Dave Rubin

David Joshua Rubin (born June 26, 1976) is an American political commentator, former comedian, YouTube personality, and talk show host. He is the creator and host of The Rubin Report, a political talk show on YouTube and the conservative network BlazeTV. Launched in 2013, his show was originally part of TYT Network, until he left in 2015, in part due to widening ideological differences. Previously, Rubin hosted LGBT-themed talk shows, including The Ben and Dave Show from 2007 to 2008 and The Six Pack from 2009 to 2012, both of which he co-hosted with Ben Harvey.

This article is about the show host and comedian. For the author, see David Rubin (author). For other uses, see David Rubin.

Dave Rubin
Rubin in September 2019
Born
David Joshua Rubin

(1976-06-26) June 26, 1976
New York City, U.S.
Alma materBinghamton University
OccupationComedian, talk show host, blogger, radio personality, television personality, YouTube personality
Years active1998–present
Known forThe Rubin Report
MovementConservatism
Spouse(s)
David Janet
​
(m. 2015)​
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Subscribers1.3 million
Total views280.2 million
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Updated: July 19, 2020

Rubin is generally described as a conservative or a libertarian. In the past Rubin tended to describe himself as a classical liberal.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

Rubin was born on June 26, 1976 in Brooklyn, New York, New York.[6] He grew up in a "fairly secular Jewish household on Long Island".[7] He spent his adolescence in Syosset, New York, and then he resided on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for thirteen years.[8] He attended Binghamton University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science.[9]

Comedy
Rubin during a taping of The Rubin Report at Politicon in 2015

In 1998, Rubin started his career in comedy doing stand-up and attending open-mics in New York City. In 1999, he became an intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[10]

In 2000, Rubin continued his career at the New York City–based Comedy Cellar.[11] Later that year he joined with other Comedy Cellar comedians to create a public-access television series, a news program parody called The Anti-Show which was secretly filmed at NBC Studios in 30 Rockefeller Plaza.[12]

In 2002, he co-founded several New York City–based comedy clubs, including Joe Franklin's Comedy Club and The Comedy Company in Times Square, where he continued to do stand-up until 2007.[8]

He was the host of the podcasts, Hot Gay Comics and The Ben and Dave Show, which were turned into a television series on the here! television network.[13] In May 2009, Rubin co-created and co-hosted the podcast The Six Pack.[14][15] From October 2011 to December 2012, The Six Pack was on Sirius XM Radio as a live talk show.[16] While a part of Sirius XM, Rubin created his own account on YouTube called "Rubin Report" in early September 2012.

Political commentary

Rubin describes himself as a classical liberal due to holding more conservative and libertarian views than most modern liberals.[1][2][3][4][5] He cites his support for same-sex marriage, criminal justice reform, marijuana legalization, a social safety net, and public schooling as exemplifying his liberal views; albeit conditionally, he also favors the individual's right to an abortion. In 2017, he starred in a video by the conservative YouTube channel PragerU where he explained "Why I Left the Left". He has characterized progressivism as a "mental disorder".[17][18] He has self-described as part of the "intellectual dark web".[19]

Rubin frequently appears as a speaker at events hosted by Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization. When asked in July 2017 about Trump policies he disagreed with, he criticized Trump's use of executive orders. Asked in January 2018 about what he disagreed with the right on, he stated that there was "a bit of a religious tone with the right".[18]

Rubin's book Don't Burn This Book was published in April 2020 by Sentinel.[20] It made The New York Times Best Seller list,[21] but was critically panned.[22][23][24][25]

In October 2020, Rubin said he had "been a lifelong Democrat", but would be voting for a Republican president for the first time.[26]

The Rubin Report
Main article: The Rubin Report

In January 2013, Rubin joined The Young Turks, where he hosted the show The Rubin Report. He moved from New York City to Los Angeles, California.[27][28] On March 1, 2015, The Young Turks YouTube channel announced that Rubin would be moving to the media company RYOT. Shortly after, Larry King's Ora TV picked up the show which debuted on September 9, 2015.[29] He left Ora TV in 2016, opting to run The Rubin Report independently.[18] By May 2019, The Rubin Report YouTube channel had 200 million views.[30] In 2019, The Rubin Report became available on BlazeTV, a conservative subscription video service run by Glenn Beck.[31]

Controversies

Critics have accused Rubin of providing a platform for individuals considered political extremists, such as self-described New Right figure Paul Joseph Watson, Great Replacement conspiracy theorist Lauren Southern, white nationalist Stefan Molyneux, and far-right activist Tommy Robinson.[18][32] A 2018 report from Data & Society described Rubin as part of a network on YouTube that amplified far-right politics.[2][17][33] The report cited as an example an interview that Rubin conducted with Stefan Molyneux in which Rubin asked Molyneux to elaborate on his views that races have different average IQ test results and that these differences are genetic.[34] The report held that Rubin did not challenge Molyneux in any substantial way, concluding, "By letting him speak without providing a legitimate and robust counterargument, Rubin provides a free platform for white supremacist ideology on his channel."[34][33] According to Anthony Fisher, a journalist at The Daily Beast, Rubin has implied or stated that Paul Joseph Watson, Stefan Molyneux and Mike Cernovich are part of "a new political center" and, in a 2016 livestream, said "the alt-right as a shitposting, fun, call out the bullshit, mock-the-power thing is amazing", adding "there's nothing funny coming out on the left now... [.]"[18]

Funding

The Rubin Report has an affiliation with the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies, a Koch family foundations–funded organization which sponsors an episode of his show per month.[35][19][36] Until late 2018, Rubin received much of his funding through Patreon,[37] a crowdfunding site on which Rubin said he received over $10,000 per month prior to deletion.[38] Rubin and Jordan Peterson announced their intent to leave the platform following Sargon of Akkad's ban, which they described as an assault on free speech. In a video shortly thereafter, the two announced their interest in developing an independent, free speech oriented crowdfunding site. Peterson started Thinkspot, and Rubin co-created locals.com.[39][40][41][37]

Personal life

Rubin publicly came out as gay in 2006, which he has referred to as his "defining moment".[42][43] In December 2014, he became engaged to producer David Janet.[44] The couple married on August 27, 2015.[45] He once described himself as an agnostic[46] or an atheist,[47] but he has since said that he was no longer an atheist in December 2019.[48]

Bibliography
  • Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in the Age of Unreason. (2020) McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 9780771073496

References
  1. Zadrozny, Brandy. "YouTube tested, Trump approved: How Candace Owens suddenly became the loudest voice on the far right". NBC News. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  2. Roettgers, Janko (September 18, 2018). "How YouTube's Far Right Is Using Classic Influencer Tactics to Promote Its Views". Variety. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  3. Robertson, Derek (June 16, 2018). "Why the 'Classical Liberal' is Making a Comeback". Politico. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  4. Bowles, Nellie (December 24, 2018). "Patreon Bars Anti-Feminist for Racist Speech, Inciting Revolt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  5. Ohlheiser, Abby; Park, Gene (December 20, 2018). "The forever war of PewDiePie, YouTube's biggest creator". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  6. "bio_inc". Blogspot. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  7. Rosen, Armin (June 20, 2016). "Dave Rubin, the Voice of Liberals Who Were Mugged by Progressives". Tablet. Retrieved: May 12, 2018.
  8. Josh Abraham. "Dave Rubin, Comedian". Gothamist. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2005.
  9. Hildreth, Jeremy (November 19, 2019). "Back to work with Dave Rubin". Spectator USA.
  10. "Check out @NightlyShow Tonight". Twitter. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. Awl Sponsors. "Funny Guy Dave Rubin Answers Our Questions". The Awl. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  12. Gay, Jason (November 25, 2002). "NBC's Top-Secret Show". New York Observer. Retrieved November 25, 2002.
  13. Wheat, Alynda (March 14, 2008). "What to Watch". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. Paul Hagen. "The Six Pack". Metrosource. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  15. Brent Hartinger. "Interview: The Six Pack". The Backlot. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  16. "The Six Pack". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  17. Klein, Ezra (September 24, 2018). "The rise of YouTube's reactionary right". Vox. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  18. Fisher, Anthony L. (May 18, 2018). "Free-Speech True Believer Dave Rubin, the Top Talker of the 'Intellectual Dark Web,' Doesn't Want to Talk About His Own Ideas". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  19. Holt, Kristoffer (2019). Right-Wing Alternative Media. Routledge.
  20. Rubin, Dave (April 28, 2020). Don't Burn This Book: Thinking For Yourself in an Age of Unreason. Sentinel. ISBN 978-0-593-08429-8.
  21. "Hardcover Nonfiction". The New York Times. May 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  22. Sixsmith, Ben (April 28, 2020). "Dave Rubin's ode to the so-called 'independent thinker'". Spectator USA. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  23. Fisher, Anthony L. "Dave Rubin is out of ideas". Business Insider. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  24. Traldi, Oliver (June 2, 2020). "On the Limits of Dave Rubin's Cultural Politics". National Review. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  25. "Don't Buy Dave Rubin's Book". Jacobin (magazine). Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  26. Nelson, Joshua Q. (October 29, 2020). "Former Democrat Rubin on why he is voting for Trump: 'No feeling of patriotism' on the left anymore". Fox News. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  27. Jeff Klima. "The Young Turks Add Dave Rubin & Cara Santa Maria To Their Network". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  28. Paul Hagen. "Post-Six". Metrosource. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  29. Beatrice Verhoeven (July 24, 2015). "Dave Rubin's 'Rubin Report' Joins Larry King's Ora TV (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  30. "How Dave Rubin 'Left the Left' And Built a Huge YouTube Channel". WrapPRO. May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  31. Ellefson, Lindsey (September 4, 2019). "Conservative YouTuber Dave Rubin Signs Deal With BlazeTV". TheWrap. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  32. Uyehara, Mari. "How Free Speech Warriors Mainstreamed White Supremacists". GQ. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  33. Lewis, Rebecca (2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube (PDF) (Report). Data & Society Research Institute.
  34. Solon, Olivia (September 18, 2018). "YouTube's 'alternative influence network' breeds rightwing radicalisation, report finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  35. "Can Dave Rubin Save the Political Talk Show?". www.playboy.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  36. Lewis, Rebecca (2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube (PDF) (Report). Data & Society Research Institute. p. 16. In 2016, he established a partnership with Learn Liberty, an initiative housed in the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University. The IHS is heavily funded by the billionaire Koch family and is chaired by Charles Koch; its specific aim is to 'cultivate and subsidize a farm team of the next generation's libertarian scholars.'
  37. Flood, Brian (January 4, 2019). "Jordan B. Peterson, Dave Rubin ditch crowdfunding site Patreon to stand up for free speech". Fox News. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  38. Ioanes, Ellen (January 16, 2019). "Dave Rubin fails to delete Patreon on livestream to delete Patreon". The Daily Dot. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  39. Will Lloyd (December 9, 2019). "Dave Rubin is here to solve '95 percent' of the internet's problems | Spectator USA". Spectator USA. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  40. McKay, Tom (November 26, 2019). "Jordan Peterson, Sir, Mr. Surrogate Dad Sir: Please Return My Ten Dollars". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  41. "Jordan Peterson claims he's building an alternative to Patreon". The Daily Dot. December 19, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  42. "Funny Guy Dave Rubin Answers Our Questions". The Awl. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  43. "Dave Rubin: Coming Out As Gay Was My 'Defining Moment'". Huffington Post. December 29, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  44. "'Rubin Report' Host Reveals Some Very Big News". Huffington Post. December 23, 2014.
  45. "Oh, we got married the other day. No Biggie". Twitter. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  46. LIVE: Dave is Back from 30 Days with No News, Internet, or Phone! (video). September 5, 2017. Event occurs at 52:12 – 55:57, 58:18 -59:25 – via YouTube.
  47. Critical Thinking, Atheism, and Faith Time stamp; 12:38 – 13:05
  48. Dave Rubin: I'm no longer an atheist (and Jordan Peterson helped), retrieved February 5, 2020
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