While writing the Acast Podcast Pulse report story, which talked, among many findings, about how podcasting feels like a personal conversation and gets more focused attention than even television, I was practicing what I was posting and also listening to The Joe Rogan Experience and Joe’s chat with Russell Crowe who is on a big of the media junket lately ahead of the release of his new movie Nuremberg.

The conversation was as if the pair had invited me to join them for lunch and, when I couldn’t make it because I had to work, they’d kindly recorded the whole thing for me. They talked about the film and then shot the breeze on big topics, and small, for the next two and a half hours. I didn’t listen to all of it, but I did tick many of the Acast survey finding boxes. It did feel like I was part of a laid back catch up chat (Russell’s been on the show before) and I was invested more than I thought I’d be in the big topics as well as the mundane.

One that resonated was Russell sharing his thoughts on our PM wearing a Joy Division T-shirt. For those not aware, this was taken to task by the Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for reasons I had no idea of until then either. Russell said to Joe what I think most Australians felt about the matter which was:

“We all know it’s a band name, right? Just because you like the Rolling Stones doesn’t mean that you want rocks to be falling on people. What are you f***ing talking about?”

And then went to give another two cents worth on the Australian political situation like you would do with your mate at the pub. I didn’t take it as Russell trying to be the font of all knowledge on the situation, just sharing his opinion. But because it’s Russ, and Joe, arguably the biggest podcast in the world, it made national news.

So much of their chat summed up the difference between podcasts and radio. Russell talked about gambling in sports and his own feelings towards gambling in general in depth. This part may have been cut from shows dependent on gambling sponsors and I liked that Rogan, who is a UFC commentator outside his podcast commitments dived into the topic irrespective. This led to an aside where Rogan said told Russ that he had to watch the movie Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, which Rogan said was the best film on the topic he’d ever seen. Then the pair of them discussed the underrated acting talent that is Adam Sandler. Not something I ever would have expected but that’s just how the chat flowed.

I’m not sure that the time that Russ spent explaining cricket to Rogan would have made the Australian edit either but I loved that too. I knew Russell’s cousins were the highly esteemed Crowe brothers Martin and Jeff who were both Cricket stars in NZ and Martin an exceptional sports writer too. I didn’t know that Russ had once fancied cricket himself but there were too many cooks and two five star varieties already, so he went with a different gamble in acting.

Then there was the chat about the block of land, his first and best investment, that he bought in Nana Glen NSW rather than a house. And his partner Britney Theriot, who he mentioned a couple of times and as his ‘current girlfriend’ which made me laugh out loud the first time at the unthinking language, a sign of a relaxed conversation.

Once I shared the Acast Podcast Pulse story I turned the podcast episode off to go and do all my other family Sunday afternoon things, but I’m still thinking about it. Joe Rogan is on a multiyear deal with Spotify worth more than $250 million. He seems to do 5 episodes a week, not all are 3 hours and most feel like they go to air without much trimming from the actually recording. You can watch them as well. He is all the things that marketers want with a phenomenal audience who is actively engaged in every episode. Russell’s has 1411 comments covering all ends of the spectrum. Podtrac says it is the most listened to podcast in Australia. It does really feel, in this instance, not all of them, like two people shooting the breeze, and yet Joe Rogan has made a phenomenally successful career out of just that.

It also made me wonder what T-short Albo will sport later this month for Ausmusic T-Shirt day later this month. Gee I’d love it if it was The Whitlams.

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.