
Joe Rogan is a politically heterodox figure whose anti-establishment views have sometimes led him to host figures from the fringes, including right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Jordan Peterson, the libertarian, carnivore, mystic self-help expert. (Young also complained that he didn’t like the platform’s audio quality.) Other artists and podcast hosts whose work had been available on the platform, including Joni Mitchell, Roxane Gay, and Nils Lofgren, soon followed Young’s lead.

The Joe Rogan Experience, Spotify’s flagship podcast, came under heightened scrutiny a little over two weeks ago when rock legend, Monsanto critic, and Jim Jarmusch–collaborator Neil Young requested that Spotify pull his music in protest over Rogan’s role in spreading Covid-19 misinformation. Whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say, ‘I’m not racist,’ you fucked up.

Though the company hasn’t officially explained why the content was taken down, the move came as Rogan posted an Instagram video apologizing for repeatedly using the n-word in past episodes, as well as for once comparing a movie theatre’s all-Black audience to Planet of the Apes. The controversy over podcast host Joe Rogan reached a new stage on Saturday when Spotify quietly removed 70-some episodes from his show’s archives. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
