Joe Rogan has the largest podcast in the world. The stand-up comic and UFC commentator has taken the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ from a poorly produced show he used to do in his living room to the most-listened-to podcast on YouTube (with around 11 million listeners per episode). And while eyeballs and follower count don’t always translate to either money or influence, his recent $250 million+ extension deal with Spotify as well as the ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ speak to the enormous impact of his podcast.

Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson joined Rogan on episode #2158 of the JRE podcast. During their thought-provoking chat, the duo discussed everything from politics, culture, and UFOs to the theory of evolution. And Carlson, as usual, was his controversial best, which made for a riveting conversation. Not to mention the immediate benefits of appearing on the ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ that the 54-year-old enjoyed, which seem to be fading now.

In the podcast rankings issued by Spotify after Carlson’s JRE appearance, the former Fox host’s ‘The Tucker Carlson Podcast’ reached the #2 spot (with JRE topping the charts, as usual). Given the proximity of his Rogan appearance, this boost has been attributed to the ‘Joe Rogan Effect.’

The ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ describes the phenomenon of guests on his podcast getting massive boosts in their visibility and popularity. And Carlson, like many of Rogan’s guests, enjoyed this boost, nearly topping the podcast charts. However, the effect seems to be fading as the 54-year-old’s podcast finds itself at #10 in the Spotify podcast rankings in the latest rankings published by the platform a few weeks later, which is still a good spot for the political commentator.

Carlson, with 16.6 million followers on Spotify, is not even in the top 10 of the platform in follower count but still managed to nearly reach the pinnacle on the streaming platform. This indicates that the ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ is not only powerful but also long-lasting. Further evidence about the power of ‘JRE’ was revealed recently after Rogan turned down perhaps the biggest name in America on his podcast.

Rogan refuses to have Donald Trump on the podcast

So powerful is this effect that the team of presidential candidate Donald Trump has requested that he have the former president on the JRE. However, the podcast host told Lex Fridman that since he doesn’t support Trump and doesn’t want to give him a megaphone to talk to his huge audience. “I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form. I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once — I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him,” Rogan told Fridman.

In addition, Donald Trump has come out publicly and agreed to do a four-hour debate with Joe Biden on his platform (which Rogan had already agreed to). Trump, proven to be a ratings magnet, is undoubtedly constantly dogged by many news outlets for an interview, actively seeking out Rogan for an appearance. This is just more evidence proving how powerful and influential his podcast really is and why the ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ is so potent.