Joe Rogan Experience

Top Gear was my dream job, but following Jeremy Clarkson was a mistake.

Joe Rogan podcast, check it out! The Joe Rogan Experience: Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day.

Before you first record, I have to say, I'll go most places and I'm here because I want to tell people the truth about the last eight years. I've had a pretty tough two years because Top Gear ended in a way that most Americans won't know. My colleague nearly died in a crash, and then they left us in limbo a bit. I've never told anyone anything about it, largely because my friend and colleague who was nearly killed in the accident, Andrew Flintoff, who was a presenter on the show. Again, no Americans know who he is, but he's a massive sports hero in the UK. He plays that weird game called cricket; he was like our best cricket player.

Can we use this? Yeah, no, we can. I just want to give you a quick foretaste of it. I'm here to say some things that people will have heard before, and they will make them gasp a bit because we're recording now. Is this okay? What's that? Okay, that's fine. Were you on me? I'm going to go into it all, but it might be that what seems quite revelatory to me... since we're rolling, cheers.

It's been 10 years, yeah, it's been a while. You know what? I don't ever listen to what I say or watch what I record. I don't watch my own shows. You probably don't either, do you? No, it's good for the soul. Once it's done, it's buried. Exactly. But I think I came to see you about a month before I received a phone call saying, "Do you want to do this television show called Top Gear?" Yeah, it was before Top Gear for sure. I think it was then, and at that point, I'd been fielding a lot of questions about why I would follow Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. I'd gone, "No one would do that; they'd be an idiot to do that." Then I looked at the sort of monthly payments that I needed to live my life, and I got offered a bit of, not much money, but some money. I thought, I'll give it a go.

Most importantly, I thought the 17-year-old me, if he saw me say no to this job, would punch me in the face, right? Because it's my dream job. I know that Top Gear is a weird thing in the US because I think many US people are aware of it, that it exists, but they've never really seen it because it never was put on a big network here. But it became very popular on YouTube. It did, yeah. I mean, it was a great show. Whether my era of Top Gear will be considered great, I don't know. I had lots of fun making it, but following in Jeremy's footsteps was, on reflection, a decision I made the wrong call on. I shouldn't have done it, really. I had a great time, but you try following him in the UK just because of how much he's loved. I didn't realize how deep-rooted it was. I still get hate mail now.

You could have had the exact same show under a different name, and people would have loved it. Yeah, and I think we made some good films, and I love what I did, but even if we made a good film, it was always criticized because it wasn't Jeremy. I really enjoyed it, though. I enjoyed you being on it. You know, you're great. You're my favorite automotive journalist. Well, that's very kind of you. I've just seen what you've arrived in as well, and I thoroughly approve of your T-mot vehicles. Am I allowed to say what it is or not? Yeah, it's a Raptor R that John Hennessey jumps up to a thousand horsepower. It's amazing.

I think I'm often asked if you lived in America, what car would you drive? It would always be a Raptor. It comes under the heading of always drink the local beer. You know, you go to a city, don't order a Heineken or a Bud, drink the local beer. The F-150 Raptor is your local beer. Yep, that's about as American as it gets. Dodge Rams and Ford F-150s, those are the most American vehicles. The horsepower in a truck, it's ridiculous. We never thought it'd be possible, did we? No, it's 0 to 60 in 3 seconds for a giant pickup truck. It's awesome, and it sounds great too. It just has this beautiful rumble.

=> 00:04:33

We need to make logical and progressive changes to our energy use, not rush into mandates that aren't practical.

It's possible, isn't it? 0 to 60 in 3 seconds for a giant pickup truck—it's awesome and it sounds great too, just has this beautiful rumble. Do you think you'll be allowed to drive that in 10 years' time in this state? Maybe in this state, yeah, but if you leave, they'll have people at the border waiting in the bushes to arrest you the moment you cross over if you don't have an EV. In California, they have a mandate in 2035; after 2035, no internal combustion engine vehicles are allowed to be sold in the state. The same goes for the UK, although it was initially 2035, then the last administration moved it back to 2030. Good luck with that—they're not even ready. The grid's not ready.

I'm so torn on this because everyone looks to me as the ultimate petrol head. I'll sit there and say they're all bad, but they're not all bad. They have a place. The most sophisticated assessment of this that I've come across was from a very normal person I was talking to one day in an airport. They said, "Surely the solution is that you just use what's pertinent to the energy that's easiest where you live." I think it's the best way of explaining it. You know, if you live here, you drill a hole in the ground because there's oil around here. If you're in Iceland, you drill a hole in the ground and there's loads of geothermal energy. So why wouldn't you have an EV there? It's brilliant—it's everywhere, it's quite a small country, and you don't need to travel large distances. But Iceland's cold, and the battery capacity diminishes pretty rapidly when it gets really cold. But also, if you live there and you've got loads of batteries and a cartridge system where you can slot them in and out, it's doable, isn't it? I just think we need to be a bit clever about it. But at the moment, the subject is approached with a "this is good, this is evil" mentality. We live in a Star Wars reality—effectively, you're either the Rebellion or you're Darth Vader and his crew.

I've been, and you will have as well, pushed into the corner of being Darth Vader. I just don't think I am. When I can, I use the train. If I'm in a city, I quite like riding a bicycle because it suits me—I like it, it works. But when I want to go out on an open road and enjoy a 911, I want to enjoy a 911. Why can't I? I find it very difficult when I'm told to do things that I don't think are rational or reasonable. There's this religious ideology attached to climate change that has a fever-pitched, religious aspect to it. Most people, when you corner them, even the real zealots, don't really understand how much data there is on the impact that human beings have on climate change. They don't understand how much is being done in China and India that will not change at all and is only going to get more extreme, and what little impact you have comparatively.

That's a really interesting point because, like being a parent, on the one hand, you can respond to that by saying, "Well, yeah, if I'm going to make no difference, I'll just carry on driving around in my Raptor." But then it could be suggested that you should make a difference. I find it really difficult that we can't understand that there has to ultimately be a change at some point if it's rational. I don't know if it's now, but it's certainly not 2035—that's not reasonable. We need to prepare ourselves to make logical and progressive changes. I don't think you can mandate those changes.

First of all, we have a long history of internal combustion engines as recreational vehicles, and we love them. I think it's completely unfair if you're still running coal plants that power electric vehicles, which is a fact in America. They have coal plants that power electric vehicles, and they do far more damage to the environment. If you tell me I can't have an internal combustion engine while you're doing that to power electric vehicles, I'm going to say no because no is the right thing to say. It doesn't make any sense.

=> 00:08:12

Green energy isn't just about saving the planet; it's a profitable business driven by politics and money.

While discussing the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, it becomes evident that there is a significant influence from the green energy business. These businesses have effectively pushed politicians to promote specific propaganda about what can and cannot be done, what needs to be achieved, and which bills need to pass to reach these goals. This is all business, and like most industries, such as vaccines, infrastructure, or the military, there is a substantial amount of money being exchanged. This promotion is not entirely altruistic; it is driven by profit motives.

If people who love internal combustion engines were given an electric vehicle that could perform exactly the same tasks, they would likely accept it. However, the technology doesn't work at the moment. Electric vehicles take too long to charge and lack the flexibility of traditional engines. Moreover, other heavily polluting industries, such as shipping, are not subjected to the same stringent regulations. For instance, regulations on cargo ships intended to reduce pollution inadvertently caused the ocean's surface temperature to rise due to the absence of a pollution layer.

Interestingly, there is more greenery on Earth today than in the last 100 years, thanks to increased carbon dioxide levels, which trees utilize. The dilemma is complex; while visible pollution from diesel vehicles is undesirable, the timeline for change is often determined by politicians rather than scientists. Even scientists are influenced by their affiliations, adding to the complexity.

The internal combustion engine has become quite efficient. If an alien were to be shown human achievements, a vehicle like the Raptor R might be showcased as a testament to human ingenuity. However, the alien might question why gravity isn't being utilized more effectively.

=> 00:12:03

Driving a classic car is the greenest way to enjoy the road.

They'd be like, "You're not using gravity. Why don't you guys just go use gravity? Made a be gravity, this is so stupid." I have a Tesla, a Model S Plaid, and it's fantastic. It is so fast; it's like a time machine. Has it got the not real steering wheel? Yes, I don't like that. I don't like the yoke. I ordered a new one, and I get it in October—no yoke, regular wheel. Wheel's better; I like a wheel better, but I get it. There are some benefits to the yoke. It's like you get a clear view of the dash. You basically put your hands on there, and he's moving towards completely automated. You know, you can press a button, and it'll drive you. Just based on where you stand on that, I don't trust it. Nor do I. I mean, it just doesn't feel right. The few times I've been in one of those things with the most advanced, they've all got levels now, haven't they? And I've let it drive me. I'm there thinking, I'm hovering. I don't like it. It's the exact same feeling that I got when Joe Biden was the president. Like, is this okay? Are we...? I just, I have to say, I don't.

In this city, there are a lot of Jaguars with radar things on them. Yes, and I presume they're driverless. I don't know what they're called. Wo weoo. So, I view those like I do that sort of bloke in the corner of the bar that's just a bit shuffly, gets up, does the one-legged walk, comes back from the urinal with a bit of piss down his leg. I'm like, I'm giving you a wide berth, mate. Well, there was a bunch of them, and they got into a situation where they created a traffic jam because they all came into an intersection together, and no one wanted to move. And there was a bunch of them because there's quite a few of them in the city. You'll see, I've seen several today. Yes, they cause a traffic jam. I don't, I mean, probably one day it's going to be the way to do it, the way to get around, but I think you can't deny people the joy of driving. Just like you can't deny people their ability to ride horses. If someone wants to ride a horse, they should be able to ride a horse. People have a long history of enjoying horse riding. Okay, let them ride horses.

I have a 1993 RS America, and that's a rare car. Oh, I love it. It's so beautiful. The car they made, you weren't allowed the real 94 RS, were you? They did a special one. Yes, so this one, I had sent it to Shark Works. They juiced it up to somewhere around 300 horsepower, nothing crazy. But oh my God, it's so tactile, and it's alive. When I drive it, I just, I'm smiling. I have this big smile on my face like I'm on a ride. I was going to bring my Gunther Works here today, but it's raining. Have you got one of those? Yeah, has it got a roof or not? Yeah, it's got a roof. I mean, so where do we stand on the Resto mod scene? Do we think it's gone too far, or do we believe it's the way forward? Well, I like the ones that look old but drive new because they're less dangerous. That's the idea, really. But I don't think there's anything dangerous in that 99, the 964 that's mine. That's beautiful. Oh, it's so good. How much power has that got? 460, and it's, you know, 2,000. I've also got to raise my hand here and say that I work for Singer, so I've got to be very careful. Love those too. Well, I actually have a little contract with them, so I've got to, I've actually professionally got to say I ignore that vehicle. But actually, I think I love the Resto mod thing. I think we might be at peak Resto mod because so much of it is going on.

It segues into a point I wanted to make about the way we're traveling. One of the ways I find to appease myself if I do wake up some days and think I'm a pretty wasteful individual or whatever it is, you know, even I have moments where I think, just have a look at yourself in the mirror. Just buy a used car, then you're not having another one built.

=> 00:16:05

The greenest thing you can do is buy a used high-performance car like a Ferrari or Lamborghini instead of a new electric SUV.

There are so many great old cars out there, right? You can just go out and buy something that's 10 years old. For example, look at a 10-year-old AMG—what a machine. That's a vehicle that's already been built, and its wastefulness has already been absorbed into this weird world we live in. Go and buy it; it's there for you with its 500 horsepower, ready to go. Yes, the greenest thing you can do is to go and buy an old Ferrari. You'll do no miles in it because you'll never use it, as it might work now and again. The greenest thing you can do in your life is buy a used Ferrari or a Lamborghini. It's the best thing, but no one seems to express it this way.

Another way is to restomod—to buy something and make the car that you wish new car makers built now but can't because they've all been drawn into this need to spend billions on these electric SUVs. There's another irony: they're all SUVs. So, you're telling me we've got to have these efficient new EVs, but we're going to make them three tons? Shouldn't they be that big? No, there's a problem with guard rails. They're too heavy; they go right through the guard rails like butter. I saw that on Instagram too; it just goes straight through. They're twice as heavy.

I do think that people who love cars should just look to old stuff. There's so much of it out there, and they're so good. I have a 2005 M3, an E46—peak car. It's such a great car. I know it's not too powerful, but it's so delightful. It doesn't have a radio; it's got cloth seats. I just bought the V10, so you had the E60 V10 M5 over here—crazy machine. We had the touring in the UK; they built a touring, which is a station wagon. I bought one of those earlier in the year. Do you know what? I paid £27,000 for it and probably spent more than that on it already, just making it right. But actually, the journey of reconditioning and renewing something like that to use for the next years is more interesting to me than most new performance cars now. Is that a sad statement or not? No, because there's something about seeing the improvement on a vehicle. Getting a vehicle and going, "Yeah, you know, the suspension is okay, but these shocks—I could adjust this and maybe that, and maybe I can get a little wider wheel."

You remind me so much of one of my favorite colleagues, Mr. LeBlanc. Matt is a much bigger car guy than anyone realizes. We actually grew up in the same town. Did you? I had friends that knew him, but I never met him. I've still never met him. He's a wonderful man and a brilliant car guy. He would agree with you; he's like that. He can never quite leave something alone. In fact, with motorcycles as well, working with him was wonderful. I loved him to bits. I'd like to make another TV show with him.

I had one of these gangs that steal motorcycles in the UK. I was doing a voice-over in the center of London. I had a new Ducati I bought. I like bikes; I'm not very good on them, but I like bikes and was trying to get better. Matt's a very good rider. I had this Ducati Panigale Anniversary with all the bells and whistles. It's the kind of thing you buy when you've just got a TV job, and you think you're the dog's bollocks. Looking back, it's embarrassing. I parked it up in Soho, right in central London by the voiceover studio. I was a bit early, so I was milling about wearing my leathers. I saw this bike moving past me and thought, "That's a nice bike." Oh, that's my bike. => 00:19:57

I confronted thieves trying to steal my bike, got attacked with a hammer, and still ended up discussing bike mods with a friend right after.

Visors black everything they do is they basically angle grind off the steering lock, the male part that goes into the headstock. They angle grind that off, break the steering, and then they have a moped behind or something quite powerful with a leg out and another guy, and push your bike away in neutral. They get it around the corner into a van, and away it goes. Wow. They did it right in front of me. I walked up and said, "This is my bike." I'm not a very big guy, but I don't present any kind of a threat. There were three of them, and I challenged them, saying, "This is not on," and started swearing. One of them had a hammer, a claw hammer. We had a tussle, and the bike fell over. As the bike fell over, I thought, "Well, that's wrecked then, hasn't it?" because I could see the fairing squashed. The guy tried to hit me with the hammer, and I remember screaming, "You're trying to steal my bike, and now you're trying to hit me with the hammer." Then they left. I was really shocked; I'd never had anything like that happen to me.

I picked the bike up and walked it down to the voice-over studio. I rolled it up and walked in, and Matt was there. It's a long story. He asked, "How are you?" I replied, "Well, someone's just tried to steal my bike, and they tried to hit me with a hammer." He came outside, looked at the bike, and with his most lovely deep voice, he said, "You want to get those Decat performance levers; those are too long." He was trying to mod it, didn't even care that I almost got killed by a hammer. He's like, "Obviously, you know, T's a big boy, and he's fine, but those levers are too long; they don't suit that bike."

The mod thing is really important to me. I love it; I cannot leave stuff alone. I enjoy messing around with stuff too. It's part of the fun of the older cars. Particularly, I have a Nissan GTR, an R35. That is the ultimate mod car because they've been around for so long in exactly the same form, and there's such an aftermarket. Everybody just goes crazy. Find me a standard one; they don't exist. It's very hard to find a stock R35, the Unicorn. Very hard to find.

How much power does yours have? Well, I got last year's model, the Nismo, so I got it new. It was still laying around, but I got it because I know you can mess around with them. I'm never going to get rid of it. I'm going to keep it forever and juice it up to probably a thousand horsepower or something stupid. If they make another one, it'll have to be a hybrid. It'll have to be. Yeah, it'll never be the same. They're about to do that to Fords, probably. They're already doing that with the M5, right? The new M5 is a hybrid.

I've driven the new one. I'm not sure whether I can say I've driven it or not. I'll probably get sued for $60,000 if I say nothing. There's a point in this process where you have to acknowledge that the main criticism of hybridity in cars is mass, its weight. Everyone says it's too heavy, but for me, mass is just a number unless you can feel it. It's really important. You can't just criticize something because it's heavy. It might affect the way the car drives, but you have to drive it to tell that first. That's where I have a job.

I won't talk about the M5 because I think I might get sued, but I can tell you now the BMW M2 is a small performance car that came out at 1750 kg. My friend Tom Segura had one of those that he sent off to get juiced up. I forget if Dinan did it or I forget who did it. The new one came out, and it was 300 kgs heavier than the last one. The whole internet had a massive collective baby and went, "Oh, it's ruined." I ran one for six months; it was better than the last M2. Of course, it was.

=> 00:23:51

Don't judge a car by its specs—drive it first and feel the difference.

The new model came out, and it was 300 kgs heavier than the last one. The internet had a massive collective reaction, exclaiming that it was ruined. However, I ran one for six months, and it was better than the last M2. Of course, it was better because someone German with a massive forehead and a white coat made it that way. These are really clever people, and actually, mass only matters if you can feel it. If you drive a car and can feel it's too heavy, fine, I'm with you. This is the clue to what I think about the new M5: judge it by getting in it and driving it before you actually judge it. It looks good; it's a 700-something horsepower sedan with a BMW badge.

The launch is at the end of this year. It's a beast, and I can only imagine. I had an M5, and I miss it. It was the V8 E39, which I had around 2015. That would have been the F10 M. I'm a real nerd; I loved it. It's a good car, and actually, an M car should be like your E46, which is the definition of this. An M car should be a car that the non-car nerd can't spot from the normal one, but the car nerd can spot it just for the camber, a little bit of R, a little bit of shoulder. You and I can see an M car from a mile away, but a civilian cannot, especially the E46 because it's such a plain-looking car. It's a gorgeous car.

We actually had someone reach out to Jamie, and that's how I bought it. We were talking about how great they are, and I was like, I'd love to find a low-mile one. This one has super low miles; I forget what it is, but it's really low miles. MTE cloth is rare. I look at the cars I missed out on. There was a white manual Mtech on 18-inch wheels E46 M3, and I don't know why I didn't buy it. But then, I suppose I could say that about a thousand cars that I wish I'd bought or hadn't sold. I wish I never sold that green Porsche. I know who owns it; it appears in the UK now and again, and I see it. It was a cool thing, but I had to realize early on that I couldn't afford to keep all these things. But that thing was a masterpiece; it was lovely.

That was done by Tutle, and look where they are now. They just came back from Pebble Beach with this GT1, an amazing-looking thing. You might have seen it. He developed it with a friend of ours called Philip Kadori, who runs the Quail. It's called the 911K, developed by Kadori, and it revs to 11,000 RPM. It's my favorite car name ever. I've driven it; there's a video online of that in this gold thing. You need to sit down after driving it because it's so visceral. It's one of the few cars where you're aware of just how fast that crank is spinning. You have to keep it revving, and it just keeps going. Your eyes say it's gone to eight, and you think you have to stop now, or you'll have bits of metal coming out the side of the engine, but it never does. It's so light; everything's carbon, so it's about 900 kilograms. You'd love that; it's very basic intravenous performance.

=> 00:27:53

Resto mods are a carmaker's nightmare because they bypass regulations and offer what big brands can't.

The wheels are disgusting, but the 911k is an amazing thing. If I were Porsche or another car maker, I'd be starting to cry foul because what's happened is the Resto mod thing has actually become a movement. This movement reminds carmakers that they're not being given or offered a fair crack at the whip. Now, you and I could establish the Monkey and Joe Car Company tomorrow. We could find a car, say an E46 M3, buy 100 good E46 M3s, and turn them into the Joe and Monkey M3. We could sell them for $300,000 with a nice new interior, not straying too far from the original philosophy of the car. Everyone would love them, and we wouldn't have to meet any kind of crash legislation. Smog regulations would be according to the vehicle's age. In Europe, there's even less to do as it comes under very low volume approval, meaning we don't have to meet any emissions regulations.

However, if you're a company like BMW, you cannot make that car, and I'm not sure that's fair. For instance, what RUF does isn't even really a Porsche; it has its own chassis plate, which is a gray area. I think it's unfair to car companies because they can't go out and do that. They can't make a Resto mod. Porsche could not make a Singer. They could, but they'd have to establish a new company or buy an existing one. Could Porsche make Resto mods of their vehicles? Potentially, yes, but they'd be terrified of potential litigation. If one of them went into a wall, you could suddenly sue Porsche.

Especially with older models like the old Widow makers, people don't understand the risks. For example, I have a 2007 GT3 RS, and it can still whip around on you if you let off the gas around corners. The new ones are much better with rear steer, but they'll still rotate. The engine out the back, combined with old design and improved tire technology, makes a difference.

I remember the first time I drove these cars; I didn't quite understand the Widow Maker tag because they had new tires. Tires are everything. Let me tell you a Top Gear story. My colleague, Paddy McGuinness, who had to be subtitled in America for Top Gear because of his broad northern England accent, crashed a Lamborghini while we were filming. It was all over the press in the UK. The car was on a low loader, and I looked at the tires—they were 20 years old. The car had been borrowed for the job, and old tire technology matched with age is terrible.

That's the story with Paul Walker from Fast and the Furious; they had old tires on that car. Paddy got eviscerated in the press for not being able to drive, but anyone could have crashed that car with those old tires. The technology has come a long way. Modern tires, like those developed for a new Porsche GT3 RS, probably have four compounds across them, making them incredibly clever and adding significant performance to the vehicle.

=> 00:31:55

Tires are the unsung heroes of car performance, but no one cares because they just look like tires.

If you get into a new Porsche GT3 RS now, the tire they've developed for that probably has four compounds across it. The high wear stuff is where it needs the grip. They are so clever; they really are. The performance they add to the vehicle is astonishing. No one knows how to make a tire without air, which is a really interesting point. For me, it comes under the same heading as someone must have made a light bulb that you never need to replace, but why would they make it?

The tire without air concept is intriguing for safety purposes. There are many reasons why you would want a tire like that. They do have them; there's this tire that looks like a sort of spring, similar to the Adidas shoe with the sort of LCE. However, at that point, it's a sprung mass which would interfere with suspension. It makes sense because you have so much more rubber, but they tried to mitigate that by having it clear so you can see through it. There were some shots of one recently. I have to assume the only reasons you wouldn't make it are: one, it doesn't work, or two, it gets in the way of your ability to make money, usually the latter. It's probably a performance issue too because by manipulating the tire pressure, you can get it just right, whereas you can't manipulate anything once the compound is set.

Tires are a fascinating subject the more you get into cars. They are the only contact you have with the ground, making them the most important part of the performance package. F1 commentators, especially in Formula 1, spend most of their time talking about tires because it's the main factor. However, tires are not sexy by definition. Car makers will tell you about a new damper system with eight settings, but they can't tell you they've spent five years developing a tire that's revolutionary because nobody cares—it just looks like a tire. When people come to replace that tire, they often just opt for the cheap one.

Regarding my experience at Top Gear, I've never really spoken about it because I like to remain dignified. It was quite a journey, and it has come to an end now. The show has been put on hold indefinitely in the UK, according to the BBC, which means it's an end. Strangely, it exists in other formats around the world, such as in America, Finland, Australia, and France, but not in its home in the UK. It came to an end for me one day in December 2022, in a way that I'd like to say I hadn't expected, but I had. That's the part I've found very difficult to deal with over the last couple of years.

Fundamentally, I'm a happy-go-lucky person. I'm very privileged with the life I've had, and I love that I earn a living doing what I love. You must have the same feeling; waking up to do what you enjoy is a joy. I don't push a desk; I get to wreck other people's tires. My subject is one that is filled with joy. No one wants to hear from a miserable car road tester. However, I'd be lying if I said I feel good today. I've had a good few months, but the last 18 months have been bad because I didn't know what to do. I'd like to sit here and say I never saw it coming, but I did.

=> 00:35:51

Surviving a crash is a reminder that life is fragile and every moment is a bonus.

To hear from is the miserable car road tester, right? He can bleep off. Yeah, he bleep off, you know, and I don't want to be that guy. I hate those guys. But actually, I'd be lying if I said I feel good today. I've had a good few months, but the last 18 months, I've been bad because I just didn't know what to do. I'd like to sit here and say I never saw it coming, but I did.

What happened was the accident that my friend Andrew, known as Fred, had. I won't go into too much detail because it's sort of out there. He rolled a Morgan three-wheeler. He wasn't wearing a crash helmet, and even at 25-30 miles an hour, the injuries you sustain are profound. I was there on the day; I was the only presenter with Fred that day. I wasn't right by him, but I was close by. I remember the radio message that I heard. I always used to have a radio in my little room at the test track where I was sitting inside so I could hear what was going on. I heard someone say, "There's been a real accident here, the car's upside down." So I ran to the window, looked out, and he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead. I assumed he was. Then he moved.

I can tell you now that unless he's a physical specimen, Fred is a big guy, 6'5", strong. If he wasn't so strong, he wouldn't have survived. He's a great advert for physical strength and conditioning because if he hadn't been that strong, he would have snapped his neck and been dead. I couldn't believe he survived. That moment of realization that he survived has kind of defined my thoughts on the subject since because I believe that anything after that is a bit of a bonus. He should be dead, really, and the fact that he survived is remarkable. It has given him and his family a chance to move on under very difficult circumstances.

That day was very difficult, made even more difficult by the fact that in the buildup to that particular shoot, I knew we were at the last minute. I knew we were using a Morgan three-wheeler. It's a difficult car. Just the name tells you physics is complicated. It doesn't mean it's inherently dangerous; you just drive it according to what it is. You have to be aware of its limitations. You need experience. There were two people that had driven a Morgan three-wheeler before present that day: me and someone else, a pro driver. We were sitting inside at that time. No one had asked us anything about the car; they just went on and shot it without us.

If I'm looking in the mirror, I find it very difficult even now that Andrew, who I loved to bits, a lovely man, he was a pro cricket player, not an automotive guy. But he was a real enthusiast, much like you. He loved cars, and he would always come up to me before a shoot and say, "Tell me how it is. I've got all the advice; give me the last bit of advice on what I should do, what I should expect." Because of the call times that day, that was the first time we never had the chance to talk about how he might approach a difficult vehicle, and that was the one day that it went wrong. I find that very difficult to live with, and I feel partly responsible because I didn't get the chance to talk to him. But my situation is nothing compared to his.

The bit that I find really difficult is that in the aftermath of that accident, the show was put on hold. Andrew had to recover from frankly awful injuries and has done so, but profound injuries. We all kept quiet; we said nothing. I said nothing because I wanted to look after him. It wasn't my story, was it? I was caught up in the collateral damage. I lost my job immediately because they canceled the show, and my contract was up. Suddenly, I haven't got a job. But again, you look in the mirror and think, "I'm alive. I've got three beautiful children. I'm not in Fred's position." Andrew and Fred are the same person, sorry, that's his nickname. I just sort of got my head down.

=> 00:40:00

I warned them about the dangers, but they ignored me and now I'm left to deal with the aftermath.

Suddenly, I found myself without a job. However, when I looked in the mirror, I reminded myself, I'm alive, I have three beautiful children, and I'm not in Fred's position. Andrew and Fred are the same person, sorry, that's his nickname. I just sort of got my head down, but I had seen this coming. There was a big inquiry and a lot of soul-searching; the BBC is good at that. What was never spoken about was that three months before the accident, I had gone to the BBC and expressed my concerns. I told them, "Unless you change something, someone's going to die on this show." As the most experienced driver on the show by a mile, I said, "If we carry on, at the very least we're going to have a serious injury; at the very worst, we're going to have a fatality."

For those unaware, Top Gear involves a lot of crazy stunts with automobiles—not just cars but big trucks and all kinds of crazy things. Some of them are quite ridiculous. There was a bit of an arms race between us and another big car show, The Grand Tour, to go ever more stupid. The Grand Tour features the original cast of Top Gear: Jeremy, Richard, and James May, in their Amazon show, which they just ended. Great show.

I'm not from the health and safety world; I'm not risk-averse. I love a bit of risk and absolutely believe that if you enter into a show like Top Gear, you know what you're taking on. There is no such thing as great risk-free television like that. I just turn up, assess what I see, and do what I'm comfortable with. I want to make great television, and if sometimes it got a bit sketchy, so be it. We've all done that; that's the way the world lives.

What happened with Top Gear was that I repeatedly saw my two co-hosts, who didn't have the experience I had in cars, in dangerous situations. This is critical because I am qualified to make those decisions, having done it for a long time. They weren't; one of them is an actor-comedian, and the other is a pro cricket player. Brilliant entertainers and great hosts, but their roles were to make people laugh, while my role was to tell people what cars were like. Towards the last year, I saw situations where it got too dangerous. It culminated in Thailand, where we did a go-kart race down a hill on compacted mud with wooden go-karts that had no engines. I told them, "This is not a question of whether we get injured; it's how injured we get. Just have an ambulance at the bottom because something's going to go wrong." Sure enough, I broke something in my hand, a finger or what have you.

It sounds ridiculous given my background, but it hurt. I don't want to break my fingers for a [__] piece of television. I always said I don't mind breaking my hand if we get a better shot or an award, but this was just a [__] skit, and I ended up damaged. It went on too much. So, I went to the BBC and asked for a meeting with the head of health and safety because this was not good. What really killed me is that no one ever acknowledged the fact that I called it beforehand. It's very difficult to live with that. Initially, I thought I did the right thing by going to the BBC, but I found out that no one had taken me seriously. After some digging, I realized the conversation I had with those people was sort of acknowledged, then they tried to shut me down, and they didn't look after me at all. They just left me to rot.

=> 00:43:42

When you push the limits without understanding the risks, things can go horribly wrong.

I just went with the flow, but I saw this coming. I thought I did the right thing; I went to the BBC and found out that no one had taken me very seriously. I did a bit of digging afterwards, and the conversation I had with those people was sort of acknowledged. Then they tried to shut me down a bit and didn't look after me at all. They just left me to rot. Even now, I'm totally perplexed by the whole thing. To actually say to an organization, "This is going to go wrong," and then be there the day it goes wrong is a position I never expected to be in and never want to be in again. It's strange and pretty heartbreaking in many ways. I love that show.

After the accident, the conversation between me and the network completely stopped. They just left me to sweat. I sat where I live and drank whiskey, with very little contact from them. Everything went quiet. They had two inquiries into the accident, neither of which I had access to. I pushed very hard to have access to the second one and saw some of it. One of the most bizarre interactions I've had was when I sat down with someone from the BBC who was going to talk me through bits of the second inquiry into the accident. I'd already been told that I no longer had a job, that Top Gear was done. At the beginning of it, he said, "I want to thank you so much for taking part in this because it's really going to help us as an organization going forwards." I said, "It doesn't really help me; I've lost my job." I'm always reminded of that old adage from a very brilliant BBC comedy show: never commit to an inquiry that you don't know the outcome of in the first place. The whole situation was ridiculous, and I've never told anyone that. I think it's important to tell people that I did because a bit of me thought, as the experienced driver, that the public might think I didn't do enough to protect Andrew and Paddy. They both experienced other incidents on that show that I think were unacceptable. That's coming from someone who loves a bit of risk. If you and I went outside now and there were two quad bikes, I'd happily roll it for a laugh with you. I'm that guy, and even I thought it had gone too far.

The problem with those shows is they always want to keep pushing the limit. It's generally the producers who don't quite understand the limitations of the vehicles and don't have the experience of what it's like to actually be in control of that vehicle or what is possible. All too often, it's "Could you just do that?" and you want to be a crowd-pleaser. You want to be the guy that can do it. We had that on Fear Factor. When I was hosting Fear Factor, there were a couple of times where I was like, "What the [ __ ] are we doing?" Especially the second season. Fear Factor started in 2001 and went to 2007, and then we came back again in 2011 for only six episodes. They tried to ramp it up, and it was canceled because people had to drink donkey sperm. It was pretty minor in consideration; it was disgusting but not life-threatening. But I felt that if it kept going, the stunts were so spectacular and big. We were launching cars through moving trains. There was a moving train with cardboard boxes in it, and we launched a car off a ramp sideways through the train. You had to time it just right to avoid hitting the car into one of the big metal parts.

=> 00:47:42

Big stunts with big vision succeed because of their rigor, but rushed, end-of-day shoots are a recipe for disaster.

My experience with driving stunts has taught me that if you establish really big stunts that have a big vision and are ambitious, they tend to come with a level of rigor that ensures they are executed well. The difficult area is when you're at a test track with a smaller crew, and someone casually suggests, "give that a go." That's when things go wrong because no one has really thought it through. They might say, "we've done the risk assessment," but just giving it a go while you're there often leads to problems.

Additionally, my experience, which everyone who has shot with me will be reminded of, is that close of play at the end of the day is when things tend to go wrong. If you're at a test track and the light is fading with only ten minutes to go, and the director says, "just do that," I refuse. Everyone is tired, someone might ignore the lockdown on the circuit, and there could be someone driving the other way with coffee cups. At the end of the day, around 5:30 or 6:00, I'm done. I might stick around to pick stuff up, but I won't rush things at the end of the day.

There was an element of that rushed feeling during a shoot at Dunsfold. It was a day that felt rushed, and I know it was because we needed to use that day for shooting. That's another red flag for me—when the priority is to fill up a day at a track. Looking back at some of the stuff we did on Top Gear, some of it was visually and practically dangerous. However, I'm very proud of it because we executed it well. For instance, Andrew "Fred" Flintoff went off a dam in a Metro and did a car bungee. It was an extraordinary piece of footage, amazing film, and it was done properly with an amazing stunt crew. I couldn't have done it; it was brave and a memorable piece of television.

I'm very proud of what the team did there, and Andrew was magnificent. The footage shows just how far down that thing goes, and it’s incredible. If it goes wrong, you're dead, and he had that chirpy little voice in his ear the whole time. There were other stunts we did that, in hindsight, were just madness. For example, there are guys in the UK who go to motorcycle meets with titanium skid plates on their boots, holding onto the back of the bike while sparks fly out. We thought it would be a good idea to do this ourselves. Each of us had a vehicle, and I had the new Land Rover Defender. I had to hang off the back of it wearing these special shoes.

=> 00:51:33

Pushing the limits can be thrilling, but safety should never be an afterthought.

He went out and did what I thought he'd do, reaching 40 miles per hour. However, he actually did 75 miles per hour, hanging on the back and wearing these titanium shoes. Paddy then tried to go really fast, but he fell off. Fortunately, he was okay. Someone shouted, "Paddy's over!" I looked to the left and saw the ambulance driver having a cigarette at our end of the runway, two miles away. That was one of those moments where I thought, "This has gotten a bit loose." If you're going to do these things, that guy should have been running parallel. I didn't like that at all. Although, two miles is a long distance.

I did my run and managed nearly 80 miles per hour before falling off at the end. It hurt a bit. I got into the back of the crew car, which was another Land Rover, and noticed a terrible smell. It wasn't from me, but it was a really acrid, chemical smell. I was told to get out, and it turned out the shoes were red hot. They had melted straight through the carpet and were smoldering, almost on fire. I looked like a Marvel superhero.

I'm very happy and proud to have done Top Gear, but I'm so sad about the way it ended. No one had control of that day; it was what the insurance industry calls an "act of God." What happened afterward was really sad. I had my crew, my people, and from that day, I've never really spoken to them. The producers and everyone else just disappeared. It was very hard because I couldn't believe it had happened. You spend five or six years of your life in daily contact with people, and then it just stops.

I was always torn on those moments on Top Gear. I wanted to watch car reviews and see people have fun with cars, but for the casual viewers, you had to do something stupid like bungee jumping off a dam with a car. I wasn't interested in that. Maybe it's because I hosted Fear Factor for so long and saw so many things like that. I want to hear a car enthusiast rave about the fun they're having while driving an automobile. Maybe you should produce a show. I've got an idea I'll pitch to you afterward. There's plenty of market for that, especially in this country.

When we did geeky car stuff, the numbers were good, but when we did something hyperbolic and ridiculous, the numbers skyrocketed. Online is a totally different story. That's where I found out about you. I don't remember the first video I watched of you, but I do remember the green Porsche. That's where I started, and I suspect I'll return there. I've got plans to relaunch the YouTube channel in the next month or two. YouTube is a very different place now, almost saturated with motoring content.

=> 00:55:26

The algorithm can make you an overnight sensation, but there's something nostalgic about the days when we all gathered around the TV at a specific time.

With the algorithm, that's quite scary. It is, but all you need is one thing to take off, and then all of a sudden, you're being suggested to millions and millions of people. This is interesting about the algorithm. If you just look at one type of vehicle, then you're like, "I really just got interested recently in the Ineos Grenadier." I thought, "What a fascinating idea." It's a limited market, by the way. Ironically, it's the only example of a brand new Resto mod, isn't it? Yes, it's essentially a new vehicle, but for the casual observer, it looks like a Defender. It really does, but kind of better, quite a bit better. It has a really interesting BMW 6-cylinder supercharged engine. Now, when I open up YouTube, it's all Grenadier, all Ineos, constantly. All these off-roading Australia dudes and different people are sending me these things.

I think you're right; it does belong on YouTube. I joined a TV show when linear television still survived. You understand destination television, sure. It's gone now. The world's changed completely. Top Gear still has a place in it. Many of my previous colleagues make a lot of online content for Top Gear. They do a great job; there are some really good films. But there's something quite romantic for me about sitting down on the sofa with your family and watching at 8:00 Sunday night. It was almost a religious experience, really. But it was in a time where people didn't have smartphones. You're right; that's gone. That waiting for a very specific time to watch a program—no one is interested in that anymore. It's strange, isn't it? It's logical that they wouldn't because no one has any patience due to the immediacy of these things. But there's equally something quite lovely about what we used to do. I can't really reconcile it. I totally acknowledge the excitement of the new, but I'm slightly wistful for the past. Is that fair enough?

The only thing that still exists that you have to wait for is live sports. When you're watching a game, the game starts at 8:00 p.m.; you have to be there at 8:00 p.m. It's not going to wait for you. There it is. The podcast as a concept is amazing as well. I've got to be a bit cheesy. I have a podcast, which—when's this going to go out? Is this going out a day after we record this? Yeah, pretty soon. Well, the day after that, my new podcast launches. I didn't realize that. What's it called? It's a really interesting name: Chris Harris on Cars. Chris Harris and Friends Car Podcast is what it's called because I just thought, well, he's Heinz tomato ketchup. That really is a nerd product. One of the things I did as a form of therapy was a car podcast in the immediate aftermath of this accident because I realized I wanted to have contact with this world.

I think that the moment your life gets difficult, you regress to what is your comfort food. My comfort food is cars. I love cars; they make me happy. I would much prefer you without producers and network executives and all these different people telling you what to do. What I like about podcasts and YouTube content from people like Matt Farah is that I know it's one human being. This is their perspective; this is what they enjoy. They really do love these vehicles and talk about them without any influence from other human beings. You're getting this singular viewpoint, which I think is the most attractive thing about it.

=> 00:59:02

YouTube lets creators cater to niche audiences without network interference.

Comedians often pair me with others because they handle the heavy lifting of making people laugh. However, if you want to know whether the new M2 is any good, please give it to me, and I'll tell you right. The M2 is a good example. When the first M2 came out, I was given it to review for Top Gear. I wanted to do a straightforward review of the car on a test track, sliding it around and sharing my thoughts. Then, I would move on, letting someone else handle the humor. But that wasn't enough. They felt the need to augment the test with something ridiculous to draw in the casual viewer. I was given a piece of testing equipment called the Panometer 3000, which required me to wear underpants that supposedly measured my sphincter movements while driving. Looking back, I should have just said, "[ __ ] off." It was an embarrassing moment in my life, but it highlighted how they felt the need to add something stupid to the test.

That's where YouTube is brilliant. YouTube doesn't feel the need to cater to the casual viewer with gimmicks; it can cater to us nerds. Whatever you're into, YouTube can deliver it without interference from network executives. What's really spectacular about YouTube is that there's only one YouTube, despite how big the internet is. In China, though, it's different. About eight years ago, I was at the Geneva Motor Show, the biggest car event in my world. A Chinese guy approached me, expressing immense gratitude. He thanked me because hosting all my videos on a channel in China had made him loads of money. I did some research and found out he had ripped all my videos off YouTube and hosted them without any regulation. He had no shame and couldn't even see what he'd done wrong.

China has Apple stores that aren't even Apple. They sell counterfeit laptops, phones, and other products, none of which are genuine Apple items. Creating content in the last 10 years has become a fascinating situation. When you start out, you assume that if you produce something, you own it by definition. However, content producers have had to accept that this is no longer the case. People can do what they want with your content, and you can't hunt them down. It's shameless. Occasionally, I get messages on Instagram from people asking if they can post my content. Sometimes I respond, explaining that I went out at 3 AM, nearly crashed the car, and paid for the tires. Why should they get to monetize that for their channel without offering me anything in return?

=> 01:02:46

In the content world, people can shamelessly copy your work and think it's completely normal.

Right, right, I've got my books. I can't add up. I'm really dysnumeric and I'm an idiot. Just do those for free, will you? Just do them." "Yeah, well, no, he'll say I want some money for that." "No, no, no, just do them. And also, shut the [__] up and do them." How does that work? No other world works like that. The content world is very strange. It's very strange where people can use stuff and do entire shows based entirely on your stuff. It's just extraordinary.

The Chinese example was the best for me, though. I love that best. He said he had no shame about it and actually thought he was doing nothing wrong. Culturally, they don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. Do you remember, you have to take the Chinese car industry seriously now, but 15 years ago there used to be a sort of underground recess at the Detroit Motor Show where the Chinese car companies would be. It was a grim catacomb of imitation. You'd go underneath and they'd have their version of a BMW X5, which was literally like someone had gone with a BMW X5 to draw one and done their own version of it. They would just shamelessly copy stuff because there were no IP laws over there. Culturally, they didn't acknowledge imitation; you just do what you want.

I reacted terribly at the time, but I sort of understand now that if you don't get that from the age of one, you can't learn it afterwards. They were shameless. I can remember being at the Geneva Motor Show, and you'd go to the particularly Japanese cars, and you couldn't sit in the back of a new one because there'd be Chinese engineers from car companies measuring them. They'd be there for 20 minutes with laser rules, getting all the measurements of the interiors and engines. You'd go, "Can I look at that?" No, they'd be shamelessly copying and scanning the car in broad daylight. It's amazing.

They make incredible electric cars now, though. They've stolen a march on everyone. China has made some unbelievable cars. I've watched some of them reviewed online. You can't even get them in America, but I've watched some of them reviewed online, and they're just [__] fantastic. They definitely have an advantage over Europe. I can't say for America because you have Tesla, which is the only other global leader in that area, but the European car industry has been caught napping. It's a bit of a worry for someone like me, who is very fond of a lot of the European brands, but they're struggling to respond to this. There are boats full of very impressive, very good value electric cars that have landed in Europe in the last six months.

There's also a problem with European cars in that European cars are always known for having a great resale value, like particularly Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari. You can actually make more money off of them in a few years, but not electric ones. Nope, that's the problem. Electric cars, you know, those things are gorgeous. The Taycan is an incredible vehicle. Good luck trying to sell that thing. I saw Lucid Airs, which is a fantastic car. Have you been in one of those? No, I haven't. Wow, I've heard the Sapphire is magnificent. It's extraordinary. You're going to get like half the price of that thing in a year. It's [__] nuts. The Taycan in the UK early on was £30,000. Unbelievable. Someone paid £120,000 for that three years ago. Crazy, and it's still really good.

=> 01:06:38

Electric cars are still a luxury for the rich, not practical for everyday people.

For rich people, that's what I find quite difficult. There's a meritocracy about the motorcar that I find appealing. You can have a Bugatti Veyron or Chiron, or you could be some guy that lives in India with a little thing that costs 100 quid or $100. Ultimately, you're getting the same thing: the freedom to travel and choose where you're going. I like that; I don't want to be told what to do. It's really important that a vehicle can take you where you want to go.

However, the electric vehicle is for rich people, isn't it? Think about it. Show me the electric vehicle for normal people. It's terrible for people that live in apartment complexes; it doesn't exist unless you have some sort of charging station where you park your car and everybody has one, so you could leave it charged overnight. It's rough. Look at the cost of them—very expensive with terrible resale value. It's a very flawed concept at the moment. But as you say, the performance of them can be amazing. Your Plaid is a great example; it's a time machine. It merges in traffic silently, goes faster than anything, and doesn't seem real. It's incredible.

The new one that I'm getting, I'm sending to Unplug Performance. Are you aware of those guys? They tune them. They change the suspension; it's not any faster. They use the same powertrain but change the suspension, widen the front and rear, and upgrade the brakes to make it much more agile. The main thing it needs is some sort of jet washable, pressure-washable floor because I think passengers will eventually [__] kidneys out; they're so fast.

That Roadster, which is going to be insane, is basically vaporware now. Didn't people pay full price for those things like five years ago? He's fascinating. I know he's been on your show. I don't know what to make of him. I just love the fact that he's the ultimate disruptor. He's come along, seen an industry ready for a shakeup, and had a go. With multiple industries, that's what's crazy.

The two questions I'm asked most are: What do you think of the electric car revolution and its effect on the environment? And what do you think about Mr. Musk? I almost don't really have an opinion on him. I just let him do what he does. What I do know is I'm always fascinated by what he's going to do next. The stuff he's produced—10 years ago, there were not many Teslas on the road in the UK. Now they're everywhere. I don't know any other vertical that's witnessed penetration like that. If I walk into a white goods store, I'm not seeing fridges made by companies I hadn't even heard of 10 years ago. But the second most expensive thing you'll ever buy as a civilian, and he's managed to have that level of penetration—that will go down in the history books. It's undeniable.

He's also doing that with rockets and the internet. He bought Twitter and turned it into X, and that's a massive disruptor. I left Twitter because I got so much abuse initially when I did Top Gear. You can't read comments. But then you get drawn into conversations. Leaving it was the best thing I ever did at that time, and I haven't gone back because I didn't really need it to promote anything. The toxicity was long before he bought it. For me, the toxicity is just an inherent quality of people being able to post anonymously. You're never going to get away from that. But you just don't read it. That's the most important thing. If you're a public figure, people are always going to have opinions of you, and there's a lot of shitty people out there. They're the most vocal and the most persistent. Let them talk.

=> 01:10:26

Post and ghost—don't let online negativity drag you down.

To post anonymously, you're never going to get away from that. However, the most important thing is to just not read it. People are always going to have opinions of you if you're a public figure, and there are a lot of shitty people out there who are the most vocal and persistent. Let them talk.

In 50 years, do you think you won't be able to post or comment without your identity being revealed? I hope that's not the case, but probably. I think they would like to do that in America. It's important for whistleblowers and people working in organizations who want to expose corruption or illegal activities, especially regarding the environment. It's very important to allow people to be anonymous when exposing the government.

When you're in a dark place, as I was 18 months ago, you can feel that very pertinently. There were a lot of very unkind things said about Andrew's accident and Top Gear afterwards. I thought to myself, all those anonymous keyboard warriors, [__] you. I was almost at that state, which is the ultimate low, the Kelvin of human behavior, where I thought, "I'll meet you in that car park so we can have a fight." That's how bad it was.

But when you step back from it, I don't engage in any of that stuff. I never read negative things and I don't engage in it. I'm not afraid of it; I just know what it is and I don't like it. I don't think it's necessary or good for you. Nobody gets any benefit out of it. I don't think the person gets any benefit out of you calling them a [__], and I don't think you get any benefit out of calling them a [__]. It doesn't help.

I do what I call Post and Ghost. I post things and then go away; I don't care what happens in the comments. I'm also very aware of bots. We've done a lot of research and had many conversations about the amount of content on platforms like Twitter that's not organic. An FBI analyst estimated that around 80% of all accounts are [__] and are used to promote specific narratives, argue, shame people, and attack certain political and public figures. This changes the conversation completely because a swarm of people with a specific narrative can influence the casual reader.

I'm interested in reading people's toxic opinions sometimes, but often I'll think, "That doesn't seem real," and then I'll check their account. Sure enough, they have 39 followers and seem to be in a troll farm in [__] Russia, not a real person. The pernicious side of it is like all the aspects of life that we know are bad and shouldn't go there, be it alcohol or relationships. If you're in a bad place, you're susceptible to it.

After the accident, it was a magnet for me. Everything was saying, "Don't put your finger there," but you can't help it. I briefly engaged, but I'm very glad I had left Twitter before then. I couldn't believe some of the heartless comments made. It's a very inhuman way to communicate. We're communicating in text to a person without seeing their face or feeling the pain of what we're saying. It's not how human beings are meant to communicate.

=> 01:14:10

True communication happens face-to-face, not through text.

Communicating through text to a person without seeing their face, looking in their eyes, or feeling the pain of what you're saying is not the way human beings are meant to communicate. We were meant to communicate with each other face-to-face. This is one of the reasons why podcasts are so successful and why I only do them with people in the room. The only person I've done remotely in recent times is Edward Snowden, for obvious reasons. Communicating through text is not even a good way to communicate with your friends. You want to be there talking so the person says something, and you can respond immediately, understanding their tone and intent. The cadence of conversation, the quality of silence, and the way you respond are crucial.

Podcasts over Zoom can work, especially if it's the same voices every week, as people become used to the cadence of conversation and can relate to it. However, it doesn't work as well with guests. Some people adjust and have great conversations over Zoom, but it's not the same as being in the same room.

When speaking to young people about managing third-party opinions of them on the internet, the advice would be to ignore the negativity. However, you have to be self-assessing and objective. You must honestly assess whether what you've done is good or bad. We've all done good things and bad things. When you put out bad work and know it's bad, accept it, feel the pain, grow from it, and use it as fuel to be better in the next thing you do. Don't wallow in other people telling you that you suck or attacking you; there's no benefit in that.

On the flip side, you shouldn't wallow in the positivity either. You can't just absorb the nice stuff and ignore the bad stuff. Absorbing only the positive feedback can make you believe you're amazing, which is not good for anyone. If you did something good, congratulations, but keep moving forward. Don't let positive feedback blow your head up. This phenomenon, known as audience capture, is particularly prevalent among comedians who get involved in political commentary. They start getting a lot of support from right-wing voices, which can change their perspective and condition them without realizing it.

=> 01:17:52

Navigating the BBC's bureaucracy makes it nearly impossible for talent to thrive.

Segueing back to the BBC, I've seen that within that network, I work with a lot of high-quality people. At the moment, they're under a lot of pressure, and everyone's judging them as individuals within the organization. The environment there is almost impossible to work in now, and it's changing them. They almost have nowhere to go. It's an unhealthy relationship in the first place because you have executives and producers who want to make a thing, but they're not the talent and also not the experts. They have their own ideas and need to have some impact to justify their position. So, you see people having ridiculous suggestions that everybody has to entertain because Bob is an executive. Bob is the co-producer, so we have to listen to Bob, even if Bob's idea is not going to work. If you argue with Bob, now you're in an argument, and Bob's mad at you. Would you ever make television again like that? No, no, done.

I've just finished something for the BBC, and this podcast is going to put the cat among the pigeons. I've done one thing with the BBC which is not car-related, and it will probably be my last. I did it with Patty, and I loved it. It was actually about wellness and trying to, you know, which is a word I hate, even a word like mindfulness. I can't stand it, so I apologize. Wellness and mindfulness have both been captured; spirituality as well. It's about me having let myself go. I let myself go, but I'm a bit better now. You should have seen me a year ago. We did three one-hour shows about it.

In response to the Top Gear incident, I sat and drank world-class quantities of single malt. I had built up a nice little collection, quite disciplined, enjoying a beautiful Glenfarclas 25 and then putting it away. I did that collection in the first month after the incident—the whole lot gone. Then I slipped into a full decline; it was terrible. I now realize how bad it was. I'm a bit of a box ticker; you can't talk about it unless you've done it. I've done it, so now I get it. My decline was quite publicly documented through a weekly podcast. Some people saw it, some didn't, but sometimes someone would ask if I was alright. No, I really wasn't.

If you start going down that route, it's a real problem. Mindfulness and wellness are both the same to me, and wellness is worse than mindfulness. For this show, we went to Sweden to see why they have a good quality of life. I know they do; I've got a lot of Swedish friends, and I've been to Sweden. It's a great place. It was an amazing experience, but it didn't involve cars. I want to be making shows about cars, which is what I love doing. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I think it's really entertaining television.

=> 01:21:38

I drank a beaver gland vodka and tasted beaver for 10 days straight.

Donkey Seaman, yeah, there's a clip from this show that doesn't make it, but I'm given this substance to drink by this guy who's got an impish grin. I'm like, and I'll do it. I'm that guy that will eat most things, you know. If you film top, you've been around the world, you've eaten stuff you shouldn't have eaten, and as long as you survived, it's just another box ticked. You know, I never thought I'd eat a sheep's rectum, but it's fine, a bit chewy.

I was given this vial of liquid and I drank it. It tasted a bit like a really peaty single malt, imagine an Ardbeg that's really peaty. On the label, it said beaver, and I was like, okay, what's that? This Swedish guy said it's essence of a beaver that we make liquid alcohol with, so you flavor like a shine with beaver because it was strong. He sort of fudged it and moved on. The flavor was in my mouth, and I couldn't get rid of it. It transpires this is a secretion from the anal gland of the beaver. So, I drank beaver secretion. Someone milked a beaver, and I drank it.

It wasn't that bad. What's the benefit of this? Supposedly, it has some quality. If you see the average Swedish guy walking around, you'd think, "I'll have some of that beaver juice if I look like that." Are they all drinking it? I don't think they're all drinking it, but some of them are. It's for sale to be fresh. I tell you what happens if you get a tainted one. Here it is, Tales from The Fringe Beaver Gland Vodka. Wow, so that's the beaver's butt right there, the gland in the vodka.

Ten days later, I was in Japan doing some other work, and I remember my host saying, "What do you think of that food?" What I wanted to say was, "I can just taste beaver ass." Ten days later, all my olfactory system was only registering beaver for ten days. Every food I ate tasted of beaver. Did you try to wash it out with alcohol? I tried everything. It's an incredibly fire-spinning taste. I was thinking, how would you burn it off? I don't know, you'd have to just get a new head.

Eventually, it disappeared, but after ten days, it was still there as a residual taste. I would have been so upset. You ruined ten days' worth of meals. When I found out it hadn't made the cut, I was like, "Come on, how has that not made it?" I went to do the voice-over, and it's not in. That's so crazy.

Wellness as a concept is something that I, as a word, hate. I'm proud of the show that will come out at some point, but I like cars. I want to make shows about cars, and I will go back to the internet. That's where you belong. You belong doing your own thing. Chris Harris on Cars was awesome. We might bring it back. We've made some films, and I'm going to give it another month, then we'll give it another go.

A bunch of people were trying all these different things, like they were trying to monetize it so you had to subscribe online to access the content. We did that, it just doesn't work. You lose 99.9% of people. There's too much good stuff for free. People have no monetary value placed on content now. There are a few firewall systems that work, like the New York Times and the London Times. I pay for that, and I think they make money, but it's barely. They've had to work so hard as they have been diminished greatly by the lack of people wanting to buy paper newspapers. It's been a big impact on them.

=> 01:25:36

The way we consume content has shifted dramatically, making everything feel immediate and endless.

People wanting to buy paper newspapers have been significantly impacted. It also changes the way journalism is conducted because now everything's very click-baity, which is a real problem as well. The expectation is that content is now free.

The way we relate and interact with content is fascinating. There is an ever bigger appetite for content due to these devices, which means there can never be too much content. For instance, when I first saw you here, you had the tiniest little iPhone, the little baby mini, which my friend Yoni also has. I admire it, especially since you don't even have a case on yours, which is even crazier. The iPhone is a bit like a steering wheel in a car; it's your contact point and was designed to feel brilliant. The iPhone with that metal ridge is one of the most pleasing objects you'll ever pick up, so why put a condom on it? I want it unsheathed, even though it’s made out of glass and could break. Mine has a nice little kickstand, which is handy when I'm sitting at the kitchen table. However, when I get in a car, I don’t want something around my steering wheel. I judge people harshly when they have something on their steering wheel, thinking, "What is wrong with you? Who are you? Do you wear mittens on top of that, you idiot?"

I’ve come here briefly for two reasons: one, because I want to be on this podcast and see you, and two, because I need help finding a bumper sticker that says "Texas is bigger than France." I saw it advertised and think it’s the greatest bumper sticker ever created. I have eight hours to find it before I fly back. It’s a simple statement but brilliant, and I want it.

Texas is very different from the rest of the country. It’s very independent, partly due to its history. For the longest time, the Comanche dominated this territory, and the people who eventually figured out how to fight off the Comanche and settle down were the craziest, most rugged individuals ever. The Texas Rangers figured out how to cold camp, and there’s a photograph of Jack Hayes, the original Texas Ranger, in the lobby. Without those psychopaths who figured out a way to fight off the most ferocious band of Indians that ever existed in the plains, no one would be here. They were very reluctant to join the Union and have been conditioned to become extreme fighters. Once their battle's finished, they don’t stop being fighters. This flavors the independence and pride of the entire state.

=> 01:29:31

Austin is a unique blend of progressive city life surrounded by traditional Texas ranchers, highlighting the stark contrasts within the same region.

Austin is a preposterous progressive blue city surrounded by ranchers with guns. This creates a unique balance where the city is known for its slogan "Keep Austin Weird," and is surrounded by the real Texas, which consists of ranchers and small-town people who are heavily armed. Austin boasts universities, intelligent and interesting people, great restaurants, and vibrant nightlife, but it is enveloped by the traditional Texas culture.

For a British person, the gun culture in Texas is totally foreign. The concept of people carrying guns is something that people in the UK might find astonishing. Driving around Texas, a British person might think that almost everyone has a gun in their car, which is a stark contrast to the UK. The Second Amendment in the US protects the First Amendment, which is not the case in the UK. In the UK, people can be jailed for a Facebook post, something that can't happen in the US due to the protections provided by the Second Amendment.

Australia presents another example where the government took away guns after a mass shooting in the 1990s. This allowed them to round people up and put them in camps during a health crisis, something that would be impossible in America. The Second Amendment ensures that such government overreach is prevented.

Having traveled to the US frequently over the past 25 years, it becomes clear that despite speaking the same language and having similar appearances, the US and the UK are quite different. The UK has a real class system, and both countries have their unique attributes. As one gets older, strong opinions about how others live their lives tend to fade. The way Texas operates is unique to Texas, and understanding its nuances requires spending a significant amount of time there. Similarly, North Somerset in the UK has its subtleties that might not be apparent at first glance.

The problem arises when people become partisan without real information, offering opinions without considering the facts. This is not an attempt to dodge issues but rather a reflection of being completely apolitical. There is a deep suspicion of politicians, regardless of their side of the fence. The idea that inexpert people get promoted in politics is seen as ridiculous, especially in areas like transport, where ministers often lack understanding or interest in the field they oversee.

=> 01:33:15

It's crazy how people can be so vile online and even target your kids just because you're on TV.

The discussion revolves around the bewilderment of having inexpert people making decisions and the freedom of speech online without proper research. The speaker expresses frustration over the shitty opinions, nasty people, and misinformation that circulate online, comparing it to choosing not to drink moonshine at a supermarket. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing and avoiding negative influences, especially through the prism of parenthood, as he has three kids.

Reflecting on his experience with Top Gear, he mentions the hate he received for not being Jeremy Clarkson, despite admiring Clarkson as one of the greatest broadcasters. The speaker found it particularly difficult when his children started facing backlash for his work. He recounts a disturbing incident where tabloid journalists tried to coax his youngest child into a car to get dirt on him. This experience, along with having to discuss the situation with his children's teachers, changed his perspective on the shitty nature of some human beings.

He highlights the absurdity of people attacking his family over a television show about cars, noting that if he were a political broadcaster, such reactions might be more understandable. The speaker acknowledges the superficial nature of the subject he deals with, emphasizing that it's just about motor cars. He also touches on the cancellation of the show due to Jeremy Clarkson punching a producer, clarifying that he never worked with that producer and expressing his admiration for Clarkson's talent.

=> 01:36:56

Reality TV often scripts outcomes, even in product reviews, which can mislead viewers and impact businesses.

The same producer, Jeremy, punched someone. No, he didn’t. That guy had left. I met him once, shook his hand. I didn’t know who he was. Come on, team Jeremy. Yeah, he’s brilliant at what he does. He punched the guy; the guy probably sucks. Oh Jesus, I’m not coming to you on that. I’m going to get in trouble. But I do think Jeremy is just the best. He’s quite a character. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to follow him, but I wasn’t trying to follow him. What I now realize is that I was trying to be part of the solution. I knew I could do the driving bit, but I thought the other people could carry off the Jeremy bit. I now realize that’s a very difficult act to follow. You’re not going to follow that; you’re just going to be different. He’s a completely unique person.

They did Elon dirtier than anybody ever did. They were naughty with that; they did a terrible thing. They pretended that his car died, and they did it for a sketch. This was in the early days of Tesla when Tesla had just that little tiny car that was basically a Lotus with an electric engine. That was called the Roadster, the original Roadster. It was a cool-looking little car. They pretended that it died on them and did it for a sketch. They got away with it because it’s entertainment, and they were allowed to create a script. Apparently, someone had got a hold of the script and read in the script before they even filmed it: "then the car dies, and then we have to figure out why the car died."

What kind of an impact do you think that had on the sales of his car? It had to be extraordinary. You’re watching the most popular automobile show in the world, and they say your car sucks so bad that it died when they were testing it when it didn’t die. Without wanting to shatter anyone’s illusions, that’s the way those car shows are made. That’s the way a lot of reality shows are made, unfortunately. Ultimately, you reverse engineer an outcome. You’re being told this is what you’re going to find, this is what’s going to happen, and all we need to do is help us get there. In reality TV, I can understand it, but if you’re reviewing a product that tens of thousands of people make and rely on for their livelihood, and you’re just lying about this car breaking when it did not break, it’s not right.

One of the biggest problems on Top Gear for me was when things didn’t break. Often the producers wanted stuff to break; that was the joy, particularly with the older cars we’d buy and mess around with. But actually, older cars are quite reliable now. You buy something and expect the engine to blow up, but it won’t. How many of those 1988 Toyota Land Cruisers are still on the road with hundreds of thousands of miles? They did a brilliant film about that, trying to kill a Land Cruiser, and they just couldn’t. They ended up dropping it off a building, and it drove away. It’s the cockroach of the car world. I have a 200 series Land Cruiser V8 Diesel with 157,000 miles on it. I have an 80 series. They are brilliant vehicles.

I lobbed a barb on Instagram the other day by saying I drive around in my Land Cruiser feeling sorry for Range Rover drivers, and I got a whole lot of backlash. I didn’t read it, but I do think I have some sympathy for people that make television. They say don’t work with children and animals, but working with cars can be difficult. One side of Top Gear that I found unpalatable was the silly comedy bit, which I didn’t like. Quite often, I’d be given a script, and my review was in it. I’d be like, "Well, I haven’t driven it yet." This is the part where you say it’s great, but what if I think it’s terrible? I can understand why the producer and directors think, "Well, we’ve got to get all this package together; that’s our hour there." But we haven’t stopped to actually evaluate this thing we’re supposed to be evaluating. I have some sympathy for people that make television because actually, they don’t care about that. But for me, that’s all that matters. I want to give an honest opinion of the car.

=> 01:40:39

For me, a car isn't just a vehicle; it's a shared experience with my dog, and if my dog doesn't love it, it's not the right car.

I was given a script for a review, and my review was included in it. I hadn't driven the car yet, so I was supposed to say it was great, but what if I didn't think it was? I understand why the producer and directors want to get the whole package together, but they haven't stopped to actually evaluate the thing we're supposed to be evaluating. I have some sympathy for people who make television because they don't care about that part, but for me, that's all that matters. I want to give an honest opinion of the car. That's where I shine, and that's why I should only be doing things on my own. I think I will after this.

Dogs in cars is a good subject. I love having my dog in the car; my dog loves going in the car because he knows we're going to do something fun. Is it sensible to suggest that the dog is the ultimate car companion? Sure, because they're never upset. They're always like, "Yay, we're in the car! We must be going somewhere I love." I have a GT3 Touring 991, and I bring my English Bull Terrier, who is quite a size, in it. He looks like he's going to kill you with his shark face, but all he'd do is lick you to death. He's a gorgeous animal, and from a pup, all dogs have had access to all my cars. It's really important to me. If you have a million-dollar car, the dog is going in there. For me, it's like the closest it gets to religion. I love it because it's a demonstration of who I am. I want the things I love the most to share the things I love the most.

My cars are known for not being that clean. I live in them. For example, the handle on a GT3 under the bucket seat, where that lovely handle moves forwards or backwards, is all chewed because my dog chewed them as a puppy. I leave them like that, so when people get in, they notice. The only time I've come to grief is when I became very suspicious of switchgear that's laid on the horizontal. I was on a slip road in my GT3, and I accelerated. It was wet, and I thought I'd lean on the systems like traction or ABS. The car went fully sideways on a slip road in the middle of the day, and it looked outrageous. I'm quite good at handling that, so I managed, but the dog had put his paw on the ESP button and turned all the systems off without me knowing. Now I'm aware of that, and he's not allowed to do that anymore.

=> 01:44:26

Dogs are incredible empaths and can sense emotions and situations in ways we can't even comprehend.

The three-box design doesn't appeal to me as much. I prefer a longer, more streamlined look. I find the three-box design quite unappealing. When I see them, I think, "What did you do to that thing?" Recently, I bought a new car, which I find actually good-looking. I previously owned an older model, specifically a 2015 Golfire Estate. I bought it because it wasn't too showy and would do the job. At that time, I had my old dog, Boss V Morana. When I put him in the back of the car, he immediately got out, which was unusual behavior for him. It was evident he did not like the car. Since my dog didn't like it, I decided to return the car. The salesperson was puzzled when I explained that my dog didn't like the car, but I couldn't keep it because my dog lives with me.

Dogs perceive things differently from us. They might not like something because of a scent or other factors we can't understand. Dogs operate on a level of perception that is beyond our comprehension. For instance, they can smell all the individual components of a hamburger, like cheese, pickles, onions, and ketchup. Their sense of smell is incredibly discerning, almost like having a reference of discernibility. They don't have language; everything is based on instinct. My dog, for example, knows to pee on things without being taught. When we go on trails, he finds spots where other dogs have peed and marks them too.

Dogs have an emotional sensitivity. My dog was bred to fight bulls and bears, but he also shows incredible empathy. If my girlfriend is feeling down, he will cuddle her and provide warmth to the part of her body that is in pain. He does this consistently, showing he understands her discomfort. Dogs are empaths, especially when they love you. My dog understands language and tone. He knows commands like "sit" and "give me your paw," but he also understands more subtle cues. For instance, if I say, "Let's go around the back," he knows exactly what I mean.

Dogs reflect their environment. The more disappointed I get with human beings, the more I revel in the company of dogs. However, dogs can also be dangerous if they live horrible lives, similar to humans. For example, in Georgia, a couple was attacked and killed by wild dogs. These dogs were fending for themselves and living in harsh conditions. On the other hand, dogs like Marshall, a golden retriever who has known nothing but love, are a joy to everyone they meet. They are friendly and assume everyone is their friend. Dogs that have been mistreated may be scared of men or show other signs of trauma. They are a reflection of their environment, just like humans.

=> 01:48:21

Dogs reflect their environment just like us, and their pure joy or fear tells their story.

People often have different experiences with dogs. For instance, a dog like Marshall, a golden retriever, is known for being nothing but love. Golden retrievers are bred to be friendly and joyful, making everyone they meet feel like a new friend. On the other hand, some dogs are sketchy or scared of men, possibly because they were beaten. These dogs are a reflection of their environment, much like humans. Dogs like Carl, who think everybody loves them and just want to play, are a joy because they have only experienced being taken care of.

Switching topics, I have a fascination with large bears, particularly big Grizzlies. Sometimes, I find myself Googling their size, potential power, and statistics at 4:00 in the morning when I can't sleep. Are they as awe-inspiring as I think they are? Oh, yes, and beyond. There’s a great story on YouTube featuring my friend Steve Ranella. He was on Afognak Island elk hunting, which is an incredibly difficult place to traverse due to its dense bush and enormous bears. Afognak is connected to Kodiak by a small land strip, and the coastal brown bears there are the same as grizzly bears but with a diet rich in protein from salmon, making them enormous—up to 1,800 pounds and 11 feet tall.

Steve and his friends shot an elk and put most of it up in a tree, carrying some back to camp, which was a six-hour trek. When they returned the next day, they didn’t realize a bear had claimed the meat. The bear charged through their camp, and one of the guys ended up on top of the bear, riding it for about 30 yards before falling off. Another friend, Giannis, had the bear gnashing its teeth just 18 inches from his face. The bear's head was impossibly big, and the situation ignited the most reptilian part of their brains—full chaos, no thinking, just flight. No one had their guns ready; they were all unprepared for the bear's presence.

=> 01:52:48

Exploring the wild reminds us how insignificant and vulnerable we are without our modern defenses.

In Australia, encountering spiders is a common occurrence. People might casually mention, "Yeah mate, that'll bite you," which can be quite alarming. Unlike the big, furry spiders in South America that seem to announce their deadly nature, Australian spiders are not as overtly threatening in their appearance. Despite this, there is a fascination with these creatures. YouTube has become a great resource for exploring such interests. In the past, learning about wildlife required books or documentaries, which were not always readily available. Today, however, information is easily accessible online, though true understanding often requires firsthand experience.

One memorable encounter I had was with a grizzly bear in the wild. Although it wasn't a large bear, only about six feet tall, its gaze was unlike any other animal's. It looked right through me, as if assessing whether I was a food source. This was a stark reminder of how some animals view humans as potential prey.

One of the best experiences I had with Top Gear was with Matt LeBlanc, who had an intriguing idea about Bigfoot. While not an absolute believer, Matt presents a compelling argument. He suggested standing in the Washington State Forest and considering the vast unknowns within. Coming from a small island in Europe, the sheer size of American forests is awe-inspiring. The notion that there might be undiscovered creatures out there is fascinating. Historically, there was an actual animal called Gigantopithecus, an 8 to 10-foot-tall bipedal ape that lived in Asia and could have crossed the Bering land bridge. Native Americans also have numerous names for these creatures, suggesting a basis in reality rather than myth.

During our shoot in Northern California, the forest at night was a stark reminder of human vulnerability. Without modern tools for defense, the wilderness can be a terrifying place. The presence of bears, which I had only seen on nature programs, became a real threat. In England, we don't have such predators; the largest carnivores are foxes or badgers, which don't view humans as food sources.

California once had grizzly bears, as depicted on the state flag. However, these bears were eradicated in the 1800s due to their threat to humans. The last man killed by a brown bear in California was Steven LC, after whom a town is named. The decision to eliminate these bears was understandable given the danger they posed.

=> 01:56:34

We turn deadly predators into cuddly friends, but bears are nature's ultimate killing machines.

In California, before they eradicated them in the 1800s, people just started killing bears. They were killing everybody, so the response was to kill them all. You can sort of see why, but a polar bear is even more dangerous. Have you ever seen that BBC show where they put a guy in a glass cube? That is so terrifying. The polar bear was just smelling the meat inside the cube and trying to get through it to get to him. It was biting the glass, and you could see its massive jaws. Polar bears don't eat anything but meat, making them the most dangerous of all. Ironically, we make them out to be the cutest. How do you know that putting someone in a glass cube is going to work? Did you try that out on a bear? It looks like an X-Wing Fighter from the inside, and the bear just gets to it, thinking, "Oh, there's meat in there. How do I get to that meat?"

We anthropomorphize bears, making them seem like our friends. They sell Coca-Cola and Klondike bars using bear mascots, but in reality, a bear is a super predator. For example, Baloo from "The Jungle Book" is depicted as a friendly bear. It's amazing how we anthropomorphize bears more than any other creature, like Yogi and Paddington Bear. They look quite appealing and are slightly dog-like with their snouts and head shapes. We even put hats on them and create slogans like "Only you can prevent forest fires," but in reality, they want to eat you. They are nature's cleanup crew.

A friend of mine walked to the North Pole and had to undergo polar bear training. There was no gun that could immediately stop an adult polar bear during such an expedition. The best they had was a short shotgun with a solid bolt. If you could get that one shot off, you might stop it. However, there was no gauge of shotgun that could stop one of these things if it was coming at you. They carried this shotgun with a solid bolt, but even pistols like a 50 cal or 44 Magnums would require multiple shots to stop a bear. A 38 or 9 mm would likely bounce right off its thick forehead. Bears bite each other with insane amounts of power and bite force, clamping down on each other's faces for half an hour and walking away like it was nothing.

When comparing a bear to a big gorilla, the gorilla is at a severe disadvantage because it doesn't really kill anything. Gorillas just gnash their teeth at other gorillas and act tough, but they don't eat meat. In contrast, all a bear does is run around killing things and eating dead things. My money is on the bear in a fight.

=> 02:00:19

Don't let cartoons fool you—wild animals aren't your friends.

=> 02:04:02

Crabs are my ultimate nightmare—hairy exoskeletons and claws stronger than a leopard's bite!

Getting in your mouth, they have these skinny little necks that swell up, with fins and tails popping out of their mouths. They are pretty extraordinary creatures, essentially dinosaurs. To come back to the content discussion on YouTube or whatever it is, I do love the fact it's all out there and being recorded. I had never seen this stuff before. I've got a particular phobia, and it is a phobia—I hate crabs. I'm not talking about the STD style; I'm talking about crustacea.

I think they're horrid to look at. I won't eat them, although I'll eat all other seafood. I'll eat lobster, which is weird. It's an insight into the adult brain. I hate the crab and also think it's a totally unnecessary-looking creature. They’re so delicious, though. Everyone I know loves them, including my children. But if there's a big brown crab on a plate, I can't even sit in a room with it. It's just an awful thing.

In the pantheon of hateful aesthetics, you have an exoskeleton, so you're inside out. This thing or someone decided it would be inside out, so it has a shell to protect its soft, cuddly, and delicious insides. Why would you make that exoskeleton hairy? That's unnecessary and disgusting. This thing has hairs growing out of a shell. That's the worst of anything.

Very lucky they're small. It's also interesting that people catch them, snap their claws off, and throw them back in the water because their claws will regenerate. That's from a film, right? No, it's real. It shouldn't be allowed; it should be fiction. Type in coconut crab. Those are crazy; they're huge. Anything you're scared of, you're fascinated by. Someone did research into the claw bite force of these things and was absolutely shocked at the torque and power they could generate.

Look at that guy holding one; you get a perspective on the size of that thing. It's unnecessary, isn't it? Type in claw strength of coconut crab, and you will be horrified at what they found. They live on a couple of islands. 3,300 Newtons—that's so nuts. That could take your hand off. The bite is stronger than the bite of most land animals, including leopards, bears, and wild dogs. It looks like something from a horror movie.

There’s some speculation that this was the fate of Amelia Earhart. She crashed, got on this island, and the coconut crabs ate her. Luckily, they clamp slowly, but more than a leopard? What the [__] man. What is that thing biting through, metal? They're just horrendous. There's a lovely guy on Instagram who's a fisherman and does experiments with lobsters. He gets the lobster crushing claw and puts stuff in it to see what they can chop in half. I find that thoroughly addictive, but crustacea like that are my ultimate nightmare.

It's a hard life for them, and you can't make them pets. The stats are so shocking—stronger than a leopard bite. I would have never imagined or guessed that. I stay up at night worrying about this sometimes. There's something called the Japanese giant spider crab. Where I used to go on holiday as a kid was this lovely old Victorian hotel in Cornwall, run a bit like Fawlty Towers. It had a guy that ran it who made lots of jokes people found a bit rude but was wonderful.

=> 02:08:04

Crabs are my ultimate fear, even filming in exotic places can't shake that terror.

On holiday as a kid, I stayed at this lovely old Victorian-style hotel in Cornwall. It was run a bit like Fawlty Towers; in fact, it was exactly like Fawlty Towers. The guy who ran it was a curious character who made lots of jokes that people found a bit rude, but he was wonderful. The hotel had only about three magazines in their very smelly lounge area where all the old people would sit. One of them was a National Geographic Magazine from about 1975, which I would always sit and read when my parents were doing other stuff. It had an article about Japanese giant spider crabs, and there was just one picture of one in a tank with its legs spread about seven feet apart or something. That image stayed with me for years.

Crabs have always been a huge problem for me. My children know about this fear. I remember seeing a coconut crab and wondering if they taste good. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone eating a coconut crab, but apparently, they are considered a delicacy on some islands and are even thought to be an aphrodisiac in other places. Some say they are tasty and don't need any extra seasoning or cooking, and can be eaten after boiling for about 10 to 15 minutes. However, the species is threatened by intensive hunting.

I can remember several times on Top Gear when we were going away, being asked if I was okay with everything. I'd think, "I'll do anything, I'll eat my own feces, but if there are crabs there, I've got problems." Only once did we go somewhere where there were crabs. We were in Cuba filming the opening for a film in the Bay of Pigs. We were right there with a Maserati and an old Camaro, filming this intro. I was so punch-drunk with travel and filming, working so hard, that I'd almost just wake up and go, "It's another mad place."

Looking back, I realize how mad it was. For instance, I was in Kazakhstan for 10 days with Matt LeBlanc from Friends. At the time, it was just like work. In the Bay of Pigs, I looked at my phone and thought, "This is the Bay of Pigs, where it all went a bit wrong for America. This is historically quite a significant place." While filming the opening piece to the camera, I looked left and saw a crab shuffling around. It really worried me, though I couldn't admit it to anyone. I irrationally thought it was going to crawl up my leg.

=> 02:11:58

Fear of certain creatures might be genetic memory from our ancestors' experiences.

Historically, Cuba is quite a significant place. It could have been a real problem, but anyhow, as I was looking around, there was a lot going on. I was filming the opening piece to the camera, which was typically bad for me. The reason why it was really bad was that I looked left and saw a crab shuffling around. I thought, "I need that gone," but I couldn't admit to people that it was really worrying me. I was thinking it might crawl up my leg, which was something totally irrational. I think we all have a creature, maybe a bogeyman or bogeywoman, or whatever it is that we fear. Do you have one? I think where that fear comes from is genetic memory. That's where idophobia and arachnophobia—fear of snakes and spiders—come from. Some people have a real, seemingly genetic, irrational fear of certain things. I really feel like that is some memory from either an ancestor getting bit or seeing someone get bit and die. There's a reason why it exists in some people and not in others. It can't be completely irrational, right? No, I think it's completely a genetic memory. That's my number one guess.

Cuba was fascinating because, as an American citizen, you can't easily go there. During the Obama Administration, they made it so you could go there. It's an amazing place because it's one of the few places where your government can tell you that you can't go somewhere so close to you. You could go there on a rowboat. It's a museum, a fully functioning museum for automobiles and for life in many ways. It's not something that's been allowed to develop the way that a country should have developed over the last 40-50 years. You have a society with limited technology that has evolved in its own way. The resourcefulness of human beings is evident, especially with reference to the automobile. It's fascinating because it's a strange mashup of weird Soviet intervention and Americana from the 50s. They’ve kept these American cars going that should have died, and they also have a whole load of Soviet-era Ladas that came in when the Russians wanted to help them out. Their power stations, like the coal-fired power station on the north side of the island, have a plume of smoke that goes as far as the eye can see. It's an amazing sight, slightly hidden from all the tourists.

Cuba is a country that hasn't been allowed to develop at the same speed as the rest of the world, and it's only about 90 miles from the coast of the US. It's well worth visiting if you can go, just to see what happens when human beings act absurdly. Did I feel safe over there? Totally, I felt completely safe. In many ways, I loved it, but in many ways, I wouldn't want to go again. It's one of those curious places where I thought, "I've seen the right side of it; if I scratch too deeply, am I going to see something I don't want to see?" Maybe that was it. There's a reason why people are escaping; they're trapped in a Communist dictatorship. It's not good, but as a tourist, you're obviously presented with something completely contorted. When you're making a TV show, that's what happens.

=> 02:15:48

We can't trade with Cuba, but we buy everything from China.

We often criticize dictatorships, yet we buy everything from China, a country arguably worse than Cuba. Despite this, we're not allowed to trade with Cuba due to some events that happened in the 60s. However, Cuba can sell products to other countries, so we are full of their cigars and rum, but not America. Nowadays, you can get them in limited quantities, but it used to be that if you got a hold of Cuban cigars, it was quite a feat. I used to get them from England through a friend who would send me the cigars without labels in a Ziploc bag and then send the labels separately in an envelope a few days later.

The pollution in Havana was the worst I've ever experienced in a city. When the wind changed, the power station's emissions would blow straight over. There's a place in Indiana with three coal-fired power plants where you can run your finger over a windshield and find black coal dust. People in that area suffer from various diseases due to breathing in particulates daily.

One of the best experiences I had with Top Gear was the Kazakhstan trip with Matt and Rory. We visited Baikonur, the site of the Russian space program. The vastness of that part of the world is mind-bending. The Soviet Union was on a scale that you cannot comprehend. Kazakhstan, although just a small part of Russia, has the fourth longest border with it. The Russians would abandon a launch site and move to another due to the sheer size of the area.

When we got close to Baikonur, the heavy industry was overwhelming. It was the first place where I felt unsure about breathing the air. Unlike the diesel and petrol fumes in Indian cities, there was something else in the air that made me uneasy. The trip culminated with us watching a Soyuz rocket take off. We were allowed to get much closer than usual to film it. Watching a rocket with enough power to leave our atmosphere was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences I've ever had. The power of the rocket felt like it was shredding the atmosphere, and the force hit you in the solar plexus, causing a rattling in your chest. We were less than a kilometer away, and it was absolutely sensational to witness.

=> 02:19:36

We used to think leaded gasoline and smoking were fine, but now we know better—what's next to change?

Engines like your Raptor's have a bit of grunt, but these things just rattle you. The smell afterwards is interesting, though it's got to be horrible. Every time they launch, think about the amount of pollution and carbon that's put out by the burning rockets. I can't even begin to quantify it, but it must be equivalent to 100,000 cars. What are they burning as well? What's in there?

I was talking to some guys who used to race sports cars and Formula 1 back in the 80s when they were using some very funky fuels. There was a lot of technology left over from the Second World War that the Germans had for jet engines, which had weird lubricants allowing them to run at very high temperatures or have properties that normal fuel didn't have. They would use it for qualifying, particularly in Formula 1, and the drivers after one lap were just spent. There are also great stories about the fact that they would sometimes have a sort of area outside the Formula 1 garage. It wasn't as developed as a sport then, but they still had sponsors and guests. One particular team had all the trees they put outside just die in an afternoon because this fuel was so obnoxious.

Andy Wallace, a fantastic racing driver who is now the chief test driver for Bugatti, tells some amazing stories about literally being hauled out of Group C race cars after qualifying because the fuel was just impossible, practically poisoning them. But it gave them an extra 100 horsepower for that lap.

Leaded gasoline has been studied, and in places with higher amounts of leaded gasoline, you can see lower IQs in kids. They think it has dropped people's IQs by a measurable amount. People who grew up around leaded gasoline, like me, are dumber because of it. The pipes in our homes 150 years ago were made of lead. My friend Shane Gillis has a hilarious bit about George Washington, who had lead dentures, so he had lead in his mouth, getting lead poisoning all day long.

I have something in my house that I bought from the internet, which is Boots chemist. Boots, our standing chemist, used to sell cigarettes for coughs. I have a tin somewhere that shows how you should smoke them to get rid of your cough. It wasn't that long ago, probably before the Second World War. Years ago, they thought cigarettes were good for coughs. I just Googled something, and AI says menthol cigarettes are flavored to help with coughs. Menthol can decrease the cough reflex, reduce Airway pain and irritation, and soothe a dry throat. It's funny that AI is willing to say something so unpopular. It's probably true, but it's terrible for you. Can't you take menthol without it being in the format of a cigarette? I'm sure you can, like in a cough drop.

=> 02:23:32

Innovation will surprise us in ways we can't yet imagine.

We've learned about metalogy, which is fascinating. This means we must apply this knowledge to what we currently witness in the motor car and automotive industry. There is technology out there that will change something at some point, although we just don't know what it is yet. It's going to happen because we're having to relearn so much of what we thought was fact in other areas of our lives.

I think maybe that's what I get frustrated by—you can't wait for that unprecedented change to come necessarily but have to assume at some point someone's going to make a battery that runs on wasp piss or something similar. It's going to happen; scientists are clever, and they have big foreheads for a reason. At the moment, the argument is that there's not enough Cobalt and where you get the lithium from. It's a slightly specious argument because I think it won't always be like that. Someone will invent something that means we won't need the Cobalt and the lithium.

Some guy invented a water-powered car a long time ago, and he was murdered. Do you know that story? It's one of the great conspiracy theories. He met with some people who wanted to talk to him about this design, and then he yelled, "they poisoned me," ran outside, and died. Jesus. After that, nobody ever heard about the water-powered car again. The mysterious death of Stanley Meyer and his water-powered car is a wonderful conspiracy theory. I haven't looked into it enough to know how much of it is true.

Stanley Meyer had developed this water-powered car that had incredible mileage. The messaging on the side of the vehicle was interesting. It said, "Jesus Christ is Lord." Did Stanley Meyer die because he knew how to turn water into fuel? This is a British newspaper, the Express. When was this? I can't remember. This thing is ridiculous on the screen. What kind of website is this? It's some really bad one. See if there's another article. I'm sure there are other articles about that. The car that ran on water happened outside of Columbus in the city.

His bizarre death at age 57 ended work that, if proved valid, could have ended reliance on fossil fuels. People who knew him said his work drew worldwide attention, mysterious visitors from overseas, government buying, and lucrative buyout offers. I know that he was offered money to sell. I think the Why Files did an episode on this. Meyer's death was laced with all sorts of stories and conspiracy cloak-and-dagger stories. Gross City police Lieutenant Steve Robinette, the lead detective on the case, said, "I told them that Stan had died, and they never said a word." He recalled absolutely nothing—no condolences, no questions.

But how did it run on water? I don't know. Steven Meyer was featured on numerous internet sites and a significant portion of the 1995 documentary "It Runs on Water," narrated by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke and aired on BBC, focuses on his water fuel cell invention. It's a fuel cell. He was ignored, called a fraud, and died without his hometown even remembering him with so much as a plaque.

But I have to believe that a piece of technology will emerge in the next 50 years that will make us all wonder why we got so freaked out, especially over exhaust. The basis for Meyer's research, electrolysis, is taught in middle school science labs. Electricity flows through water, cracking the molecules and filling test tubes with oxygen and hydrogen bubbles. A match is lighted, the volatile gas explodes, and proves that water is separated into its components. Meyer said his invention did so by using much less electricity than physicists say is possible. Videos show his contraption turning water into a frothy mix within seconds.

=> 02:27:34

Stan Meyer claimed his invention could separate water into hydrogen and oxygen using minimal electricity, defying the laws of physics, but his work never succeeded and he allegedly turned down massive buyout offers.

Bubbles form as a match is lighted, causing the volatile gas to explode and proving that water can be separated into its components. Meyer claimed his invention achieved this by using much less electricity than physicists deem possible. Video evidence shows his contraption turning water into a frothy mix within seconds. Ohio State University Professor Emeritus Neville Rier, a physicist with over 41 years of experience, stated, "It takes so much energy to separate H2 from the O. That energy has pretty much not changed with time; it's a fixed amount and nothing changes that." Meyer's work seemingly defies the laws of conservation of energy, which state that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Rier added, "Basically, it says you cannot get something for nothing. He may have had a nice way to store hydrogen and use it to make a very effective motor, but there is no way to do something fancy and separate hydrogen with less energy."

Meyer's creativity seemed to peak when he met Charles and Valerie Hughes, truck drivers who lived in Jackson Township. Julia Hughes, the youngest of their seven children, was five years old when Meyer rang the doorbell of their home on Marlene Drive. His first words were, "The Lord sent me here to this home. I'd like to use your home as an experiment." Julia isn't sure what Meyer saw in their home, but she knew her parents didn't have room for a struggling inventor. Yet, after visiting with the family for several hours, Meyer stayed the night and then the next few years in the late 1970s. In return, Meyer built the family a solar silo designed to both heat and cool the home. The structure required thousands of clear resin light guides, a crude form of fiber optics, which Meyer baked and molded in the family kitchen. Julia Hughes recalled the chemical stench. The system was supposed to channel the sun's rays into the tower base to heat water and generate electricity for an air conditioner. Despite extensive efforts that included re-plumbing the house, the invention never worked.

One of the Hughes children remembered some people showing up at the house and offering Meyer "$250 million to stop." Meyer told them, "The Arabs wanted to offer me $250 million to stop today. You and this lovely family can live in peace and prosperity the rest of your days." Army officials had questioned Meyer about what foreigners wanted, thinking that a deal might have been struck. Meyer discussed the offer in the Clark documentary, stating, "Many times over the last decade, I've been offered enormous amounts of money simply to sell out or to sit on it. The Arabs have offered me a total of a billion dollars simply to sit on it and do nothing with it."

=> 02:31:45

Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal shattered my trust in big corporations and made me question what other secrets they're hiding.

I've been taken for a ride in too many areas of my life, but Dieselgate, the Volkswagen scandal, really shook me. I didn't think something could happen on that scale. Volkswagen was able to put software into their vehicles that allowed them to cheat in emissions tests. A load of vehicles that had stated emissions qualities didn't have them when they were not on the test rig. This process had been going on in many different ways for most motorcars forever, but the scale on which they offended and the fact they did it in the US meant they got absolutely hammered for it.

If you have an Audi RS4 from 2007 and you start the engine up, it idles in an odd way. The car feels very aggressive for the first 30 seconds because there's an air pump inside the car that is basically forcing air through the exhaust faster than it needs to so that when you put it on a test rig, it has lower emissions than it should. This had been going on for a long time, but the scale of it was an industrial subterfuge that I didn't think could happen, especially with a large corporation like Volkswagen. It shook me because I am a flag bearer for my industry. I'm proud to be part of the wider car industry, and I didn't think that could happen. It wasn't just a bit of naughtiness; it was lies, and many people must have known about it.

There was a moral complication to it because they were still making very clever, quite clean vehicles. They weren't trying to cover up something absolutely hideous; they were in the margins, but it was still morally wrong. Once they got away with it, they were stuck with it and couldn't suddenly backtrack on it. This shook my confidence in large corporations. I thought they were being more honest with us, and it probably made me more likely to believe conspiracy theories afterward. I thought, well, if they're capable of that, what else are they doing?

Conspiracy theories are fascinating because some of them are nonsense, and some of them are real. It's hard to figure out what's what. There are some crazy ones like the Earth is flat, and then there are some like the CIA might have killed JFK. They might have; it makes for very good listening. I love listening to people talk about it. They're fascinating, but I tend to sit back and just hear other people talk about them. When something becomes pertinent to you, you suddenly go, hang on a minute, what else have they been doing here? How bad was it, and how many of them did they get away with? For every conspiracy that gets caught, it's not like they catch every one. Some of them sneak through and manage to be effective.

Do you know the latest one about this gentleman who was a billionaire who had apparently overvalued his company and went to court for it? The possibility of him winning this court battle was something like one half of 1%. This is Mike Lynch, right? The guy who died on the boat, and then right after he gets out, the guy who he's with, the co-defendant, gets hit by a car, and then he gets hit by a freak water spout and sinks his yacht. I was discussing this over a few glasses of wine. It's got conspiracy written all over it. I'm not going to pass any comment, but I read it, and my eyebrows raised. It seemed like a coincidence. Didn't the lawyer die as well? The co-defendant was hit by a car in Cambridge. One incident was a cycling incident in the UK.

=> 02:35:49

When billionaires die under bizarre circumstances, it makes you wonder if there's more to the story.

When I read it, my eyebrows raised, and I thought, "This seems like a coincidence." Didn't the lawyer die as well? The codefendant was hit by a car in Cambridge. One incident was a cycling accident in the UK. Was it a hit and run? No, they have the person who hit the cyclist, but they were asking for information around it. Did the person who hit the cyclist have any connection to anybody? That I don't know. Was it suspicious? I just read it and thought, like you, "Oh my God."

Billionaire autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain's careers were intertwined for years in a fraud trial. Then they died on the same day, miles apart. I suppose the difficulty I have with that is it's a tragedy. They [__] over some billionaires. They sold autonomy to Hewlett Packard, and there was a big issue. He was extradited to the US. I don't know; it's not my world. The conspiracy theory thing is fascinating, but when it's in the context of people losing their lives like that, I'm hesitant to comment because it's so awful what happens. Also, going down in a boat was right up there for me. Jesus Christ, also a freak water spout. Have you seen the size of this boat? It's extraordinary, like 300 feet long. How did it happen?

I know you love it, don't you? You absolutely love it because I think that there are people in this world who have the ability to do certain things to certain people that [__] them over. I think you're right. That seems like it would qualify. We're talking about billions of dollars being ripped off, and then somehow or another, this guy gets off and then dies right away in the weirdest of ways—a freak water spout. How many people die every year in freak water spouts on 300-foot yachts? I'm doing my uncomfortable face. It's so out there.

I'll bring it back to something more mundane. There were quite a few things that happened in Formula 1, the sport I follow most closely, probably in the 90s and noughties. Looking back, you think there must have been someone with a button that could make things happen because it was so beyond a coincidence. I never stopped to think of the implications of that thought, but if someone can do that in a sport, they can do it in the rest of our lives. They've always rigged sports. People have been rigging sports since the beginning of sports betting.

The sport you're involved with, can you rig that? Oh yes, people have rigged it. People have gotten in trouble for rigging it. Certain fighters might have an injury. There's a controversy about a certain trainer involved in betting and an online Discord server. They would talk about bets, and he was making more money betting than other things. There was a fighter he was taking care of who apparently had a knee injury and went into the fight. All this money got bet on this guy losing in the first round. He throws a kick in the first round, falls down, gets beat up, loses by TKO in the first round, and blows his knee out. His knee had apparently already been []. This trainer is now being investigated by the feds. He gets kicked out of the sport, and no one from his gym is allowed to compete in the UFC anymore. He's under investigation, and if what they're saying about him is true, he's really rightly [].

=> 02:39:50

In motorsport, the most ingenious moments often come from bending the rules rather than following them.

Actually, there's a crossover here between conspiracy and cheating. Now, I think the greatest book that's not been written and never will be written is the greatest cheats in Motorsport. Some of the stories I've heard over the years are so good just because they reveal the competitive nature of human beings but also their ingenuity. You will see people at their most ingenious when they're cheating, not when they're abiding by the rules.

Formula One is about the phrase that the great Mark Donahue, one of your great drivers, coined: the unfair advantage. This phrase defines so many sports. Whether we like it or not, we're searching for the unfair advantage, aren't we? In Motorsport, some of the cheats I've heard about are just brilliant. For example, I can remember hearing a story about a guy called Win Percy, a touring car driver from the UK in the 60s and 70s. There was a famous commentator we had called Murray Walker, who was the voice of our motorsport for 40 years. He often described Win Percy getting out of this particular car he'd been racing, covered in sweat because it was such a monster to drive.

It turned out that it was a V12 and very thirsty. To make sure that when they did a fuel check at the end of the race, Percy would be furiously pumping a hand pump underneath the seat to inflate a bladder in the fuel tank to cut off a load of the volume. He told this story about how he had to pump this thing like 40 times to fill up the bladder on the warm-down lap. There are so many amazing stories of just ingenious cheats. Formula 1 is about not getting caught; that's really what it's about. What's the line between interpreting rules and not getting caught?

I love all of that. I have a few times said to people I know in those sports, "Can I write that book? Will you tell me?" They always respond, "No, I won't tell you the stories. I'll tell them to you now as a friend, but if they're ever published, I'm a dead man," because of all the money involved. The ingenious cheating is fascinating. For instance, in 1995, Toyota was excluded from the World Rally Championship because it had a brilliantly simple piece of cheating. All the cars were turbocharged and had an intake restrictor to limit the power and make it a level playing field. Toyota created a brilliantly simple bypass valve that made the intake restrictor completely redundant. They didn't realize that the World Rally Championship had situations where the cars would run side by side in a drag race, and the Toyota just shot off into the distance. Everyone realized they were cheating, and they found it. This was perpetrated by Toyota, a car company, and I find those things fascinating.

=> 02:43:41

Motorsport's blend of high-stakes engineering and clever rule-bending makes it an addictive spectacle.

That's Kota. My friend Bobby owns the place, so he took me around and showed me. We went there for the races, and it's incredible. They put on one of the best races of the season here. The track is incredible and it's so fast. They're going so fast; it's so wild to watch. I find it amazing how huge NASCAR is here, where they're just going around in an oval. They do have some street circuits and shorter ovals, but Formula 1 is way more complex. The vehicles themselves are so incredible and expensive; it's just unbelievable how much money is involved in Formula 1. It makes sense why people would cheat a little bit. I think it's this gray area of interpreting a complicated rule book while trying not to get caught. Over the years, it creates subterfuge and games.

Another great story we covered on Top Gear was about one of the great interpreters of the rule book, Colin Chapman, who founded Lotus. He found a way in something called the Lotus 77, a car that Andrey won the championship in. They created something called ground effect. It's now a common thing, but he worked out that if you sealed the sides of a car on the road, you could effectively accelerate air underneath the car and create a low-pressure area, which basically sucked the car to the ground. This generated downforce not through wings but through accelerating air under the car. By the way, any engineers listening to this, I'm not an engineer, but I have a basic understanding of it, having driven these things. If my terminology is wrong, I apologize. Effectively, you're generating downforce in a way that you can't see on the vehicle; it doesn't have wings.

What they would do is lower these skirts when they went out onto the track, so when the car went out on track and in the paddock, it looked like a normal car. They were going so much faster than everyone else that he needed to find a way of diverting the attention of the other teams. At the end of a test session, quite often, he'd have a guy scuttle from the back of the garage with something underneath a piece of cotton or a blanket and run over towards a service truck. Everyone would see him do it, so all the teams thought they had a trick differential or something special. But it wasn't; it was a kettle. This guy was running around with a kettle underneath the towel just so everyone thought it was a component. It was a total diversion. I met the guy who used to run around with this teapot kettle thing. He was just told at the end of the session to put that under there and run away with it so everyone thinks it's like a differential or something.

I love motorsport because it brings out these bizarre human competitive behaviors. The margins of victory are so slim. If you have the same horsepower and the same compound tires, just different engineers putting it all together, different vehicles, they may have the same tires, but these are a bunch of people, 400 people in different parts of the world, told, "Here's the rule book, away you go," and the margin is within a tenth of each other on a track. It's amazing. But they're all at it, and there's always some conspiracy. At the moment, Red Bull apparently had some special brake system that they've now had to get rid of because the FIA was aware of it. Now Red Bull is complaining that McLaren and Mercedes have got flexible front wings. It is the politics of the playground being played out with billions of dollars on a racetrack, and that's why I'm totally addicted to it at the moment.

=> 02:47:28

The tech and skills from racetracks and aerospace make our everyday cars way better.

At the moment, I am totally addicted to spending dollars on a racetrack. The question arises: how much of that engineering and technology gets to consumer cars? It's a good question. I think there is some direct crossover, but not as much as one might hope. However, it's undeniable that the brains involved in that sport, when they transition to the road car side, carry with them a curiosity and a skill set that has been significantly enhanced by what they learned on the racetrack, benefiting us all. If you look for direct crossovers in all of these places, you might come away disappointed. But if you tell me that the person who has run Max Verstappen's car for the last three years went on to be involved in the next Tesla Model 3, he would have a profound effect on it. He would have a way of looking at that project that would make it profoundly better.

I once wrote a story for an in-house magazine, I think for B Racing when they had a race team, about the crossover between aeronautical engineering and Formula 1. The crossover is profound. The way a Formula 1 car adheres to the track is like an upside-down plane. There were further innovations as well, such as the carbon ceramic brake disc, which was developed for Concorde. Concorde had issues with braking, and someone suggested using a different material for the rotor, leading to the development of the carbon ceramic brake. There is significant crossover in metallurgy. Broadening that, what's the greatest legacy of your amazing mind? The National Space Program. NASA taught us all about materials. The car you drive home in has something that wouldn't be there if NASA hadn't needed a material with a specific property. This is the incredible corollary of ambitious projects on that scale, similar to the defense department and the construction of fighter jets.

I am fascinated by fighter jets. We did a film with the F-35, where I raced an F-35 in a McLaren Speedtail. The level of classification around the vehicle was so strict. I didn't realize that as the British government, we don't own those planes; we lease them from the U.S. We're not allowed to own them. The intellectual property stays with the U.S., and what we do with them is up to them. We weren't allowed any cockpit shots or to see inside it. I just got a description from the pilot of what the aircraft could do. Fighter jets now have AI running them, and they beat human pilots 100% of the time in dogfights. The F-35 was one of the coolest man-made objects I've ever seen.

We had to be rigorous in our preparations. For example, in the theater of war, you can't decide whether the ground is full of chips of stones or not, but they have a decontaminated area. The runway has to be clean because debris can get sucked up when the aircraft is hovering. We spent several days working out how to run this drag race. It started as a genuine drag race between me in a McLaren and the F-35. They had data on how the plane accelerated, and McLaren had their data. They worked out that the car would get off the line much quicker, and the plane would overtake at a certain point. I was told clearly that I couldn't get in the wash of the aircraft as it took off because it would flip the car backward. We had to choreograph that part, not fake it, but choreograph it.

=> 02:51:15

Racing a McLaren against an F35 was the wildest, most exhilarating experience ever!

The wash of the aircraft as it took off was intense because it would just flip the car backwards. We had to choreograph that bit, not fake it, but choreograph it. On the first run, I was told I'd be absolutely safe. I'd be so far ahead of the plane that it would be in the air by the time it went over me, and we'd be away. Anyhow, on the first run, I was in this McLaren, which is [__] fast. It accelerates, and I look left and hear a noise. There's a plane coming past me on the ground, and I thought, "I'm in trouble here." The front wheels of the car came off the ground at about 130 something miles an hour. As any racing driver would tell you, and I'm a pretty poor racing driver, you know when the front wheels aren't on the ground, you just [__] yourself. You're so invested in it, thinking, "If it's going over, this is the greatest piece of Television ever," and hoping it doesn't. The plane just went next to me, and this is why I want to be someone that expresses joy for things I've done. When an F35 comes past you and it's just got off the ground, it's incredible.

When this thing comes past you, it just started screaming [__]. We never showed it, but you're going 218 miles an hour. It comes past me like that, bang, and I just thought, "I'm in trouble here." The power and the sound are extraordinary. You talk about the internal combustion engine, and why these electric things make no sound. We are amateurs compared to what they get to play with. They have like 30 minutes of flight time before they run out of gas. I don't think that thing can go very far, but it can just decide to be hanging like a helicopter. It's remarkable, but they don't share the IP at all. We were not allowed to see inside it. It's wild that it can hover in the air like that and shoot its draft down.

Maybe that's the TV show. There's a whole load of stuff moving past. I think you're overthinking it. I just love your passion for automobiles. Do it on the internet; it'll be huge. I hope so. I think so. I quite like those things; they're pretty badass. If you can get a hold of one of those, that's great too. Have you been to an air show and seen one of those? I flew in an FA18 with the Blue Angels. It was insane. Just the G-force, the physical effect on your body is extraordinary. They don't use G suits either; you have to hook and hold on, doing that blur thing, forcing blood. You feel your consciousness closing like an elevator door, seeing the darkness coming from the left and the right, fighting it off.

I wasn't very good at it. I thought I'd be good because people of our height should be quite good at it, but I felt it. I got put up in one of those extra 300s, the stunt planes they use in the Red Bull Air Races. Once he got to six or seven Gs, I started to see the darkness. I think I got to seven and a half Gs, but those guys can go to 9 or 10 Gs. The pressure and maneuverability of these things are insane. The pilot took me through a canyon, flying 100-200 feet off the ground, sideways. It's [__] insane.

I did a ridiculous film with Andy Green, the fastest man on earth, who still holds the world's land speed record. He drove Thrust SSC and was the first man to go supersonic in a car. They had this thing called Bloodhound, supposed to go 1000 miles an hour, to be driven on some salt flats in South Africa. It was supposed to be funded by industry, but they lost sponsors and tried to publicly fund it, which didn't work. Andy, an ex-pilot fighter pilot, said he had an extra 300 and developed a way of doing aerobatic moves to demonstrate the change in G-force during the run.

There's a film on YouTube of him taking me up in this stunt plane, putting me through the Gs he would have in the car. By the end of it, I realized I would have been a terrible fighter pilot. I kept getting gray out, pumping and everything. Those guys are all jacked. The Blue Angels training facility has weightlifting equipment everywhere because you need muscle. It's like brute force.

When I do some YouTube videos with cars, can I drag you into a car? Yes, let's do it. I'm in. I love talking to you. Thank you very much. I love talking to you too. Thanks for being here, man. It's great to see you again after all these years. I'll be back in 10 years. No, let's make it sooner, and let's definitely get you on YouTube. Do your own thing; it'll happen soon. You don't need other people. Thank you. [__] those people. Bye, everybody.