WTF with Marc Maron

WTF with Marc Maron
File:WTF with Marc Maron.png
Presentation
Hosted by	Marc Maron
Genre	Comedy, Interview
Language	English
Length	60–120 minutes
Production
No. of episodes	876 (List of episodes)
Publication
Original release	September 1, 2009 (September 1, 2009) – present
Website	www.wtfpod.com

WTF with Marc Maron is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. In early 2011, the show began receiving positive press, including articles in The New York Times. It began being distributed to radio by Public Radio Exchange in 2012.

Background

The show's title stems from the Internet slang abbreviation WTF (for "What the fuck?"). WTF launched in September 2009 following the cancellation of Maron's Air America terrestrial radio program Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder. Maron retained his Air America building keycard and, without permission, used their studios to record the first several episodes of WTF.

After the first episodes, Maron moved from New York to California. Most episodes of the show are generally recorded in Maron's home garage, nicknamed "the Cat Ranch", in Los Angeles. He ends most podcasts with the phrase "Boomer lives" in honor of a cat he brought from New York who went missing. The phrase became a hashtag and his production company name.

Occasionally shows are recorded in Maron's various hotel rooms (while on the road performing standup), the offices of his guests, or other locations. Every show opens with an audio sample of one of Maron's lines from the film Almost Famous: "Lock the gates!"

Several personalities have declined invitations to appear on the show, including Daniel Tosh, Tom Waits, Jon Stewart, Albert Brooks, Shecky Greene, and Bill Cosby.

Reception

WTF has received generally positive reviews, including positive writeups in The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. On average, it receives over 220,000 downloads per episode—with the show purportedly reaching 100 million downloads by December 9, 2013. In 2014, Rolling Stone listed WTF #1 on their list of The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now.

Notable podcasts

• Louis C.K. gave a two episode interview, in which Maron and C.K. revealed that the two of them had a falling out, and discussed and rekindled their old friendship. During the podcast, C.K. became audibly emotional when talking about the birth of his first daughter. Slate Magazine called the interview the greatest podcast episode of all time in a 2014 list.
• In 2013, Maron's assistant asked if he would be interested in interviewing "Kevin McDonald" to which Maron, a fan of The Kids In The Hall comedy troupe, agreed. On the day of the interview, Maron was greeted by a publicist who said that her client would be arriving to promote the movie he'd directed, Maron was surprised that McDonald had a publicist and was unaware that he'd directed a movie, but thought little of it as he rarely does much research or preparation before interviews, and especially not for guests with whose work he's already familiar. When the interviewee arrived, Maron learned that it was not Kids In The Hall comedian Kevin McDonald, but instead Scottish film director Kevin Macdonald, of whom Maron had never heard. Since MacDonald had arrived early, Maron excused himself, then furiously Googled MacDonald and learned that he'd directed The Last King of Scotland, which he'd seen, and Being Mick, of which he'd heard. Maron used this knowledge as a starting point for the conversation and the interview went well, but came out much shorter than a typical episode (which Maron speculated MacDonald didn't notice as he didn't seem to be particularly familiar with the podcast and, if anything, may have thought it went on for a little longer than he'd anticipated) so, upon bumping into him while they were both performing in Los Angeles, Maron invited Kevin McDonald to interview shortly after, so it could be a second segment of the podcast episode. McDonald agreed, saying that he had never met the director but they were both represented by William Morris Agency and had been mixed up before (including once by the Internal Revenue Service). The episode was released with the title "Kevin Macdonald/Kevin McDonald" on March 10, 2014.
• Carlos Mencia came on and discussed allegations of his plagiarizing other comics. After the interview, Maron said that "something didn't feel right". He did further research, and interviewed comics Willie Barcena and Steve Trevino, who offered accounts of Mencia stealing material. Maron then contacted Mencia, who immediately returned for a follow-up interview. Mencia admitted that during the initial interview, he "had an agenda", and then went on to discuss the allegations and his reputation in a much less guarded, more forthright manner.
• Maron confronted Dane Cook about accusations of plagiarizing Louis C.K. and about his tension with Steve Byrne.
• Maron brought up online accusations against Gallagher about his performing of homophobic material. An argument ensued, in which Gallagher became the first and only guest on the podcast to walk out mid-interview.
• Todd Glass used his appearance on the podcast to come out of the closet as gay.
• Todd Hanson gave a detailed account of his suicide attempt in a hotel room in Brooklyn, and spoke about his lifelong struggle with depression.
• Kevin Smith complained about Bruce Willis's lack of involvement in promoting the film Cop Out, which triggered a public feud between the two of them.
• On an episode released in April 2010, Robin Williams discussed contemplating suicide. Maron later reposted the episode following the news of Williams' death, complete with new host segments talking about how much the episode shaped the show and his own personal life.
• President of the United States Barack Obama recorded an interview in June 2015 (recorded Friday 19 June 2015, in the garage). The interview received much media attention due to the President's use of the word "nigger" while discussing racism in America.
• Maron interviewed Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels in October 2015. The interview was significant because throughout the history of the podcast, Maron would frequently discuss Michaels and his own rejection from being hired for SNL in the mid-1990s. The two-hour interview was posted in November 2015.
• Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson appeared on the program in September 2017 and revealed his diagnosis and treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder.

Episode list

Main article: List of WTF with Marc Maron episodes

External links

• Official website