Why do Joe Rogan and the Legion of Skanks call Opie and Anthony the birth of podcasting?

On this episode the Legion of Skanks hosts and Joe Rogan described Opie and Anthony as the start of the podcast format because the show was an open-ended hang with no set topics or segments. It brought in strong comedians and let them tear into each other, while Howard Stern ran controlled interviews. The hosts see their own show as a direct descendant, and Rogan praised them for keeping that spirit by going subscription-only early.

• The group singled out Patrice O'Neal taking over the room within seconds on his first Opie and Anthony appearance.
• Rogan said the show's baby bird stunt, with intern Pat Duffy, grew from his Fear Factor idea and was filmed on a flip phone around 2003.
• Rogan argued that the internet ended the fight over scarce radio slots, so comics no longer have to treat each other as rivals.

▸In their words

“have the fans pay for but give them what they want” Joe Rogan · at 2:21:55 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Joe Rogan Experience (2026-10-30). Read the whole episode summary →

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