Comedian Joe Rogan, who hosts Joe Rogan Experience (JRE)—the most listened to podcast in the world—has a new studio up and running. After signing a lucrative deal with Spotify, the podcaster had announced that he was moving from Los Angeles to Texas. Situated in Austin, his new home has a fresh addition—an idol of Hindu deity Ganesha, who is considered among the believers as an abolisher of obstacles.
Rogan wrote on Instagram: "Studio ambiance update: Buddha is out and Ganesh is in. Buddha explained that he would rather be in my office."
The Buddha statue has been a presence in the Rogan studio for quite some time now. Rogan has often spoken out about what that statue means to him: On Instagram, he had written: "The super talented @calverart made this for me in 2015. It’s based on a psychedelic experience I had once where I was welcomed by an infinite fractal vision of floating Buddhas in the lotus position. Needless to say, it was a pretty insane trip. It inspired the tattoo sleeve on my left arm and I’ve collected Buddhas ever since. Chris heard me talk about the experience and my obsession and randomly sent me this beautiful piece. It’s been on the podcast studio desk ever since. Of course I had to take it to Austin for the new studio."
From September 1, the JRE will be available on audio streaming service Spotify, which had announced a mega licensing deal with Rogan. The deal catapults Rogan—a trained martial artist, former Fear Factor host, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) commentator—to the position of the highest paid broadcaster in the world.
JRE started a decade ago and has since transformed into a behemoth—the show is downloaded in the millions each month and constantly features among the top podcasts on Apple's charts. On YouTube, he has over 8 million subscribers, and every podcast hits at least a million views within a day of release. The guests ranged from politicians, academics, philosophers, comics, journalists and your garden variety internet cranks.
