In truth, there is no “controversy” or “situation” here — at least not in the way that those words are traditionally used. Instead, there is a political power play. On the one hand, there is Spotify, which hosts Joe Rogan’s podcast because it is the most popular talk show in the world. On the other, there is a clique of vicious ideologues who believe they can bully the platform into making the show go away. By rights this should be an easy question to resolve, and yet, inexplicably, Rogan’s prospects look less promising by the day. Last week, the platform deleted more than 100 old episodes of Rogan’s show (apparently, they have become more offensive than they were when they were vetted and published in 2020), and, by acknowledging that it had “had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content,” it ensured that Rogan’s critics will continue to scour his archives in search of material they want removed. Churchill’s famous line about appeasers and crocodiles is as apposite here as ever.

If Rogan is eventually forced out — or if he tires of the pressure and quits — his departure will represent an escalation of our speech wars from which it would be hard to discern a limiting principle, for to be offended by the existence of material one dislikes on Spotify is equivalent to being offended by the existence of material one dislikes in the Library of Alexandria or the British Museum. It is irrational, illiberal, selfish, and, for those who are predisposed toward outrage, inevitable. Spotify’s stated mission was to become a one-stop shop that compiles “all the music you’ll ever need.” Now, it is attempting the same trick with podcasts. How, one must ask, could it avoid hosting material that its customers or critics disdained?