#2478 - Theo Von

The comedian Theo Von joins Joe Rogan for a sprawling, anxious conversation that moves from AI girlfriends to autism rates, government fraud, the CIA's MK-Ultra program, the assassination of a political figure, and the state of comedy. The throughline is a shared sense that something fundamental is breaking—that humanity is being quietly transformed by technology, chemicals, and institutional corruption, and that the changes might not be accidental.

The autism rate as a signal

The conversation returns repeatedly to autism rates, especially in California, where the rate has moved from roughly one in 10,000 to one in 12 boys. Rogan and Von treat this not as a medical statistic but as a possible signal of a deeper shift. "We're thinking of autism as a flaw," Rogan says, "but it might be a feature." The idea is that a society merging with machines would benefit from people who are comfortable staring at screens for hours, who don't need much human contact, who lack the emotional volatility that might resist a fully data-driven world. Von adds that many people high on the spectrum work in tech and seem to thrive in the digital landscape. "What if one day it's not one in 12 in California," Rogan asks, "if it's a hundred percent everybody, you got a full spectrum society?" The two men circle the possibility that rising autism rates—whatever their cause—might not be a bug but a f