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Bill Murray (2025) - Hunter S. Thompson and the Homeless Crisis · The Joe Rogan Recap

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  Welcome to the Joe Rogan recap. Today we're taking a deep dive
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  into a truly fascinating conversation between Joe Rogan
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  and the one and only Bill Murray from JRE episode hashtag 2282.
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  That's right, forget sifting through three hours of content.
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  Our mission is to bring you the most insightful and entertaining
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  moments, those genuine Nuggets of wisdom and humor perfectly
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  tailored for well for you, the curious mind.
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  Absolutely. And we've got a real treasure
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  trove of material here. I mean everything from Bill
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  Murray's initial kind of funny impressions of Rogan when he
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  arrived. You heard?
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  About that to these amazing anecdotes about Hunter S
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  Thompson, some really thoughtful reflections on societal
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  division, Hollywood stories, even golf philosophy we're going
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  to unpack. OK, let's jump right in then.
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  Yeah, So Murray shows up at Rogan's studio and he wasn't
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  quite sure what to expect. Not really, no.
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  He admitted he mostly knew Rogan by reputation.
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  You know, the fitness guy. The weightlifting even mentioned
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  someone named Danielle looking particularly muscular.
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  But what's really striking is the contrast he found.
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  He walks in and the place is filled with all this Hunter S
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  Thompson stuff, right? Including, get this, a hat made
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  entirely of dog hair. Wait, really?
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  Dog hair. Yeah, apparently Thompson loved
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  it because it smelled like wet dog in the rain.
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  Oh my God, that's something. It is, and it immediately
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  signals to Murray, OK, there's maybe more going on here than
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  just, you know, protein shakes. Definitely sets a different
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  tone. Yeah.
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  And that leads into the Hunter S Thompson stories.
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  Yeah, Murray actually knew him. Oh yeah, he tells this great
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  story about meeting him for the first time.
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  It was way back summer of 77 in Aspen.
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  SNL season had just ended and Murray got stuck driving Lauren
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  Michael's VW Beetle cross country.
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  The glamorous life. Right.
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  So after a few, let's say, detours, he winds up at the
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  Jerome Hotel in Aspen. And it's the offseason.
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  So quieter, different vibe. Exactly.
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  That offseason thing in a resort town, it's key.
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  Things are more real, less of a show.
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  Murray's hanging out at the Jerome bar, this more intimate
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  setting, and bam, there's Thompson.
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  Just like that. Just like that.
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  And what connected them instantly?
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  Humor. Just cracking each other up,
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  making everyone around them laugh.
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  That makes sense, and that led to collaborations.
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  It did some pretty wild ones, Murray talked about.
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  This time, they tried to convince people outside the
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  Chateau Marmont that Nixon got a bad rap.
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  No way. With his friend Dick Blasucci
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  and this massive Ki glide. Seriously, the whole thing was
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  meant to be absurd. This over the top positive spin
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  using the phrase tanned, rested and ready.
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  Panned. Rested and ready.
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  I've heard that. Exactly.
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  And what's funny is you have Murray's sort of playful
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  absurdity hitting up against Thompson's like legendary deep
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  seated hatred for Nixon. Right.
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  Thompson hated Nixon. Passionately, but somehow that
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  silly phrase, tanned, rested and ready, it actually stuck, became
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  a thing. Wow, OK And they worked together
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  on the Fear and Loathing movie too, didn't?
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  They they did, Murray mentioned. He and Thompson actually wrote a
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  scene together for it involving Nixon in a urinal.
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  Oh goodness. OK, Yeah.
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  It just shows you how involved Thompson was and you know, the
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  kind of dark humor they shared that unique creative energy.
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  But the Nixon connection gets even weirder, right?
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  The limo story. Oh, the limo story is
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  incredible. Thompson somehow gets allowed
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  into a limousine with Nixon. How is that even possible?
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  Well, there was a condition. They could only talk about NFL
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  football. Seriously.
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  Football. Yep.
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  And apparently Nixon knew his stuff.
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  Like, really know it. Talked shop with Coach George
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  Allen, even sketched out a play. That's unbelievable.
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  Nixon designing football plays. And Murray made this great point
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  about the Secret Service agents, you know, guys who read people
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  for a living. They seem to get Thompson
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  recognizing his intelligence despite, well, everything else
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  is obvious uniqueness. Exactly.
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  It's just fascinating, isn't it, how people you'd think are polar
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  opposites can find some weird patch of common ground, like
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  football in this case, Yeah, it really makes you think.
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  And that kind of flows into what they talked about next, right?
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  This whole societal division thing.
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  It does. Both Rogan and Murray were
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  talking about how hard it's getting to just discuss
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  politics, how you risk alienating people almost
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  immediately. It feels very tribal.
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  Totally. They both agree to one that the
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  tribal nature of it all and how that US versus them thing gets
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  stoked, gets exploited. And if you you step back, it's
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  kind of tragic, isn't it? Because most people
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  fundamentally want the same things like what, you know,
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  health, family, being able to make a living, safety, good
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  schools for their kids, maybe a little prosperity, basic stuff.
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  Right. Shared human needs.
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  Exactly. But that gets completely buried
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  under all the noise, all the fighting about divisive issues.
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  And Murray connected this back to Thompson again, didn't he?
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  Something about the 60s. He did.
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  He recalled this really poignant quote from Thompson about the
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  60s anti war movement and how its momentum got lost and
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  Thompson specifically regretted how hostile people were towards
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  the servicemen coming back. Yeah, that was a tough part of
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  that era. Right, because as Thompson
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  pointed out, a lot of those guys were drafted.
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  They didn't necessarily choose to be there or agree with the
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  war. Good point, and Murray made this
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  really smart distinction between the agents of division, like
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  maybe the soldiers just following orders and the
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  architects. The policy makers, the ones in
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  charge. The ones actually making the
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  decisions. It's a nuance that often gets
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  lost when things get heated. You know, knowing where to
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  direct the criticism. Definitely.
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  They also touched on just the relentless stress of it all,
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  didn't they? The news, social media.
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  Oh yeah. This constant cycle of
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  competition and anxiety fuelled by the 24/7 news cycle and
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  everything online, it just keeps everyone wound up and reinforces
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  those tribal lines it. Really makes you wonder about
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  the effect it has on just talking to each other.
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  Like can we even have a nuanced conversation anymore?
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  It feels harder, doesn't it? Like understanding gets
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  sacrificed for being on the right side.
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  OK, let's shift gears a bit. Hollywood Murray playing
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  Thompson in Fear and Loathing. That must have been intense.
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  Totally. And get this, Thompson actually
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  lived in the guest house during filming.
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  Seriously. On set?
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  Well. Nearby, and he was involved in
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  the writing, even in the editing.
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  Wow, that's unusual for a biopic subject.
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  Exceptionally rare. It really shows the trust
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  between them, that unique bond, and it definitely explains the
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  film's distinctive gonzo flavor. Yeah, gonzo is the word.
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  They also talked about older movies, right?
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  Like Bullet. They got nostalgic about Bullet
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  and Steve McQueen, obviously, but also about how movies back
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  then weren't afraid of silence, those long moments where you
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  just soak it in. Yeah, you don't get that as much
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  now. It's all faster paced.
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  Exactly. They appreciated that different,
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  maybe more patient style of filmmaking, letting the
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  atmosphere build, letting you connect without constant
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  talking. Makes sense.
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  Did Murray talk about what he's working on now?
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  Any new films? He did give a little preview.
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  First up, something called the Phoenician Scheme.
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  He wasn't 100% on the title, but directed by Wes Anderson.
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  Ohio. OK.
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  Another Wes Anderson film. Yeah.
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  Filmed in Berlin, he was raving about the set designs that it
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  was extraordinary by some famous designer.
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  He didn't name stars to hear Raheem, he stumbled a bit on the
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  name Benicio Del Toro. Michael Cera.
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  Mia Gough. Sounds like a classic Wes
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  Anderson lineup. What's it about?
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  Espionage, apparently, but with a father daughter relationship
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  at its core. Interesting.
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  What else? Then there's a film called The
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  Friend stars Naomi Watts and a very large Great Dane.
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  A Great Dane. OK, yeah.
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  It's based on a book by Sigrid Nunez, directed by Scott McGee
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  and David Siegel, and it sounds like it explores the idea of the
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  friend. Is it the dog?
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  Is it a person, that metaphorical angle?
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  Tells more introspective baby. Could be based on a respected
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  novel, so it probably has some depth.
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  And finally, a movie called Riffraff.
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  Riffraff. Yeah, apparently it had just
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  opened, like the day before the podcast recording.
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  Murray called it a real party movie.
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  A party movie with who? Great cast.
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  Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Pete Davidson, Nat Wolfe, He
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  initially thought LS Pullman, Emmanuella Pastakini and Gabriel
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  Union. Though he slightly flubbed her
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  first name. He said the trailer looked wild
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  and chaotic. Sounds like fun, maybe a bit
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  crazy. Definitely seemed like he was
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  excited about that one. A more lighthearted thing, it
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  sounds like. So how does he even choose these
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  projects? He must get offered tons of
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  stuff. He said it really boils down to
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  two things, the script obviously, and his relationships
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  with directors he really trusts. Like Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch.
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  Sofia Coppola, Yeah. He's built up such trust with
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  them over the years that if they call, he's pretty much in.
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  He doesn't need the whole pitch. Sometimes just hearing their
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  name is enough to say OK. That's real trust.
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  Speaks volumes about those long term partnerships.
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  Absolutely. It's about that shared vision,
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  that history of making good stuff together now.
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  The conversation went back to SNL for a bit, right?
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  Yeah, and Phil Hartman. Yeah, some really fun memories
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  that they even joked about, like an in memoriam for comedy.
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  For jokes you just couldn't tell today, mention Edwin Harry.
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  Oh, man. Edwin Harry.
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  Yeah, different times. Definitely brings up that whole
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  thing about how comedy changes, what's acceptable shifts, you
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  know, makes you think. Murray worked with Hartman after
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  SNL too, didn't he? On News Radio.
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  He did. He played the maintenance guy,
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  that quirky character opposite Hartman's straight man news
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  anchor. He spoke so warmly about their
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  friendship, about Hartmans incredible talent.
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  Is amazing just. Brilliant.
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  Murray even recalled this SNL sketch idea Hartman had about a
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  doctor doing unnecessary surgeries to make all kids
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  female. That is just wow.
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  Could never air today. Yikes, no.
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  Highlights Hartman's fearlessness, though.
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  But Murray also stressed how professional Hartman was, how
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  kind, how modest, especially since he found big success kind
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  of late. Right.
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  You had a whole career before acting took off.
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  Yeah, graphic artist, the album covers and Pee Wee's Playhouse
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  of course. Just multi talented.
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  Such a grounded guy it sounds. Like very much so.
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  Just genuinely well liked, respected person.
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  It was so tragic how he died. Yeah, they did touch on that,
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  the awful circumstances, Murray mentioned knowing the family.
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  They also mentioned Dave Foley being on News Radio 2 and Jon
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  Lovitz coming in after Hartman passed.
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  Such a loss for comics. A huge loss.
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  OK, so moving from the poignant to the absolutely bizarre Elvis
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  meeting Nixon. Oh my God, yes, that story is
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  wild. Elvis goes to the White House,
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  gives Nixon a revolver and an automatic pistol.
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  What? And Nixon gives Elvis DEA badge.
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  You can't make this stuff up. Right.
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  And they even touched on the irony, the hypocrisy of Elmis
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  wanting a DEA badge given his own struggles with prescription
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  drugs, apparently for pain. It's just layers of strangeness,
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  celebrity, power, contradiction. Totally surreal.
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  They also mentioned the Frost Nixon movie briefly.
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  Franco, Angela as Nixon. Yeah, great performance.
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  And a very quick kind of brushed over mention of some Tucker
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  Carlson theory about Watergate. OK, didn't dwell on that one.
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  Nope. And Murray also told a story
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  about running into Bob Belzer and talking about UFOs.
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  Random, right? But more significantly, he got
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  really fired up about Bob Woodward's book on John Belushi.
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  Wired. Oh yeah, How so?
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  He strongly disagreed with it, questioned Woodward's sources,
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  his motives, really defended Belushi's character, his
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  contribution. You could feel the loyalty
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  there. Protecting his friend.
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  Definitely skeptical about how someone's life gets portrayed
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  after they're gone, especially using potentially iffy sources.
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  Makes sense. OK, let's switch again.
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  Golf. Marie's a golfer.
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  Oh yeah, long history started as a kid, a shag boy, then a caddy
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  actually paid his way through high school caddying.
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  Well, OK, serious beginnings. Plays more seriously now.
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  Handicaps around 12 used to be lower, like 7, and his son
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  getting into it has kind of rekindled his own enjoyment.
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  That's nice sharing it with his son.
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  Yeah, but he also said he tries not to get addicted because it
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  takes so much time, mentioned Rogan's friend Jamie being super
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  intense about it. Yeah, golf can definitely
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  consume you. Totally.
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  But he recommended a book. Every shot must have a purpose
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  by Pia Nelson and Lynn Marriott. He slightly messed up the title,
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  but that's the one. Every shot must have a purpose.
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  What's the idea? It's really about the mental
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  game, quieting the noise in your head, being present in your body
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  when you play, not just swinging but being focused.
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  Mindfulness in golf. Exactly.
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  He compared it to other focus stuff like playing pool or
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  archery. Talked about the surprise shot
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  in archery. Surprise shot, yeah.
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  Where you're so focused the release just happens almost
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  without conscious thought. Intense concentration.
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  He related it to needing that focus for playing pool in
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  Groundhog Day. Right, right, that makes sense.
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  Connecting the mental discipline across different skills.
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  It's a great insight really, that state of flow, trusting
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  your instincts, applies way beyond sports.
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  So they also talked about Murray's travels, his
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  background, where he grew up. Yeah, pretty varied.
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  Born in Jersey, high school in Boston.
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  Lived in San Francisco as a kid during the Vietnam hippie era,
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  then Florida. Gave him a broad perspective.
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  San Francisco back then must have been something.
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  What did he think of it now, given the issues?
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  He still has a positive view, actually acknowledged the
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  homelessness problem is very real, very visible.
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  But he also sees the city's underlying resilience OK.
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  Did they get into the causes, the solutions for homelessness
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  there? They did briefly touched on the
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  complexity city policies, mental health, addiction, bureaucracy
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  may be getting in the way, potential disincentives to
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  actually solving it. Tough one, super tough.
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  No easy answers. Murray contrasted it with
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  Austin, mentioning an organization called Loaves and
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  Fishes run by Alan Graham that seem to have a more successful,
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  compassionate approach. Interesting comparison,
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  different strategies. Yeah, highlighting how much
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  effective local strategies and dedicated people matter.
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  And wrapping. Things up, They talked about
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  Murray's clothing line. Yeah, William Murray Golf.
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  Apparently he gifted Rogan a shirt and shorts and made a
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  point of saying the shorts were very forgiving.
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  We're giving shorts. We all need those sometimes.
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  Probably just a nice light hearted end note there.
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  So quite a journey we've taken today, unpacking all of that,
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  from Hunter S Thompson's unique world right to deep thoughts on
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  society, Hollywood, insider stories, even the mental game of
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  golf, you really get a sense of Murray's experiences, his
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  perspective. You do, and hopefully you
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  listening picked up some surprising things too.
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  What really stands out, I think, is that recurring theme of
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  navigating different viewpoints. Finding common ground.
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  Maybe sometimes, yeah. Like Thompson and Nixon over
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  football, weirdly. Or Murray connecting with
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  Thompson creatively makes you think, doesn't it?
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  How can we find those connections, especially when
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  things feel so divided? And that focus Murray talked
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  about in golf, quieting the noise, being present, how can we
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  apply that? Exactly how do we tune out the
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  distractions and focus on what really matters in our own lives
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  and bigger issues? Good questions.
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  And look, this deep dive, it's really just scratching the
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  surface of that long conversation.
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  Oh, for sure. We definitely encourage you to
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  check out the full JRE episode with Bill Murray.
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  If you can maybe read some Thompson, watch those movies
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  they talked about, or even look into that golf book.
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  Every shot must have a purpose. Yeah, lots more to explore.
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  What stood out most to you from our recap today?
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  What questions do you still have?
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  Think about it, this is just the start of your own exploration.