Weinstein repeated discredited theories to Rogan about HIV not being the cause of AIDS, alarming and infuriating public health experts.
Bret Weinstein, the evolutionary biology professor turned podcaster and ivermectin guy, repeated a series of discredited pseudo-theories about AIDS in a recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Weinstein, a frequent guest, told Rogan that he found the theory that party drugs like poppers cause AIDS to be “surprisingly compelling.” (It is not.) Weinstein also told Rogan he came to these ideas by reading a recent book by anti-vaccine activist and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, creating a sort of unholy turducken of misinformation passed onto an audience of millions.
I actually think Rogan is a really great interviewer, and he’s sometimes able to get surprisingly candid moments out of his guests. The problem is he’s also dumb as shit, so he’ll wind up platforming people that have batshit crazy ideas and he has no ability to evaluate or push back on what they’re saying. He’ll have guys like Stephen Molyneux come on and go on a racist tirade about ethnic IQ or whatever, and instead of doing research beforehand so he can challenge his bullshit he’ll just go, “wow, that’s crazy man.”