you put the most amount of effort into the work and you go on the road a lot and you tighten up your act and you get it to where it's a great show.
The people are enjoying it.
They pay and they enjoy it.
They leave this great feeling.
It's a real good exchange.
You know, it is for me, like if I go to see a stand-up, like say if I go to see like, you know, Mark Norman or something like that, let me give you for an example, Ari Shafir or Tim Dillon, someone's really funny.
If I go to see them live, if I paid money to see them live and laugh my ass off for an hour and a half, I walk out of there, I feel really good about the exchange.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
I feel really good about the fact that I'm supporting them.
I go to see them.
They obviously put a lot of effort into their act, and it comes off in this great act.
And it's organic.
It works.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
It just feels like a sort of common sort of language that you're speaking.
joe rogan
And I feel that way about podcasts, too.
I mean, it's like...
You're doing something.
You're putting out this audio and video conversation.
You're doing your best to make it interesting and to make people sync up to it so they can follow the way you're thinking and you have an enjoyable conversation.
beeple
Point of view.
joe rogan
And you develop this relationship with these people that are listening.
It's very positive.
beeple
What are the podcasts that you really like?
joe rogan
I like Radio Lab.
It's a very good podcast.
It's very interesting.
What's it about?
All kinds of things.
All kinds of things.
It's very heavily produced, like sound effects and edits.
There's a lot going on with it.
Listen to a bunch of my friends' podcasts like Tim Dillon.
Bridget Phetasy has a couple of great podcasts.
Ari Shaffir's got a great podcast.
There's a lot of podcasts I subscribe to.
And then I just like look at my phone and go, what am I going to do today?
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
Do you listen to any of those like murder, true murder things?
joe rogan
I don't like that shit.
I'm not interested.
I'm not a girl.
Girls are really interested in true crime shows.
I don't know why, right?
It's kind of a universal truth.
beeple
To me, it's very fucking creepy.
It's like, this is a person who actually died.
I don't know.
It's kind of like you're getting entertainment from hearing how this person died.
People like him, people like him, whatever.
It's very popular.
It's definitely people like him.
But to me, it's just very like, I don't know.
That's kind of creepy as fuck.
joe rogan
Well, I think for women, they want to know, because most murders are created by men.
And I think women want to know what the fuck men are capable of.
And I think for them, it's like, what?
beeple
It could be part of it.
joe rogan
And it's also part of, like, women traditionally, and this is a gross generalization, ladies, it's not a stereotype, I'm just...
This is just saying.
beeple
Oh boy, here we go.
Here we go.
joe rogan
Women traditionally have been in hunter-gatherer communities.
They have been responsible for gossip.
And there's a place for gossip.
It's actually important.
And gossip is to make sure that people are held to a certain moral standard that the community accepts.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
And then to find out who's stepping outside of those lines and who's doing things wrong and what girls you can't trust because they're sleeping around with all different guys' men.
And what men you can't trust because they're lying about this and lying about that.
beeple
It's like a little morality police.
joe rogan
Yes, but that's their job.
That's why they're so chatty, right?
That's the job of women in these small hunter-gatherer societies is to sort of keep everybody in line and find out what's going on.
And I think because of that sort of affinity for gossip, they're attracted to these murder mystery shows like, oh, and then what did he do?
We do.
Well then, he hid the body in a steel drum and like...
So, women love those shows.
I know so many women.
I know a lady who does one of those.
She actually does one of those.
One of my wife's friends.
She does a...
beeple
Does a voice or whatever?
joe rogan
No, she has a fucking podcast.
unidentified
Oh, okay.
joe rogan
A murder mystery podcast.
It's all about murders.
And I'm like, why?
Like, why are you into murders?
Those true crime podcasts are very popular with women.
beeple
Like, I don't know how you can listen to that for like an hour and then you're like, I'm just gonna go pick my kids up or go like...
joe rogan
I don't think they have a problem with it at all.
They love it.
beeple
I know.
But it's just sort of like...
It's kind of fucked up how...
Integrating that into a normal day and you're like, literally, I'm just going to spend an hour hearing the gruesome details of an actual murder.
It's like...
But like literally shit tons of people that it's like what they do.
joe rogan
It's a common thing.
beeple
Very, very popular.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Let's Google this.
When it comes to demographics for true crime podcast, let's find a true crime podcast and find out what percentage of the people that listen are female.
beeple
That would be interesting to know.
That would be interesting to know.
joe rogan
Yeah, because this podcast is predominantly male.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
But it's not on purpose.
beeple
Honestly, almost all of mine are the same, too.
I can see on Instagram, it's like 80% male as well.
joe rogan
When you have a bunch of giant dicks with jizz coming out of them attached to missile silos.
beeple
Weirdly attracts dudes.
Weirdly attracts dudes.
joe rogan
Predominantly female.
Look at this.
Previous studies have shown the True Crime podcast audience is predominantly female, 73%.
That is bananas.
And that listeners tune into podcasts to seek entertainment for convenience and to avoid boredom while women are attracted to the true crime genre because they are drawn to female protagonists.
Oh, interesting.
I don't know if that's true.
Because they listen to these true crime...
It's not just domestic abuse stuff.
They listen to murders, like men murdering men.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
What is that?
What do you...
Did we just pull up a paper?
jamie vernon
This is the paper that that...
joe rogan
Fundamentally different stories that matter, the true crime podcast and the domestic violence survivors in their audience.
Okay, well this is one.
That makes sense if it's women that are reading about men who've murdered women and try to get away with it.
Because that's like every woman's worst fear is that she hooks up with a man and she winds up having a relationship with him and then he murders her.
Or doesn't even hook up with her.
She meets a man somewhere and he murders her.
Women worry about men murdering them.
beeple
Yeah, that's not real.
That's real.
joe rogan
That's real.
It's a difference between what men worry about.
Men worry about women pretending that they like them and stealing all their money.
beeple
It's definitely a different level of concern.
It is definitely a different level of concern that women necessarily have to have.
joe rogan
Oh, yeah.
beeple
Like, that's not, like, for no reason, to be quite honest.
joe rogan
I think that's why they are attracted to True Crime Podcasts.
I think they want to know, if they get a database, you know, they get a baseline, get to read a bunch of different stories about all these things, then they'll kind of recognize patterns.
unidentified
Right.
beeple
But do you think that will make people, like, subjecting themselves to this, like, information?
Because those are such outlier sort of, like, cases.
Do you think that's gonna, like, fuck with people's heads over time?
Because they're kind of, like, immersed in this world of murder when murders are insanely rare.
You know what I mean?
There's, you know, it's really not a super huge chance that you're gonna get murdered, just statistically.
You know what I mean?
joe rogan
You sound like a guy who's ready to get murdered.
Right?
Not even thinking ahead.
beeple
That's okay.
God damn it.
They lured me to fucking Austin.
What is this?
You fucking goddamn sons of bitches.
Is this murder juice?
joe rogan
It's 18 year old scotch.
beeple
Full on fucking murder juice.
joe rogan
Highland single malt scotch.
beeple
What do you got here?
joe rogan
That's another single malt scotch.
beeple
Is this normally what you drink, though?
It seemed like this was not normally what you drink.
joe rogan
No, I had some of it in Vegas this weekend.
I went to a delicious restaurant.
I can't recommend it enough.
It's called Bizarre Meats.
It's at the Sahara.
beeple
Super good?
joe rogan
Oh my god, it's so good.
They use these Argentine grills.
The head chef is Jose...
How do you say his last name?
Jose Andres?
A-N-D-R-E-S? Is that how you say his name?
He's a very famous chef and he's got this restaurant in the Sahara where they cook over live oak fires and they have those Argentine grills.
So it's on a crank.
So they raise and lower the grill, and then they have the fire roaring underneath it.
So this is how they cook in Argentina, how they cook meat.
Oh, it's so good, man.
beeple
What kind of meat was it?
joe rogan
Steaks.
So this is how they...
Is that the restaurant?
See if you can show if they have any images of the way they cook, because that's just as exciting.
So when you walk into the place, they have this...
You kind of would have to see the images of the way it's worked.
Actually, go to Grillworks.
This is a better...
Yeah, see, keep clicking to the right.
Maybe they'll show you the steak setup.
beeple
You cook pretty often, don't you?
joe rogan
Oh my god, I'm a fiend.
I cook constantly.
Just go to Grillworks.
beeple
Is it usually just grilling stuff, or is there other stuff that you cook, too?
joe rogan
Yeah, I cook other stuff.
Yeah, but I like grilling.
Grilling's my favorite.
And smoking.
I like smoking.
I've smoked some brisket.
beeple
And is this mostly stuff that you've hunted, or just all different stuff from wherever?
joe rogan
Yeah, mostly stuff that I've hunted.
But I do cook domestic beef, too.
I try to keep it grass-fed and grass-finished.
Go to grillworks.com and you can see.
Okay, so this is the company that supplies them.
That's it.
That's a good example.
beeple
That's an Argentine grill.
joe rogan
Yeah, so see those cranks?
See the wheel?
You spin the wheel and it goes up and down depending upon which way you choose to make it go.
And you raise and lower the grill depending upon the temperature of the fire underneath it.
But the idea is to cook over live wood.
And when you do that, when you're cooking over live wood, you get this really amazing smoky flavor.
Go to my Instagram and you see that images of me cooking over it.
I have one of those.
I have one from another company called Sonterra, but it's a style of cooking where you're cooking over hardwood, and so you get all this smoky flavor in the meat.
And so when I was there, I was like, what do you got for old scotch?
Let me try some old scotch.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
And they had this 27-year-old single malt scotch.
I wish I remembered the name of the company, but it was fucking incredible.
It's so smooth.
beeple
That's crazy.
What were you in Vegas for?
joe rogan
UFC fights.
beeple
Oh, okay.
How often are those fights per year?
Like, how many fights per year are there approximately?
joe rogan
Almost every weekend there's fights.
beeple
So, like, 50 or something like that per year?
joe rogan
Yeah, pretty close.
beeple
And you are at all of them?
joe rogan
No, no, no, no, no, no.
unidentified
Oh, okay.
joe rogan
I do 10 a year now.
beeple
Oh, okay.
joe rogan
I'm down to 10 a year.
Yeah.
Maybe even less because of the pandemic.
So this, see that's it.
So I'm cooking, that's a regular steak.
And so see how it works there?
There's a wheel and you crank the wheel to go up and down.
But that smoke is like going into the flavor of the, you know, it's filling the meat with flavor.
It has a very distinct flavor when you cook over smoke like that, over fire, hardwood fires.
beeple
Sure, sure.
joe rogan
It's incredible.
I fucking love it.
It's my absolute favorite way to cook.
The easiest way to cook and the most convenient and probably the best is like a Traeger grill to have like a pellet grill because you can control the temperature much better.
This is like if you're a dork and you want to spend a ton of time.
What is that, Jamie?
jamie vernon
Their Instagram page has some sweet...
joe rogan
Oh yeah, their photography is incredible.
beeple
What kind of like pellet things do you usually use for it?
joe rogan
Oh, different hardwood pellets like Apple.
This company Grillworks, that's like the Rolls Royce of these kind of grills.
They're as good as they get.
Like look at that rig.
That's pretty sweet.
That's a complicated one that someone's got installed in their backyard.
beeple
I'm going to be honest, I know nothing about grilling.
It's super interesting.
I never cook.
joe rogan
At all?
beeple
Honestly, my wife grills more than I do.
Like, she literally will like...
joe rogan
Does your wife peg you at all?
beeple
You know, I knew that was going to be the absolute next question.
As soon as I said my wife grills, I'm like, okay, next question.
joe rogan
Does your fucking wife...
beeple
That's fair.
It's fair.
I open myself up to that, to be full honest.
joe rogan
You left it open, fella.
beeple
That was definitely the next question.
There it is.
There it is.
That's a no.
That's a no.
joe rogan
I don't expect you to answer, honestly.
beeple
That's where I say I'm not, like, well-rounded.
Like, I just, like, I don't.
joe rogan
You don't have to be.
beeple
I'm like a baby besides anything other than this fucking weirdo shit.
joe rogan
Yeah, but you do that so well, and you do it every day.
Look, the world needs all kinds of people.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
And the thing is, like, when I talk about different things, I don't think that anybody should do what other people are doing.
I think you should do what you want to do.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
But just do something.
unidentified
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
The real problem in life is people that don't do anything.
beeple
Yeah, 100%.
joe rogan
You don't want to just be a consumer.
You want to be a participant.
And so many people, they allow themselves to be relegated to the role of a consumer.
To only be a consumer.
beeple
Well, I think these things, that's where the algorithms fucking feed you and they fucking keep you just kind of like...
joe rogan
Yeah, but you don't have to do that.
beeple
No, you don't, but it sucks people in, and that's where I think it makes it easier to not do anything.
joe rogan
It certainly does.
beeple
I think it distracts you from actually fucking doing something, because you get that tiny little dopamine hit that just keeps scrolling, keeps doing nothing, keeps looking at this, keeps consuming.
joe rogan
It's setting us up for the Matrix, right?
And this is what Zuckerberg's trying to do with meta.
He's trying to jump ahead of it.
He's trying to get in on it before anybody else gets in on it.
You can be an avatar and you can have fun and I will put a device attached to your penis and it will give you pleasure.
That's what's going to happen.
beeple
I do not remember him saying you put a device attached to my penis.
joe rogan
Do you hate me and do you wish I sucked your dick?
Well, I will in the meta.
And then it's like Mark Zuckerberg's animated head blowing you and you have this device on you.
beeple
Is this in my meta or your meta?
Anybody's meta.
joe rogan
You can choose to.
You can choose, shut up, Mark, and suck my dick.
Gladly.
And he just gets on his knees.
He takes a small sip of water like this, like he did when he testified in front of Congress.
And he gets on his knees and he doesn't care.
It's not really him.
He's got a giant head and a small, gelatinous body with mushy limbs.
And he just expands when you jizz and do them.
beeple
I'm going to make a picture of that.
I will make a picture of that.
joe rogan
We need a video.
beeple
A video?
Okay.
I will try and make a video of that.
joe rogan
Him moving in with his little tiny lips, moving in towards your cock.
beeple
People can do this.
I don't need to do it.
Somebody can do this better than me.
Don't be copping out.
joe rogan
Don't be copping out.
beeple
No, I'll do it.
I will do it.
It's your destiny.
I will do it.
It is definitely...
Okay, so he's on the ground.
Somebody's in a chair?
Like, what kind of chair?
Like, a medical chair?
Like, a dentist chair?
Like, what are we talking about?
joe rogan
Like, a gynecologist sort of set up.
Like, your legs are strapped into some sort of a harness, and you have a cock ring on, and he comes in.
beeple
Okay, you're getting pegged, yes or no?
joe rogan
No!
beeple
He comes in to blow you.
Okay, he comes in to blow you.
And he's like a tiny, he's got a big head, but his body is sort of gooey.
joe rogan
Like an alien.
beeple
And it fills up like a balloon.
joe rogan
Like this.
beeple
Okay, that fills up with the jizz.
joe rogan
Which is what I think we're going to look like.
I think this is our future.
And I think that's what's going to happen in the meta.
It's going to slowly bring us to that reality.
Whereas time goes on and we evolve.
beeple
How many years still were that?
joe rogan
That's a good question.
It depends on how much CRISPR gets involved.
When you talk about genetic engineering, how much that gets involved.
Because if what's going on in there supplants the need for this body, the physical monkey body that we all have, Then I think we'll get on board sooner than later.
beeple
I still think it's a ways out.
I still think until we're like super jacked with sort of like biological technology like that, I still think it's at least 50 years.
Yeah, until you're just like, fuck it, I want to look like that.
jamie vernon
What is this?
joe rogan
Wow, look at that.
Yeah, that looks like aliens.
Rock out at VR concerts.
Feel alive.
What is that quote?
Feel alive in an audio-visual joyride in the comfort of your home.
Feel alive.
jamie vernon
So what I'm showing you is HTC Vive's VR headset that doesn't have controllers and it's wireless.
beeple
Oh, it's just your hands?
jamie vernon
It's only tethered to a phone.
unidentified
What do you think about VR? Do you like VR? I'm fascinated by it.
joe rogan
But what about your hands?
beeple
It just tracks them, I'm assuming.
jamie vernon
I don't think it even does that.
That's why you have to have the phone attached to it.
beeple
Oh, I see.
joe rogan
Right.
But, I mean, what if you're going to do one of the boxing games?
jamie vernon
This is not for that.
So this is why I was...
joe rogan
Oh.
jamie vernon
This is for a different experience on VR that's not gaming.
beeple
Oh, just kind of like watching stuff.
joe rogan
Oh, well, that's cool.
jamie vernon
It's close to sunglasses, too, where they're almost see-through.
joe rogan
That's pretty dumb.
It looks so light.
jamie vernon
But you were holding up the alien head, and I was like, that looks like the alien's eyes.
joe rogan
It really does.
Well, that's probably what the eyeballs are, those things.
beeple
It's getting better.
joe rogan
Yeah, that's what it is.
It's VR goggles.
Easy phone pairing.
Look at that girl.
She's all Sat Nam.
She's all Namaste.
jamie vernon
This seems like that's something you wouldn't want to do.
They're like, do yoga with those on.
Like, why would you want to have that on while you're doing it?
joe rogan
Because she's a freak.
Look at this.
Serenity happens when our senses are free to explore.
See, feel, and play to your heart's delight.
Or, just actually do that, you fuck.
Serenity does not happen when you're connected to the Matrix.
Jesus Christ, did we not learn from Keanu Reeves?
beeple
Now, are you excited for that new one?
joe rogan
Yeah, I'm excited.
beeple
Are you?
Yeah, yeah, of course.
Definitely.
joe rogan
Those other ones were crazy.
beeple
So good.
joe rogan
I'm all in.
beeple
No, those were crazy.
I remember seeing that first one.
I was a freshman in college, and it was just like, what the fuck?
joe rogan
Honestly, that was the only one that was good.
beeple
The first one?
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
I liked the second one, too.
joe rogan
It was okay.
beeple
It was crazy graphics, too.
That scene where he's spinning and there's a billion guys jumping on him.
That was crazy shit nobody had done.
joe rogan
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Visually.
But don't you think there was a bit of a drop-off in the way you felt about the completeness of the narrative and the film and the whole thing?
beeple
It wasn't as like...
I mean, the first one, like, if it was just that one, like, it ended in a way where it was just like, fucking boom, like, mic drop, fucking insane.
joe rogan
Yeah, it was insane.
It was really good.
It was also a unique concept in that we kind of thought it was coming.
Like, if you think about the future...
If you think about human beings and our relationship to technology, and when you go back to that film, what was The Matrix?
beeple
I think it was 1999. 1999?
Yeah, no, I was a freshman.
I remember walking outside after watching that, and it was like, oh my god, is fucking reality real?
I was fucked up.
It was like, what the fuck?
joe rogan
It's kind of crazy if you think about 1999, too.
Technology was in its infancy.
beeple
Oh yeah, this was like, I got into college, and it was like, oh, I've got broadband internet.
What the fuck?
unidentified
I can download any MP3. You know what they should do?
joe rogan
What they should do instead of all this Matrix 4 shit?
They should redo the Matrix with new technology.
Like they redo Spider-Man.
beeple
They just did a thing I saw with Unreal Engine.
unidentified
Oh.
beeple
Oh my god, it is fucking crazy as shit, dude.
There's an Unreal with, oh my god, it is insane.
jamie vernon
With the Matrix?
beeple
Yeah, with the Matrix.
Oh, you gotta pull that up.
jamie vernon
It's called The Matrix Awakens.
It's technically a tech demo.
beeple
It's not quite a game show.
It's running on PS5 and Xbox One.
It is insane.
It is fucking insane.
It looks so good.
joe rogan
You've drank that whole scotch now.
You're a little lit.
beeple
You feeling it?
joe rogan
Look at this.
Hi, I'm Thomas Anderson.
Instead of Y... This is actually like the whole thing.
Oh, it's Keanu?
jamie vernon
That's him.
beeple
See, that's, I think, him.
If you scroll forward a bit, yeah, then it like...
jamie vernon
To, like, not him.
joe rogan
Oh, so that's digital?
That's a digital version.
Whoa!
The uncanny valley has been crossed.
beeple
No, no, it's insane, like, the video that they have, like, it's like, okay, video games are about to get, like, yeah, that's fucking video game.
joe rogan
Wow, it's so close now.
My god, it's so close.
It's getting better and better all the time.
Ooh, 67 Camaro, nice.
Maybe 68. This is amazing.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
It's so good.
beeple
Yeah, like, look at that.
That's, like, real time.
That's a video game now.
Like, what the fuck?
joe rogan
That's amazing.
The representations of the humans, they're so good now.
beeple
Yeah, and all of the, like, lightings, the shot.
I mean, it's just, like, they're able to, like, just do anything.
joe rogan
Well, this is where the future is.
The future is in the expansion of this.
beeple
There's what it looks like at night.
joe rogan
Wow.
That's gorgeous.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
The expansion of the capabilities of these engines.
And we've highlighted the Unreal Engine, the newest Unreal Engine.
There's a scene where, I don't know if you've seen the scene, where they're outside in the canyons.
beeple
Yeah, yeah.
The girl climbing up the lake mountain in the canyon.
It's insane.
It's insane.
Yeah, look at this shit.
It's so crazy.
joe rogan
Well, this is near and dear to your heart, right?
Because this is the kind of stuff that you work with.
beeple
Yeah, 100%.
And that's where I kind of came up, seeing video games getting better and better.
Even as a little kid, it's like, oh, Mario 2 looks better than Mario 1, and the next one looks better, and then Mario 3D, and then Quake and Wolfenstein, and holy shit, this is getting crazier and crazier and crazier.
And then to be able to make those things now is just insane, seeing where it came from.
joe rogan
When they're younger, in particular, I used to love taking them to animated movies.
And it's like, many of those movies are very fun, even for adults, like The Incredibles and stuff like that.
But what's really incredible, and what's really enjoyable to me, was just seeing how far the technology had gone.
And so, let me think of films like Despicable Me.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Despicable Me is a great example.
It's fun.
It's a kid's movie.
But when you're watching it, you're looking at this and you're going, Jesus, this technology is incredible.
The animation is so expressive and the shadowing and with the light source, the way they're reacting to a single light source.
beeple
Emotion, yeah.
joe rogan
When you see these scenes out in the streets, you're seeing the shadows that are representative of the sun in the particular place that it is in the sky.
beeple
Yep.
joe rogan
I'm taking all this in while I'm watching that.
My kids are just enjoying the movie, I'm assuming.
They're little kids.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
But I'm just blown away by the technology itself.
beeple
It's crazy because it's really limited by your imagination.
You can literally just do anything you can think of at this point.
And it's sort of like...
It's crazy to see...
Like, where that's going to go.
Like, it's very hard to sort of, like, picture looking back 20 years from now and us looking at the stuff like we look at 20 years ago, how it looks so primitive and so, like, simple.
Like, it's hard to imagine how it could even sort of, like, get better from here because it's already so sophisticated.
joe rogan
I guess it's got to get better, right?
beeple
Of course it will definitely get better, but it's, like...
joe rogan
How much better can it get?
And what is going to happen, do you think?
Do you think it's going to be immersive, like AI-type situation?
beeple
I mean, how far out are you thinking?
I think the next big thing is going to be AR. That it's sort of in the next maybe 10 years, people are going to have AR glasses, and you're going to see all kinds of crazy shit.
And it'll be just like the phone where it's super addictive.
Everybody has it.
They don't fucking leave the house without their AR glasses.
And it's really super easy where you can look up and see the weather and all this shit overlaid.
joe rogan
Maybe that's going to happen before genetic engineering.
beeple
Yeah, 100%.
That'll be like 10 years from now.
joe rogan
So every man will look gorgeous.
Every man will look like Chris Hemsworth.
And every woman will look perfect because you have the AR on.
beeple
Filter.
joe rogan
You know how women wear makeup to look better?
beeple
Yep.
joe rogan
We're just going to wear AR so everyone will look better.
beeple
Well, that's the thing.
I could choose how you look.
joe rogan
Yes.
beeple
You could choose how your partner looks.
It's sort of like, I haven't seen their actual face in 20 years because I have an AR filter on that I've been using for the last 20 years.
joe rogan
Right.
beeple
Or you change it or whatever.
joe rogan
Just staple it right to your fucking eyebrows.
beeple
There's going to be a lot of fucking weird shit like that because everybody will be able to be in their own reality.
You like dogs.
It'll be like, oh, I want dogs everywhere I go.
And so, like, you see dogs.
joe rogan
Right, right.
beeple
Like, that's what makes me happy.
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
And so it's like, dogs follow me around.
And it's sort of like, or zombies.
Dude, it's going to be, like, crazy.
Like, everybody's going to be in their own fucking reality with this shit.
joe rogan
Undoubtedly.
Undoubtedly, it's going to get more and more immersive.
What's going on, Jay?
jamie vernon
Do you think people are going to have a new level of distracted driving?
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
Nah, by this time, they'll have the, like, sorted.
Yeah, they'll have that, like, sorted, I think.
joe rogan
Autonomous cars are coming.
I mean, I have a Tesla, the new one, the S, the Plaid.
The fucking driving thing is incredible.
It's even better than the older ones.
beeple
It's complicated.
joe rogan
It's hard to get to, though.
It's like what he did was put everything on a yoke.
So with the plaid, the steering wheel is this yoke, and the horn is not the center.
Like some guy cut right in front of me.
I was like, Jesus, I tried to hit my horn.
beeple
Wait, this is the S? Yeah.
Okay.
joe rogan
The S plaid, the new one.
It's a button, and you got to go like this to get to the horn.
Don't like it.
Don't like where the button is.
Love the car.
The car's a genius piece of tech.
But the horn sucks.
It sucks where it is.
It's not in the center.
It should be in the center.
All horns should be right there.
That's where the horn is.
beeple
But that's not where...
How do you get to the self-driving thing?
Isn't it through the menus or some shit?
joe rogan
Yeah, it's on there.
You can double-press this thing when you get to this thing and see it scroll.
unidentified
It's just weird.
joe rogan
Much more complicated than the old way.
The old way, you double-pumped this stem.
beeple
Have you ever had any weird, like, do anything weird, or is it always just...
joe rogan
I always have my hands on it.
I don't trust that bitch.
I always have my hands on that, but I'll hold it for someone and watch.
Like, look, look what I can do.
I don't have to drive.
beeple
Does it totally make turns?
Will it make a full turn or is it more lean?
joe rogan
It stops at red lights.
It does everything.
beeple
Totally driving.
unidentified
It's wild.
joe rogan
Yeah.
It does wild stuff now.
But I don't trust it.
I just want to hold on.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
Well, you're supposed to hold on.
Definitely.
I don't think they're definitely recommending you to not.
Some people go to sleep.
I've seen some of that stuff where people do crazy shit.
joe rogan
Sleeping on the highway.
beeple
I could not imagine that.
I can't fucking...
joe rogan
Have you ever driven a Tesla?
beeple
I don't think I've actually driven a Tressa.
I've driven in them, but I don't think I would.
There's no fucking way I could sleep, though.
What are you talking about?
My car has some level of self-driving something.
joe rogan
What do you have?
beeple
It's just a total piece of shit, like Camry or something.
joe rogan
Why do you have a Camry?
You have $100 million you made this year.
Get a real car.
beeple
I bought a Camry since I made all that money.
joe rogan
What is wrong with you?
beeple
I don't give any shit about cars.
Yeah, but those are not safe.
No, they're not safe.
I should get a better car that's safer.
unidentified
No, wait.
joe rogan
I shouldn't say that.
They're probably safer than old cars, which is what I like.
beeple
But they're not safer than new, good cars.
unidentified
Here's the thing.
joe rogan
It's not slick.
It's not fun.
unidentified
No, it's garbage.
joe rogan
If you want to get a Toyota, get a Lexus.
Lexuses are amazing.
They make an amazing car.
beeple
No, I need to get a better car that's kind of safer.
Lexus?
joe rogan
Tell them Lexus sedans.
Oh, my God.
They're so smooth.
beeple
Pretty nice.
joe rogan
Oh, yeah.
I've had three Lexus trucks over the course of the years.
They're the greatest cars I've ever owned.
Toyotas never break.
They're so good.
They're so good at their longevity.
beeple
Wait, Lexus is Toyota?
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
Oh, I didn't know that.
joe rogan
Lexus is the luxury branch of Toyota.
beeple
Okay, I'm getting a Lexus.
joe rogan
They're the best.
They don't break.
They don't fuck up, man.
beeple
Yeah, that's why we got the Camry.
I've had cars for 300,000 miles, multiple cars.
joe rogan
The Toyota, you definitely can.
I have a 95 Toyota Land Cruiser that I had rebuilt that I love.
I love it.
I love Toyotas.
I just think that they're so well made.
They concentrate so much, particularly the Land Cruiser line, they concentrate so much on reliability, dependability, and durability.
beeple
Wait, what's a Land Cruiser?
joe rogan
Like an SUV? Yeah, it's an SUV. And the 95, which is what I have, is the 80 series, which is a legendary SUV because it...
They use them a lot overseas.
They use them in Africa.
They use them in Australia quite a bit.
beeple
In the military or just in businesses?
joe rogan
Yeah, in the military, but also people that are in the backcountry all the time rely on these.
beeple
Those are like an iconic sort of model.
joe rogan
Super, super reliable.
beeple
I see.
joe rogan
They have live axles, like solid axles in front and rear, so they're really great at traversing difficult terrain.
beeple
To have a bunch of land?
Where do you use this?
joe rogan
Yeah, I do, but I just love it because I bought a car that I specifically had made for an apocalypse vehicle.
beeple
Okay, as you do.
joe rogan
It's got a large gas tank and floodlights.
beeple
What are you most worried about how this apocalypse is going to happen?
joe rogan
What I'm most worried about already happened.
The people panicking and freaking out and buying guns.
beeple
But that's not the apocalypse.
joe rogan
It's the beginning of what could happen if we have a deterioration of society, especially if we have a lack of services.
Like if the power goes out, if the grocery stores go empty.
beeple
If the power went out, shit would get real, real fast.
joe rogan
Real fast.
beeple
Real fast.
Apex going away real fast.
Shit don't get real.
joe rogan
I used it out here, my Land Cruiser, when we almost lost the power grid in Texas last year.
beeple
Oh, with the ice?
joe rogan
Yeah, because they're not prepared for winter.
Because it doesn't get like Montana winter in Texas.
So when it did, they didn't know what the fuck to do.
And they came within four minutes of losing the grid.
beeple
Oh, really?
What do you mean losing it?
joe rogan
The power grid literally shutting down because it was overrun.
And then they figured it out and made the proper adjustments.
Not good.
But my point was, when you get on the highway that time, none of the plows had worked.
So there's no plows out here, because they don't anticipate any snow.
beeple
Yeah, that's how Charleston is.
They didn't plow for days, and it was like, we're just waiting until it melts.
joe rogan
But with my Land Cruiser, I was loving it.
I was just gliding around town, like, wee!
I had so much fun.
It was so easy because, first of all, I grew up in Boston, so I'm used to being around snow.
And I used to deliver newspapers for a living, so I drove in snow.
beeple
Sure, sure, sure.
joe rogan
For years, I drove in snow.
beeple
Yeah, I'm from Wisconsin.
I grew up in snow, definitely.
joe rogan
And with this Land Cruiser, my goodness, it was like a dog that's let off the leash.
Yay!
unidentified
I get to run!
beeple
Nothing's even open, though.
Oh, everything was open.
Oh, was it?
joe rogan
Yeah, a lot of things were open.
All the grocery stores were open, hardware stores, you know, stuff to get things.
beeple
It's crazy how much that fucked things up, though, that we're, like, still feeling the effects of that, like, a year from now, like, supply chains and shit, just, like.
joe rogan
Well, that was minor.
The real supply chain issue is what's going on in China and overseas and dealing with the shipping crisis, which is like a trucking shortage.
There's quite a few issues.
There's quite a few issues that are compounded by inept leadership and the fact that we rely on other countries for trade.
We are so dependent on other countries for our medicine.
There's a massive shortage of semiconductor chips right now, so it's very difficult for people to get cars.
Speaking of which, the new Land Cruiser that Toyota makes and the new Lexus.
Lexus, they take the Land Cruiser 300 and they make a luxury version of that.
They had to shut down production because there's no semiconductor chips.
beeple
Yeah, it's crazy how one tiny little piece of the car can completely derail the whole fucking thing.
It's sort of like we've got everything ready to go.
This tiny little fucking thing.
We don't have that.
Well, it's crazy.
joe rogan
Well, what's crazy is we don't make any of that stuff.
That's what's crazy.
beeple
That's pretty fucked up.
I think a lot of that's coming back, because I think this was a big wake-up call with COVID, that we don't make that shit, and we need that shit.
It's not like it's like, who cares?
It's like, no, we need that shit, like...
joe rogan
Yeah, but it's more complicated than that.
The problem is we've gone so far away from the American supply chain that in order for us to make all of our parts here and cars here, think about phones.
Phones are a great example that we bring up all the time, and I know Elon has talked about making a phone.
And if he makes a phone, I will 100% switch over to his phone.
He's going to call it the Pi phone, apparently.
beeple
Pi phone?
joe rogan
Yeah, I'm all in.
I want an American-made phone.
I think they can do it.
Samsung is actually making chips here in America.
They're actually opening up a plant here in Texas to make chips in Austin.
And every phone that you get now is essentially made by people that live horrible lives.
beeple
100% of these dorms, they're making insanely small amounts of money.
joe rogan
They're living in They have nets around the building to keep people from jumping off the roof because so many people are committing suicide.
beeple
It's fucked up.
joe rogan
It's not good.
beeple
That is fucked up.
joe rogan
And that's most of...
And that's not even...
The really dark stuff is the minerals.
The way they get the minerals out of the ground.
beeple
Oh, like rare earth minerals and shit?
joe rogan
Some of them are literally made child slave labor.
Is digging these minerals out of the ground.
Jesus.
Vice, back in the day when Vice was actually Vice, did a piece on, I believe it's called Coltran?
Coltan?
Coltan.
I think it's called Coltan.
beeple
That's a mineral.
joe rogan
It's a mineral that's, a lot of it is sourced in Africa, and a lot of it is pulled from the ground by child slave labor with sticks.
Jesus Christ.
Using sticks to get these minerals, digging them out of the ground.
beeple
Like way in a mine or whatever.
joe rogan
Chipping away at this.
Imagine, go to the height of technology, which is, in terms of application and use by the average person, is a cell phone.
beeple
Sure.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
This is the fucking absolute, 100%.
joe rogan
The height of the application of technology in your everyday life.
beeple
Human technology and human progress.
joe rogan
Now take what's necessary from that and take it all the way to the beginning and you find a child slave.
Look at this.
Jesus Christ.
They're literally using sticks or shovels and digging this stuff out.
beeple
That is fucked up, dude.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Is this Vice?
No.
No, what is this?
jamie vernon
It's a different article about it.
joe rogan
Different.
So is it Coltan?
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
Coltan, yeah.
Children like Solange are the first to pay the price of Coltan trade.
Many start working as young as seven years old.
So this is where they get this stuff.
And this stuff is what you would call a conflict mineral.
And this mineral is an important factor in the production of cell phones.
Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo mine for coltan and face abuse to supply smartphone industry.
beeple
Jesus Christ.
That's fucking crazy, dude.
Like, when you think of it exactly how you said it, in the scope of, like, this being the most technologically advanced thing, and these kids are, like, in the fucking mud, scraping it out.
joe rogan
You see it right there.
beeple
And it's necessary.
joe rogan
It's necessary, and this is what's wrong.
beeple
That's so fucked up.
joe rogan
This is what's wrong with our life in general.
It's almost like a testament to the deterioration of our appreciation of where everything comes from and our ethics and our values.
Is that you follow the supply, you follow the chain of where the stuff that's in your phone comes from.
At the very start, it's actually coming from slave labor.
beeple
That is fucked up.
joe rogan
Yeah, and we're all participating in it.
beeple
100%, and that's the thing.
And the phones are priced the way that they are because of that.
joe rogan
No, no, no, no.
They need that stuff.
beeple
The problem is that stuff- Yeah, no, I know they need that, but it's sort of like, even once they get that, then it goes to China, and those people are not that much bad.
They're not as bad, but it's not great either.
unidentified
No.
joe rogan
But the thing is, there's still immense profit, immense profit by these companies.
Apple's one of the most wealthy companies on the planet Earth.
beeple
100%.
joe rogan
And you gotta wonder, if you did all that in America, how much less money would you make?
You'd probably make less, but wouldn't you feel better?
Wouldn't we all feel better about a phone that was made by someone who had a great job with benefits, and they had X amount of days off per year, and they had great work conditions, they were taken care of.
You knew that they were looking forward to going to work, they were treated well, there's no nets around the building.
beeple
They could also do that in China too, like they don't have to pay people.
joe rogan
We can't fix China.
But what we can do is try to influence companies to make something in America.
And I think that if Elon started making his Pi phone in America and it was a very high quality phone, the only problem is so many people are married to the Apple operating system.
beeple
Yeah, that's tough to kind of like.
They're pretty entrenched.
joe rogan
But imagine saying, fuck those slaves, I need my iPhoto.
beeple
It's definitely, no, I think people, they don't, they gloss over it.
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
And they convince, and I think everybody convinces themselves, myself included, that it's sort of like, okay, when it's like, no, it's pretty fucked up in a way.
joe rogan
It's pretty fucked up.
beeple
It's pretty fucked up.
Like, if you're being honest.
joe rogan
Well, honestly, you and I might know about this, but very few people that are using phones really do.
beeple
That's true.
Yeah.
I'm very acutely aware of it.
I did a short film where I kind of like sort of outlay a bunch of like income inequality things that are just like, like especially looking at the third world, it's like just the average person in America, a normal salary compared to these people in the third world is like fucking rich as shit.
joe rogan
Well, if you make $34,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of the world.
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
And that's like the top 1% of the world.
joe rogan
And that's considered poor in America.
beeple
Yeah.
Getting a sense of the full scope of the world and how much money people have, it's super fucked up.
I honestly don't think most people in America realize that.
joe rogan
Well, the price has to scale with quality of life, right?
But the quality of life, because, you know, some places it's cheaper, cost of living is cheaper, so it's not really apples to oranges.
But when you look at the quality of life in a lot of these places, it's fucking terrible.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Well, yeah, sort of, like, literally, like, I mean, thinking just about water alone, like, it's something that is just, like, One of the companies we donate to is Fight for the Forgotten, and Fight for the Forgotten, they build wells for the pygmies in the Congo.
beeple
Oh, really?
joe rogan
Yeah, my buddy Justin Wren, he's gone over there multiple times, and he founded this company, and they just provide clean drinking water, and just due to that, they've built from this program that we've done, the donations that we've done, and when we were working with the Cash App, they've I mean, they've built many, many, many wells over there and supplied a ton of people with clean drinking water.
beeple
It's something that, honestly, to me, is unimaginable.
Growing up in the United States, not having water.
It's so literally free and ubiquitous.
That being something that you need to be concerned about for anything is so unimaginable.
joe rogan
When he went over there, he was seeing all these children with distended bellies.
beeple
Have you been over there?
I've never seen crazy stuff like that.
joe rogan
When he went over there, he saw all these children with distended bellies, and he was like, what is going on?
And they're all parasites.
The amount of children that have parasites is off the charts.
It's...
beeple
Yeah, that's, like, so crazy.
Like, I don't know.
I feel like that would, like, super fuck me up.
Like, just even, like, seeing that.
joe rogan
It fucked him up, and then he got malaria three times.
beeple
But I think that's good, though.
Like, I think, like, I don't know.
joe rogan
Malaria's good?
beeple
No, no.
Just sort of, like, seeing it and kind of, like, you know, sort of having that firsthand experience.
Obviously it caused him to sort of, like, you know, do this sort of, like, charity.
joe rogan
Yeah, it became the real focus of his life to try to help these people.
It's the reality of the world that we live in and that's the strangest the strangest connection to me is what we just said that the pinnacle of technology is Directly connected to slave labor that if you follow it down You get people who are the poorest people on earth working in the worst conditions imaginable Digging holes in the ground with sticks to pull these fucking minerals out Even if it was in the United States, would we still be able to do that?
beeple
I don't know.
I'm more saying my understanding is these rare earth metals are only in certain parts of the world.
I got the impression that not that many are in the United States.
joe rogan
That's a very good question.
beeple
That's why we need to...
Cambodia or wherever, you know what I mean?
joe rogan
No, that's a good question, but you could ethically source it in those places.
beeple
Sure, yeah.
joe rogan
What you could do is you could develop some sort of a place in those places where you pay people correctly.
beeple
Sure.
Yeah, and put in safety stuff.
joe rogan
Put in schools and take care of them.
The dark stuff is that they treat people differently in these other countries in terms of how much they pay them and how many hours they have to work because they can.
They don't have laws there that are like the laws that we have here in America.
That's why unions exist.
Unions exist as much as people love to complain about unions.
Unions exist because people in power will abuse people that aren't in power.
When you're running a gigantic company and you can make X amount more by making people work X amount more and making them get paid X amount less, people just do it.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
They do it.
If they can, they will.
What are you going to do?
You're going to go somewhere else?
Fuck off.
Take it or leave it.
And that take it or leave it shit is why unions got developed in the first place.
Then if you don't have that, worst case scenario is what we're seeing.
These people are digging holes in the ground to pull out the minerals.
beeple
Well, if there's no laws and there's nothing stopping them, then they're just going to do it.
joe rogan
You've got to wonder if that's the only way to do it.
You've also got to wonder how much of that stuff is recyclable, right?
Because we cycle through new cell phones.
beeple
From the cell phones?
I think a lot of it is recyclable.
joe rogan
Oh, I'd like to know.
Because there's so many cell phones that if you think about how many cell phones get thrown away and how many cell phones get replaced every year, most people get a new phone, whatever, we say every two years or so?
beeple
Something like that.
I think it's slowing down, though.
joe rogan
It should.
I have an iPhone 11, and I use it all the time.
It's like a secondary phone that I have.
And it's not much different than my 13. No, no.
Pretty much the fucking same thing.
beeple
It's definitely getting more sort of incremental, the sort of changes moving forward.
joe rogan
Yeah, if they could get a large supply of those rare earth minerals.
But then the other thing is, do those minerals get exhausted by the use in the cell phone?
Are they recyclable?
beeple
I think some...
I think most...
My understanding...
I could be just completely talking to my ass.
I think most are recyclable, but of very small amount are not recyclable.
joe rogan
Well, that's...
It's just such a weird aspect of the most advanced part of our life and our society.
beeple
It is weird that it comes down to these, like, literal, like, fucking crystals.
Like, fucking that it's like, we need these magic crystals to fucking, like, beam shit from outer space.
Like, if you step back and think about it...
It's absolutely fucking insane.
joe rogan
Do you remember Star Trek?
beeple
These things.
I never watched Star Trek that much.
I was more into Star Wars.
joe rogan
Well, that's what they needed in Star Trek.
They needed crystals.
beeple
Some crystals for their spaceship or some shit?
joe rogan
What did they use in Star Trek?
Remember they always needed some fucking crystals to run the Enterprise?
There was a thing they would have to get crystals.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
There was a thing you would have to get crystals from some...
jamie vernon
Dilithium?
joe rogan
Is that what it was?
jamie vernon
It's an invented material which serves as a controlling agent.
beeple
In which Star Trek are we talking?
joe rogan
What did you say?
jamie vernon
Yeah, it's an antimatter, matter reactor.
joe rogan
Like fuel.
Dilithium crystals?
jamie vernon
Oh, that's what I didn't put up there.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Yeah, dilithium is an invented material which serves the controlling agent in the matter-antimatter reactors.
The original series, dilithium crystals, were rare and could not be replicated, making the search for them a recurring plot element.
Yeah, makes sense.
That's probably how it's going to go down.
Isn't that wild that even back in the Star Trek days, which I believe started in like...
beeple
60s?
joe rogan
60s, 70s or something like that?
That even back then they recognized that there was a need for crystals and minerals.
beeple
It is pretty fucked up.
joe rogan
Yeah.
Dilithium crystals.
beeple
It'll be interesting if those become very, very, like we run out and like in the future that it's like, oh shit, those become insanely, insanely like expensive or something.
They'll figure out other ways around it, I think.
joe rogan
We would hope, but that they'll figure out shit.
That's not the case with the supply chain issues.
We realize like, okay, they're not figuring it out.
We have a real issue.
beeple
That's true.
That's true.
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
I mean, it's definitely, yeah, it's not a given that people will figure it out.
These problems are very complex and they're sort of like, there's no guarantee they'll just get solved as we've seen over the last year and a half.
joe rogan
Yeah, and I wonder what else could be done in terms of how to make electronics.
Is the path that they're on now, using these coltan crystals and coltan minerals and using all these different things that we have with semiconductor chips, is that the only way to do this?
Or is this the way we've gone down this very particular path and we're so far down this path that we don't want to start from scratch again and take it from step one?
beeple
Nah, I think they'll do other things.
I think they'll in the future have more like bioengineering things where they'll figure out how to hack a blood cell or something and that will be the fucking microchip or some shit.
joe rogan
I smell an animation cooker.
beeple
I think there will be other things.
Again, a lot of people are very incentivized if these metals become a problem to figure out something else because you fucking figure that thing out.
There's a bazillion, trillion dollars.
So I think it's one of these things where there's got to be other ways around this stuff.
joe rogan
The problem is that that might be the way around it, that it becomes integrated with your body.
So that might be the thing that leads us to become fucking cyborgs.
You know, that's the motivation.
beeple
Yeah, I mean, I think that's still a ways off.
I think we'll just sort of subtly...
How long?
Okay, when you say cyborgs, what do you mean, though?
Because that's actually kind of like...
What's your definition of a cyborg?
joe rogan
Well, Elon thinks that they're going to be able to do Neuralink and help people with nerve issues.
Like, people have had, like, spinal cord injuries.
They're going to be able to start doing that within the next year or so.
beeple
But that's not a cyborg.
joe rogan
Of course it is.
beeple
You would consider those people cyborgs now?
joe rogan
Of course it is.
Of course it is.
It's the beginning of a cyborg.
You're taking a very advanced computer system and you're integrating it with the human body.
Not only that, you're integrating it with one of the most important and complex parts of the human body, the neural interface.
The interface between the brain and the nerves and the way the body moves.
It's one of the most complex, and not only that, the way the body thinks.
You're going to be able to change the way a human being has access to information and broaden the bandwidth that a person has.
You're going to be able to be connected through Wi-Fi or whatever future technology, 5G, 6G, whatever the fuck it is.
You're going to be able to be connected to the internet in your fucking head.
And it's going to be everywhere.
beeple
But when do you think, so like, I mean, not to downplay these things, obviously it's crazy as shit, but I guess I was thinking of Cyborg more in like a sci-fi sense, like when you are like, when do you think you'll be able to sort of like get a piece of information from the internet into your brain just by sort of like thinking of it?
joe rogan
Not that long.
beeple
You think that'll be in the next five years, ten years?
joe rogan
In our lifetime, for sure.
In our lifetime.
I mean if it's 10 years or 20 years, I think once it happens, the 10 years after that are gonna happen so fast.
beeple
Oh yeah, it's gonna get real fucking, it's gonna get real fast real quick.
joe rogan
Well think how weird it's gotten in the 20 plus years the internet's been around.
So the internet has been around essentially, let's call it 30. Let's call it 30 years.
91?
Call it 30 years.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
So in the 30 years the internet's been around, the world has become unrecognizable.
It's a completely different world.
Not just unrecognizable in terms of your ability to access information, but also unrecognizable in the ability that governments have to control people with social credit score systems that they're implementing in places like China and places that are controlled by military dictatorships, but also unrecognizable in the way we interface with life.
We're inseparable from our phones.
Everybody carries a phone everywhere you go.
unidentified
100%.
beeple
And it matters.
It can change people's lives, what they do on the internet.
I mean, I'm definitely sort of like a big example of this podcast.
Like, obviously, you decided to start a podcast.
Yeah.
Over the internet became this like massive thing and I think it's crazy to think like that we're only 30 years into this and the first 10 years, I mean the 90s, that was sort of like, you know, that was kind of a wash.
Things really started to like gain steam in the last 20 years.
Really even in the last 10 years started to really like...
It's changing pretty quick here and like things are moving and it's really starting to see huge effects like in politics and things like that that are really sort of like materially changing the world.
joe rogan
So what if what we're saying in terms of children in the Congo pulling coltan out of the ground becomes abhorrent?
Become something that people are just, we will not tolerate.
Completely intolerable.
And we need solutions.
And the solution comes about that the way to do it is biologics.
And the way to do it is the integration into the human mind with some sort of neural link type interface.
That would lead us to The Matrix.
It would lead us to some...
I mean, that seems to be where it's headed.
And it's one of the reasons why those movies are so compelling.
It's almost like we see the future laid out before us if we don't have some sort of a radical change in what we accept, what we tolerate, and what we universally adopt.
Because we've universally adopted cell phones.
They're unavoidable at this point.
If you don't have a cell phone, you're so far removed from the cultural conversation that it's way more rare, which is pretty crazy, that in just a short period of time, a device has been so popular that it's way more rare to not have it than it is to have it.
beeple
Way more rare.
Way more rare.
Almost nobody.
You know almost nobody.
Even people where it's like, you don't really need one.
Very, very old or this or that.
Or very, very young, too.
Very few, yeah.
It's on both sides.
And it's sort of like, yeah, that whole adoption happened in, what, 10 years?
joe rogan
It was pretty quick.
beeple
It went from zero to every single person has this device.
And the device is gaining capabilities very, very quickly.
unidentified
Yeah.
joe rogan
Do you think the way you're creating art would one day change to the point where you would create some sort of an art that people interface with in a much more realistic sense, like a virtual reality sense?
Like if they come up with something that takes what you normally would see on a computer, now you get it on the phone, and then you're going to get it in your brain.
So you would create maybe small experiences.
beeple
Sure.
Yeah, 100%.
I think that's sort of like if that technology – because at the end of the day, I look at art as just a way to sort of like – sort of get ideas across and give people some sort of like emotional experience.
You experience some emotion when you, you know, see the underwear and this or that.
It's funny or this or that.
I think, you know, as new tools progress, I'll use those tools.
Like, whatever is sort of, like, available to me, that's what I'll, like, use.
And I'm always excited about the most advanced technologies out there that are sort of, you know, bleeding edge type things that can give you a more just visceral experience with art.
joe rogan
Have you seen Ready Player One?
beeple
Yeah, 100%.
joe rogan
That, and Jamie just read the sequel to it.
Apparently this is an awesome sequel.
But Ready Player One, to me, represents the pitfalls and the inevitable.
Both together.
That people are not going to care about the external, physical world because you're going to be interested in the internal digital world.
beeple
Yeah, and I think that's where it's sort of, I think it, especially if the problems in the physical world become very annoying and very sort of like, it becomes a not fun place and you can like, you know, immediately sort of like be in a very different space that makes you feel better and makes you feel like you're in like a cool place instead of a shitty dumpy place.
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
Then yeah, I could very much see that.
joe rogan
Yeah, we'll be incentivized.
And I think that that could be what's happening when you look at all the negativity that's on Twitter.
I would venture to say that at least 40% of what's written on Twitter is negative.
beeple
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely...
joe rogan
I just threw that number out.
I just made it up.
It's probably accurate, though.
What do you think, Jamie?
What percentage of Twitter do you think is negative?
30%?
jamie vernon
Yeah, but I can't not know that half of it is created by bots and just shitposting.
joe rogan
Yeah, right.
But my point is, the experience of people who take it in.
It doesn't matter if it's a bot or if it's shitposters or if it's trolls.
What you're taking in is negative.
It's negativity.
That could motivate people to go into some sort of meta type environment that would be much more positive based, much more positivity based.
beeple
I think the metaverse will just be a extension of Twitter.
joe rogan
Yeah, but it's not Twitter.
It's Facebook.
Well, whatever.
beeple
It's the same.
It's people congregating in a space, but it will just be a version of...
Facebook is just a version of Twitter.
They're the same sort of...
There's a bunch of...
They're just organized differently.
All that negativity, you just see it in little groups of people congregating.
joe rogan
You know they're planning with Meta, right?
beeple
Yeah, I mean, I think that was mostly just marketing BS, to be quite honest.
Like, I don't think anything changed that much right now.
I think they're planning to do these things, but I think they're still, like, a ways off in terms of them sort of building this, like, metaverse.
I think the term metaverse is thrown around a lot, and there's no sort of, like, clear definition of it.
joe rogan
Right, but they're defining what they're going to do in the future when the technology becomes more viable.
Essentially, they set the foundation.
They're laying the foundation and they're going to run the electrical and the gas and the water pipes.
But this is the future.
beeple
Yeah, but I mean, are you going to be super excited to get into that future with Facebook?
joe rogan
It doesn't matter.
I wouldn't have been super excited to get into Twitter if you told me in 2007 what it would become in 2021. Sure, that's true.
beeple
It's definitely...
I mean, I think they will certainly try to do something, but I think people are going to be a bit resistant to that, just because they sort of...
I don't know.
You don't think so?
joe rogan
No chance.
They're diving right in.
beeple
That's the thing.
People will dive right in if it's compelling.
If they create something where it's a compelling experience, then people will sign up.
If they don't, then people won't.
joe rogan
Have you seen the meta commercial where the kids are at a museum?
beeple
A Facebook commercial?
joe rogan
For meta?
It's a meta commercial.
unidentified
I've not seen that.
joe rogan
You need to see it.
beeple
Is it like creepy as shit?
joe rogan
No, no, no.
It's actually cool.
The thing about the commercial is you go, oh, I want to do that.
beeple
Oh, okay.
And that's the thing.
If they make something that's a cool experience, people will do it.
joe rogan
Let me show you.
You'll be able to appreciate this because it's interactive.
So here's the experience.
So you've got these kids.
beeple
Oh, I have seen this.
I have seen it.
I've never actually looked at it that closely, though, to be quite honest.
joe rogan
I love the commercial.
So they're watching this picture, and they're leaning close, and the tiger looks at them.
And so look, when you get into it.
unidentified
This is the dimension of imagination.
joe rogan
This commercial to me is really well done.
Because these kids are looking at it.
At first they're a little skeptical, and then they start bobbing their heads to the music.
Yeah.
Okay.
Look at that fucking owl.
That's cool.
Look at these monkeys dancing.
The snake is cool.
Look at this.
Look at them.
See, look, now they're all in.
beeple
Now they're all in.
joe rogan
Bobbing heads.
beeple
They've got the youths.
They've got the youth demo locked down.
joe rogan
This is going to be fun.
Facebook converts, turns into meta.
Meta.
And they use a version of the Infinity logo, which is kind of creepy.
beeple
That is interesting.
joe rogan
That is where your soul...
beeple
I mean, that's the thing.
Again, if they make something that's freaking good, that's the reason.
Why are you still on Twitter?
joe rogan
I'm not.
beeple
So what do you mean you're not on Twitter?
You're not on it at all?
unidentified
I don't post.
joe rogan
I occasionally dip my toe into read things.
beeple
Well, let's say Facebook.
You still post things on Facebook.
joe rogan
No, it goes straight through my Instagram and posts on Facebook.
beeple
Or on Instagram.
I mean Instagram.
joe rogan
Yeah.
beeple
So it's like, why do you post on Instagram still?
joe rogan
Well, it helps promote shows.
There's some things I find that are interesting that I think people would benefit from knowing about.
Sometimes it's cool stuff that I find out.
Last night I got obsessed with flowers that look exactly like birds.
Have you ever paid attention to that?
beeple
Flowers that look exactly like birds?
joe rogan
Yeah.
Pull up my last post.
Yeah, I got obsessed last night.
I went down a rabbit hole with flowers that look like birds.
beeple
To spread their pollen?
joe rogan
No.
beeple
Why do they look like birds?
joe rogan
To avoid predation.
beeple
Oh, that's interesting.
joe rogan
To keep bugs away.
Look at that.
beeple
Oh, that's crazy.
joe rogan
Crazy.
And that's just one.
unidentified
What the fuck?
joe rogan
Look at that one.
beeple
That's a flower?
joe rogan
That's a flower.
beeple
What the fuck?
joe rogan
So it avoids predation.
What the fuck?
Yeah.
That is crazy.
And hummingbirds eat bugs.
beeple
Oh my god.
joe rogan
Isn't that wild?
beeple
That is super fucked up.
joe rogan
And what is the definition of that?
What is the explanation for that?
There is not one.
I've looked into it.
They don't exactly know.
beeple
It's got to be some evolutionary type.
joe rogan
There you see Forrest Galante says some of it is coincidence.
He's a biologist.
Some of it is biomimicry.
Interestingly, some of it means to signal to other species to visit the flower to help pollinate.
Botany is one of the fields where we think we know everything and we have barely scratched the surface.
Yeah.
The idea that there's biomimicry would somehow or another suggest that these things can see.
That's what's crazy.
beeple
I don't understand.
Like, yeah, 100%.
Like, what does that even fucking mean?
Go back to those first images.
Like, biomimicry.
Like, it's a fucking plant.
joe rogan
Go back to that one.
That is so clearly a bird.
beeple
I know.
That doesn't even make sense.
Biomimicry.
How does a plant be like, you know what?
I'm going to change how I look over time to look like a bird.
It's so bizarre.
joe rogan
It's so bizarre.
And the fact that it's common...
I mean, there's multiple species.
beeple
Well, yeah, there's a bunch of different kinds that super clearly look like birds.
joe rogan
Does this one go to the other one, the first image?
This is another one.
Look at that.
beeple
That looks exactly like...
joe rogan
It has eyeballs, man.
I mean, it has a beak that's yellow.
It has the face that's white.
It has eyeballs that are black.
It's wild.
It looks so much like a bird.
It's very, very interesting.
beeple
Honestly, I think it's for the pollination because then the bird touches it and then it spreads it.
joe rogan
Well, birds don't really pollinate.
Generally, insects.
I don't think birds pollinate, do they?
I think it's mostly bees.
beeple
Maybe not.
joe rogan
But the point is that somehow or another, this plant figured out a way to pretend that it's a bird.
beeple
Yeah, that's super messed up.
joe rogan
For whatever the reason is.
So, that's what I use Instagram for.
beeple
That makes sense.
Full circle.
But I think it's something where you can kind of share that.
joe rogan
Look at that one, man.
beeple
That is crazy.
jamie vernon
Bird-shaped magnolia.
beeple
Wild.
joe rogan
It looks so much like birds.
So beautiful.
That one's a little abstract.
jamie vernon
I was just thinking, it's not the angle, because some of these obviously definitely look like birds.
beeple
No, there's like a bunch, though.
That's like, yeah.
joe rogan
The one that I showed, the top right one, upper right hand corner.
beeple
That is crazy.
joe rogan
That one is the most crazy.
Because the face is like the beak and the eyeballs.
It's so like a bird.
I mean, even the way they're perched on the branches.
beeple
Oh, 100%.
joe rogan
Where a bird would be sitting.
Biomimicry is so bizarre.
Well, it's bizarre when you see octopi doing it in the bottom of the sea, but it makes sense.
beeple
Wait, what do they do?
joe rogan
They mimic the walls of the coral completely.
Cuttlefish do it, too.
And they mimic it in order to hide from predators and to hide from their prey.
So they can just sit there and chill, and then when something swims by, they can reach out and grab it.
beeple
That's crazy.
And they, like, change color or, like, change...
joe rogan
Change everything.
Change texture.
You ever seen?
beeple
I'm not sure I've seen that.
joe rogan
Oh, pull up images of oct...
I did not know about this until my friend Remy, my friend Remy Warren, used to have this television show...
What was it called?
The Predator...
Apex Predator, I think it was called.
And what it was about, the show was basically about watching how predators pursue their prey and all the different tactics and skills that they use.
And he would try to either mimic them or try to figure out what are the limitations of a human when they try to do what a wolf does when it chases down a pack of elk.
One of the things that he did was try to figure out what an octopus does to hunt.
And he came on the show and was talking to me about it.
He goes, dude, they're fucking aliens.
He goes, they're so different than everything else.
First of all, they're really intelligent to the point where they can solve puzzles.
They can open up jars.
Like if you put food inside of a jar.
beeple
They can squish really ridiculously weird.
joe rogan
Yeah, really tiny.
So watch this.
I mean, these things can totally pretend to be their environment.
So they assume the texture.
beeple
Wow.
joe rogan
Yeah, they can not just assume...
beeple
It's exactly the same as the things surrounding it.
joe rogan
So it's not just assuming the coral reef's colors.
It's assuming the texture of the coral reef, which is so bizarre.
So they can change the surface of their skin both in color and in texture and depth.
It's wild.
There's a bunch of them, though.
There's one of them where you see cuttlefish are maybe even perhaps more impressive.
Pull up a cuttlefish...
beeple
What are cuttlefish?
joe rogan
It's a type of cephalopod.
It's real similar to an octopus or a squid.
Yeah, amazing cuttlefish, life on the reef.
beeple
Have you ever gone scuba diving with this stuff?
Do you do that kind of stuff?
joe rogan
No, I've never done scuba diving.
I've done snorkeling before.
But these things, watch how it does this.
So they're swimming along, and then look, it just changes colors.
beeple
What the fuck?
joe rogan
Yeah, dude.
I mean, it's alien.
beeple
That is insane.
joe rogan
And watch when it comes to another place, it'll find another place where it seems like it can kind of blend in and hide, and then it'll adapt its colors to that place.
So, not only can it see what's below it, but it can mimic it.
beeple
That is insane.
joe rogan
Watch how it does it, though, when it gets near this coral.
It's crazy.
And it does it no matter what it crosses over.
They did one.
Google cuttlefish over chessboard.
They did one where they tried to put one over a checkered chessboard.
beeple
To see it change.
joe rogan
And it panicked.
It's like, what is this?
And you see it try to imitate the squares and it's kind of freaked out trying to figure out what the squares are and how to imitate.
Because you're imitating something that doesn't exist in the ocean, which is right angles.
Right angles and very peculiar patterns.
beeple
Yeah, black, solid black, white.
joe rogan
Solid symmetry, too.
So watch this.
So here's the cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish is trying to figure out what is going on here.
It tries to...
beeple
Oh, that's interesting.
joe rogan
Isn't that crazy how it uses its skin?
See, it's trying to figure out how to be that black and white.
unidentified
What the fuck?
joe rogan
Yeah, it doesn't exactly know what to do.
beeple
That is crazy.
joe rogan
But look how it developed.
Go back a little bit.
Look at what it's doing right there.
It's making it like a zebra.
So it knows there's black and white, but it doesn't have the ability to develop those right angles in its repertoire.
beeple
Wow, that is nuts.
joe rogan
Isn't it crazy how it became a part of that couch?
Yeah.
beeple
It's just so bizarre.
It's so bizarre to me that there's, like, my understanding, maybe you know better than me, like, thousands or tens of thousands of species that we just don't even, like, know about.
Like, in the ocean, that it's just sort of like...
joe rogan
Yeah, oh, the ocean's a treasure trove of that.
beeple
Like, they find something, and then it's just like, oh, here's a thing we've never known about.
Like, that, it just feels to me like that shouldn't be the case, like, that we've found everything.
Yeah.
joe rogan
Well, we definitely haven't even explored 90-something percent.
I think we've explored 10% of the ocean.
See if that's correct.
If I had to guess, I think that's what the most recent estimate is that we've explored somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% of the ocean.
beeple
That's bizarre to me.
joe rogan
It's so big.
It's three-quarters of the Earth.
beeple
But it's still like...
joe rogan
It's three-quarters of the earth and we can't breathe in it.
It kind of makes sense.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
It's amazing we've explored 10%.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
I mean, what the fuck are we?
We have submarines and we go to, you know?
beeple
It's just, yeah.
I mean, but there's a bunch of stuff that they still find also in sort of like African places like that too, don't they?
Like kind of tree frogs and things and stuff like that and in the rainforest and like crazy shit like that.
Yeah.
I don't know.
It's just mind-boggling.
jamie vernon
We're up to maybe 20% because it says more than 80% of the ocean is unmapped, so reverse math says...
joe rogan
Yeah, that's mapped and explored.
There's a difference between our understanding of what's the surface and the depth and how to map it out versus knowing all the biology that's under the surface of the water.
beeple
Do you fish or not really?
joe rogan
Yeah, yeah, fish.
I love fishing, yeah.
beeple
What kind of fishing?
Is there anything in particular that you like?
Like fishing for or just...
joe rogan
I like all kinds of...
I like freshwater, saltwater.
I like all kinds of fishing.
beeple
And is it like sort of normal or like crazy marlin?
joe rogan
No, I like things I eat, you know?
If I catch something I want to eat, eat something.
beeple
More like chill, like sort of just kind of going out in a boat and fishing or whatever.
joe rogan
Yeah, it's fun.
It's a thing I do with my kids too.
My kids enjoy fishing.
Whenever we go on a vacation, we try to get some fishing in.
beeple
I don't...
See, that's another thing where it's like I don't know how to do all the, like, hooks and stuff.
joe rogan
It's not hard.
beeple
And so it's like my kid, like, had a fishing pole and it just got all tangled up real fast.
joe rogan
Well, you learn.
It's not complicated.
Morons know how to do it.
beeple
That's true.
joe rogan
What you know with all these 3D programs, you know?
beeple
But when things get tangled up, too, I get really frustrated and it's just like, okay, goddammit.
joe rogan
The key to that stuff is to not ever let it get to the point of being tangled, so you have to think about it.
it it's called the bird's nest when it gets all tangled up in the real yeah but it's way worse with a casting reel see with most most people have what's called a spinning reel or a spin casting reel you press a button and yeah just let go of it or you pull the thing back that you pull the That's what this was, but it was like a $10 one, so it was just probably like a total piece of shit.
You just need to get someone to show you how to do it.
And then, you know, with bait casting, you have to actually feather it with your thumb.
So what you do is you hold your thumb down on the reel, and then you cast.
It's more accurate, though.
And then you can kind of control how far it goes with the pressure you put On the line.
beeple
Oh, that's on the line.
That's what's keeping it from going.
I see.
That's interesting.
joe rogan
But when you let it go, just let it go, let it go, it spins out.
It'll just go.
It spins out of control and then it gets fucked.
unidentified
I see.
joe rogan
Then it becomes what's called a bird's nest where it's all just like chaos.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Yeah.
But that's my favorite way to fish with bait casting reels because it's so accurate.
So if you're fishing for bass and you're near, say, a shore and you're casting into where these lily pads are, a good angler who's really good with a bait casting reel can kind of place Super accurately.
Pretty close.
Yeah, we were real good.
And it depends upon the weight of the lure and the pound test of the line that has a factor.
And it's one of those things you develop a feel for.
Like if you had a bag of rocks and they were all the same weight and you just...
Threw a rock and you're like, all right, throw it this hard, it goes that far.
If I throw it this hard, and after a while, you would get a sense, okay, now I know how far that rock's going to go.
beeple
Sure.
joe rogan
Like a baseball is a perfect example.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Right?
A baseball is a uniform size, a uniform weight, and you know that if you throw it at a certain way, it's going to go a certain distance.
And people get super accurate with it, right?
Pitchers are fucking super accurate with baseballs.
Sure.
But it's a developed thing.
It's like you've developed this ability to do digital art.
Some people have developed this ability to do fishing.
beeple
Sure.
Yeah, no.
Do you fish like around here?
Is there like a lot of places?
joe rogan
Yeah, there's plenty.
Yeah, Texas is a great place for bass fishing.
Yeah.
beeple
Yeah, we've got like a little pond behind our house.
Like, I don't know if it's like a retention pond or something.
And sometimes we'll go out there with like an apple.
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
And try and fish in there.
With an apple?
Yeah, just like, I don't know.
joe rogan
Why are you using an apple?
beeple
Just because, again, dude, I don't know anything about this shit.
It's like a $10 fucking thing that it's just like...
But then you know the worms, you gotta put it on the thing.
I don't really want to put the thing through the worm.
I feel bad.
joe rogan
You feel bad?
They don't even notice it.
beeple
I know, but it's just kind of nasty to me, too, if I'm being honest.
joe rogan
That's why you get fish, though.
We cast.
We catch the fish.
It's exciting.
beeple
So we've thrown the apple chunks into the thing.
The fish will bite them a little bit, but there's no chance in how we're ever going to catch a fish.
No?
joe rogan
Just wasting time?
beeple
I don't.
Do you think we're going to catch a fish with these apple chunks?
joe rogan
Not with that attitude.
beeple
How long do you usually go fishing before you catch something?
joe rogan
It depends on where you go.
Some places it just takes a few minutes.
beeple
Oh, really?
joe rogan
I could do that.
beeple
I could do that.
joe rogan
Well, also, if you're using bait, right?
If you're in a pond and you're using bait, not that hard, man.
You get a piece of worm, you put it on a hook, you have a bobber, you cast out.
Your kids will love it.
And the bobber's fun, too, because you see the bobber moving.
beeple
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
joe rogan
I did it.
beeple
My dad took me as, like, a kid.
It's just sort of like I'm...
I don't know.
I just don't know that stuff.
And we'll go out with my dad sometimes.
joe rogan
Using apples for bait.
Apples work great.
Oh.
beeple
Yeah, that's the thing.
I don't think they're put on the, like, hook right.
joe rogan
I don't know.
Apples work great for bait?
jamie vernon
There's multiple sites saying it.
unidentified
Really?
jamie vernon
Yeah.
joe rogan
Interesting.
I wonder what you catch.
What kind of fish you catch with apples?
jamie vernon
This one says catfish.
joe rogan
Oh, that makes sense.
jamie vernon
Carp will eat it.
joe rogan
Carp makes sense.
They eat vegetables.
Or they eat plant.
beeple
I don't know what type of fish these are.
These are probably, like, nasty, like, fucking, like.
joe rogan
Maybe they're not.
Maybe you're judgmental.
beeple
They're small though.
joe rogan
Sunfish.
They're probably sunfish.
beeple
Yeah.
I think if you saw this body of water, you would probably think they were nasty fish.
joe rogan
There's a crazy video on Tim Kennedy's Instagram of this guy going fishing.
Let me see if I can find it.
I'll send it to you, Jamie.
Maybe you can find it.
The guy's fishing and as he's fishing a fucking...
And it's not a big place.
A fucking enormous catfish comes up and grabs the lure.
I mean, it looks like the catfish is seven feet long and like 250-300 pounds.
It's so big.
beeple
Those catfish are crazy and the people who like grab them or whatever.
I've seen some of those videos on like TikTok.
joe rogan
It's called noodling.
beeple
Oh my god, that is just insane.
They're just going into the mud and just picking up the fucking fish.
joe rogan
Well, it's more wild than that because they let their hands in there and they're basically finding these holes where the catfish are burrowed into and they're feeling around.
And sometimes they get their hand in there and a snapping turtle's in there and they lose fingers.
beeple
Oh, Jesus Christ.
I didn't know that was a fucking risk of this shit.
joe rogan
Hold, please.
We'll show you some of that.
So, first thing I want you to do is pull up that fishing video.
Did you got it?
beeple
I've not found it.
joe rogan
You've not found it?
I'll find it real quick.
beeple
Would you ever do something like that?
joe rogan
Oh, no.
I'm not interested in that.
I'm not interested in losing fingers.
beeple
That definitely...
unidentified
I mean, maybe I had some Kevlar gloves.
joe rogan
Maybe I have some Kevlar gloves.
beeple
They've got to have gloves or some special thing they can wear or something to protect their hands, I'm assuming.
joe rogan
I would hope.
beeple
Where are they doing this?
joe rogan
No, they don't do that.
They just get their fucking hand in there.
beeple
Okay, well, that's...
joe rogan
They just do it.
I don't think this...
beeple
Where are they doing this?
In Missouri or Louisiana or some shit?
unidentified
All over the place.
joe rogan
All over the place.
The South, for sure.
Did he remove it from his Instagram?
unidentified
No.
joe rogan
Let's see how long it goes.
What's today's date?
Yeah, I got back pretty far.
jamie vernon
I didn't see anything.
joe rogan
I don't think it's that far.
Today is December 7th?
jamie vernon
13th.
joe rogan
13th?
13th.
7th.
unidentified
You were quite off.
joe rogan
I can't think and think and talk at the same time.
Let me find this fucking...
beeple
It's a video of what now?
joe rogan
It's a video of a catfish.
beeple
Oh, that he, like, grabbed?
joe rogan
Yeah.
I know I sent it to someone, but I can't remember who.
Oh, I know I sent it to my friend Cam.
Hold on.
Hope, please.
beeple
Yeah, we used to go, like, as a kid, my dad would take us very occasionally, and my grandpa would, like, take us.
And I think we were catching, like, perch or something like that in Michigan and, like, Wisconsin, but it's definitely been a while.
joe rogan
Well, it's one of those things.
I mean, if you want to do it, it's fun.
Here, I found it.
I'll send it to you, Jimmy.
Why didn't it do that?
Hold on.
Oh!
It's been removed.
That's why.
beeple
Thanks, Obama.
jamie vernon
Catfish Steals.
joe rogan
No, look, you can see it in the window, but you can't click on it.
For whatever reason, you can still see it in my phone in the window.
It's not helping everybody else.
beeple
Oh my god!
joe rogan
Yeah, exactly.
unidentified
What the fuck?
joe rogan
What the fuck?
It's so big.
Yeah.
beeple
That's like a fucking, like, Jesus Christ.
That is massive.
That's like a fucking...
I wonder why the video is removed.
Horror film shit.
Oh my god, that's a big catfish.
joe rogan
It's crazy huge.
beeple
Wow.
joe rogan
Isn't it weird, Jamie, that you can still see it on my phone in the window?
beeple
But then when you click on it, it looks like the link is dead.
joe rogan
No, it says it's been removed.
beeple
Maybe it was removed and that's just a cached version of it.
joe rogan
It must be.
beeple
That's crazy.
That is no fucking joke.
joe rogan
But it's annoying.
Because when I click on it, I get this.
Nothing.
beeple
Yeah, that is...
joe rogan
Fucking technology.
Somebody probably owns it.
Like an NFT. That could be.
beeple
That could be.
joe rogan
Oh, here it is.
beeple
Oh, here it is.
joe rogan
This is it.
So watch this.
Karna Fishing Family.
beeple
Watch this.
Boom!
joe rogan
Look at the size of that fucking thing.
Loch Ness Monster Catfish.
Oh, so you know what it is?
They probably want everybody going to their Instagram page or their YouTube page.
So the YouTube page is Karna Fishing Family.
And so they're catching, what does it say they're catching?
Just catfish?
jamie vernon
Yeah, it says Loch Ness Monster Catfish.
joe rogan
Yeah, that's the name of the video.
But they're catching a bunch of catfish.
That's a smaller catfish.
So they're catching some pretty good sized ones.
Which is interesting because catfish, generally speaking, usually hunt with bait or you usually fish with bait.
That's a pretty big one right there.
Back up so you can see.
Yeah.
But what they're doing is using lures.
So these catfish must be active predators.
Pretty cool.
But then in the end, you see this fucking bonkers one.
Not that one.
Jesus Christ.
That one's pretty big.
jamie vernon
I'm not seeing it.
joe rogan
It's not in there?
jamie vernon
Unless they like baited it with that very first one to get everybody to watch their long video, maybe.
joe rogan
Go all the way to the back.
To the end, right there.
What's that right there?
Click there.
That's not it?
No.
jamie vernon
Definitely not.
joe rogan
Huh.
Oh, these fucks.
So it's not even in there.
unidentified
It's somewhere, but it's definitely at the beginning.
joe rogan
No.
beeple
Oh, there it is.
joe rogan
There it is.
It's at the very beginning.
beeple
Oh, my God.
joe rogan
So it's only at the very beginning.
So it's almost like it's not really there.
beeple
That is definitely crazy, though.
joe rogan
Whatever.
It's large fish at the end.
But do you have a desire to learn these things?
unidentified
Not really.
beeple
Or do you just give a fuck?
No.
joe rogan
Then why half-ass it?
beeple
Yeah, it's one of these things where it's...
Well, I feel bad because it's like my kid likes it occasionally.
joe rogan
Well, you can hire somebody, like a fishing guide, and then they do all the work.
beeple
Yeah, I would like to do that.
Kind of like go and do deep-sea fishing or something like that.
We'll do something like that.
joe rogan
They have people that do that in freshwater fishing, too.
beeple
Yeah, that'd be cool.
Like, I would like to, like, do those things, because I find them, like, interesting to sort of, like, learn about these things that I know nothing about, but it's sort of, it's not something I am gonna go do myself.
joe rogan
Exactly.
beeple
But, like, going on, even, like, a hunting thing like that, like, I would never really go hunting myself.
But honestly, I wouldn't mind going on a hunting trip with somebody just to sort of learn about it because it's just something I know nothing about.
So it's very interesting to me to learn this sort of subculture and rituals and techniques behind it.
joe rogan
This is a barracuda that my kid caught.
beeple
Jesus Christ.
joe rogan
Yeah, isn't that awesome?
You can't eat those, though.
beeple
No joke.
That's as big as her.
joe rogan
That's huge.
Yeah, she was pretty pumped.
But they take those.
Oh, wait a minute.
That is not a bear.
Is that a wahoo?
Yeah, that's Oahu.
beeple
Where was that?
joe rogan
That's Oahu, sorry.
My other kid caught a barracuda.
That was in Hawaii.
The thing about the barracuda is you can't eat it.
So they would use it for bait to catch other fish.
Because barracuda, apparently, they eat so many fish that they're toxic.
beeple
Oh, really?
Oh, the mercury or whatever is so high.
joe rogan
I don't know if it's mercury.
I don't know what it is.
But there's something about...
There's a possibility that's fairly high that you can get...
beeple
Mercury poisoning.
joe rogan
They're actually toxic.
unidentified
Okay.
joe rogan
I don't know why.
Because most fish eat fish.
So it's weird that that one would be...
beeple
Yeah, I know.
I don't know that much about it.
I don't honestly eat fish that much, but I know some have some mercury or some shit where if you eat too much...
joe rogan
That does happen with people that eat too much sushi.
If you get crazy and eat sushi all day every day, you can get sick.
beeple
Yeah, yeah.
And I don't know that much about it.
But yeah, I'd like to do stuff like that because it's definitely...
It's just a cool experience and it's sort of like...
I don't know.
joe rogan
Are you overwhelmed time-wise with this day-to-day commitment of producing art?
Because you produce one piece every day.
And do you do everything solo?
This is a question that Jamie actually had.
Do you have people that work for you that help you create these things?
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
Yeah, now we do.
I definitely, because I've been starting to build like physical things like this.
So my brother works with me now.
He was like an engineer at Boeing and he quit his job when this shit started blowing up like a year ago.
And so he's been like working with me and sort of like making like, I don't know, did you see that human one thing that I did?
It's like a big sort of like box that's like rotating with like a bunch of like screens on it.
joe rogan
Yes, I did see that.
Pull that up, Jamie.
beeple
That is like a big like sort of like...
You know, seven foot tall sort of, like, structure that, you know, he engineered.
And we've got, like, a...
joe rogan
There it is.
Pretty dope.
beeple
Like, 50,000 square foot space in Charleston where we're building out, like, a gallery and building out all kinds of, like, crazy shit.
Like, fucking crazy robot shit.
That's dope.
Yeah, there's gonna be some fucking weird shit, dude.
We've got some, like...
joe rogan
Oh, that's cool.
beeple
Fucking crazy shit planned that's sort of, like...
Again, moving into the, like, sort of, like, physical realm to make, like...
Using technology to make art that I don't think anybody else is gonna make unless I do it.
Nobody else is like, I need to make this fucking weirdo pervert shit.
So I feel like I'm the only one doing it.
joe rogan
It is weirdo pervert shit.
Do people just psychologically try to examine you?
Like, what is wrong with you?
beeple
That's a funny thing that, like, people, they bring so much, and I'm sure it's no different with comedy, that people bring so much of their own experience to this thing that they think they know what it means, and it's sort of like, honestly, a lot of the times, I don't even fucking know what it means.
Oh, make something, and it's like...
That's pretty fucked up.
And even I'm kind of like, I don't even know why the fuck I made it fully.
And for other people then to come in and be like, this is exactly what it means.
It's like, I don't even know what the fuck it means.
What the fuck are you talking about?
That's what happened in your life and you're interpreting it and just assuming a bunch of shit.
And a lot of the pieces are very sort of ambiguous and they don't have a clear sort of...
Think this, don't think that sort of message.
They're just more supposed to be like, just okay.
joe rogan
Hillary Clinton inside Donald Trump's body.
beeple
What does that mean?
I don't fucking know what that means.
That doesn't have an inherent sort of like, oh, that means this.
If it is, I don't know what that is.
And so, it is funny to see people like...
This is exactly what he means by this and I'm pissed off.
joe rogan
But you can't pay attention to that.
But that's the thing about putting out art is it's going to be open to interpretation.
There's nothing you can do about that.
beeple
Yeah, and to me it's sort of like it is what it is and it doesn't really bother me.
I recognize that I'm not trying to offend people.
I'm not trying to hurt people.
joe rogan
You're creating art.
beeple
I'm just trying to say what I want to say, and I very, very sincerely hope it brightens people's days.
Why would I want to piss people off?
joe rogan
Do people say things that make you think that it pisses people off?
beeple
That pisses a lot of people off.
joe rogan
What does piss people off?
beeple
Well, when I make fun of Trump, that pisses a shitload of people off.
And when I make fun of, like, the other side, too, it pisses people off.
Or when I post some sexual thing, people think they know what it means, and it pisses them off, and they think they're interpreting all this shit, and it's like, guys, it's just a bunch of dicks.
I don't know what he even means.
What are you talking about?
It's just hard.
It's just a bunch of fucking dicks.
I just made some dicks.
We don't need to...
There's no way you could know what that means.
I don't even fucking know what it means.
Just a bunch of techno dicks.
joe rogan
But isn't it funny, though, that people want to look into it and decide who you are and what you mean and have all these value judgments?
100%.
beeple
And it's sort of like, it's very bizarre because it's like they'll say things about me and it's like, I'm sure you experience the same thing.
It feels like out of body where it's like, that's not me.
Who the fuck are you even talking about?
joe rogan
If I can help you with that, you can't worry about what other people think about you.
You can kind of take it in a little bit and try to think maybe...
beeple
There's the venom.
The venom.
joe rogan
Yeah, maybe I'm also putting something out there in a way that people are getting a negative impression of me or the wrong impression of me.
But a lot of those people are just choosing to do that.
There's some people that choose the least charitable interpretation of everything you do, no matter what.
beeple
Yes, 100%.
joe rogan
You have to realize that most of what that is is people judging you at scale.
Right?
beeple
What do you mean?
joe rogan
At scale, there's so many people.
beeple
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Just because there's so many people, a certain percentage of them will always not like you.
joe rogan
Right.
beeple
Yeah, 100%.
I've kind of accepted that, that it's sort of like, okay, if you have a million people love you, there's going to be 10,000 people that fucking hate you, period.
joe rogan
Well, especially now when they know that you're ridiculously wealthy from this stuff and that all these crazy things you've generated are now very popular and then they can hate you because they knew you when you were nothing or when you were unknown.
People love tearing down someone who they used to love too.
That's a weird thing.
They love...
You're going to get artists, for sure, that now look at you and your success and they're angry at your success.
And so then they'll say that you're contributing to the patriarchy or contributing to the fucking...
Disgusting upper class that's ruling the earth and you're mocking things with humor that really should be...
You should be an activist and you shouldn't be doing what you're doing.
But this is just what comes with volume.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
You have millions and millions of people paying attention to your stuff now.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
And it's something that I've had to deal with with the show.
It's something that I've had to deal with with...
Just life in general.
There's just a certain amount of people.
The thing is, do the reasonable people who are intelligent and kind and have a charitable sense of the world, do they have a problem with what you're doing?
Most of them don't.
Most of the people who, like myself, look at your stuff and go, this is crazy.
What the fuck is he doing?
And they think it's cool.
And I look at your stuff and I think this guy's really interesting and creative.
And I was looking forward to meeting you.
I was like, this guy's got to be a wacko.
And you are.
Look at you.
Look at you!
In the best sense.
beeple
I appreciate that.
joe rogan
I appreciate that.
People are looking to get upset too much, and to those people I say, go outside and exercise.
Please.
Please, just do something that blows off that steam.
There's more productive ways of using your time than to get really angry at someone who makes art.
beeple
100%.
And that's the thing that it's sort of like, when I see people getting, you know, sort of attacking artists or attacking comedians or this or that, it's sort of like, there's so much worse shit going on in the world, like that it's sort of like, I don't know, like, especially when a lot of times these people are trying to...
sort of like, they have very good intentions and sort of like, my intentions are very good with this.
I'm really trying to like brighten people's day and sort of like, you know, sort of brighten the world and sort of push things forward and, you know, kind of make it a better place and sort of, I don't know.
joe rogan
It's like we were saying earlier about stand-up.
It's that the exchange is really beautiful.
Like, they come out to see you, you do all the work necessary to put on a show, and they have a good time, and it's a great exchange.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
And the same thing with podcasts.
It's a great exchange.
You do your best, and then they enjoy it, and it becomes a part of their commute or their workout.
unidentified
Sure.
joe rogan
They're listening to you, and it's entertaining.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
That's a great exchange.
And that's how a lot of people are going to see it.
But there's always going to be people that are upset that you don't share their ideology, or there's always going to be people upset because they take the least charitable position or the least charitable interpretation of your position.
beeple
Yeah.
joe rogan
Just life, baby.
You've got to just accept the fact, now that you're big time, you're going to have a lot of haters.
beeple
It's definitely, and it's honestly something that doesn't bother me, because I know my intentions with this artwork, and I know my intention is not to hurt people with it.
It's not to offend people.
It's always to brighten people's days.
joe rogan
The people that are getting offended are the idiots.
They're just idiots.
If they're getting offended at your stuff, they either enjoy it or they don't.
That's it.
If you're getting offended and upset by it, go look in a fucking mirror.
beeple
What's wrong with you?
That's the thing.
I can see how people could get offended by it, because some of it could be offensive.
The dicks.
The dicks, whatever.
Yeah, it's dicks, but sometimes people are offended by swearing.
joe rogan
Why would they be offended by dicks?
Does that really bother you?
beeple
No, it doesn't bother me.
joe rogan
They're very jizzy dicks.
beeple
They are jizzy dicks.
They are jizzy.
This guy knows what I'm talking about.
joe rogan
I don't think I've ever heard that expression before.
I think I've made that expression up for the first time.
beeple
They're pretty jizzy dicks.
They are pretty jizzy dicks.
joe rogan
Have you ever heard the expression jizzy dicks?
beeple
You know, I haven't, but it is accurate.
I will say it's accurate.
There it is.
Hello.
Hello.
Like, I can see how you could be offended by this.
unidentified
I can't.
beeple
And it's sort of like, I get that.
joe rogan
That's my hope and dream.
beeple
But it's one of these things where I didn't do this to offend.
This was sort of like imagining if Donald Trump in the future- Gave birth to Hillary.
No, he was forced, like a machine that was forced to keep giving birth to babies.
joe rogan
But the baby's Hillary.
beeple
But the baby is Hillary, and the baby kept coming out all fucked up.
And so he's continuing to have to, like, give birth to these, like, fucked up, like, deformed babies.
joe rogan
Is it because he only thinks about Hillary?
Hillary's on his brain constantly?
beeple
It's more just, like, humans have, like, we've got a super fucked up political sort of, like, system where it's sort of, like, that it's, like, kind of, like, all...
joe rogan
I like that other one with the cheeseburger in the middle of his brain.
He slices his brain open, there's a cheeseburger in there.
beeple
So this is kind of like assuming we've got these like machines in the future that are like out in the middle of the field that are sort of like processing food and like feeding it to pigs and it kind of like slowly closes on this like, you put in like a cheeseburger and it slowly comes out as food for like pigs over like the course of like a long period of time.
So it's definitely...
joe rogan
What a strange...
beeple
There's quite a bit of fucked up shit.
And I can see how you could be, like, offended by that.
joe rogan
Trump versus Biden in a boxing match.
beeple
So this was, like, right after the first...
Debate?
Debate, yeah.
joe rogan
Oh my God, look how obese you made Trump and sexless.
That's what I love.
Naked and genderless.
beeple
Well, and that's the thing, too.
Like, a lot of times I will sort of, like, if you look at the one next to it where it's got, like, this Kim Jong-un sort of, like, thing.
joe rogan
These are my favorite.
Like, what the fuck is that?
beeple
But that's the thing.
And sort of, like, trying to play with, like, gender in, like, this weird way that even I don't understand because that is such a, like, prevalent theme in society right now.
Gender is something that we spend a lot of time talking about.
And so with pictures like that, it's part of it, but it's part of it in a way that honestly, even I don't even understand what it means.
It's just sort of like – Right.
Like here's a like mixing and matching a bunch of sort of like genders and sort of like, how does this make you feel?
I don't know.
Like, how does it make me feel?
I don't know.
joe rogan
You know, that's what Douglas Murray, who's a British intellectual, very fascinating guy.
He said on my podcast, it's really interesting point.
He said, whenever civilizations are crumbling, they become obsessed with gender.
He said it happened in ancient Greece, ancient Rome.
beeple
That's very interesting.
joe rogan
Yeah, men become women, women become men, they swapped Roles and places.
beeple
That happened in like Rome?
joe rogan
Yeah.
They became obsessed with gender.
And it becomes a theme.
And I'm like, why do you think that is?
And I don't think they had a clear reason, but I think the idea is that they start dissolving all of the predetermined boundaries that we set out for our society.
Because almost like things become so strange.
beeple
Definitely, that doesn't bode well for us.
That does not bode well for us.
joe rogan
Well, unless we like that future.
beeple
That's our future.
That's our future.
joe rogan
Well, listen, man, we just did three hours, believe it or not.
beeple
Jesus Christ, are you serious?
unidentified
Yeah.
beeple
Oh my God, what the fuck?
joe rogan
Time flies, bro.
beeple
Jesus Christ.
joe rogan
Thank you very much for this thing.
What would I call this?
beeple
This piece of artwork.
joe rogan
This piece of artwork.
It's fucking dope.
And the underwear.
Appreciate that.
I hope you enjoy the scotch.
beeple
Yeah, dude.
Thank you for having me.
Super, super appreciate it, man.
My pleasure.
Such a huge fan.
joe rogan
I'm a huge fan of you as well.
Tell people your website, where they can go.
It's BeepleCrap.
Beeple underscore crap?
What is it?
beeple
Beeple, yeah.
I think it's Beeple-Crap.
joe rogan
Beeple-Crap.com.
beeple
It's Beeple underscore Crap on Instagram, and I think it's Beeple-Crap is the website.
Maybe you just Google Beeple.
joe rogan
You'll find some fucking gross shit.
beeple
Not at work.
Don't do it at work.
Don't get fired because of me.
joe rogan
Don't get fired because of him.
beeple
I gotta do my disclaimer.
joe rogan
Thank you very much, man.
I really had a good time.
beeple
Thank you.
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