Joe Rogan Experience #2348 - Lukas Nelson

Lukas Nelson opens up about growing up the son of a legend, learning guitar to get closer to his often-absent father, and finding his own identity and purpose. He discusses going sober around the pandemic, replacing weed and alcohol with meditation, exercise and discipline, and how his clearest album yet came out of that clarity. The conversation roams across music as a force that reaches the heart and crosses divides, the dangers of social media and manipulated outrage, and the value of local community and regenerative farming. The back half turns to physical discipline, ultramarathoners, and an extended exchange on UFOs, including two unexplained sightings Lukas had in Hawaii.

• Lukas reveals he quit smoking weed and drinking around the pandemic and now only does mushrooms occasionally to 'check in' with himself.
  00:07:22
• Says he wrote his first song, 'You Were It,' at age 11 and Willie Nelson covered it on his 2004 album It Always Will Be.
  00:01:35
• Credits his Whoop tracker showing his sleep going 'to s---' after any drink or hit as a key reason he got sober.
  00:36:28
• Repeatedly insists he refuses to 'join any teams' or hold resolute political opinions, saying he isn't informed enough to.
  00:23:00
• Describes two unexplained UFO sightings in Hawaii, including an orange orb that left the atmosphere the moment enough people saw it.
  02:15:41
• Recounts serenading Muhammad Ali one afternoon in Hawaii alongside his father and Kris Kristofferson.
  01:23:58
• Admits hearing Ren's song made him think his own song 'All God Did' was worse: 'Oh s---, that's way better.'
  00:46:10

• The anterior mid-cingulate cortex, tied to willpower and tenacity, physically grows when you force yourself to do things you don't want to do.
  00:48:14
• Psychedelics were lumped into Schedule One during the Nixon era partly to target anti-war and civil-rights activists.
  00:34:55
• Paul Simon recorded Graceland with South African musicians like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which Lukas calls one of the greatest albums of all time.
  00:27:40
• Country singer Stephen Wilson Jr. worked as a food scientist before music, helping formulate dog food.
  01:55:31
• Ultramarathoner Courtney Dauwalter survives on candy and beer and once beat second place by roughly eight hours in a 250-mile race.
  01:59:06
• A 287-pound runner named Colin Anderson ran a 100-mile ultramarathon and reportedly weighed more afterward (297) from eating the whole way.
  02:02:44
• Daryl Davis, a Black musician, has befriended KKK members until hundreds of them quit and handed over their robes.
  00:25:37
• Joe uses the iPhone Voice Memo transcription feature to scan an hour of stand-up sets for usable bits instead of relistening.
  01:53:30

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