Joe Rogan Experience #2499 - Marcus King

Joe Rogan and Marcus King open on Marcus's gift of a guitar before diving into a long, candid conversation about addiction, sobriety, and mental health. Marcus speaks openly about quitting drinking, his ongoing struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts, and his desire to wean off the antidepressant Cymbalta, while Joe argues much of America's medication culture is driven by financial incentives rather than real chemical imbalances. They riff on the resurgence of rock and roll, the magic and business snakes of the music industry, drug policy and cannabis legalization, the strange cultural history of pornography, and VR zombie gaming. The episode is heavy on personal storytelling, dark humor, and Marcus's reflections on how struggle fuels great art.

• Marcus describes the blackout night that finally made him quit drinking for good, when his wife left him on a friend's floor and drove off in the tour bus.
  00:03:39
• Marcus reveals he is on the antidepressant Cymbalta and wants to get off it, fearing severe withdrawal.
  01:30:13
• Marcus recounts feeling totally numb at his grandmother's funeral on early meds, then sobbing uncontrollably at dinner two weeks after stopping.
  01:39:02
• Marcus admits to recurring intrusive suicidal thoughts, including noticing a punching-bag mount in his gym 'would probably hold my weight.'
  01:43:46
• Joe asserts the serotonin 'chemical imbalance' theory of depression is not real and that doctors are financially incentivized to keep patients medicated.
  01:32:16
• Marcus recalls touring with and then having to kick Mastodon's Brent Hinds off the tour shortly before Hinds died in September.
  02:00:55
• Marcus tells the story of being handed ketamine instead of cocaine right after nearly drowning off a catamaran in the Cayman Islands.
  01:27:05

• They cite a claim that 77% of American kids can't pass the physical to get into the military.
  00:19:45
• Joe says Ketone-IQ shots put you into ketosis temporarily; their inventor Patrick Arnold also created 'the clear' steroid used in the BALCO scandal.
  00:34:19
• The 1970 Controlled Substances Act made psychedelics Schedule I, which Joe argues was aimed at the civil-rights and anti-war movements.
  00:55:37
• A woman in a medically induced coma dreamed she raised triplets over seven years, then woke to learn the children never existed.
  01:00:46
• Ari Shafir took a huge hit of salvia on a podcast and experienced living six months underwater with a whole community during a 10-minute trip.
  00:59:43
• Marcus cites data that around 70% of artists struggle with some facet of mental health.
  01:54:11
• Colonel Bruce Hampton's documentary 'Basically Frightened' is not streaming anywhere; Marcus buys DVD copies off eBay to give away.
  02:08:15
• Joe argues you need suffering and 'evil vampires' in the music business to appreciate the good and to fuel great art.
  01:21:00
• Joe describes Sandbox VR zombie game Deadwood Mansion, where he once held the #3 score in the country; pro tip: use the shotgun.
  02:32:06

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