It all started on a patch of waterfront property in New York, right next to the East River.
The latest wave of perceived liberal activism made its way to Joe Rogan and Shane Gillis’ ears through the sage wisdom of a traveling entertainer: They were tearing apart a park.
‘The park should be defended!’
Instead of a sign-wielding mask-wearer debating the merits of universal basic income and banning landlords, the news came from comedian Ari Shaffir. Typically, Shaffir is telling tales about getting an exorcism in South America or doing stand-up comedy in China, but this time he was looking to stop the destruction of a beloved New York City landmark.
Shaffir told Rogan and Gillis about Manhattan’s East River Park, land that had been torn apart by floods from Hurricane Sandy. In response, New York City officials planned to raze the park, add eight feet of dirt, and rebuild the park anew on top, all in the name of flood prevention.
Activists agreed with Shaffir and said removing access to the 57 acres next to the water was unfair to locals.
Gillis did not agree.
“You’re not defending parks!” he said, badgering Shaffir. “F**k that park!”
“The park should be defended!” Rogan chimed in.
From that moment, “Protect Our Parks” was born: an impromptu news panel with no preparation and no censorship, addressing actual issues.
Averaging between 2 million and 5 million views per episode on YouTube alone, the series of podcasts has not only become one of Rogan’s most popular iterations, but it has become a battle of political perspectives.
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Across 17 episodes and counting, Gillis brings his Bud Light-American viewpoint, backed by historical knowledge. This is often at odds with Rogan’s “question everything” mantra, while Shaffir offers real-world traveler’s experience.
The fourth member of the group, Mark Normand, is admittedly usually on substances and just looking to add punch lines. He’s not lacking in intellect; he just picks his punches.
The resulting conversations within the group often turn out to be newsmakers because of the sheer number of viewers each comedian represents. Normand has a quarter-million podcast subscribers on YouTube alone and another 2 million+ social media followers. Shaffir has well over a million combined, too. Add those to Gillis’ and Rogan’s reach, and each episode is dwarfing network news.
Most recently, discussed topics ranged from immigration and trans athletes to Ulysses S. Grant and the Civil War. The opinions are unpredictable.
When Rogan talks about how the WNBA “can’t define what a woman is,” or when Gillis declares America needs “somebody who’s willing to abuse their executive power,” progressive minds will not be surprised.
But when Shaffir says the U.K. “hate[s] immigrants so hard,” viewers understand this isn’t an echo chamber.
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In fact, the show is far closer to a real discussion than anything cable news could hope to accomplish. No filters or network notes means Gillis can counter anti-American hearsay from Rogan while Normand criticizes Israel to Shaffir, even if viewers label the show as “compromised.”
Critics have further attempted to demonize the podcasts for having hypocritical moments, or “effortlessly” forgiving “racism” by even having these discussions.
But others have seen the forest through the trees; friends don’t let each other get away with everything. One video, seen 250,000 times, compiled Gillis’ opposition to Rogan’s political views. This is not exactly partisan programming.
Progressives should get on board with protecting our parks. If they want to chant, ad nauseum, “Show me what democracy looks like!” (and they do), perhaps they will get their answer by watching.
As for East River Park; the city agreed to reconstruct the area in parts to allow access to different sections at different times. However, the project that started in 2021 is still unfinished to this day.
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