#2536 - Eric Goode & Jeremy McBride

What It Covers

Joe Rogan speaks with documentary filmmaker Eric Goode and producer Jeremy McBride about their HBO docuseries *Monsters of God*, covering the illegal reptile trade, a $20 billion annual wildlife trafficking industry. Topics span Florida's 500,000 invasive Burmese pythons, rattlesnake envenomation requiring 36 vials of antivenom, drug-wildlife smuggling crossovers, and the psychology driving extreme animal collectors across five decades.

Key Questions Answered

• •Wildlife Trafficking Scale: Illegal wildlife trafficking generates approximately $20 billion annually, ranking fourth behind guns, drugs, and human trafficking. The trade frequently intersects with drug smuggling operations — traffickers have concealed cocaine inside live boa constrictors and packed narcotics beneath layers of dangerous animals in shipping crates, exploiting the fact that customs inspectors avoid reaching into boxes containing venomous or aggressive species.
• •Rattlesnake Bite Protocol: If bitten by a rattlesnake, remain calm and get to a hospital immediately — do not cut the wound, apply a tourniquet, or attempt to suck out venom. These older first-aid methods are medically discredited. Venom enters the bloodstream like a hypodermic injection the moment fangs retract. Goode required 36 vials of antivenom after a Southern Pacific rattlesnake bite caused neurotoxic chest pressure within two hours.
• •Antivenom Availability Gap: Coral snake antivenom is no longer reliably produced in the United States because manufacturers deemed it cost-ineffective, given how rarely coral snakes bite people. This creates a genuine treatment gap — coral snakes are elapids like cobras, delivering potent neurotoxic venom through tiny bites that are often invisible. Hospitals currently rely primarily on viper-specific antivenom formulations for rattlesnake cases.
• •Invasive Species and Pet Trade Causation: Florida's invasive species crisis — 500,000 Burmese pythons, widespread green iguanas, Nile crocodiles, and South American tegus — traces almost entirely to the pet trade. Jurassic Park's 1993 release drove green iguana sales to 5,000 units per week at a single Florida distributor. Pop culture events consistently spike demand for specific animals, with Harry Potter triggering mass owl purchases across Asian markets.
• •Reptile Extinction Rate: One in every five reptile species currently faces extinction threat, a rate accelerating due to the pet trade, habitat loss, and smuggling. Turtles and tortoises rank among the most endangered animal groups on Earth, comparable to primates when measured by proportion of species facing extinction. Certain species once presumed extinct, like the Jamaican iguana, have only tiny surviving populations recently rediscovered.
• •Documentary Access Strategy: Goode and McBride filmed over 200 subjects across 15 years before completing *Monsters of God*, simultaneously running multiple documentary projects to maximize efficiency across shared geographic locations. Gaining access to high-risk subjects — including a man sentenced to 100-plus years for murder and drug trafficking — required years of relationship-building, with trust frequently collapsing and requiring repair before cameras could roll.
• •Crocodilian Intelligence and Longevity: Nile and saltwater crocodiles demonstrate problem-solving behavior, documented circumnavigating protective barrier poles installed by villagers to reach washing areas. Crocodilians do not appear to die of old age and continue growing throughout their lives relative to food availability. Saltwater crocodiles and leatherback sea turtles both reach over 2,000 pounds, making them the heaviest living reptiles and marine reptiles respectively.