Joe Rogan's latest stand-up CD, "Shiny Happy Jihad," is a comedic masterwork, an uncensored verbal sprint that will leave your chest aching from the laughter.

"Who is this Joe Rogan?" you might be asking. "Is he the guy from ‘Fear Factor'?" In short, yes, but those who only know Rogan from the show where people eat animal entrails before jumping off a cliff are really missing out. Rogan has been a comedian since the beginning of his career, but he also played the role of Joe Garelli on "NewsRadio," one of the mid-90s most entertaining sitcoms. Apart from comedy, he has also won the U.S. Open Tae Kwon Do Championship, and is an Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator.

It's this long, twisty career that has provided Rogan with the necessary background to be a comedian who can appeal on multiple levels. Unlike a lot of comedians out there who explicitly say they specialize in one field or another, Rogan tackles every field of subject matter. It's like he is not even worried whether or not he can make something funny; when he says it, it just is.

What differentiates Rogan's style from most comedians is his ability to find humor in real-life problems and events. Of course he's got some traditional material for easy laughs, like segments about how guys become "whipped," and how one can recognize the warning signs. But he also deals with issues that even the most rhetorically skilled politicians are afraid to approach.

If you listen to this CD, you'll hear everything from Rogan calling out suicide bombers for their ignorance to railing on the Catholic Church for its shortcomings in the modern era. And then there's his segment on how dumb people out-breeding smart people spells doom for society, and there's even a funny link to the creation of Egypt's pyramids. Is he crazy? Maybe a little, but read any scholarly article on the issue of overpopulation and you'll find similar theories about breeding patterns, albeit in far less obscene and entertaining terms.

This subtext of sincerity isn't surprising given Rogan's real-life crusades. Most comedians tell their jokes and leave, but not this guy. Rogan has been one of the leading voices in the effort against plagiarizing comedians. Just two months ago he argued on-stage with Carlos Mencia until the audience booed Mencia off the stage for his joke-stealing hypocrisy.

A lot of comedians rely on live performance to be funny, but not Rogan. You don't have to see the routine or his facial expressions to laugh heartily at his jokes. His material is good enough to stand on its own as a CD, and it will have you laughing from the opening seconds to the final joke.

Good stand-up like this is rare, and if you can stomach the explicit language (and if you can't, why are you listening to stand-up?), "Shiny Happy Jihad" is worth every penny. It's one of the funniest routines to come out in the past few years, and a must-buy for every true fan of comedy.