Joe Rogan is not a doctor. Still, millions of people (including UFC president Dana White and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers) are listening to him for Covid advice. In 2021, Rogan came down with Covid and decided to take Ivermectin to treat it, and then he got mad about CNN reporting that he took “horse dewormer,” mostly because “I can afford people medicine, motherf*cker.” His declarations, very clearly, are not based upon science but various ramblings.
To quote Marc Maron’s characterization of Rogan’s rhetorical style, there’s a lot of “‘I don’t know, man” flying on any given subject, all for a reported $100 million deal with Spotify. Well, doctors are fed up with Rogan saying whatever he wants about Covid, no matter how dangerous, and YouTube recently deleted an episode that featured a Rogan guest comparing vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany. Well, dozens upon dozens of physicians have come together for a signed opened letter to Spotify, and here’s (via Rolling Stone) what the doctors have to say on the topic:
We are a coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators spanning a wide range of fields such as microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and neuroscience and we are calling on Spotify to take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Though Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, the company presently has no misinformation policy.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine.
The full letter is well worth a read since it really dives into the science of it all, along with much of the misinformation that Rogan’s been dropping, essentially as entertainment. They’re asking Spotify to stop “enabling” this dangerous rhetoric, and meanwhile, the very unvaxxed Rogan remains ticked off that he can’t perform at a crowded arena in Canada as the pandemic continues.
In this week’s third chapter of The Book of Boba Fett, once again 8D8 (voiced by Matt Berry) plays an important role, basically fulfilling the duties C-3PO once did for Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, only now, instead, for Boba Fett on The Book of Boba Fett. Also, a big difference seems to be that 8D8 actually seems to want the job. There’s no doubt 8D8 looks at this as a promotion. This has to be better than toiling in the basement of Jabba’s palace running the torture department, as he did in Return of the Jedi.
I can’t help but feel happy for 8D8, finally getting his due. I’ve written about this before, but it almost feels like Jon Favreau looked at his old Kenner Star Wars figure collection and decided to fully flesh out some of the characters who got themselves an action figure but didn’t really do all that much during the movies. (To be fair, a case can be made that Boba Fett himself qualifies.) And now it’s 8D8’s turn.
Look, this is no small feat that 8D8 has pulled off here. Think just how many people and droids used to work for Jabba. We also know this because of how many of Jabba’s employees for themselves action figures. There’s one of Jabba’s employees, Klaatu, who somehow got two action figures. One for his “hang out at Jabba’s house” outfit and another for when he’s riding around on the skiff to throw troublemakers into the Sarlacc. It’s a pretty long line of succession to get all the way down to 8D8, whose primary job in Return o the Jedi seemed to be burning the feet of Gonk droids. Even in Return of the Jedi, EV-9D9 seemed to be in charge. (Also, if you own an original EV-9D9 action figure, that’s worth a decent amount of money. If you own an 8D8, it is not worth a decent amount of money.) Now, to be fair, a lot of Jabba’s squad are still being digested by the Sarlacc and aren’t in the position to have a leadership role in Boba Fett’s new administration. (All we know about the timeline of Star Wars, in comparison to our own, is that it was “a long time ago,” which could be 1000 years? So it’s within the realm of possibility that poor Weequay – yes, I get it’s a species, not a name – is still down there being digested.)
So after Boba Fett dispensed of poor Bib Fortuna, other than a couple of Gamorrean Guards, there’s basically no one left from the prior administration other than 8D8. Fett even needed a new Rancor. (Speaking of, I enjoyed that whole exchange between Boba Fett and Danny Trejo – I’m going to just pretend Trejo was playing himself – because in Return of the Jedi it’s played for laughs that the Rancor Keeper is crying after Luke kills the Rancor. But I don’t doubt that character was attached to his Rancor. And now we learn they do make good pets.) But, regardless, there’s 8D8, plugging along.
When we first saw 8D8 in the first episode I assumed it would be one quick cameo. Not a recurring regular character. Like I said, I am happy for 8D8. I bet if a fan poll of “worst action figures” were taken back in 1983, 8D8 would probably make the list. Mostly for being readily available (hey, look, you might want the new Luke Jedi Knight figure, but, sorry, Children’s Palace only has 8D8 – for some reason in St. Louis in 1983 I don’t remember Toys ‘R’ Us, but there were Children’s Palaces everywhere) and for not being able to do all that much. It wasn’t all that fun as a kid to have a “torture droid” action figure.
But, now, 8D8 has made it big. In the show he’s in Boba Fett’s inner circle and, in real life, he’s the star of a very popular Disney+ show. As this series moves forward, I am rooting for 8D8. I will be sad if 8D8 meets his demise. Please, The Book of Boba Fett, 8D8 has come so far. Please let him have this moment.
Brace yourself, that annoying friend of yours that swears that weed is the cure for “everything,” has just been dropped a whole new talking point. A new laboratory study conducted by researchers from Oregon State University (Oregon > Weed Study > Obvi) found that certain cannabis compounds can actually prevent the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells and causing infection. No, despite what your friend thinks, that doesn’t mean that if you smoke weed you’ll have a smaller chance of catching Covid, no matter how much weed you smoke!
In fact, you don’t even need to get high.
Bloomberg reports that the new study — which was published in the Journal of Nature Products — found that two compounds commonly found in hemp were identified as having the potential (keyword here) to combat coronavirus by binding to the spike proteins on the virus and blocking a step that the pathogen uses to infect people and have shown promise in tests against the alpha and beta variants of the virus.
According to the study, “Cannabigerolic acid, and cannabidiolic acid were equally effective against the SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant and beta variant. Orally bioavailable and with a long history of safe human use, these cannabinoids isolated or in hemp extracts, have the potential to prevent as well as treat infections by SARS-CoV-2.”
Word! It should be noted that this study was a laboratory test, which means the study didn’t actually involve giving any supplements or extracts to actual people, nor did it compare the infection rates of those exposed to the cannabinoids and those who weren’t. It’s still wild to think that in the future we might have a hemp-based treatment for Covid-19, but again Kevin, that doesn’t mean you can smoke more weed instead of wearing a damn mask.
Still, your stoney friends were right about this: Marijuana truly seems to be “medicine!”
Donald Trump is trying on a new tactic: Acknowledging that COVID-19 is a real thing and that getting vaccinated and boostered is the best way to avoid dying from a virus that has already killed more than 5.5 million people worldwide. And now he’s even going so far as to call out Republican lawmakers who refuse to reveal their personal vaccination statuses.
The former president’s first brush with COVID truth-telling wasn’t necessarily a positive experience: When he told the (small) crowd that had gathered to see him and Bill O’Reilly speak during their History Tour that he had received a COVID booster, Trump was loudly booed. While he attempted to downplay the hisses as coming from just a teensy weensy portion of the crowd, he was apparently so distraught over it that O’Reilly had to console him. But now that Trump has gotten a taste of what it’s like to live among those of us who recognize that we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, and even getting credit for his work in pushing the vaccines through so quickly, he seems to be liking it here. So much so that he actually criticized those lawmakers who refuse to say whether they’ve been vaccinated.
While being interviewed by OAN, Trump went fiercely pro-vax and called out Republican lawmakers like Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who are keeping their vaccine status a secret, saying:
“They don’t want to say it because they’re gutless. You gotta say it, whether you had it or not. Say it. But the fact is that I think the vaccines saved tens of millions throughout the world. I’ve had absolutely no side effects.”
While Trump didn’t mention DeSantis by name, NBC News reports that many think it was a clear swipe at the Florida Man, who many believe is preparing to make a run for president in 2024. When asked whether Trump’s new publicly pro-booster stance was aimed at DeSantis as a potential opponent, a senior Trump adviser claimed that the former president’s comments were just Donald being Donald.
TRUMP says “I’ve had the booster,” and says he’s seen politicians asked the same, but dodge.
“The answer is yes, but they don’t want to say it. Because they’re gutless… Whether you had it or not. Say it.”
“Actually, if you think about it, it plays to Trump’s strength and why voters were attracted to him to begin with—you may not like what he has to say, but he calls them like he sees them and doesn’t try to mince words like typical politicians,” the adviser told NBC News.
As for whether DeSantis might pose a threat to Trump’s attempt to reclaim the Oval Office, the same adviser simply said that it’s “Tough to be Trump 2.0 if you can’t be a straight shooter.”
Lil Durk is heading back out on the road after supporting Lil Baby’s 2021 Back Outside Tour. Today, the Chicago rapper announced the 17-city tour for his upcoming project 7220 which kicks off in Phoenix, AZ at the Arizona Federal Theatre and concludes on May 2 at the United Center in his hometown. Durk is fresh off the release of a pair of notable collaborations, one with controversial country star Morgan Wallen (“Broadway Girls“) and another with 50 Cent (“Power Powder Respect,” the theme for the upcoming Power spinoff Force).
Tickets go on sale beginning Friday, January 14 at 10 am local time at LiveNation.com. Check out the full schedule below.
4/8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre
4/9 – Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theatre
4/10 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
4/13 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
4/15 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
4/16 – New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore New Orleans
4/18 – Miami, FL @ FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park
4/19 – Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place
4/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
4/21 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
4/23 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
4/24 – New York, NY @ Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom
4/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ UPMC Event Center
4/27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Andrew J Brady Music Center
4/29 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
4/30 – Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
5/2 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Jim Gaffigan has never made a secret of his disdain for Donald Trump’s politics. In August 2020, the typically even-keeled Hot Pockets-loving comedian surprised a lot of people when he went off on the then-president on Twitter, calling him “a fascist who has no belief in law.” While it’s now been nearly a year since Trump was pushed out of the White House, Gaffigan’s feelings toward the former reality star have not become any less emphatic.
On the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, as Mediaite shared, Gaffigan said that if given a choice between voting for Trump or Joe Biden’s rotting corpse, he would undoubtedly choose the latter. “I would take Biden’s corpse over Trump,” Gaffigan said.
When Rogan responded that one needs to look at both the president and the people surrounding the president, “all the other folks that are moving things in place,” Gaffigan remained unmoved in his opinion, noting that Trump had the likes Betsy DeVos and Stephen Miller surrounding him. “You’d take all those people?,” Gaffigan asked Rogan. “Even Mike Pence,” Gaffigan continued. “Say what you want about Kamala—it’s like, any of those people…”
When Rogan responded that he didn’t think Kamala Harris was “the best example” to use given her “storied history of incarcerating people and keeping people in jail past the time they were supposed to be released to use them as cheap labor for the state of California,” Gaffigan’s response was enough to end the conversation, or any conversation really: “Mike Pence believed in, like, you could do therapy to get rid of gay.”
Rosie Thomas has had a nice career so far, as she’s released a handful of solo albums and performed with acts like Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens as part of their touring bands. Now she has called on those artists and others to help her out with a new cover of Björk’s “All Is Full Of Love.”
Stevens and Iron & Wine provide backing vocals on the track, as do James Mercer of The Shins, Alexi Murdoch, Audrey Assad, William Fitzsimmons, Dawn Landes, Denison Witmer, Josh Ottum, The Head & The Heart’s Charity Thielen, The Lone Bellow’s Kanene Pipkin, Leigh Nash, Kyshona Armstrong, Beau Jennings, Kevin Brace, Buster Shoop, and Alvie Shoop.
The song is part of Thomas’ Lullabies For Parents series, which she announced back in November. At the time, it was described as “a multimedia series of resources, entertainment, and encouragement for parents of all ages featuring music, podcast, videos, essays, assorted content and community that promotes finding common ground, connection, and comfort.” It was also noted, “The music portion will be a series of singles – some of Rosie’s strongest, most inspired work to date, with a slew of guest vocalists. Rosie has a LOT of musician friends, and almost all of them will appear on this series.”
Listen to Thomas’ cover of “All Is Full Of Love” above.
In The Eye, some of music’s finest up-and-coming artists take to an intimate, minimal studio space to perform their best songs with only one microphone and one take. Stepping up for the latest installment is Teddy Swims, who may have already found his way onto your online feeds.
The internet has played a significant role in the Atlanta singer’s rise, and he first found an online audience for himself when he shared a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” on YouTube in 2019. He later said, “It was the ten-year anniversary of his death and we just thought we’d pay homage. Within a few days, it was going crazy.” The channel continued to grow from there, as it now boasts over 2 million subscribers and popular videos like his cover of Shania Twain’s “Still The One,” which has over 77 million views and which Twain herself called “a beautiful version” of the song. Last year, Rolling Stone declared he’s an “artist you need to know.”
He also thrives on TikTok, where his voice has become a favorite on the platform and earned him 1.6 million followers, as well as millions more likes on his videos. His online influence and obvious talent caught the attention of the folks at Warner Records, who signed him to a deal in early 2020. He’s currently working towards his debut album, which he describes as combining “everything from straight hip-hop to R&B to ’80s metal.”
In the meantime, he has released a handful of singles, a couple of which, “911” and “Please Turn Green,” he has now performed on The Eye. With the two performances here, Swims shows off the versatility that has become his calling card. “911,” his most recent single, sees Swims flexing his vocal chops on a jaunty and soulful instrumental. Then there’s “Please Turn Green,” which is more of an emotional pop ballad on which Swims shows off his more tender side. If Swims needed a video resume to represent his vocal range, these two performances would suit that role just fine.
Watch Teddy Swims perform “911″ and “Please Turn Green” for The Eye above.
Teddy Swims is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Even if you’ve rarely tried stout beers (and there are oh so manygreat ones to check out!), there’s a pretty good chance you’ve at least had a pint of Guinness or two. It’s one of the most popular beers in the world, after all. The dry Irish stout is known for its creamy, coffee, and chocolate-toasted malt flavors. And while Guinness is a good example of the style, countless other stouts also deserve your attention.
If you do enjoy the flavor profile of Guinness — well, you’re in luck. Many stouts also carry espresso, toasted malts, and chocolate flavors (on top of other notes, depending on their unique ingredients). And that’s just scratching the surface of what a stout can be.
To find you a few new brews to test this month, we asked a handful of well-known bartenders to tell us the single stout (imperial, barrel-aged, Irish stout, whatever) that they never get tired of drinking. Keep scrolling to see all of their selections!
Granted, I am not much of a stout drinker. But given the option to only drink one stout, I would pick Stone Xocoveza Imperial Stout every time. This rich cocoa and cinnamon forward stout hits all the notes. Having a touch of bitterness and subtle sweetness (preying upon my love of coffee), you won’t find a lack of complexity.
Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate this enchanting brew gives me holiday vibes even without the Christmas tree that I’ve been procrastinating on putting away.
Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout
Flying Dog
Subhash Sankar, head mixologist at Alaia Belize in San Pedro Town, Belize
Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout was originally a limited release from Flying Dog last year. This seldom-seen stout style is so rare because it’s made with real oysters. It doesn’t taste like oysters, luckily. But it does have hints of coffee, chocolate, and toasted malts.
Stone Imperial Russian Stout has to be my pick. It has nice coffee, cocoa, and hazelnut notes and it’s also produced one of my favorite brewers in California.
Mother’s Brewing Winter Grind
Mother
Emily Lawson, bartender and founder of Pink House Alchemy in Fayetteville, Arkansas
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
I can’t get enough of Mother’s Brewing Company’s Winter Grind. It’s rich and creamy with the added hit of cold-brewed coffee making it the perfect winter daytime sipper.
Napa Smith Black Chasm is hard to beat. It has flavors of intense vanilla, toasted malt, oatmeal, and hints of rye and is finished off in bourbon barrels.
Southern Tier Nitro Hot Cocoa
Southern Tier
Christopher Devern, lead bartender at Red Owl Tavern in Philadelphia
Southern Tier Nitro Hot Cocoa Imperial Milk Stout has notes of cold hot cocoa, is creamy and silky bodied, and comes in at ten percent ABV. I could definitely drink this stout for the rest of winter and every winter in the future. It’s the season for hot chocolate in beer form.
Half Acre Vanilla Big Hugs
Half Acre
Mark Phelan, beverage director of 16″ On Center in Chicago
Let’s live a little and go big with Half Acre’s Vanilla Big Hugs. Complex and layered with coffee and vanilla undertones, it sips warm and cozy just like the name suggests.
Left Hand Milk Stout is one of those unique brews that always delivers a smooth, creamy, and delicious flavor. Easy drinking and not too heavy. It’s even better if it’s a nitro pour.
Barreled Souls 10 Cents Gets You Nuts
Barreled Souls
Ally O’Keefe, bartender at The Bower in New Orleans
ABV: 12.9%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Barreled Souls 10 Cents Gets You Nuts is a big, boozy dessert-like, bourbon-drowned bananas foster. It has flavors of molasses, peanut shells, banana puree, and wet campfire wood with a big enough malt backbone to balance it out.
Allagash North Sky hands down. It’s filled with nice roasted malt with a little bit of hop. It’s very well-rounded and drinks a little too easy for a stout, if you know what I mean.
Wild Field Mountain Moonlight
Wild Field
Alejandro Mendoza, restaurant and bar manager at Hotel SLO in San Luis Obispo, California
ABV: 6.3%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Wild Fields (out of Atascadero, California) Mountain Moonlight Oatmeal Stout is my go-to. This beer is bursting with rich chocolate and espresso flavors. It’s sweet, rich, and decadent. What’s not to love?
Public Battlegrounds, more commonly known as PUBG, is the original hit battle royale game. While the concept of battle royale was not created by PUBG, the formula that was created from PUBG has been emulated everywhere. Players drop down onto a map, a circle appears, the circle will continually get smaller as the game goes on, and the final player or team standing wins. This formula first popularized by PUBG is eventually what led to Fortnite, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and many other battle royales. Of course, each game brings its own spin on the formula to make it unique from one another.
There is one major difference however between PUBG and other popular battle royale games: While PUBG has historically cost money to play, Fortnite, Warzone, and Apex are all free-to-play. That means a lower barrier to entry and more people have been able to get into the game. Despite being the game that started it all, PUBG quickly fell behind those three in the genre. Why that happened can be argued, but it definitely can be argued that the cost to entry barrier was holding PUBG back.
As of Wednesday, though, PUBG is no longer going to have that barrier, as the game has decided to go free-to-play.
Dave Curd, the creator director of PUBG, claims this was decision was not made in response to the popularity of other games. Curd said in an interview with GamesRadar that the change to move to free-to-play was entirely about their own interests.
“We came to the decision to make PUBG: Battlegrounds free to play because we feel that it is truly the right time,” Curd said. “Our game is in a great place with eight maps, an engaged community and our deep gun mechanics, so this is the natural next step and a great way to introduce more players to our universe. I know there are a lot of people who are interested in PUBG: Battlegrounds but have never gotten around to playing it for various reasons – now is the perfect moment to get started.”
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