Who is Paul Stamets? Joe Rogan once surprised fans by inviting mushroom guest and mycologist on 'JRE': 'This interview saved my life'
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan has used the platform of his "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast to interview a diverse set of people hailing from different professions, including athletes, scientists, politicians, and business people, to name a few.
Recently, Rogan, who has spoken extensively about his experience with magic mushrooms, once surprised his followers by inviting the popular mycologist Paul Stamets.
Who is Paul Stamets?
Paul Stamets, who debuted on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in 2017 on episode #1035, makes a living by studying fungi. However, he is no ordinary academic, as he happens to own a company that distributes mushroom-based goods.
The 68-year-old mycologist is also a major supporter of using fungi for therapeutic purposes. Stamets especially turned into a minor pop-culture phenomenon when a character named after him was featured on 'Star Trek: Discovery' as an astromycologist.
Along with marijuana, mushrooms have long been a source of fascination for Rogan, who credits them with providing him with some of the most transformational spiritual experiences of his life, making Stamets a perfect guest to divulge more information on the use of fungi.
Joe Rogan's fans react to Paul Stamets' appearance on 'JRE'
Rogan's fans were taken aback by the mushroom guest's arrival on 'JRE', as he was certainly different compared to the UFC commentator's usual picks. However, the particular episode did quite well, as it amassed 23,550 comments and over 12 million views.
An admirer claimed that Stamets saved his life, writing, "This interview and Paul himself saved my life. So glad I found mushrooms benefits. To say they make me feel normal again is an understatement."
"What an incredible person. The world is so lucky to have this man doing his work," stated one praising the Stamets' work.
Another fan of Rogan wrote, "One of my absolutely favorite JRE episodes. Paul Stamets is effortlessly intelligent and expressive about mushrooms in a wide variety of topics about the subject. I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. Joe must have Paul on again soon!" demanding further episodes with the mycologist.
"never in my life did i think i would listen to another human talk about mushrooms for 2 hours. I was glued to the screen paul seems like a fungi. he reallly grew on me!" expressed a fan who was clearly impressed by Stamets' dedication to the world of fungi.