Before getting into today’s main topic about Joe Rogan, I would like to share with you about Setsubun. It was Setsubun last night, and we had Ehomaki for dinner. Setsubun is new year’s eve in the lunar calendar. We usually eat Ehomaki and scatter roasted soybeans in Japan.
Ehomaki is a thick sushi roll that is believed to bring good fortune if eaten while facing the year’s “Eho” (good luck direction).
It is also good to eat soybeans on Setsubun, so I made soybeans with Hijiki,
and natto, of course.
All right, today’s main topic is about the controversy over Joe Rogan’s podcast and Neil Young and Joni Mitchell’s protest.
Neil Young and now Joni Mitchell want to pull out their music from Spotify if Spotify continues to allow Joe Rogan to express his views on their platform.
Well, I am a big fan of both Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, I am very shocked and disappointed by their actions.
I have watched quite a few videos on Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube, not on Spotify. (I am not a subscriber of Spotify) Young and Mitchell claim Joe Rogan is spreading misinformation, but I don’t understand what part of his program is misinformative. He just interviews different guests each time and it is a platform to hear diverse views on various topics. He has interviewed Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Rhonda Patrick on health issues, which I enjoyed a lot, and the interview with Dr. Rhonda Patrick, he let her express her views on vaccines which are different from his.
I haven’t watched the controversial interviews with Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone yet, because YouTube has deleted them and I can’t watch them. Therefore, I can’t speak for those two episodes.
But in any case, asking Spotify to kick Joe Rogan out of the platform for just interviewing them is a little extreme.
That kind of thing doesn’t happen in Japan. Views regarding COVID vaccines are divided among doctors in Japan and they don’t represent either side of the political spectrum. Their arguments are purely medical and scientific. Both of them bring data to support their arguments. There are tons of books published by doctors who have anti-vaccine views. And they are not taken down. These doctors are legitimate doctors who have high credentials.
The mainstream media’s narrative is pretty much the same as that of other countries but they don’t censor those doctors who don’t go along with the mainstream views. Some of them even appear on TV, although they are mostly ignored by the media.
The thing is whether to be vaccinated or not is an individual choice in Japan and this right is protected by law. Each person is supposed to gather information on both the effects and side effects and decide for themselves. This is because the government can’t take responsibility in case a side effect occurs. In order to make an informed decision, you need to hear the opinions of doctors on both sides.
Anyway, Joe Rogan responded on this, and I thought he did very well on it.
He has been a big fan of Neil Young and he said he would continue to be so in spite of what happened. That is great. It is wonderful for him to say that. I feel the same way. I’ve listened to those two musicians for 40 years now and I still have their CDs in my car and I listen to them while I am driving. I am not going to throw them away just for this incident.
So, I liked this Joe Rogan’s video. However, he made one big mistake. He said he also liked Joni Michell’s songs such as Chuck E’s in Love.
That’s not Joni Mitchell’s song, that’s Rickie Lee Jones’ song. I have her CD in my car, too-haha.
The Ikigai Diet: The Secret Japanese Diet to Health and Longevity
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