#2491 - Brian Simpson

“I don't need glasses anymore.” That’s how Brian Simpson opens the conversation with Joe Rogan, attributing his improved eyesight to red light therapy and a supplement called macular support. It’s a surprising claim that sets the tone for a sprawling, digressive conversation that moves from heart attacks and pet emergencies to the domestication of foxes, the economics of nicotine, the mechanics of video games, and the possibility of vast hidden structures beneath the Egyptian pyramids. The throughline is less a single argument than a shared curiosity about how things work—bodies, animals, markets, games, and the universe—and how often our assumptions about them turn out to be incomplete or wrong.

Health, Habits, and the Body’s Surprises

Simpson’s own health crisis anchors the early part of the episode. He suffered a heart attack during Super Bowl weekend in Atlanta, requiring a stent. He describes the experience with dark humor—joking with the surgeon, who was not amused, and reflexively moving his hands to protect his groin while sedated. Rogan notes that nurses tend to have a better sense of humor than surgeons, who are understandably focused on life-or-death decisions.