Joe Rogan comes clean on forgotten American areas like Baltimore and South side of Chicago battling crime and poverty for generations

Recently, Joe Rogan had NFL icon Aaron Rodgers over on his smash-hit podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. The duo conversed about sports, the entertainment industry, and most interestingly, the problems of American society today.

Near the end of the three-hour podcast, Rogan and Rodgers talked about what could ultimately bring forth change in their country.

Rogan cited a better school system could be the answer, as he understands that societal improvements can be done but only through generational change. Also, he named the rough conditions of cities like Baltimore and Chicago as top priorities for this change. He said:

"We have to address -- as a community, as a country -- and you know this is something that never gets talked about enough. There's places that are f*cked and they're not going to unf*ck themselves. And if you're talking about Baltimore, or the south side of Chicago, or any of these cities that have experienced the exact same environment for generation after generation of crime and poverty -- that needs to be addressed."

He continued:

"And that's the only way we fix the crime problem in this country. It has to be fixed from like a 'children level'. We have to stop children from growing up in these horrendous environments. Improve these environments, give them a f*cking chance and you have all these exceptional human beings that can come out of that."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (2:56:35):

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More on Joe Rogan's views on how to solve America's problems today

Expounding on what Joe Rogan said, the cities of Chicago and Baltimore have been considered for years as two of the most dangerous cities in America, particularly due to their crime rates.

In a study done by Security.org, both 'The Windy City' and 'Charm City' constantly rank within the top ten American cities with the highest crime rate, adjacent to their population. When it comes to violent crimes, as of May 2025, Baltimore has a rate of 2027.01 per 100,000 people.

When it comes to the number of murders in a year, Chicago topped the top ten list with 653, and Baltimore came in at second with 342.

Speaking further on how to solve these problems, Joe Rogan said (2:57:25):

"I'm also for guidance and mentorship and examples of how to live a life that's full of meaning and accomplishment. And anybody can do that. Anybody could do that. If you get an education, if you can get a job, if you can get out there in the world, and if you have a f*cking chance of not getting indoctrinated into a f*cking gang, and you're not forced to sell drugs, you don't get murdered when you're 15 -- that's what we have to stop."

He continued:

"Because this is, like, we have untapped potential of human beings that are just being poisoned by an environment that's never going to change. And if we don't look at it that way...you want to make America great again? Have less losers. The way to have less losers is give more people opportunities."