#2491 - Brian Simpson

What It Covers

Joe Rogan and comedian Brian Simpson cover Simpson's heart attack during Super Bowl weekend in Atlanta three months prior, his recovery and lifestyle changes, followed by wide-ranging conversations on pet ownership, wildlife behavior, nicotine addiction, video gaming culture, streaming income, and the controversial claim by cardiac surgeon Dr. Steven Gundry that nicotine may benefit mitochondrial function when paired with a high-polyphenol diet.

Key Questions Answered

• •Red Light Therapy for Vision: Rogan reports eliminating his need for reading glasses through two interventions: Pure Encapsulation's Macular Support supplement (a nutrient combination endorsed by Andrew Huberman as mechanistically sound) and consistent red light therapy sessions. While his low-light vision remains impaired, he can now read small phone text without glasses. Anyone experiencing age-related reading vision decline may consider researching these two specific interventions before defaulting to prescription lenses.
• •Heart Attack Recovery and Humor as Coping: Simpson experienced a cardiac event requiring a stent insertion through the groin, performed under partial sedation. His instinct to joke throughout the procedure — including fabricating abandonment by an ER doctor named Doug — created friction with the surgical team. His takeaway: humor is a legitimate coping mechanism during medical trauma, but medical professionals operating under time-critical life-or-death pressure have zero tolerance for it, and patients should anticipate that disconnect.
• •Coyote Population Mechanics: The book *Coyote America* documents a counterintuitive biological response: when coyotes are killed, females detect the absence through roll-call howls and produce larger litters to compensate. This means culling programs actively accelerate coyote population growth. Coyotes now inhabit all 50 U.S. states and every major city, including New York and Chicago — a dramatic shift from the 1980s when they were largely absent from the Eastern United States.
• •Animal Domestication Speed: A decades-long Russian experiment in Novosibirsk selectively bred silver foxes by immediately eliminating any individual showing aggression toward humans. Within roughly 10 generations, foxes displayed dog-like behaviors including tail wagging, licking, and seeking human attention. Physical changes followed: shorter snouts and floppy ears. The experiment demonstrates that domestication timelines are far shorter than assumed — observable behavioral and morphological change occurs within a human lifetime under directed selection pressure.
• •Nicotine Delivery and Addiction Comparison: A standard cigarette contains 10–14mg of nicotine but delivers only 1–2mg to the bloodstream. Nicotine pouches range from 2–12mg per pouch with slower but prolonged absorption. Because pouches can be used anywhere and are consumed continuously, heavy users may absorb more total daily nicotine than smokers. Rogan notes that nicotine at 6–12mg doses creates jitteriness incompatible with precision activities like pool, where calm motor control is essential.
• •Streaming as Primary Income: T Pain generates an estimated $250,000 or more per month exclusively through streaming, operating from a multi-room home studio with dedicated spaces for racing simulators, VR, music production, and standard gaming. He declines most touring offers because streaming revenue exceeds road income. The model works through Twitch partnership revenue combined with sponsorships. Simpson plans to launch his own stream in summer 2025, noting the audience overlap between podcast listeners and stream viewers remains unclear.
• •Nicotine and Mitochondrial Function: Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Steven Gundry argues that nicotine functions as a mitochondrial uncoupler — a mechanism that may explain why heavy smokers in certain blue zones, including a region of Sardinia where 95% of men smoke, outlive non-smoking women. His hypothesis: oxidative stress from smoking is neutralized by high-polyphenol diets. He does not recommend smoking but suggests researchers have been asking the wrong question — why smoking harms rather than why some smokers live to 105.