LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marc Maron drops the 1,686th and final episode of his “WTF” podcast Monday.
The show began with the comic and actor mainly interviewing stand-up comedians. Maron would go on to talk to legends of music and Hollywood, and a sitting president.
Here’s a look at seven essential episodes from the 16-year history of the pioneering longform interview podcast.
Robin Williams
“WTF” episode No. 67, April 26, 2010
Fairly famous names had come on Maron’s podcast from its 2009 debut, but Robin Williams, the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy winner and luminary of the stand-up stage, was a huge get just seven months into the show. Maron made the most of it with an unforgettable interview that constantly shifted between comedy and tragedy. “Discussions of death,” Williams said after going on one long riff in his improv style. “It’s very freeing.” He delved into his past thoughts of suicide in a discussion that felt all the more important after Williams killed himself in 2014. Maron re-aired the episode, framed by his own tearful thoughts and memories.
It later earned a place in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Maron, who almost never listens to his recorded episodes, heard a clip from it for the first time last month when “WTF” superfan Judd Apatow came on and played his favorite show moments for the host.
“You get his whole life story,” Maron said, “you get his weird improvisational genius, and you get a real sense of struggle.”
Louis CK
“WTF” episodes No. 111 and No. 112, Oct. 4 and 7, 2010
The earliest episodes of “WTF” were largely devoted to Maron working out his long-simmering beefs with other stand-up comics. His last question to them often was, “Are We Good?” (The line would become a catchphrase and is the title of a new documentary about him.) Most listeners and Maron himself agree the phenomenon peaked with his epic, two-part peace negotiation with his fellow stand-up and former best friend Louis CK. It took the show, and the medium, to another level. Maron recently said their salvaged friendship did not survive CK facing accusations in 2017 of sexual misconduct involving several comedians.
Todd Glass
“WTF” episode No. 245, Jan. 16, 2012
Comedian Todd Glass used the podcast to come out publicly as gay. It was an indicator that the show could be a place for personal revelations. In later years, comic Maria Bamford and actor Mandy Moore would share details on abusive relationships. Comedian and actor Pete Davidson would discuss, for the first time publicly, his diagnosis with borderline personality disorder. And actor Andrew Garfield would open up about his anxiety and the grief of losing his mother.
Barack Obama
“WTF” episode No. 613, dropped on: June 22, 2015
It was a crowning moment for both Maron and for podcasting when then- President Barack Obama appeared on “WTF” for a long interview. With the Secret Service in tow, Obama went through the regular guest ritual of going to the modest Los Angeles home Maron dubbed “The Cat Ranch” and sat in the dirty garage studio where the first nine years of the show were based. A relaxed Obama used the talk to reflect on his two terms as president as they were coming to an end.
“I’ve been through this, I’ve screwed up, I’ve been in the barrel tumbling down Niagara Falls, and I emerged and I lived,” Obama said.
“Wow. I don’t think I realized how truly present and somewhat vulnerable he was,” Maron told Apatow when he listened back. “Also, I’m always amazed at my fearlessness to go ahead and finish even the president’s sentences.”
Lynn Shelton
“WTF” episode No. 627, Aug. 10, 2015
When filmmaker Lynn Shelton appeared on “WTF” in August of 2015, it was a good but unremarkable episode. When it re-aired in 2020, its significance had grown wildly. The interview was the first meeting of Maron and Shelton, who began dating and became long-term life partners and collaborators. After her sudden and unexpected death, Maron, his voice quivering, poured out his feelings in an introduction to the old interview.
“I don’t even know if I should be out in public talking,” Maron said. “But this is what I do and this is where I’m at and there’s no right or wrong with grief.”
Lorne Michaels
“WTF” episode No. 653, Nov. 9, 2015
For years on the podcast, Maron obsessed over “Saturday Night Live” mastermind Lorne Michaels and his power over the comedy world, in part because Maron never managed to make it on to the show. So it was a big moment when Michaels finally became a “WTF” guest, and Maron gave him a blow-by-blow of his tryout for “SNL” two decades earlier. “God, you REALLY remember this,” Michaels said.
To this day, Maron has never appeared on “SNL.”
Mavis Staples
“WTF” episode No. 1026, June 10, 2019
Music would become increasingly important to “WTF” as years passed. Maron’s guitar playing and collecting hobby became an essential part of the show, which he would end with his riffing. Musical guests would eventually become as important as comedians and actors, as he had sit-downs with Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Neil Young. But his 2019 talk with singer Mavis Staples may be his best of the bunch. The two discussed making music with her family in the Jim Crow South and her shift from gospel great to funk-and-soul legend.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
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