Episode 1775: Dave Smith

Introduction

Episode 1775 features Dave Smith, a libertarian comedian and political commentator who hosts the “Part of the Problem” podcast. Aired on February 10, 2022, during the height of controversy over COVID-19 misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience, this episode exemplifies how political commentary can be used to reframe legitimate public health measures as censorship and validate anti-vaccine positions without engaging with the actual science.

While Dave Smith is primarily known as a comedian, he has established himself as a political commentator with strong libertarian views and has expressed anti-vaccine positions. This episode is problematic for its misleading framing of COVID-19 public health guidance, support for anti-vaccine mandate protests, and presentation of conspiracy-adjacent narratives about censorship and “forbidden knowledge.”

COVID-19 Misinformation and Revisionist Framing

The False “Vindication” Narrative

According to episode summaries, Smith and Rogan discussed “how people were demonized and banned from social media for opinions that are now accepted fact by the CDC.” This is a common and misleading talking point used by those who spread COVID misinformation.

The Reality:

• Social media platforms removed content that violated their policies against dangerous medical misinformation, such as claims that vaccines were more dangerous than COVID-19, that ivermectin was a proven treatment, or that masks were completely ineffective
• The CDC updating guidance based on new evidence (as science is designed to do) is not the same as “accepting” the conspiracy theories that were being promoted
• Most claims that were removed or flagged remain false today - they were not later “vindicated”

As public health expert Dr. Peter Hotez explained to NPR: “The problem is when you have people with large platforms making definitive statements about complex scientific issues when the science is still evolving… The issue isn’t that science changed - it’s that these commentators presented certainty where there was none and discouraged people from following evidence-based guidance.”

Dave Smith’s Anti-Vaccine Position

Dave Smith has been publicly vocal about his opposition to COVID-19 vaccines:

According to Reason magazine’s 2021 interview, Smith stated he “did not plan to vaccinate himself or his child against COVID-19” and defended the Libertarian Party of Kentucky when it compared proposed vaccine passports to yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust - an offensive and inappropriate comparison that trivializes actual genocide.

In an earlier Joe Rogan appearance (April 2021), Smith stated: “I’m not injecting my daughter with something to f**king virtue signal.” This characterization of vaccination as “virtue signaling” rather than disease prevention demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding (or misrepresentation) of public health.

Expert Response: Eight public health experts and Dr. Anthony Fauci responded to similar claims by Rogan, with Fauci calling the advice to young people not to get vaccinated “incorrect” on NBC’s “Today” show. The experts noted that:

• Young people can and do get severe COVID-19
• Unvaccinated young people spread the virus to vulnerable populations
• COVID-19 vaccines have an excellent safety profile across all age groups
• The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks even for healthy young adults

Canadian Trucker Convoy Support

The episode discusses “the Canadian truckers fighting up North” - referring to the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that occupied Ottawa and blocked border crossings in February 2022 to protest vaccine mandates.

Context Often Missing:

• The convoy was not representative of truckers - the Canadian Trucking Alliance condemned it, noting that 90% of Canadian cross-border truckers were vaccinated
• The protest included significant elements of the far-right, conspiracy theorists, and those calling for the overthrow of Canada’s democratically elected government
• The blockades cost the economy hundreds of millions of dollars and disrupted essential supply chains
• Public health measures, including vaccine requirements for cross-border travel, were supported by the majority of Canadians and were consistent with measures in other countries

Yemen Discussion - Accurate but Selective

To be fair to Smith, his discussion of the Yemen war appears factually accurate. The U.S. did begin supporting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen under President Obama in March 2015, and the UN has described Yemen as “the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.”

According to Human Rights Watch and other sources:

• The Obama administration authorized U.S. military personnel to provide logistical and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia
• The U.S. supplied arms, helped identify bomb targets, and provided mid-air refueling
• The United Nations estimates 233,000 people have died, mostly from indirect causes
• The humanitarian crisis continues despite President Biden’s 2021 pledge to end U.S. support for offensive operations

This is one of the few areas where the episode engages with factual information about U.S. foreign policy failures, though the selective focus on Obama-era decisions while discussing ongoing policies under Trump and Biden provides incomplete context.

The “I’m Just a Comedian” Defense

Douglas Murray, in a 2025 debate with Dave Smith on JRE, identified a key problem with podcast figures like Smith: they claim expertise on complex subjects ranging from COVID-19 to foreign policy wars, but then “hide behind the defence of ‘I’m a comedian’ when challenged.”

As Murray argued, this allows “pseudoscience, junk history and conspiracy theories to be treated as forbidden knowledge” in the podcast ecosystem without accountability. UnHerd’s coverage of the Murray-Smith debate noted that this highlights significant fault lines on the right about how to responsibly discuss controversial topics.

Pattern of Problematic Positions

National Review, in a June 2025 article titled “The Remarkable Idiocy of Comic Dave Smith,” criticized Smith’s pattern of promoting conspiracy-adjacent views while avoiding accountability. The article noted that Smith’s libertarian ideology often leads him to positions that align with conspiracy theorists and anti-science activists.

Conclusion

Episode 1775 demonstrates how political commentary can be used to launder anti-vaccine positions and conspiracy theories by framing them as “free speech” issues or critiques of “cancel culture.” While Dave Smith makes some legitimate points about U.S. foreign policy failures in Yemen, the episode’s overall effect is to validate COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine positions without engaging with the substantial body of scientific evidence supporting public health measures.

The episode exemplifies the problematic pattern identified by critics: presenting controversial claims as “forbidden knowledge” while avoiding serious accountability by retreating to “I’m just a comedian” when challenged. This approach does a disservice to listeners who deserve accurate information about public health, especially during a pandemic that killed millions worldwide.

Sources

1. NPR - “What the Joe Rogan podcast controversy says about the online misinformation ecosystem” (January 2022)
2. NPR - “The Joe Rogan controversy spotlights how some podcasts spread disinformation” (February 2022)
3. Reason - Dave Smith interview on libertarianism and vaccine views (2021)
4. PolitiFact - “Joe Rogan said healthy 21-year-olds shouldn’t get COVID-19 vaccines. We asked 8 experts if they agree (they don’t)” (April 2021)
5. Human Rights Watch - “Obama Officials’ Incomplete Reckoning with Failure on Yemen” (November 2018)
6. The Conversation - “US complicity in the Saudi-led genocide in Yemen spans Obama, Trump administrations” (October 2018)
7. Brookings Institution - “Biden’s broken promise on Yemen” (2022)
8. UnHerd - “Dave Smith-Douglas Murray debate highlights Right-wing fault lines” (2025)
9. National Review - “The Remarkable Idiocy of Comic Dave Smith” (June 2025)
10. Wikipedia - Dave Smith (comedian)
11. Wikipedia - United States support for Saudi Arabian-led operations in Yemen