Joe Rogan vs. Douglas Murray: Who’s Right About Trusting Experts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY3NY7gFYtw Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Tristan de Liège examine Douglas Murray’s recent critique of Joe Rogan and other influencers who share their platforms with unreliable pseudo-experts. They explain why Murray fails to clarify the standards for distinguishing expert from non-expert testimony. Among the topics covered: Why Douglas Murray’s challenge to Joe Rogan’s platforming of non-experts is only partly right; The proper role of expertise; How to properly think about expert consensus as a non-expert; How Murray is unclear about the standards we need for assessing expertise; Why philosophical expertise, not simply on-the-ground experience, is crucial in evaluating the ethics of an ongoing war; Why many people distrust experts. Recommended in this episode are Gregory Salmieri’s lecture “How to Be an Objective Consumer of Science,” Ben Bayer’s talk “Being Objective About the News.” The podcast was recorded on May 27, 2025 and posted May 30, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here.