Scientist Challenges Podcaster Rogan to Correct Climate Change Misconceptions

In September 2025, prominent podcaster Joe Rogan has been spreading misinformation about a climate study, claiming it shows that climate change is a "hoax." However, the study's co-author, Jessica Tierney, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona, says Rogan is completely misinterpreting the findings.

The study, published nearly a year ago in the journal Science, involved over 150,000 data points from climate models and fossil records, providing the "most rigorous reconstruction of Earth's past temperatures ever produced." The researchers found that there have been periods in Earth's history when temperatures were much warmer than previously believed, often accompanied by mass extinction events.

Tierney told The Guardian that Rogan's interpretation of the study is "dumb" and that he should invite her onto his show to discuss it properly, rather than talking about it to guests like actor Mel Gibson and Senator Bernie Sanders. She says Rogan is incorrectly reading the study's time scale, failing to understand that the temperature fluctuations occurred over millions of years, not on a human timescale.

Tierney emphasizes that the rapid warming we're seeing today is unprecedented and poses a serious threat to life on the planet. She hopes that Rogan will correct his misinformation and have an informed discussion about the real implications of the study.