Joe Rogan is drawing attention again — and not quite for the reasons some media outlets suggest. On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan criticized TikTok videos of pregnant women taking Tylenol to make a political point against Trump administration guidance.
Rogan’s guest was Rick Strassman, MD, a psychiatry professor at the University of New Mexico and author of My Altered States (2024). The discussion focused on science and safety, with Strassman noting that acetaminophen is generally safe in normal doses and that overuse, not the drug itself, poses risk.
Rogan said, “These people are on TikTok — they’re pregnant women taking Tylenol” to protest RFK Jr.’s anti-science claims, emphasizing that the underlying Harvard studies were legitimate rather than unfounded according to the World Health Organization. So
However, the conversation largely affirmed existing research: dose matters, not avoidance. Both Rogan and Strassman stressed the drug’s safety when used appropriately, noting the rare risk of liver toxicity only at high doses.
[Note: The mentioned conversation is only between 1:15:55 and 1:17:08 in this episode.]
Even routine medical advice can become a viral battleground in today’s polarized social media landscape. Simple guidance on acetaminophen use during pregnancy has intersected with social media performance, partisan narratives, and debates over “trusting science,” highlighting the challenges of communicating public health in a polarized media landscape.
