Transcripts:
Let me tell you something. There is no there's no agree to disagree here. You are fully wrong and it's one of the stupidest ever. This is insane. You think it's women's fault just as much. We're just as powerful. Cut it out. All right. You're practicing for Rogan. Stavros Hulkas just exposed the entire Austin comedy playbook.
Live on his podcast. While a comedian desperately tried to impress Joe Rogan without even knowing it. This is the moment Austin comedy got caught with its pants down. It's like a fascinating I'm having a hard time even because I we do agree but you just you're throwing these like anti- cancel culture buzzwords out.
You have gotten like Austin trans brain like you you know what I mean? Like it really is at the top of your head. Jordan Jensen opened with a trans story, used every anti-woke buzzword in the book and Stavrose shut it down immediately. Called it Austin transbrain. That disease where comedians think saying edgy things makes them funny. He wasn't just roasting her.
He was roasting Rogan, Hinchcliffe, and the entire Netflix pipeline that rewards this garbage. How that ended up Yes. Tom and Tom and Bird are going to choke us on an airplane. Can't wait. Oh my god. So, I mean, yeah. Yeah. What do you think? I think we should first figure out who is Tom and who is Bert. I think because my addictions will ultimately kill me. I'm Bert.
And because you're a closeted homosexual with disdain for the working class, you're Tom. I'm Tom. I I agree with those assessments. The Stavros effect. Let's talk about why Stavros matters. This summer, he guest hosted Two Bears, One Cave with Chrissy D, while Tom Sigura and Bert Chryser took a break, 6 weeks, and they accidentally destroyed the show.
The numbers don't lie. Stavy and Chrissy pulled bigger views than Tom and Bert had been getting. Fresh energy, real chemistry, no forced bits. Then Tom and Bert came back. Views dropped to less than half. The audience realized that they didn't need the original hosts. Stavros got paid to fill in and prove the stars were replaceable.
That's power. There is no there's no agree to disagree here. You are fully wrong and it's one of the stupidest ever. This is insane. You think it's women's fault dude just as much. We're just as powerful. Cut it out. All right. You're practicing for Rogan very clearly. You're going to do you're going to do a great job on Kill Tony with these talking points.
But what he did on his own podcast hits different. Stavros doesn't need Austin. He's not chasing a Rogan appearance. He's not angling for Kill Tony. He doesn't care about any of that. That freedom lets him say what others won't. No bridges to protect. Just honest reactions to what he sees happening in comedy right now.
I think if you're trans, you're still queer in society. Okay. Yeah. I think I think that's that's where I that's where I land. You really have you have gotten like Austin trans brain like you you know what I mean? Like it really is at the top of your head. No, cuz I really you immediately brought it up as soon as the podcast Jordan Jensen and the playbook.
Jordan Jensen walked onto Stavy's world and started talking about trans people within 60 seconds. Not because it was funny, not because it connected to anything, just because that's the formula. Stavvers clocked it immediately. You really have Austin trans brain. It's at the top of your head.
You immediately brought it up as soon as the podcast started. Watch any comedian trying to break into the Rogue verse lately and you'll notice this pattern. Trans story, cancel culture references, anti-woke buzzwords. It's become a loyalty test disguised as comedy. Yeah, he said that. You're quoting. He said that. He's like this southern guy, which to me is drag in my opinion.
No, transgender. It's a slur for Yeah, but it's not transgender. Yes, it is. If you transition fully, you're not really anymore. Okay. Sorry. So, so then Yeah, she's got a whole vagina and Yeah. And he's like, "Yeah, but it was weird cuz she's it cuz it used to be a penis, so it's still gay.
" And it made me think like I don't think it is gay. I mean, it's something weird. It's not It's not the norm. I mean, if I had to It's closer to straight than gay at that point. Jordan kept going with her story about whether certain relationships count as gay or not. Rambled about sexual capital and body image.
The whole conversation felt rehearsed like she'd practiced these exact talking points. No real punchlines, just proving she's edgy enough for the Austin Green Rooms. Stavrose sat there laughing, not with her, but at the absurdity of watching someone audition in real time without realizing it. What is Austin Transbrain? Austin Transbrain isn't about trans people specifically.
It's about comedians who learned there's a formula for success and now follow it religiously. The pattern goes like this. Notice that Rogan, Hinchcliffe, and the Mothership crowd favor a specific style. Anti-woke, anti-PC, constant references to hot button issues. Then start mimicking that style in your own material.
Throw around phrases like cancel culture and woke mob. Frame everything as free speech versus censorship battles. Tell stories designed to provoke rather than genuinely connect. Here's the thing. This approach can get you noticed. Podcast bookings, kill Tony appearances, eventually a mothership residency, and maybe even a Netflix deal.
You think it's women's fault just as much or just as powerful. Cut it out. All right. You're practicing for Rogan very clearly. You're going to do you're going to do a great job on Kill Tony with these talking points. This is really interesting because you're actually saying radical feminism with Kill Tony vocabulary right now.
Stavros nailed it with one line. You're practicing for Rogan very clearly. You're going to do a great job on Kill Tony with these talking points. Think about how cutting that observation is. He's not saying her opinions are wrong. He's saying they sound manufactured, prepackaged, like she workshopped them specifically for career advancement rather than because she had something genuine to express.
Jordan had mentioned earlier in the episode that she's booked to appear on Rogan's podcast. Stavis was essentially holding up a mirror showing her exactly what she was doing. Oh my god. Yeah, I know what time it is now. It's Yeah, I want to die every day. Yeah, it's a whipon snapping bend and rip. Everything's gray. Let's get after it, boy.
Your poop's fat cuz you're fat. I've made a critical folly. The Netflix pipeline. Jordan Jensen's Netflix special dropped the same day as this podcast episode. The description reads, "Unapologetic takes on hooking up, failing at femininity, spiraling with ADHD, and more." Stavos read that description during their conversation and just laughed.
Because if you've been watching comedy specials over the past few years, you've seen this exact formula dozens of times. female comedian talks about dating struggles, complicated relationship with femininity, mental health challenges, maybe throws in some edgy cultural commentary, package it all as unapologetic, even though nothing about it actually challenges expectations.
Netflix knows this template sells to their algorithm and their target demographics, so they keep buying it. Comedians keep delivering it, but audiences are starting to notice the repetition. That is the thing. I mean, I'm sorry. We're in entertainment, unfortunately, and it's the we're in the lowest part of entertainment.
So, people who fail out of everything else end up here. We're sort of like in after you clean your sink and you see all the like debris that's in the little strainer. That's stand-up comedy. The comedy hierarchy roast. One of the most brutal moments came when Stavros talked about where standup actually sits in the entertainment world.
We're in the lowest part of entertainment. People who fail out of everything else end up here. We're like the debris in the sink strainer after you clean it. That's a harsh truth most comedians won't say out loud. Standup attracts people who wanted to be actors but weren't conventionally attractive enough.
Writers who couldn't handle the structure. Models who didn't have the right look. Musicians who couldn't commit to the grind. Comedy becomes the fallback. And there's nothing wrong with that except when comedians start pretending it's something more prestigious than it actually is. That's what I'm saying. So, and it was like like I got plastic surgery to remove all this extra skin cuz I used to be super fat.
I used to be fat as hell. We recovered. That's like if somebody me and they were like, "Yeah, she just had the skin hitting me in the face the whole time." And they were like, "Really?" And they were like, "No, she got it cut off." But it was there. You know what I mean? It doesn't make any sense. Stavros made a specific point about female comedians getting cosmetic procedures while simultaneously complaining about beauty standards.
Your face is supposed to move. You can't be funny if it's frozen. The deeper point isn't really about plastic surgery itself. It's about authenticity. Comedy works when there's a genuine connection between performer and audience. When someone feels real and relatable. But when you're constantly managing your image, whether that's physical appearance, political alignment, or career positioning, that authenticity gets lost.
You become a brand trying to sell something rather than a person trying to connect. Jordan kept trying to defend her positions throughout the conversation, but each defense actually reinforced Stavis' critique. She wasn't responding naturally. She was performing, saying things calculated to make her sound smart or rebellious to a specific audience.
If you're enjoying this breakdown, hit that like button. It genuinely helps more people discover content like this. And subscribe if you want more deep dives into comedy culture every week. Feminism is dead, dude. But what you're talking about is a form of feminism. You're talking about I want it to come back. Okay. Remember Harry Armpits? Now it's unacceptable.
I don't think I don't think that's true. It it's okay in Bushwick, but it's not cool. The feminist contradiction. Jordan started making points about feminism during their conversation. She argued that feminism is dead, that women should stop trying to look like children, that women hold as much power as men and need to stop blaming external forces for everything.
Stavros actually agreed with some of her underlying points, but he called out the packaging. You're actually saying radical feminism with kill Tony vocabulary right now. I'm having a hard time processing it because we do agree, but you're throwing anti-cancel culture buzzwords out. This gets at something fascinating. Jordan was making legitimate feminist critiques about performative femininity and unrealistic beauty standards.
These are genuinely progressive observations about how women get trapped by social expectations. But she wrapped those ideas in language specifically designed to appeal to the anti-woke Austin comedy crowd. Buzzwords like cancel culture and framing that distances her from traditional feminism. That's fine, but it's very rare to see it on like an actual empowered woman.
It's it's on like a vegan trans who has like non-binary cats or whatever. You're really This is really interesting because you're actually saying radical feminism with kill Tony vocabulary right now. It's like a fascinating I'm having a hard time even cuz I we do agree but you just you're throwing these like anti- cancel culture buzzwords out even though you're like it's like how Ian is embarrassed of being gay so he pretends to be Republican. You're doing this.
You're embarrassed to be a feminist so you're pretending to be Republican right now. Stavros made a comparison to comedian Ian Fidance. You're embarrassed to be a feminist so you're pretending to be Republican right now. That's the contradiction. Jordan clearly holds feminist values. She wants women empowered, wants them to reject impossible standards, wants them to own their choices, but she's so concerned about being accepted by the Austin comedy scene that she can't just state those values directly. Instead, she has
to frame everything in a way that won't alienate the gatekeepers she's trying to impress. That's not bravery or edgginess. It's actually the opposite. It's fear of authentic self-expression. It's new. And so if you're on the outside and you're not in, you try to find some criticism that that's look, criticism is fine if you're telling the truth.
But there's a bunch of people that are making things up because they're trying to attack something that they can't be a part of. That's right. And most of the reason you can't be a part of is cuz you're Why Rogan and Tony are defensive. Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe have been building the Austin comedy infrastructure for several years now.
The comedy mothership became a flagship venue. Kill Tony turned into a major platform. Dozens of comedians relocated based on promises of a thriving new scene. For a while, everything seemed to be working according to plan. But lately, there's been noticeable defensiveness in how they talk about Austin. Rogan keeps emphasizing how great the scene is, how naturally diverse, how it represents the future of comedy, but constant reassurance often signals underlying doubt.
If something is genuinely thriving, you don't need to keep insisting it is. Uh Tony, what's going on? Do you not like Mark Merritt? Does he not like you? What was that? What was that all about? Whoa, just dropping a big one there. I mean, is there a beef with you and Mark Maron? I mean, you know, I don't ever acknowledge these guys, these mentally ill people when they, you know, go online and start talking about me and my friends and calling us Nazis.
Yeah, but Tony Hinchcliffe faced his own criticism when Mark Maron publicly called him out for hacky punchdown comedy. Tony's response was to go on Legion of Skanks and accuse Marin of clout chasing and fishing for publicity. The irony is thick. Tony built his entire career on publicly roasting people, often brutally.
But when someone criticizes his comedy style, he frames it as unfair attack rather than legitimate artistic critique. Both Rogan and Tony are starting to realize that the Austin model might not be as sustainable as they hoped. They built a scene based on exclusivity, shock value, and positioning themselves as rebels against mainstream comedy culture.
That works for a while, but eventually audiences want substance beyond just rebellion for its own sake. So, we want to go do live things, but live [ __ ] is so [ __ ] expensive now that people are kind of like hesitant. Well, lower your [ __ ] prices, dude. I'm not on a road. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Smart to not be on the road right now.
Why is the road rough right now? Yeah. It's not great. So, I I wonder I I had a theory about this with comedy, actually. I think that like the the I think the bubble has subsided a little bit. Yeah. Well, you can tell that by our ticket sales. The comedy bubble is contracting. What's happening in Austin reflects a broader shift in stand-up comedy economics.
For several years, comedy experienced massive growth. Podcasts exploded in popularity. Netflix invested heavily in stand-up specials. Comedians who previously played small clubs were suddenly selling out theaters and arenas. But that growth was partially artificial, driven by streaming platform budgets and podcast advertising revenue rather than organic audience demand.
Now the economics are correcting. Andrew Schultz recently discussed how ticket sales have declined across the board. Even established comedians are having trouble filling venues. Chrissy D and Giannis Papas talked on flagrant about having to cancel tour dates because of poor ticket sales. This isn't just affecting smaller names.
The entire industry is contracting as audiences realize they've been oversaturated with content. Audiences are experiencing comedy fatigue. They've watched dozens of nearly identical specials. They've listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts where comedians mostly talk about the same topics using the same framework.
Austin comedy became particularly formulaic because there was a clear template for success. Stop focusing on unique perspective or authentic voice. Start focusing on signaling the right politics and using approved language. Jordan Jensen's Netflix special exemplifies this, promising unapologetic takes while delivering exactly what's expected.
The special itself might be perfectly competent, but it's competing in a market flooded with nearly identical products. Audiences are looking for something genuinely different, something that surprises them or challenges them in ways they didn't anticipate. Austin comedy can't provide that because the scene optimizes for fitting in rather than standing out that are that are bad and looking for things that are wrong, looking for wrong speak.
It's very toxic. It's toxic for the people that are doing it. It's toxic for the people that are receiving it. It's just it's not a way that human beings would ever communicate in oneonone. I mean, I try to to communicate with people the same way online as I would if they were right in front of me.
I don't always succeed, but I try. That's my goal. My goal is to try to talk to someone as if they were right in front of me. That's clearly not how everybody's handled. The free speech contradiction. One of the core contradictions in Austin comedy culture is the gap between stated values and actual practice.
Rogan and Hinchcliffe position themselves as free speech absolutists. They constantly discuss fighting cancel culture and defending comedians right to say anything. But observe what actually happens when someone criticizes the Austin scene or its prominent figures. Green room access gets revoked. Comedians get blacklisted. Critics get accused of jealousy or publicity seeking.
Real commitment to free speech means accepting disagreement and critique without retaliation. It means being secure enough in your work that you don't need to control the narrative around it. The Austin leadership struggles with this. They want the cultural capital that comes from positioning themselves as brave trutht tellers, but they react defensively when others exercise that same freedom to critique them.
Instead of engaging with criticism, the response is typically to close ranks. Surround yourself with people who agree. Create an environment where dissent feels uncomfortable or risky. That's not strength. It's fragility and audiences can sense it. Stavros's observation about Jordan practicing for Rogan cuts to the heart of this issue.
Austin comedy has become less about artistic expression and more about demonstrating you understand and accept the scenes unwritten rules. It's essentially an audition process dressed up as rebellion. And once you see that pattern, it's hard to unsee it in how many Austin adjacent comedians present themselves. Aaron, Jezeneck, they all are on multiple episodes of Kill Tony.
They've always smiled right to my face. Ponies. They all fancy enough coincidentally never leave avails when they know I'm going to LA. They're never around. Wait, are so what's likely to happen with Austin comedy moving forward? Expect more comedians to quietly distance themselves. Tim Dylan already moved back to Los Angeles.
Bobby Lee and Andrew Santino never relocated despite pressure. These aren't isolated decisions. They reflect growing awareness that the Austin Promise didn't fully materialize. Ticket sales will likely continue declining as the broader comedy market contracts. Austin was heavily dependent on hype and novelty. As those factors fade, the scene will need to compete on actual quality and uniqueness.
Netflix and other streaming platforms are already becoming more selective about comedy content. They're looking at performance data and realizing that many specials don't retain audiences or drive subscriptions. expect fewer deals and smaller budgets, particularly for comedians whose work feels derivative. The culture war positioning that defined early Austin comedy is showing diminishing returns.
Audiences are fatigued by constant discussion of the same political and social issues framed in the same ways. People want to laugh. They want to be surprised. They want comedians who can make them see familiar things from genuinely new angles. That requires real creativity, not just hitting approved talking points with slightly different wording. Rogan will face a choice.
Evolve the scene to be more open and creatively diverse or maintain tight control and watch it gradually become irrelevant. Based on patterns so far, doubling down seems more likely than opening up. Stavros Halchius didn't plan to become a symbol of resistance to Austin comedy culture. He just responded honestly to what he observed during a podcast conversation.
He called out performative edgginess. He identified the career advancement formula that Jordan was unconsciously following. He did it with humor rather than anger, which somehow made the critique even more devastating. Jordan walked into that podcast expecting a friendly conversation where she could share her edgy takes and build her profile.
Instead, she became a case study in how modern comedy incentivizes inauthenticity. Stavros wasn't cruel about it. He agreed with many of her underlying points, but he couldn't ignore how she packaged those ideas in Austin approved language. He couldn't pretend she wasn't auditioning for a specific kind of acceptance.
[Music] The Austin Comedy Experiment had an interesting run. For a few years, it genuinely felt like something new was being built, a scene that could rival LA and New York as a comedy center. But it became clear over time that what was being built was less a creative community and more a branded product, less about fostering diverse voices and more about rewarding specific types of conformity.
Comedians like Stavros demonstrate that you don't need to participate in that system to succeed. You don't need to relocate to Austin. You don't need to adopt approved vocabulary. You don't need to signal your alignment with specific cultural positions. You just need to be genuinely funny and genuinely yourself. Comedy works when it's honest.
When performers connect with audiences through authentic expression rather than calculated positioning. That's what Austin forgot in its pursuit of becoming a movement. Drop a comment with your thoughts. Can Austin comedy evolve into something more creatively open, or is the current model too entrenched to change? Thanks for watching.
Subscribe if you want more analysis of comedy culture. And remember, the best comedy challenges assumptions and makes you think differently, not just about the world, but about comedy itself. See you next time.
