Home Joe Rogan Notes
Joe Rogan · 2024-06-27 · 2h 24m

Joe Rogan Experience #2056 - David Blaine

David Blaine tells Joe Rogan about kissing a wild king cobra, breath-hold records, diet, and the hidden world of card cheating.

Joe Rogan Experience #2056 - David Blaine
The guest

David Blaine — Magician and endurance performer famous for extreme feats of bodily control, from being frozen in ice to record breath-holds.

The gist

David Blaine joins Joe Rogan to discuss his new National Geographic series, for which he learned to kiss a wild king cobra after just a week of training. They cover his catalog of dangerous stunts, the dislocated shoulder he performed through in Vegas, and the mental techniques he uses to control his heart rate, hold his breath for over 20 minutes, and endure extreme cold and heat. A large portion of the conversation drifts into diet, inflammation, stem cells, cold plunges, and saunas. The back half becomes a deep dive into card magic and the secretive world of card cheats, marked decks, and casino gambling.

Big reveals

  • Blaine kissed a wild king cobra for the Nat Geo series after only a week of training, with an ambulance and antivenom standing by.
  • He dislocated his shoulder jumping from a nine-story height into boxes in his Vegas show and finished the show one-armed.
  • His monitored breath-hold record is 20 minutes 2 seconds on pure oxygen, with his heart rate dropping to 8 beats per minute.
  • In his Vegas show he swallows a gallon of water (about 8.43 lbs) and later spouts it out to extinguish fire.
  • Blaine spent two years developing his own invisible marked-deck system that even expert magicians couldn't detect.
  • Blaine hit the long-odds 'fire bet' at the Palms craps table, winning everyone roughly $10,000 each and forcing a two-hour casino review.
  • Dana White was banned from the Palms for winning about $7 million at blackjack, prompting him to pull the UFC from the casino.

Things worth remembering

  • One of the king cobras used in filming had previously killed its own owner.
  • Joe Rogan says he avoided shoulder surgery using stem cell therapy at a clinic in Tijuana.
  • Selectively bred modern watermelons and wheat yield far more sugar and gluten than their Renaissance-era ancestors.
  • Mirin Dajo, the 'human pin cushion,' died after swallowing a needle that eventually ruptured his heart.
  • A 3-minute cold plunge can raise dopamine by about 200% for hours, producing a drug-like high.
  • A Finnish study found four sauna sessions a week was linked to a 40% drop in all-cause mortality.
  • Scientists map leaf-cutter ant colonies by pouring in concrete, revealing astonishingly complex ventilation and chambers.
  • Fear of public speaking is theorized to stem from being an elevated, exposed target for predators.
  • Poker pro Phil Ivey reportedly won millions by detecting a near-invisible misprint in casino card backs.

Recommended in this episode

Books, products and media the guest or host genuinely endorsed here — with the buy link.

Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

RecommendedProduct

AG1 (Athletic Greens)

AG1

“ag1 is athletic greens no it's great it's just very simple you take a scoop of it put it in some water” — Joe Rogan 00:23:34
Find it on Amazon
RecommendedProduct

Black Rifle Coffee

Black Rifle Coffee Company

“coffee is good by the way Black Rifle it's the best” — Joe Rogan 00:00:00
Find it on Amazon
Guest’s ownMedia

David Blaine National Geographic series

National Geographic

“been working on this series for National Geographics I've been traveling around the world searching for these people that do incredible Feats” — David Blaine 00:00:33
Find it on Amazon