As an individual concerned about freedom of speech I have always appreciated what the US evolved into following its independence from the British colonies. As a consumer of balanced viewpoints, I appreciate what Joe Rogan contributes to the social consciousness. As a student of the scientific method data analysis, deep study of processes and implications is something that I appreciate as well. I have had many arguments with friends in which I have tried to convince them about the need for a platform like JRE.

I am not completely sure about where the responsibility of a podcast host lies in the spread of information. There are instances where I am convinced that the conversation he is having is just conversations. Not everything I talk about is backed by data. It is barely even structured conversation at times. However with a platform also comes a responsibility about the message you are spreading. Is it the host’s responsibility to ensure what is being conveyed is legitimate? What if it is just friendly banter? Don’t we have conversations where friendly banter becomes toxic? What do we do when that happens? We acknowledge our ignorance about the topic and resolve to visit the conversation again with more information. We back of and acknowledge the unintelligibility of that exchange of words.

As a frequent listener of the JRE show I am aware that exaggerations and hyperbole are part and parcel of the conversation. Sometimes just as times as when we have non-structured, non-factual conversations with friends. However, the only difference, in this case, is that the conversation is being conducted by 1.1M people and sometimes more, even if it is only one-sided. Many times I am left with a cursory understanding of the topic but a deeper understanding of the guests on the show. Who are those individuals, what makes them nervous, what are they excited about, and sometimes the reasons behind what drives them. If someone is a brilliant performer that show will not give you anything but a presentation. I am aware of this.

The reason I chose to write this short post is that for a long time now the example of Uttar Pradesh has been coming up on the show time and again. I am completely aware that the state is run by a corrupt politician who has the hopes to become a leader within the national political scene of the country. This is a fact which is far removed from the current state of the world, which classifies areas around the world by their response to COVID. Policies, how the people reacted, the numbers, the hospitals, the facilities, and all that comes along with the COVID conversations.

For me, the canvas is viewed from a different lens. I am aware that U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) is a state that is deeply divided based on a caste system, religions, and other political parties that are trying to grab and/ or consolidate power over the people in that state. Corruption is a word that should have been used in the first sentence when U.P. was mentioned but I am bringing it up now. Corruption is rife within the state. Nothing positive in my recent memory has ever come up about that state. U.P. has the largest number of crimes per capita in all India. One could say that’s probably because the state has a very developed population and they’re a law-abiding people. However, the sentence before that would directly contradict this hypothesis. Further, U.P. also has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country. I hope this provides some context about the state.

The use of alternative medicines like Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine to combat COVID. While I am writing this I hate the fact that this has become my corner to rant about COVID but I am torn by conflicting emotions about an individual who has shaped many of my ideologies. I grew up watching and listening to Joe Rogan. At first, it was Fear Factor, and then of course it was JRE. U.P. is one of those hell holes in India where I wouldn’t send any of my friends and families. I would do everything for them to avoid that state in the country. India is an amazing country where ingenuity and getting things done in the spirit in most but U.P. has never in the recent times been an example of anything positive.

I collected some very basic data here to contradict the claims of people like Bret Weinstein, Dr. Peter Corey, and Dr. Robert Malone. I have enjoyed listening to the conversations of all these people and I understand that most of these people feel like they have a ‘responsibility’ to shine the light on things that the ‘common man’ doesn’t understand. However, if they are good actors in the theater of JRE and other places the information they convey could be damaging. In certain instances, it has proven damaging and no one has paid the costs. So here’s the data about U.P. in comparison to two other states in the country.

That 0.84% number which shows what part of the population had covid?! That’s the nail in the coffin for me. U.P. solved COVID before COVID even started. Like the rest of India that was banging utensils in March of 2020 and singing “go car-on-a go go” to stomp the epidemic U.P. had already started to stomp the pandemic by denying that there ever was a pandemic in the first place. In such a situation whether the state “covertly” used alternative treatments to rid the people of their ailments or connected with aliens to get a cure from the future it does not matter because COVID did not exist in the first place for them. They never actually tested the population at a rate that could determine the progress of vaccinations or medications. All their claims of cures and flattening the curve are based on slogans, marches, hand waving, and affinity towards whatever the public wants to hear on Instagram and other social media. To trust that something worked or did not work for that matter in that state is a disaster. If you don’t trust Fox or CNN you cannot even use the letter “t” for any conversation based on data from the U.P. government. In this case unfortunately there isn’t even any data available.