Recent Episodes

• Episode 1601 - Justin Kurzel

  Filmmaker Justin Kurzel is drawn to stories about outlaws and outsiders. Growing up in South Australia and living in Tasmania, he’s seen the fragile nature of small communities and the people who can prompt societal upheaval. Justin talks with Marc about...

• Episode 1600 - Bobbi Althoff

  Bobbi Althoff’s podcast success story is much different than Marc’s podcast success story. In fact, the concept of a podcast is very different than when WTF got started. Bobbi explains how she grew up in a chaotic environment where money was hard to come...

• Episode 1599 - Andy Blitz

  When Marc first met Andy Blitz during the rise of the alt-comedy scene in New York City, Andy still thought show business was magical. And why wouldn’t he? As he tells Marc, he was a kid who grew up in the rough East Village of the 1970s and found himself...

• Episode 1598 - Jesse Eisenberg

  Not too many guests come into the garage and tell Marc he changed their lives forever. In fact, Jesse Eisenberg might be the only one. Jesse and Marc go over that formative moment and what it says about both of them. Jesse also talks about being terrified...

• Episode 1597 - Dwight Yoakam

  Dwight Yoakam is a multi-platinum recording artist with many number one albums and singles, as well as multiple Grammy wins. But despite all his accomplishments as a musician, including his new album Brighter Days, Dwight is just as comfortable being a mu...

• Episode 1596 - Luca Guadagnino

  Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is attracted to the ways in which we’re all imperfect beings. That explains why a clash of personalities is central to so many of his movies, including A Bigger Splash, Suspiria and Challengers. Marc and Luca talk about those fil...

• Episode 1595 - Steve Furey

  Steve Furey’s path to comedy started with youth football. Once he realized he wasn’t great at football, he started selling drugs. Once he realized he wasn’t good at selling drugs, he started comedy. In between there were stories of border crossings, smugg...

• Episode 1594 - Anthony Jeselnik

  Anthony Jeselnik is back in the garage more than 13 years since the last time he and Marc talked on the mics. With many career successes and some failures in the rearview, Anthony talks with Marc about where he sees himself in the landscape of comedy toda...

• Episode 1593 - Rosemarie DeWitt

  Rosemarie DeWitt never really thought she would become an actor because she felt like no one was betting on her. In fact, later in life her father said, “I can’t believe that you’re successful.” Marc finds out what drove Rosemarie away from those low expe...

• Episode 1592 - Cynthia Erivo

  Cynthia Erivo has some tips for Marc on how to get more out of his time on set. For example, she always makes sure to get her steps in. So when you see her playing Elphaba in Wicked, she’s wearing her fitness watch under her witch costume. Cynthia and Mar...

• Episode 1591 - Josh Brolin

  Josh Brolin is a natural guest to return to the garage for a second chat because he and Marc relate on many levels. They both find themselves chasing addictions even when they’re sober. They’re both constantly looking for ways to connect with people. And...

• Episode 1590 - Jessica Lange

  Jessica Lange admits she’s always drawn to the darkness and madness of her characters, whether it’s Frances Farmer or Blanche DuBois or her most recent performance as The Great Lillian Hall, which dealt with the trifecta of grief, loss and loneliness. Jes...

• Episode 1589 - Robby Hoffman

  Robby Hoffman knows she comes in too hot. But that kind of in-your-face enthusiasm helped her go from being one of ten kids in a Hasidic Jewish family to a burgeoning standup comic and television writer. Robby tells Marc about the challenges of her upbrin...

• Episode 1588 - Mo Mandel

  Mo Mandel would like you to enjoy his new comedy special, see him perform live and, if you’re a studio executive, greenlight one of his scripts. But Mo also wants to make sure he doesn’t become too successful, otherwise he’ll lose the sweet deal of essent...

• Episode 1587 - Billy Corben

  Filmmaker Billy Corben got an early taste of show business as an aspiring child actor. That aborted career path eventually turned into a new vocation as a maker of documentary films, including celebrated projects like Cocaine Cowboys and The U. Billy and...

• Episode 1586 - Robert Patrick

  The world learned who Robert Patrick was when he showed up as the T-1000 in Terminator 2, but prior to that break out, Robert saw himself as a failed athlete and alcoholic who was lucky to get a chance at success with this acting thing. Robert tells Marc...

• Episode 1585 - Keith Urban

  Keith Urban may seem like an outsider who conquered Nashville, but as he tells Marc, he was an outsider in his home country, too. Coming from what he calls an oddball family in Australia who owned American cars and played American country music, Keith’s j...

• Episode 1584 - Robert Zemeckis

  Many films in the career of Robert Zemeckis, including his new one called Here, involve some form of time travel. As Robert explains to Marc, nothing does time travel better than movies. Robert talks with Marc about becoming a filmmaker thanks to Jerry Le...

• Episode 1583 - Al Pacino

  Al Pacino created indelible memories for generations of moviegoers. But while he was writing his own memoir, Sonny Boy, Al kept coming back to mental scenes of his days in the South Bronx, running around the streets with friends, enjoying the small things...

• Episode 1582 - Joe Boyd

  Joe Boyd is part of the music industry in so many ways, as a producer, label founder and more, that his new memoir And The Roots of Rhythm Remain also serves as a history of global music, a political roadmap of popular music trends, and an education in tr...

• Episode 1581 - Langston Kerman

  Langston Kerman named his new Netflix comedy special Bad Poetry, harkening back to his time as a high school teacher. But as someone with an MFA in poetry, Langston knows enough about the dividing line between the bad and the good in both poetry and comed...

• Episode 1580 - Sebastian Stan

  Sebastian Stan believes creativity is the best therapy. So even when he's playing an unappealing person, like Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya or Donald Trump in the new film The Apprentice, Sebastian knows there's always something to learn about humanity throug...

• Episode 1579 - Connie Chung

  Connie Chung’s consummate professionalism and journalistic rigor worked against her as she put together her new memoir. Her impulse is to report the facts, but her editors told her she needed to include other things this time, like feelings and emotion. B...

• Episode 1578 - Kaitlin Olson

  It’s all a combination of old and new for Kaitlin Olson. She’s just finishing up shooting the first season of her ABC detective series High Potential and is now about to begin shooting the seventeenth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Kaitlin a...

• Episode 1577 - Kathleen Hanna

  Kathleen Hanna’s life and career exist at the nexus of punk rock, outsider art, photography and feminism. Now that she’s been able to put it all into her memoir, Rebel Girl, Kathleen talks with Marc about her upbringing in the Pacific Northwest, the music...

• Episode 1576 - Elizabeth Olsen

  Marvel fans around the world know Elizabeth Olsen as The Scarlet Witch, but Elizabeth says she has a different alter ego inside of her— that of an elderly New Yorker living on her own in the big city. Elizabeth talks with Marc about this fantasy and how i...

• Episode 1575 - Jason Ritter

  As a kid, Jason Ritter felt a lot of pressure as the son of a beloved actor who audiences felt like they knew personally. He didn’t feel pressure from his parents, but rather pressure from the world, believing he had to live up to being John Ritter’s son....

• Episode 1574 - Eric Roberts

  While putting together his new memoir, Eric Roberts developed a fuller understanding of his life as an actor. As someone whose parents did not help him establish a sense of self, his journey through various roles and personality types was part of figuring...

• Episode 1573 - Ali Macofsky

  Hundreds of WTF guests have show business origin stories, but nobody has one like comedian Ali Macofsky, whose impulsive phone call to Ryan Seacrest live on the radio when she was seven years old got the ball rolling on her career. Ali tells Marc about th...

• Episode 1572 - Lupita Nyong'o

  She may have won an Oscar for her first film role, but Lupita Nyong’o spent the early part of her life hiding her desire to be an actor. Lupita tells Marc about growing up under autocratic rule, living in a country where creative voices were suppressed, a...

• Episode 1571 - Chris Robinson

  It took Chris Robinson a long time to accept being a rock and roll frontman. Even at the height of The Black Crowes’ success, he just thought they were just a group of dudes from Atlanta playing roots music. Now reunited with the band and touring again af...

• Episode 1570 - Drew Lynch

  Drew Lynch never planned on being a comedian. But his pursuit of an acting career got derailed by a traumatic brain injury that left him with a stutter and no career prospects. Drew tells Marc the reason he decided to get on stage and put together a stand...

• Episode 1569 - Brendon Walsh

  When the topic of past guests comes up, Marc often mentions Brendon Walsh, a comedian who was on several early WTF episodes as well as Marc’s IFC sitcom. Diving into a full conversation more than a decade since he was last in the garage, Brendon tells Mar...

• Episode 1568 - Greg Fitzsimmons

  Greg Fitzsimmons returns to WTF after a 13 year absence, but his dynamic with Marc remains the same as it was when they were comics starting out in Boston almost four decades ago. With a new comedy special out, Greg talks with Marc about his unhealthy rel...

• Episode 1567 - Paul W. Downs

  Over the past four years, Paul W. Downs has been one of the people responsible for constructing the ongoing story of a lifer standup comic on the show Hacks. Paul talks with Marc about how his comedy background is very different from the fictional Deborah...

• Episode 1566 - Michael Rooker

  Michael Rooker is known for playing a variety of menacing and intense characters. But menace was something he was always good at, as the protective older brother of six sisters. And intensity is often something people misread because he’s hard of hearing....

• Episode 1565 - Blair Socci

  Blair Socci comes from an athletic family with a hardened ancestral backstory involving throat slashing and exile. But despite her exterior toughness, Blair spent her youth enjoying poetry, journaling and creative writing. If she hadn't caught the comedy...

• Episode 1564 - Moon Zappa

  When Moon Zappa was on the show back in 2013, she and Marc started dating shortly thereafter. Now that Moon has just written her memoir, Earth to Moon, she and Marc sit down for their first real conversation since their abrupt breakup. Moon talks about th...

• Episode 1563 - Beth Stelling

  When Marc saw Beth Stelling’s Netflix special, he knew there was something he found familiar. It turns out they both have a similar process of making comedy out of trauma. Beth talks with Marc about the childhood event that informed most of the way she ad...

• Episode 1562 - Jimmie Dale Gilmore

  One of the reasons singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore didn’t get a solo record deal until he was in his 40s is because he took an extended time away from music to live in a spiritual community. Jimmie and Marc talk about the search for enlightenment in...

• Episode 1561 - Anna Akana

  Moving from place to place throughout her childhood was difficult on Anna Akana, but it was growing up alongside the internet that really changed her life. Anna tells Marc how her career as a comedian and actor got going when she turned to YouTube after d...

• Episode 1560 - Wolfgang Van Halen

  For Wolfgang Van Halen, learning the drums, guitar and bass came easier than learning to deal with the trolling and resentment he faced for being the son of Eddie Van Halen. Wolfgang tells Marc how touring as part of Van Halen taught him what to...

• Episode 1559 - Clare O'Kane

  When two comics are on tour together, one of the best places to get to know each other is in a car while driving between gigs. Clare O’Kane and Marc didn’t have much history together before Clare started opening for Marc, so they recorded their drive from...

• Episode 1558 - Shalom Auslander

  Shalom Auslander gave voice to something Marc was thinking for most of his life: That he’s been living in a world of Feh. What that Yiddish word means and why Shalom believes it’s an organizing idea that’s been forced on human beings, particularly Jews, f...

• Bob Newhart from 2014 and 2018

  First, hear Marc's 2014 conversation with Bob Newhart from Bob's home in Bel-Air. Then, a follow-up conversation from 2018 where Marc and Bob talked on the phone. Bob Newhart died on July 18, 2024, at age 94. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show arc...

• Episode 1557 - Dan St. Germain

  It’s been a long time since Dan St. Germain had his first big gig as an opener with Marc in Sacramento. As the years have gone by, Dan took a few breaks from standup, worked as a writer on several TV series, dealt with the heartbreak of a declining parent...

• Episode 1556 - Trey Anastasio

  Despite Phish’s enormous following, frontman Trey Anastasio still sees himself as an outsider. Trey talks with Marc about his earliest influences, which were not jam bands, but groups like the Jackson 5 and musicals from Broadway. They also talk about the...

• Episode 1555 - Clarence Maclin

  Clarence Maclin was uniquely suited to make his film debut in the new movie Sing Sing, starring alongside Colman Domingo. That’s because the film is based on a real life group of incarcerated men at Sing Sing prison and Clarence plays a fictionalized vers...

• Episode 1554 - Stavros Halkias

  Stavros Halkias titled his Netflix special Fat Rascal in part because he doesn’t know any other reality than a life with addictive food issues. Marc is no stranger to addiction or food-based trauma, so he can relate. But both Stavros and Marc can also sti...

• Episode 1553 - Julianne Nicholson

  Julianne Nicholson came over to the garage at the right time. With Marc deep in the middle of an acting job, it was helpful for both his curiosity and his confidence to talk to an expert actor like Julianne who is so versatile in all her performances, fro...

• Episode 1552 - Paul Scheer

  When Paul Scheer was on WTF back in 2010, he spoke about things in his past that he never before spoke about publicly. That conversation with Marc started Paul on a journey of self-discovery that continued as he built a family, grew his career and dealt w...

• Episode 1551 - Gareth Reynolds

  Gareth Reynolds was struggling in show business as a comic, a writer, an actor, you name it. But not unlike Marc, he finally broke through when he started hosting a podcast along with fellow comic Dave Anthony, The Dollop, where Dave tells stories from hi...

• Episode 1550 - Jewel

  Jewel Kilcher left her troubled home life in Alaska as a teenager, hitchhiking her way across the country and living in her car before becoming a music superstar known globally by her first name. Jewel talks with Marc about how she used creativity to over...

• Episode 1549 - Geezer Butler

  As bassist and lyricist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler has a lifetime of rock and roll stories to tell. From the band’s working class roots in Birmingham to their early days as a traditional blues band to their transformation into the quintessential hea...

• Episode 1548 - Jude Law

  Jude Law and Marc made a movie together but they never actually got to meet during it. They remedy that at the production offices of Jude’s latest project, as he sits down with Marc to talk about the elasticity of time, having a runaway imagination, the t...

• Episode 1547 - Ali Siddiq

  Comedian Ali Siddiq draws from his life experiences to create his comedy shows. Now in the midst of a four part comedy special called The Domino Effect, Ali is exploring everything from his tough upbringing to his time spent in prison to the early comedic...

• Episode 1546 - Ed O'Neill

  Ed O’Neill’s his early days working in an Ohio steel mill and contemplating a potential career hustling for mobsters didn’t seem like a path to Hollywood. Nor did his days playing football and coming up short during NFL tryouts. But his working class Iris...

• Episode 1545 - Larry David

  Larry David says he regrets saying yes to everything right after he agrees to do it. But it’s too late to back out of the garage now, so he’ll try to convince Marc that he actually has a much better disposition than the Larry David character on Curb Your...

• Episode 1544 - Susie Essman

  After twenty-four years and twelve seasons as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Susie Essman’s life has become strangers seeing her on the street and asking her to curse them out. Susie tells Marc the ins and outs of making Curb and why so many people...

• Episode 1543 - Tony Goldwyn

  Despite a family name that goes back to the dawn of Hollywood, Tony Goldwyn’s father did not want him to get into the family business. It took Tony achieving his own success and landing a lead role in the movie Ghost for his father to accept this career p...

• Episode 1542 - Molly Ringwald

  There was a time when Molly Ringwald knew she had to get out of America for a while so she didn’t have to be That Girl anymore. Now, with a career that includes being a jazz singer, a novelist, and a translator of French literature, Molly is much more tha...

• Episode 1541 - Steph Tolev

  In a role reversal for WTF guests, Steph Tolev thought Marc didn’t like her. And as Marc usually finds out when he assumes another comedian dislikes him, Steph discovered that Marc is actually totally intrigued by who she is and interested in how she deve...

• Episode 1540 - Daniel Stern

  Daniel Stern made a radical decision in show business after achieving success and financial independence: He decided to stop. After culture-defining projects like Home Alone, The Wonder Years, City Slickers and more, Daniel tells Marc why he decided to de...

• Episode 1539 - Billy Strings

  When Marc saw Billy Strings play live on stage at Willie Nelson’s birthday show, he watched a born performer make bluegrass music vital to a modern audience. Billy talks with Marc about his joy of guitar playing as an adolescent in Michigan, how his famil...

• Episode 1538 - A. Whitney Brown

  Before discovering comedy, A. Whitney Brown dropped out of the eighth grade, bounced around reform schools, had a criminal record, and spent time in jail. Now, after a career that saw him do standup on Carson, write for SNL during its late-‘80s renaissanc...

• Episode 1537 - Joe Mande

  Joe Mande’s past appearances on WTF involve him being a sort of merry comic prankster, like back in the heyday of Twitter when he was trolling politicians and corporate brands on a daily basis. But in today’s polarized social environment, Joe and Marc tal...

• Episode 1536 - Chris Pine

  Chris Pine is in the position to offer Marc some advice. As the first-time director of the new movie Poolman, Chris gives Marc practical tips as Marc entertains the possibility of directing a film. But Chris also provides Marc with some insight into why p...

• Episode 1535 - Tiffany Haddish

  Before Tiffany Haddish rocketed to stardom with Girls Trip, she saw Marc at the back entrance of The Comedy Store and told him that she was going to be on his podcast one day. Today is that day. Tiffany and Marc talk about who she was in those days before...

• Episode 1534 - Neal Brennan

  While watching Neal Brennan’s new Netflix special, Crazy Good, Marc learned new things about Neal despite knowing each other for 30 years. They sit down to figure out how things have changed for them, whether they are truly feeling better in their lives,...

• Episode 1533 - Tammy Faye Starlite

  Nearly 30 years ago in the alt-comedy scene of New York City, Marc crossed paths with an evangelical country singer named Tammy Faye Starlite. She’s the alter ego of lifelong New Yorker Tammy Lang, who stormed the city’s cabarets and clubs with her own fo...

• Episode 1532 - Paula Pell

  Paula Pell is often celebrated as one of the funniest people alive by some of the other funniest people alive. The world is finally getting to see what they mean thanks to Paula’s standout role on Girls5eva, but for years she was comedy’s best kept secret...

• Episode 1531 - Jimmy Carr

  When Marc asked Jimmy Carr to be a guest on WTF years ago, Jimmy admits he wasn’t ready for it. He was already an established comedian at the time, but he felt like Public Jimmy was one thing and Private Jimmy was another. Now years later, Jimmy believes...

• Episode 1530 - Malcolm McDowell

  When Malcolm McDowell left behind Liverpool to pursue acting in London, he didn’t imagine it would be the start of 60 years as a performer. Malcolm talks with Marc about his extraordinary career, including his work with Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Oran...

• Episode 1529 - Alex Edelman

  Alex Edelman is the kind of comic who makes Marc immediately anxious. But it’s quickly apparent that Marc is reacting to the fact that he sees so much of himself in Alex. They’re both still dealing with complex feelings about their Jewish identities. They...

• Episode 1528 - Carol Burnett

  Carol Burnett turns 91 later this month and is still going strong with a featured role in the new series Palm Royale. But Carol is quick to remind Marc that the great success she achieved happened in part due to the kindness of strangers. Carol and Marc t...

• Episode 1527 - Dina Hashem

  Standup comedy transformed Dina Hashem’s life. So why is she at a point, right after releasing her acclaimed first special, where she cares less about standup than ever before? Dina talks with Marc about her isolated upbringing in New Jersey, her revelato...

• Episode 1526 - Alejandro Escovedo

  Celebrated singer-songwriter and guitarist Alejandro Escovedo made one of Marc’s favorite albums, the 1992 solo record Gravity. But the raw, intimate poetry of that album came from a real place of grief and anguish in Alejandro’s life. They talk about wha...

• Episode 1525 - David Krumholtz

  David Krumholtz lives and breathes Hollywood because, according to him, he has no other choice. The prolific character actor got what he considers a once in a lifetime break at age 13, so he needed to honor whatever fates gave him that opportunity by devo...

• Episode 1524 - Tig Notaro

  Tig Notaro’s new comedy special is called “Hello, Again” which serves as a reintroduction of sorts, considering how much has changed in Tig’s life over the years. Tig explains to Marc how her previous tough, no-nonsense demeanor gave way to a different si...

• Episode 1523 - Eddie Pepitone

  This is Eddie Pepitone’s 25th appearance on WTF, by far the most appearances on the show for anyone other than Marc. And yet Eddie and Marc have never had a full length one-on-one talk in the garage. They attempt to do so in this episode, despite of Eddie...

• Episode 1522 - Dave Attell

  Dave Attell and Marc have known each other for 35 years but really only converse at length on this podcast. Back on WTF after 14 years, Dave explains why he’s still on the road all the time as he gets set to premiere his new Netflix special, Hot Cross Bun...

• Episode 1521 - Todd Glass

  When Todd Glass was on WTF back in 2012, he decided to do something that changed his entire life. Now, twelve years later, Todd is looking to change the way he does comedy for the rest of his career. Todd tells Marc about his new stage show, The Event of...

• Episode 1520 - Thurston Moore

  Sonic Youth founding member Thurston Moore is not just an influential figure in the evolution of Noise Rock and the no-wave art scene. He’s a chronicler of subversive music and other forms of artistic expression, as detailed in his memoir Sonic Life. Thur...

• Episode 1519 - Rory Scovel

  Rory Scovel is back in the garage, fresh off premiering a new standup special on Max that Marc found extremely funny. Now at a point in his life where his smack in the middle between feeling young and feeling old, Rory talks with Marc veteran comic to vet...

• WTF Oscar Nominee Special 2024

  Hear Marc’s conversations with past WTF guests who are nominated for Oscars this year: Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, Jeffrey Wright, Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, America Ferrera, Mark Ruffalo, Yorgos Lanthimos, Noah Baumbach, Greta...

• Episode 1518 - Ben Mendelsohn

  Ben Mendelsohn is a prolific actor with a dynamic range, and yet most of his training came from watching movies as a young kid in Australia and learning from the stars he saw on screen. Ben and Marc talk about their shared love of AC/DC, the social gravit...

• Episode 1517 - Mae Martin

  Mae Martin is Canadian, has a background in sketch comedy, spent a lot of time doing standup in England, and is non-binary. And yet, despite a life that couldn’t seem more different than Marc’s, the two of them have a surprising amount in common. Mae and...

• Richard Lewis from 2011

  Richard Lewis was a comedy hero and inspiration to Marc. They spent their first extended time together in 2011 for this conversation about Richard's life and career. Richard died on February 27, 2024 at age 76. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show a...

• Episode 1516 - Lily Gladstone

  Lily Gladstone knows that people project all manner of emotions and intentions onto her when she gives a performance. Lily and Marc talk about why that happens, including the reaction to her Oscar-nominated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. They...

• Episode 1515 - Rodrigo Prieto

  Rodrigo Prieto is the cinematographer of two of last year's most celebrated films: Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon, for which he is Oscar-nominated. Rodrigo talks with Marc about finding the right look for multiple Martin Scorsese movies as well as...

• Episode 1514 - America Ferrera

  America Ferrera didn't expect that her performance in Barbie would lead to an Oscar nomination but few things in life have gone in a straight line for the daughter of working class immigrants from Honduras. America and Marc talk about how she encountered...

• Episode 1513 - Mark Ruffalo

  Before Mark Ruffalo became the Hulk, he deeply understood what it felt like to be two people in the same skin. A high school wrestler and a member of the drama club, a surfer and a punk rocker, a person with a family history of bipolarity. Mark...

• Episode 1512 - Da'Vine Joy Randolph

  Da’Vine Joy Randolph is in the midst of the highly competitive Hollywood award season, but the competitive fire always burns strong within her. From high school basketball to her time on a track scholarship to her foray into opera to the theater program a...

• Episode 1511 - Ed Zwick

  Ed Zwick’s career as a director, writer and producer in Hollywood lends itself to the full memoir treatment, complete with stories about stars behaving badly and development disasters. But Ed’s new book also serves as a guide to mentorship in a business w...

• Episode 1510 - John Oliver

  John Oliver is one of those people who just gets Marc. It’s not surprising, considering John has become one of the sharpest observers of the American way of life. Back in the garage after almost twelve years, John talks with Marc about having what he call...

• Episode 1509 - Laurie Kilmartin

  Laurie Kilmartin can make comedy out of the darkest situations in her life, from her father’s hospice care to her mother dying of Covid to being targeted by Fox News and the right wing for making an abortion joke. The latter became the foundation for her...

• Wayne Kramer from 2014

  Marc's 2014 conversation with Wayne Kramer, co-founder of the legendary rock group MC5, covering the ‘60s, jazz, Iggy Pop, the White Panther Party, prison, drugs and more. Wayne died on February 2, 2024 at age 75. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full sho...

• Episode 1508 - Bobby Lee

  In the thirteen years since Bobby Lee was last on WTF, he and Marc have grown to like each other more and more. For one thing, Marc taught Bobby how to tell time. But aside from that, they’ve shared a lot together as two veteran comics regularly working t...

• Episode 1507 - Jon Cryer

  Jon Cryer has been in show business for most of his life and has seen the changes, both rapid and gradual, within the industry. Jon talks with Marc about his early stage work, his breakthrough in film with Pretty in Pink, and his great success on network...

• Episode 1506 - Moshe Kasher

  Moshe Kasher already wrote a memoir about his years as a teenage substance abuser growing up in an orthodox Jewish family with two deaf parents. Now Moshe’s back to talk with Marc about his second memoir, Subculture Vulture, which deals with how he put hi...

• Episode 1505 - Jacqueline Novak

  Jacqueline Novak’s new Netflix standup special is a rite of passage story about a girl finding her way into womanhood. Kind of. For Marc, it was refreshing to watch something so frank, filthy and fun. For Jacqueline, it was an honest expression of what sh...

• Episode 1504 - Jonah Ray Rodrigues / Ed Begley Jr.

  It’s the return of two past WTF guests who have lots of stories and common experiences to share with Marc. First, Hollywood’s everyman Ed Begley Jr. is back for the first time in a decade, fresh off writing his new memoir, To the Temple of Tranquility… An...

• Episode 1503 - Billie Joe Armstrong

  Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day are heading out on a global tour as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of their breakout album Dookie, the 20th anniversary of American Idiot, and the release of their new album Saviors. Through it all, Billie Joe has t...

• Episode 1502 - Greta Gerwig

  The last time Greta Gerwig was on WTF, she had just directed her first solo feature, the independent film Lady Bird. Now she returns after directing and co-writing the biggest movie of 2023, Barbie. Greta talks with Marc about everything that went in...

• Episode 1501 - Joel Edgerton

  Joel Edgerton’s decision to start a filmmaking collective with his brother and friends in Australia is the foundation for his career and an ideal representation of the collaborative process. Joel talks with Marc about the allure of menace, which he infuse...

• Episode 1500 - Paul Giamatti

  Paul Giamatti and Marc have so many similar interests - amassing books, admiring marginal geniuses, taking jobs out of panic, reassessing classic movies, watching old late night talk show clips, wanting to be the guy in the coffee shop, the origins of con...

• The Friday Show Special

  For New Year’s Day, Marc introduces you to The Friday Show, a weekly episode available to Full Maron subscribers, hosted by WTF producer Brendan McDonald and Kris Lo Presto, a friend of theirs from back in the Air America Radio days. You’ll hear Marc, Bre...

• Episode 1499 - Matt B. Davis

  Matt B. Davis is unique among WTF guests in that he did comedy for more than a decade, got out of the business and never wanted back in. Matt and Marc talk about how they got to know each other as comics, how they've helped each other in sobriety, and how...

• The 'Marc on Movies' Special

  For Christmas Day, Marc presents a special collection of exclusive segments that were published this past year on the Full Maron bonus feed as part of the Marc on Movies series. First, a conversation with WTF producer Brendan McDonald about the films of M...

• Episode 1498 - Blitz Bazawule

  Growing up in Ghana, director Blitz Bazawule relied on three things to transport him to other worlds: movies, American hip-hop, and his grandmother’s stories. Blitz tells Marc how he combined all three in his work as a director, how his style of visual po...

• Episode 1497 - Tammy Pescatelli

  Tammy Pescatelli and Marc were recently on the same show, performing for thousands in a basketball arena. Now in the garage, Tammy and Marc talk about their lives in comedy, which both of them spent earning their stripes on the road, putting in time at Th...

• Episode 1496 - Rodney Crowell / John Doe

  As one of country music’s most prolific singer-songwriters, Rodney Crowell talks with Marc about the art of songwriting, his evolution as a performer, and his collaborations with everyone from Emmylou Harris to Waylon Jennings to Rosanne Cash to Jeff Twee...

• Episode 1495 - Peter Sarsgaard

  Peter Sarsgaard is always a memorable presence on screen and on stage. But in his latest role, he’s playing a man losing his memory at an early age. Marc and Peter talk about how life leads to inevitable encounters with dementia and mental trauma, and how...

• Episode 1494 - Taylor Williamson

  Taylor Williamson’s obsession with comedy led him to club gigs as a teenager and national press coverage praising “the 19-year-old’s cerebral wit.” But Taylor tells Marc he was ready to give up on his dreams after a few years of the comedy grind. They tal...

• Episode 1493 - Kate Simon

  Kate Simon’s love of photography started with a Polaroid camera and her talents put her right in the middle of the art and music scenes in London and New York City in the 1970s and ’80s. Kate and Marc talk about her notable subjects like Iggy Pop, Patti S...

• Episode 1492 - Jesse David Fox

  Jesse David Fox thinks comedy is serious business. As the comedy reporter at Vulture, he’s been writing about it for more than a decade. Now Jesse is attempting to explain the role of comedy in our ever-evolving culture in his newly published Comedy Book....

• Episode 1491 - Albert Brooks

  A conversation more than a dozen years in the making, Albert Brooks finally agreed to sit down with Marc overlooking the Pacific Ocean at The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica. After recently going over parts of his life and career in a documentary directed...

• Episode 1490 - Elliott Caine

  When Marc was living in Highland Park, he found out something interesting about his neighborhood optometrist. Not only was this man an eye doctor, he was an accomplished jazz trumpeter. Marc welcomes Dr. Elliott Caine to the garage to find out how a Midwe...

• Episode 1489 - Taika Waititi

  Taika Waititi has his hands in dozens of projects at any given time, but he says the connective thread of all his work is that he’s still trying to impress his deceased father. Taika and Marc discuss the core of grief in all of Taika’s films and televisio...

• Episode 1488 - Fisher Stevens

  Fisher Stevens left a lasting impression on Marc in the early ‘80s when Fisher was in Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. Since then, Fisher’s career has taken him from acting to directing to making documentary films, winning an Oscar for The Cove. Fisher...

• Episode 1487 - José Andrés

  Chef José Andrés could have been best known as the owner of some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world. But now he is arguably more well known as someone who feeds people around the world in their times of greatest need. José talks with Marc abo...

• Episode 1486 - Laraaji

  Before he was Laraaji, Edward Larry Gordon was a gig musician with a background in composition, an aspiring actor, a standup comic and a person interested in the metaphysical. Then one day he pawned his guitar for an autoharp and changed not only his life...

• Episode 1485 - John Wilson

  While John Wilson spends his time filming everything around him, one question he’s constantly asking is whether he should be filming everything around him all the time. John talks with Marc about how his lifelong fascination with film combined with his te...

• Episode 1484 - Lou Adler

  Lou Adler’s career in the music industry is one of the most accomplished in history, writing and producing hit songs and albums for the likes of Jan and Dean, Sam Cooke, the Mamas and the Papas, Carole King and many more. But he also was a producer of fil...

• Episode 1483 - Dan Soder

  Nearly fifteen years ago, Dan Soder and Marc were talking at a comedy club right after they were both fired from their respective radio gigs. Marc responded to that moment by launching this podcast while Dan committed himself to standup, which led back to...

• Episode 1482 - Jennette McCurdy

  Jennette McCurdy turned the pain of her abusive upbringing and the resentment she had toward her show business career into the blockbuster memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. More than a year after its release, Jennette talks with Marc about the perspective she...

• Episode 1481 - Joan Baez

  Joan Baez is in the midst of examining her life as the subject of a new documentary, Joan Baez: I Am a Noise. Among the many revelations is that, at a very young age, she gravitated toward sad music. What she learned early on was to embrace the music of s...

• Episode 1480 - Doug Stanhope / Louis Katz

  It’s another comic double-header with two of Marc’s favorites. Doug Stanhope is back to talk about his new movie The Road Dog, which prompts memories from Doug and Marc about their days doing road gigs when they were just starting out. Also, comedian Loui...

• Episode 1479 - Rob Halford

  Fans know Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford as the Metal God. But he says there’s one guy called Rob Halford and another guy called The Metal God. Now, at 72 years old, Rob is embracing a life where those two personas are separate but the same. Rob talks...

• Episode 1478 - Arnold Schwarzenegger

  Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to focus on life’s victories. That makes for an interesting contrast with Marc, a self-described “obstacle guy.” Arnold and Marc find that their differing approaches to taking on the world make for good conversation about gener...

• Episode 1477 - Tom Papa

  Tom Papa’s last trip to the garage was mostly about his comedy past, reflecting on how he and Marc got to where they are in their chosen profession. This time, Tom and Marc are thinking mostly about their futures, how they’re navigating the comedy world a...

• Episode 1476 - Larry Charles

  Larry Charles always knew he liked comedy but he also knew he liked being a button-pusher. Those preferences are on display in his writing for Seinfeld, his work on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his direction of movies like Borat, Bruno, and his latest film D...

• Episode 1475 - Les Claypool / Marc Ribot

  Les Claypool is the first guest who flew himself to his WTF interview. Whether he’s studying aviation, perfecting fly fishing or starting another band, the Primus founder and bass virtuoso is always doing new things to stave off boredom. Les and Marc talk...

• Episode 1474 - LeVar Burton

  LeVar Burton was on track to join the priesthood early in life. But that actually turned out to be the fast track to acting and by age 19 he was starring in one of the most watched television programs of all time. LeVar and Marc talk about what he learned...

• Episode 1473 - Chevy Chase

  Chevy Chase plays a pivotal role in the history of American comedy, from his work on the National Lampoon Radio Hour to being the breakout star of Saturday Night Live’s first season to his hit comedy films like Caddyshack and Vacation. Chevy talks with Ma...

• Episode 1472 - Aparna Nancherla

  Aparna Nancherla says the self-fulfilling prophecy of imposter syndrome is convincing yourself you don’t belong and acting in a way to prove yourself right. It’s something she’s dealt with no matter what level of success she’s achieved in standup, writing...

• Episode 1471 - Gary Gulman

  When Gary Gulman was on WTF in 2013, he and Marc talked about Gary’s mental health in relation to his comedy. Since that time, Gary has dealt with severe bouts of depression and integrated it into his act, specifically in his 2019 HBO special The Great De...

• Episode 1470 - Hannah Einbinder

  Hannah Einbinder was a fan of WTF as a teenager and drew inspiration from Marc’s conversations with comedians while she considered pursuing a career as one herself. Hannah and Marc talk about her multi-generational Los Angeles family, whose businesses inc...

• Episode 1469 - Naomi Klein

  Naomi Klein was faced with a rather common problem. She was consistently mistaken for someone else. But because Naomi is one of our most perceptive and astute social critics, she was able to to turn that case of mistaken identity into an examination of th...

• Episode 1468 - Bernie Taupin

  Bernie Taupin is a songwriter responsible for many of the most beloved songs ever recorded. But he actually thinks of himself as a cinematographer, taking what he sees in life and turning those mental snapshots into fantastical stories. Bernie and Marc ta...

• Episode 1467 - Michael Symon / Todd Barry

  Michael Symon’s food journey has taken many unexpected turns, from revitalizing the Cleveland restaurant scene to changing his own diet after being diagnosed with autoimmune disorders to being at the ground floor of the Food Network phenomenon. Michael an...

• Episode 1466 - Jeff Sharlet

  Jeff Sharlet is a reporter Marc turned to regularly during his days as a radio host to help explain the role of religion in American culture and politics. Jeff’s decades on the religion beat put him in a unique position to decode our modern social divisio...

• Episode 1465 - Maria Bamford

  Maria Bamford is not only one of Marc’s favorite comics, she’s one of Marc’s favorite people to talk with, as evidenced by her six appearances on WTF. Now, more than 13 years after their groundbreaking, highly confessional first episode, recorded as they...

• Episode 1464 - Andrew Leland

  Andrew Leland started having trouble seeing when he was in high school. He learned about his degenerative condition that would slowly render him blind over the course of his life. Now, two decades into his career as a writer, editor and lecturer, Andrew c...

• Episode 1463 - Amanda Seales

  Amanda Seales was on the show Insecure, but only when she had an actual crisis of confidence did she feel like she could get control of her life and career. Amanda and Marc find out they have a lot of similar hang-ups and philosophies about creativity, de...

• Episode 1462 - Nimesh Patel

  Nimesh Patel got advice from his comedy hero Chris Rock that comics need to get personal in order to become universal. After that, Nimesh was able to take his background as a first generation Indian-American whose dad owned a liquor store, a med-school dr...

• Episode 1461 - Jessica Chastain

  Jessica Chastain is one of our most celebrated actors, with a recent Oscar win, a Tony-nominated Broadway run, and a highly praised performance as Tammy Wynette opposite Michael Shannon’s George Jones. As Jessica tells Marc, she’s always been a sensitive...

• Episode 1460 - Adam Conover

  Adam Conover felt out of place in a family of scientists, but his decision to pursue a philosophy degree actually played into three major aspects of his adult life: Standup comedy, his educational television shows Adam Ruins Everything and The G Word, and...

• Episode 1459 - Alex Winter

  Alex Winter was an actor for much of his young life until he realized it wasn’t his preferred way to tell stories. Now, the man many people knew as one half of Bill and Ted is an accomplished documentary filmmaker. Alex talks with Marc about his new film...

• Episode 1458 - Gary Mule Deer

  Gary Mule Deer's career has spanned more than 60 years, but he's got enough in it to fill at least 600. Gary tells Marc how a guy from South Dakota who stumbled into his first performing gigs by happenstance wound up as a touring musician with bands...

• Episode 1457 - Melissa Villaseñor

  Melissa Villaseñor spent six seasons on Saturday Night Live and left her mark with a wide array of impressions. It was a road to success she might not have taken had she not gone to The Laugh Factory Comedy Camp when she was fifteen. Melissa and Marc talk...

• Episode 1456 - George Schlatter

  George Schlatter's lifetime in show business encompasses way more than Marc could cover during George's last appearance on WTF. Now that the Laugh-In creator has published his memoir, Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy, he has a lot more stories at the read...

• Episode 1455 - Jim Gaffigan

  There's a reason Jim Gaffigan is back for his seventh appearance on the show. No matter how much older they get, no matter how much has changed in their lives, Marc and Jim remain two comics who are still figuring out life and having a good time talking a...

• Episode 1454 - Michael Rowe

  Michael Rowe and Marc knew each other decades ago from the comedy club scene, but Mike says there was a specific moment when standup left his body for good. He tells Marc how his love of joke writing gave him entry into the world of comedy and then gave h...

• Episode 1453 - Cillian Murphy

  Cillian Murphy knew he wanted to become an actor when he saw A Clockwork Orange. Not the Kubrick film, but an avant-garde theatrical production in a nightclub. From there he left his dreams of being a musician behind and began his acting journey. Cillian...

• Episode 1452 - Sarah Tiana

  Sarah Tiana and Marc are very much co-workers. They see each other at “the office” regularly but they’ve never had an extended period of time to get to know each other. Sarah and Marc get to sit down and compare notes on their experiences at The Comedy St...

• Episode 1451 - Lukas Nelson

  Lukas Nelson doesn’t fear any comparisons with his father, Willie, because his dad taught him by example to do what you love with all your heart. And Lukas loves making music. Lukas talks with Marc about songwriting, the evolution of country, Jimi Hendrix...

• Episode 1450 - Joanna Gleason

  Joanna Gleason lives in a vibrant community of artistic people. In a way, it's what she's always known, growing up surrounded by the community of her father, Monty Hall, in the early days of television. Joanna and Marc talk about parents not having t...

• Episode 1449 - The United States of Conspiracy w/ Robert Guffey

  Marc admits to a certain amount of conspiracy-driven paranoia when he was younger, which gives him a unique vantage point to observe the conspiracy theories shaking our culture. Conspiracy scholar Robert Guffey joins Marc to talk about the origins of mode...

• Episode 1448 - Clifton Collins Jr.

  A bike accident and a cracked bone delayed Clifton Collins Jr.’s appearance in the garage, but now he’s all healed up and ready to go. Clifton talks with Marc about his extensive career, including films like Traffic, Capote and Nightmare Alley, and his fa...

• The Full Maron: Year One

  The Full Maron is our WTF+ subscription tier that gives you weekly bonus episodes. It's now a year old, so that means there's 52 weeks of bonus episodes waiting for you in the archive. To give you a sense of what's in store for subscri...

• Episode 1447 - Kyle Kinane

  Kyle Kinane is a comedian Marc enjoys so much, he had him on multiple early episodes of WTF. But at some point, Kyle felt he hit a wall in show business, feeling weary from the demands of constant pitches and the necessities of self-promotion. Kyle return...

• Episode 1446 - Tom Dreesen's Mob Stories

  Comedian Tom Dreesen was hanging out with Marc in The Comedy Store parking lot, telling stories of show business and organized crime. Marc had such a good time listening to Tom’s stories, he invited him back on the show to share some of them with WTF list...

• Episode 1445 - Ben Kingsley

  Ben Kingsley believes his job is to reflect truth and in order to do that he keeps many voices in his heart and mind. Those voices include Steven Spielberg, Otto Frank, Elie Wiesel, Rajmohan Gandhi, and others who gave him gifts of wisdom and encouragemen...

• Episode 1444 - Felicia Michaels

  Felicia Michaels and Marc started at The Comedy Store around the same time. They got to see the ‘80s comedy boom begin at the club level. They got to see Sam Kinison at his funniest and also his most difficult. And they got to see each other at times in t...

• Episode 1443 - Ramy Youssef

  In 2019, Ramy Youssef surprised Hollywood by coming out of nowhere to win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Comedy. Now, after three seasons of Ramy on Hulu, he talks with Marc about using his relationship with faith and culture to make comedy and e...

• Episode 1442 - Jeff Stilson

  Jeff Stilson only had two goals as a comedian: Get on Johnny Carson and write for David Letterman. After he accomplished both things, he developed a reputation as a top shelf writer for talk shows, sitcoms, award shows and other comedians. Jeff talks with...

• Episode 1441 - Anthony Ramos

  Anthony Ramos was ready to give up on acting but seeing the musical In The Heights on Broadway gave him hope. Eventually he wound up playing the lead role in the film version of that very show. Anthony talks with Marc about his journey from housing projec...

• Episode 1440 - William Shatner

  William Shatner has lived long and continues to prosper. At 92 years old, he has dozens of projects in the works, including the Fox reality show Stars on Mars, a new watch he designed, two documentaries, and his annual charity horse show. But he’s also ab...

• Episode 1439 - Vir Das

  Vir Das doesn’t worry about fitting in. He was born in India, grew up in Nigeria, went to school in America, lived and worked in Europe, and now lives back in his country of origin. Vir talks with Marc about wanting his comedy and acting to appeal to a gl...

• Episode 1438 - Amy Sherman-Palladino

  Amy Sherman-Palladino says working on a TV show takes over your whole life. This is why Amy went from being a hired gun on sitcoms that made her miserable to her own creatively fulfilling shows like Gilmore Girls, Bunheads and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. A...

• Episode 1437 - Smokey Robinson

  Smokey Robinson just released his 26th studio album, but he’s been writing songs since the age of six. Smokey talks with Marc about his lifelong friendships with Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy, the formation of The Miracles, the rise of Motow...

• Episode 1436 - Warren Zanes

  For Warren Zanes, music has been a salvation. In his troubled teen years, his brother put him in the band The Del Fuegos. Then music was the conduit to his PhD. And now, after a lifetime of seeing himself as just another guy without a father, Warren’s mus...

• Episode 1435 - Paul Schrader

  Paul Schrader’s upbringing was steeped in the contradictions of religion, which helped him explore the contradictory characters in his screenplays, like Travis Bickle, Jake LaMotta and the protagonists of his recent films, First Reformed, The Card Counter...

• Episode 1434 - Ice Cube

  Ice Cube never stopped thinking about making music, from the moment he started writing raps in typewriting class to sitting in his recording studio today making a new album. But he never expected his life to take a parallel track when John Singleton sough...

• Episode 1433 - Rachel Weisz

  Rachel Weisz and her collaborators totally knocked Marc for a loop with the new series Dead Ringers, a show that’s still haunting him long after he watched it. Rachel and Marc talk about her dual performance as twin doctors, as well as her work with Yorgo...

• Episode 1432 - Shane Mauss

  When comedian Shane Mauss was on the show in 2016, he and Marc talked about the new trajectory in his life that involved psychedelic studies. A year later, he lost his mind doing lots of hands-on experiments in that field of study. As Shane gets his stand...

• Episode 1431 - Tituss Burgess

  Tituss Burgess was in the movie Respect alongside Marc, playing gospel singer James Cleveland. But it was Tituss’s own original gospel recordings that provided Marc with a fuller understanding of the Real Tituss. Tituss talks with Marc about finally being...

• Episode 1430 - David Mandel

  Both David Mandel and Marc were obsessed with the early years of Saturday Night Live, in large part because of a book they both had. It was the 1977 SNL Script Book and it actually set David on a path to become a writer for that very show. David tells Mar...

• Episode 1429 - J. Smith-Cameron

  J. Smith-Cameron gets just as surprised while watching Succession as you do. With all the footage they shoot, she’s never sure exactly how any given episode is going to turn out, as she waits to see what will or won’t make the cut. Jean and Marc get into...

• Episode 1428 - Lily Rabe

  As the daughter of Jill Clayburgh and playwright David Rabe, Lily Rabe felt a lot of pressure not to become an actor, believing she had to stake out her own artistic ground. But while dance was her passion, her acting talents were undeniable. Lily tells M...

• Darryl Lenox from 2013

  From February 2013, Marc talks with comedian Darryl Lenox about the struggles he faced throughout his life and how he overcame the challenges in front of him. Darryl died on April 16, 2023. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bo...

• Episode 1427 - Ray Romano

  The last time Ray Romano was on the podcast, he was making the show Men of a Certain Age. Now Ray and Marc are both men of a certain age with a lot of the same concerns about their health and well-being at this point in their lives. They also followed a s...

• Episode 1426 - Alex Borstein

  It's a series of firsts for Alex Borstein: The release of her first comedy special, her first podcast interview done during a power outage, and her first time meeting Marc, despite co-starring with him in The Bad Guys. Alex and Marc talk about Chicago, pi...

• Episode 1425 - Steven Yeun

  Three episodes into the Netflix series Beef, Steven Yeun's character is emotionally overwhelmed in a Korean church. As the former leader of a praise band and the son of devout immigrant parents, it isn't surprising Steven was able to hit the right no...

• Episode 1424 - Kelly Reichardt

  Kelly Reichardt’s latest movie Showing Up is about the life of artists, but Kelly had no experience with art while growing up in a Miami law enforcement family other than crime scene photos. Kelly talks to Marc about the moment that opened her eyes to art...

• Episode 1423 - Brooke Shields

  Brooke Shields is able to look back critically on the toxic culture and misogynistic power structure that pervaded her early career while remaining grateful for the life she lived and the person she became. Marc talks with Brooke about her journey from mo...

• Episode 1422 - Cathy Ladman

  Cathy Ladman just made her tenth appearance on The Tonight Show, a milestone in a career that started back when Johnny Carson was the host. But something she dealt with throughout that career was an ongoing battle with an eating disorder. Cathy tells Marc...

• Episode 1421 - Karina Longworth

  Karina Longworth grew up in Los Angeles and was fascinated by the haunted memories of Old Hollywood. Later in life, her writing and research led her to creating the podcast that explores these forgotten stories, You Must Remember This. Karina and Marc tal...

• Episode 1420 - Nick Youssef

  Nick Youssef found himself on the receiving end of anti-Arab hate when he took the standup stage shortly after 9/11, right at the start of his comedy career. It was that moment when Nick knew he was never going to let anyone get the better of him on the c...

• Episode 1419 - Laurie Anderson

  Laurie Anderson says she never made art to express herself, she didn’t care about having a “style,” and she sure didn’t think about building a “brand.” Laurie and Marc talk about her time in New York City as part of a booming art scene, her days hanging w...

• Episode 1418 - Jason Woliner / Ashley Barnhill

  First up in this two-for-one episode, Marc talks with comedian Ashely Barnhill, who used to work for WTF while she was building her comedy career. Suddenly, a tragic accident had her fighting for her life. They talk about Ashley’s road back. Next, directo...

• Episode 1417 - O'Shea Jackson Jr.

  O’Shea Jackson Jr. grew up around music with Ice Cube as a father. But it was a school teacher who set his mind toward making movies. O’Shea and Marc talk about the idea of Ice Cube versus the reality of Ice Cube as a dad and now as a grandfather. They al...

• "The Nominees Are..." - A WTF Compilation

  A special compilation of this year's Oscar nominees talking about their nominated works. Hear excerpts from Marc's interviews with Michelle Yeoh, Daniels, Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Austin Butler, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Polley, Todd Field, Rian Jo...

• Episode 1416 - Bobby Farrelly

  Bobby Farrelly knows he was lucky to grow up in small town Rhode Island, which was, in his words, marinating in characters. Bobby and his brother Peter were able to take those real life characters and put them into screenplays that became some of the bigg...

• Episode 1415 - Ronny Chieng

  Ronny Chieng has been in America for less than a decade and he’s cementing himself as a prolific force in comedy. With two Netflix specials, a regular spot on The Daily Show, and multiple roles in high profile films already under his belt, Ronny is living...

• Episode 1414 - Hong Chau

  Hong Chau owes her acting career to social anxiety and a fear of performing in public. It was the desire to overcome those obstacles that led her to improv and acting classes. Hong and Marc talk about the dangerous journey her family undertook to get from...

• Episode 1413 - Austin Butler

  Austin Butler devoted the past four years of his life to Elvis, the last year of which has been spent promoting and talking about Elvis. So it’s a little bit of a break for him to talk with Marc about his cowboy heritage, being a shy kid, becoming a regul...

• Episode 1412 - Daniels (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert)

  Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert share a first name, a passion for filmmaking and now awards for Best Director. But the duo known as Daniels have backgrounds that are as divergent as the multiverse they invented for Everything Everywhere All At Once. They...

• Episode 1411 - Michelle Yeoh

  Michelle Yeoh travels through the multiverse in Everything Everywhere All At Once. But when she was growing up in Malaysia, there was a universe where she continued her dance training and opened her own dance school. That all came to an end with an injury...

• Episode 1410 - Tim Blake Nelson

  Tim Blake Nelson always impresses Marc with his acting and, since the last time he was on the show, he’s made more stuff Marc loved, like Old Henry and Nightmare Alley. But now Tim has also impressed Marc as a novelist. His first novel, City of Blows, is...

• Episode 1409 - Marc Summers

  Most people know Marc Summers as the host of Double Dare on Nickelodeon and Unwrapped on Food Network. But his background makes him an ideal WTF guest. A Jewish kid from the Midwest who wanted to get into show business, Marc tried his hand at being a DJ,...

• Episode 1408 - AEW (Chris Jericho, Tony Khan, Colt Cabana, Bryce Remsberg, MJF, Eddie Kingston)

  As documented in the Wrestling With Marc series on The Full Maron, Marc undergoes a full immersion into the world of professional wrestling when his producer Brendan suggests Marc explore something totally new to him. With help from All Elite Wrestling, M...

• Episode 1407 - Wayne Brady

  Wayne Brady is making himself happy again when he’s performing. He makes other people happy hosting Let’s Make a Deal and being part of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but only in recent years does Wayne feel like he’s combatting his depression and anxiety in a...

• Episode 1406 - Dave Franco

  Dave Franco is a successful actor but that doesn’t mean he was full of confidence when he began directing his first feature. Dave tells Marc how he overcame the fear of the unknown once he stepped on set to call action for the first time. They also talk a...

• Episode 1405 - Radhika Jones

  Radhika Jones just celebrated her fifth year as Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair and, as far as Marc is concerned, she plays a major role on the front lines of the American culture war. Radhika tells Marc why she remains optimistic about our current cultura...

• Episode 1404 - Brendan Fraser

  Brendan Fraser is receiving awards and accolades for his performance in The Whale but his reasons for taking on the role go much deeper than wanting to earn well-deserved praise. Brendan and Marc talk about the many layers of pain, trauma and redemption t...

• Episode 1403 - Sarah Polley

  Sarah Polley has a lot to say about memory, narratives and the stories we tell. That’s because she believes they’re all fluid, which creates a sort of moving target for a writer and director of films, as she is. Sarah and Marc talk about how this is repre...

• Episode 1402 - Octavia Spencer

  Octavia Spencer’s career started behind the scenes, as she worked in casting departments on film sets. Director Joel Schumacher said she should read for the role of Sandra Bullock’s nurse in A Time To Kill and set her on a path that would eventually culmi...

• Episode 1401 - Todd Field

  Todd Field toyed with many pursuits before he ever directed a film. First there was close-up magic. Then he went to school on a music scholarship. He also hoped to become a baseball player, working as a batboy for a minor league team. He helped invent Big...

• Episode 1400 - Andrea Riseborough

  Andrea Riseborough can't lie. She's terrible at it. But she believes that trait helps her as an actor because there's no hiding her emotions. Marc can attest to this, having acted opposite Andrea in To Leslie, but she's been at it since she was nine...

• Episode 1399 - Katt Williams

  Katt Williams is a one-of-a-kind comic performer, so it’s only natural he should have a one-of-a-kind backstory. Katt tells Marc about his travels as a teenager, trying to make it on his own in Florida, then in Haiti, then around the country in all 50 sta...

• Episode 1398 - Colin Hanks

  Colin Hanks knows there are public perceptions of him that are tricky to navigate. For one, the man known as America’s Dad is his actual dad. There’s also the fact that people have a hard time seeing him in roles other than The Nice Guy. And then there’s...

• Episode 1397 - Ben Foster

  Ben Foster was 14 years old and when he had what he calls a breakdown. Ben had a moment while acting where he completely lost himself and he needed to get back to that place at all costs. Marc talks with Ben about how he chased that feeling from the set o...

• Episode 1396 - Eric McFadden

  Guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric McFadden is a blast from Marc's past. They knew each other when they were teenagers growing up in Albuquerque, fostering their creative passions in art studios, record stores and guitar shops around town. After co...

• Episode 1395 - Courtney Love

  Courtney Love is finishing up her first record in more than a decade while she lives in London, perhaps permanently. Courtney fled LA because, as she tells Marc, she needed to get out of the “overculture.” It’s one of many realizations Courtney came upon...

• Episode 1394 - Scott Cooper

  Writer-director Scott Cooper says the best thing to came out of his acting career was the friendship he struck up with Robert Duvall. At Robert’s suggestion, Scott started writing his own films, including one he sent to Jeff Bridges. And because Jeff Brid...

• Episode 1393 - Rian Johnson

  Rian Johnson revived the mystery genre with his movie Knives Out and now he’s seeing what other places he can take it, both with the sequel Glass Onion and his new detective series Poker Face. But that’s the kind of filmmaker Rian is. As he tells Marc, Ri...

• Episode 1392 - James Austin Johnson

  James Austin Johnson figured out at a very young age that he could do impressions. When he got older and started doing comedy, he wanted to figure out a way to do them that didn’t feel like a Las Vegas lounge act. Now, as the preeminent Trump mimic and SN...

• Episode 1391 - Tommy Tiernan

  Comedian Tommy Tiernan knows a fellow traveler when he sees one. Ever since he saw Marc perform, he recognized a kinship, which is something Marc notices himself when he’s in Tommy’s home country of Ireland. Tommy and Marc talk about the shared outlook of...

• Episode 1390 - Elvis Mitchell

  Elvis Mitchell waited his entire life to make the new documentary Is That Black Enough For You?!? As a film critic, professor, chronicler of the entertainment business on his show The Treatment and, most importantly, a lifelong movie fan, everything prepa...

• Episode 1389 - Clea DuVall

  It’s the holidays, which means Clea DuVall’s movie the Happiest Season is once again part of a new tradition for people everywhere. That’s still taking time to sink in for Clea because it’s a film she wrote and directed that deals with a personal struggle...

• Episode 1388 - James Gray

  Filmmaker James Gray had crisis of confidence after watching a rough cut of his first movie, Little Odessa. Now that he’s made his most personal film yet, Armageddon Time, James and Marc talk about what it took to rebuild his confidence over 25 years, sur...

• Episode 1387 - Rob Delaney / Sam Lipsyte

  Rob Delaney says the last time he was on the show, he didn’t have two coins to rub together. After that, he started a family, moved to London, created the hit show Catastrophe and saw his career take off. Then unfathomable tragedy struck with the illness...

• Episode 1386 - Live with David Baddiel

  Live from The Bloomsbury Theatre in London, Marc welcomes comedian and writer David Baddiel to the stage. In light of David’s new book and accompanying documentary, Jews Don’t Count, Marc and David talk about what it’s like to make sure they’re both publi...

• Episode 1385 - Robert Siegel

  Writer-director Robert Siegel wanted to explore a career in either comedy or journalism. It turns out he got to do both as Editor-in-Chief of The Onion. But while The Onion was mostly comedy tinged with tragedy, Robert tells Marc how he wanted to flip tha...

• Episode 1384 - Bruce Wagner

  When Marc reads the works of author and screenwriter Bruce Wagner, he starts to question reality. Bruce’s depictions of Hollywood personalities and show business darkness cut close to the bone and leave Marc trying to make sense of the life he chose. Bruc...

• Episode 1383 - Wes Bentley

  American Beauty completely changed Wes Bentley’s life and is still doing so today, considering he got his current role in Yellowstone because of his performance as Ricky Fitts. But the sudden exposure to fame started Wes down a path of drug addiction that...

• Budd Friedman from 2012

  From November 2012, Marc talks with Budd Friedman, the man behind the comedy club boom in America. Budd died on November 12, 2022 at the age of 90. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wt...

• Gallagher

  Marc revisits his 2011 interview with comedian Gallagher, recorded in Portland, Oregon on January 27, 2011. Their conversation about comedy, language and cultural tolerance led to Gallagher walking out on the interview, the first and only time that happen...

• Episode 1382 - Quinta Brunson

  Quinta Brunson didn’t pave the traditional path to a hit network sitcom. In fact, she paved a path that didn’t really exist. Quinta and Marc talk about how she was one of the first people on Instagram to hit it big with the comedy she was making on there,...

• Episode 1381 - Elizabeth Banks

  Elizabeth Banks says she’s the kind of person who likes to get ‘A’s on tests. And in show business, directing feature films for Hollywood studios is the ultimate test. Elizabeth and Marc talk about how her imposter syndrome faded over the past few years a...

• Episode 1380 - Chris Redd

  Chris Redd knows what it’s like to have dreams and then watch them shift in the face of reality. It happened first with the dream of being a rapper, but then Chris realized he had a knack for this comedy thing. Now, as he departs SNL and releases his firs...

• Episode 1379 - Armando Iannucci

  Veep creator Armando Iannucci knows his job as a purveyor of political satire becomes more difficult as politicians become more absurd and cartoonish. In fact, just hours before recording this episode, the Prime Minister of the U.K. resigned after a tumul...

• Episode 1378 - Ron Carter

  Ron Carter is one of the architects of modern jazz. The Guinness Book of World Records cites him as the most recorded bassist in history and his influence has stretched well beyond jazz to a host of musical genres and styles. Marc talks with Ron about the...

• Episode 1377 - Jeremy Strong

  Jeremy Strong can’t help being honest. His honesty around his job as an actor is what leads to magazine profiles where he’s portrayed as “intense” and “serious.” His honesty also allows him to admit that he was afraid to do this interview. Marc embraces b...

• Episode 1376 - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

  Henry Louis Gates, Jr. believes we must understand who we were in order to understand who we are. That goes for individuals, which is at the core of his PBS series Finding Your Roots, as well as society, which is the reason he made the new documentary ser...

• Episode 1375 - Ralph Macchio

  Everyone knows Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid. In fact, so many people know him as Daniel LaRusso, he wrote a book about spending his life as that character. Ralph and Marc talk about his memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, and d...

• Episode 1374 - Béla Fleck / Michael Morris

  Béla Fleck is more than a virtuoso banjo player. He’s also a banjo missionary, an evangelist for an instrument he feels is often misunderstood and pigeonholed. Béla talks with Marc about how he wanted to move banjo music away from negative stereotypes and...

• Episode 1373 - Zahn McClarnon

  Zahn McClarnon’s early experiences with reservation life helped him add some personal touches as a cast member of Reservation Dogs. But it was actually his experience with the musical Jesus Christ Superstar that got him into acting in the first place. Zah...

• Episode 1372 - Jann Wenner

  Jann Wenner’s life as the co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine has been chronicled in other books, but Jann says he needed to write a memoir to declare what his generation actually stood for. Jann and Marc talk about the importance of San Fr...

• Episode 1371 - Tony Gilroy

  Writer-director Tony Gilroy is the man behind one of Marc’s favorite movies of all time, Michael Clayton. They get into everything it took to get that movie made and its surprising legacy. But the rest of Tony’s career and the curvy path his life took to...

• Episode 1370 - Abigail Disney

  Abigail Disney feels the burden of her last name, particularly due to the practices of the global company that was founded by her grandfather Roy and grand uncle Walt. Marc talks with Abigail about her social awakening earlier in life and her current role...

• Episode 1369 - Sigourney Weaver

  Multiple generations of audiences love Sigourney Weaver, whether it’s because of Ghostbusters or Avatar or Working Girl or the Alien franchise or all of the above. But Sigourney tells Marc she never imagined having a film career and in fact resisted it fo...

• Episode 1368 - Sam Rockwell

  Sam Rockwell and Marc have talked with each other a lot since Sam was last on the show. Granted, during a lot of those conversations they were pretending to be a wolf and a snake, respectively. The Bad Guys co-stars embrace their human sides for this talk...

• Episode 1367 - Adrian Belew

  Adrian Belew’s career in music was influenced by many and has influenced many more. As a completely self-taught guitarist, Adrian absorbed as much music as possible on the way to establishing his own sound and style. After getting his big break with Frank...

• Episode 1366 - Bradley Whitford

  Since the last time he was on WTF, Bradley Whitford spent a lot of time listening to the show while taking walks. So he’s primed and ready to take his ongoing one-sided conversation with Marc back to the garage and turn it into a dialogue. Bradley and Mar...

• Episode 1365 - Brett Morgen

  Documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen likes to go into the deep end with his films. He never wants to repeat himself, or repeat any other docs for that matter. He wants his films to be an experiential, subjective expression, not a declaration of truth. All o...

• Episode 1364 - Sharon Van Etten

  Singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten creates personal, deeply felt songs that also provide her with relief. Sharon talks with Marc about her stream of consciousness writing style and how it helps her process the difficult parts of her life. They also get in...

• Episode 1363 - Al Ruddy

  Al Ruddy's life as a producer taught him one major lesson: The making of every movie is itself worthy of a movie. That's why there's a limited series called The Offer about Al's experiences making The Godfather. Al tells Marc about the colorful encounters...

• Episode 1362 - Whitney Cummings

  Whitney Cummings left the garage twelve years ago after a conversation with Marc and couldn’t shake something he said to her. It bothered her for years until she finally decided to own it and turn it into the name of her new standup special. Whitney and M...

• Episode 1361 - Simu Liu

  Simu Liu is now an entrenched member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to his portrayal of superhero Shang Chi. But Simu has his own origin story worthy of a comic book arc. Simu tells Marc how he left China at four years old and was raised by stud...

• Episode 1360 - S.G. Goodman

  Singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman creates songs about complex people and conflicting ideas. She sings about complications that are close to her heart because she has lived them. Raised on a farm in rural Western Kentucky, growing up with a strong Christian b...

• Episode 1359 - Andrew Garfield

  Andrew Garfield was terrified of being Spider-Man. As a 27-year-old who was not yet known to the world, he knew his life would immediately change once he became that beloved character. Andrew tells Marc what he did to protect himself at that tim...

• Episode 1358 - Jerrod Carmichael

  Jerrod Carmichael has been busy since the last time he talked with Marc in the garage. He directed his first movie, On The Count Of Three. He put out his third standup special, Rothaniel, and hosted SNL, getting Emmy nominations for both. He also came out...

• Episode 1357 - Christina Ricci

  Christina Ricci grew up around enough chaos to make her want constant control. Which is why the show Yellowjackets is such a different experience for her. As Christina tells Marc, she decided to surrender knowing anything about the direction of the show a...

• Episode 1356 - Patton Oswalt

  Patton Oswalt returns to the garage more than a decade since his last appearance, but he and Marc have so much shared history that it’s always easy to pick up right where they left off. Patton and Marc talk about their memories of the San Francisco comedy...

• Episode 1355 - Sam Quinones

  Journalist Sam Quinones blew Marc’s mind six years ago with his book Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. More recently, he devoted his research and reporting to understanding how America got caught in the clutches of newer, more addicti...

• Episode 1354 - James Acaster

  Comedian James Acaster caught Marc’s attention when he released four hour-long Netflix standup specials simultaneously. But in watching the specials, Marc quickly recognized a likeminded comic with a compulsion to express himself. James and Marc sit down...

• Episode 1353 - Neil Gaiman

  Neil Gaiman’s writing - from The Sandman to American Gods to Good Omens to hundreds of comics, novels and screenplays - uses fantasy to help explain modern reality. Marc talks with Neil about how his early work sidestepped the pre-adolescent male power fa...

• Episode 1352 - Zainab Johnson

  Comedian Zainab Johnson can survive anything in the comedy world after she survived growing up with twelve siblings in a New York City apartment, substitute teaching in juvenile detention centers, and being hit by a truck in an accident that altered the c...

• Episode 1351 - Jerry Harrison

  Talking Heads and The Modern Lovers are two of the most influential bands of the ’70s and many would argue two of the best bands ever. And Jerry Harrison was in them both. Jerry and Marc talk about the blending of modern art and rock music that both of th...

• Episode 1350 - Nikki Glaser

  Nikki Glaser returns to the show because Marc finds her so easy to talk with, probably because they share so many similarities. They have kindred stand-up processes, they both get stressed out by writing, they have lifelong issues with food and eating, an...

• Episode 1349 - Michael Mann

  When Michael Mann talks with Marc about his 1995 crime epic Heat, he has such command of the deep backstory and destinies of all the film’s characters, it seems like he has a whole Heat Universe in his head. Which is one reason he wrote the new expanded s...

• Episode 1348 - Orny Adams

  Orny Adams says that being a comedian is the one thing he knows he’s good at. He also says that being in the documentary Comedian is something that will weigh on him for the rest of his life. Orny talks with Marc about how that documentary largely colored...

• Episode 1347 - Naomi Ekperigin

  Comedian and writer Naomi Ekperigin is a cheerful person who also finds herself paralyzed with rage. It’s a balancing act she has to manage, just like she balanced her time in writers’ rooms with getting on stage night after night to work on her standup....

• Episode 1346 - Jerry Stahl

  Jerry Stahl is one of Marc’s best friends. But sometimes you have no idea your best friend lived in a cave at one point. And that’s why you sit down with him in the garage. Jerry talks with Marc about his years of troubled behavior which led to a life thr...

• Episode 1345 - Jason Kander

  Jason Kander was a rising star in national politics. In fact, he was staging a run for the Presidency and got the thumbs up from none other than Barack Obama himself. Then the roof caved in. Jason tells Marc why he needed to put everything on hold in orde...

• Episode 1344 - Laura Veirs

  Singer-songwriter Laura Veirs has something to prove with her latest album, Found Light. After divorce ended her 20-years-long collaborative relationship with her producer husband, Laura not only needed to prove she could create a new album independently,...

• Episode 1343 - Atsuko Okatsuka

  Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka has familiarity with garages. But unlike Marc, she didn’t start a podcast in one. She lived in one with her mother and grandmother for seven years, as three generations of immigrant women dealt with cramped quarters, eating disord...

• Episode 1342 - Dana Gould

  Dana Gould is in his 40th year of doing standup. He and Marc talk about what they’ve learned in their decades of comedy, how they came to accept their limitations, and how they see themselves in today’s standup environment. Dana also explains why he went...

• Episode 1341 - Kate Berlant

  Kate Berlant’s comedy defies easy categorization. That’s okay with Kate, who thinks people use a lot of empty terms to pin down comedy. Kate and Marc talk about how growing up in the art world helped Kate take a different approach when she got on the come...

• Episode 1340 - Jen Statsky

  When Jen Statsky and her collaborators were creating the show Hacks, they knew they needed to nail the portrayal of life in standup comedy because comics will quickly know if they got it wrong. Marc talks with Jen about how they did, indeed, nail it. They...

• Episode 1339 - Greg Proops

  Marc has a very direct question for his old friend Greg Proops: “Did we lose?” In the fight for the heart and soul of comedy, there is real uncertainty about the current trajectory. What legacy did the alternative comedy movement leave, if any? Did the Ob...

• Episode 1338 - Lara Beitz

  For a while, Lara Beitz could only get on stage to do comedy if she was hammered. She'd drink to feel less nervous but then there wasn't a time when she didn't feel nervous, so she was just always drinking. Lara and Marc talk about their shared experience...

• Episode 1337 - Phil Tippett

  Oscar and Emmy-winning visual effects artist Phil Tippett is responsible for some of the most memorable effects in movies history, like the alien chess match in Star Wars, the giant robot walkers in The Empire Strikes Back, the ED-209 in RoboCop and more....

• Episode 1336 - Jesus Trejo

  Jesus Trejo knows he put in the work to become a paid regular at The Comedy Store, spending years doing open mic spots and performing at 1am for a handful of people. Not to mention paying his dues unclogging toilets at the club and putting up Mitzi Shore'...

• Episode 1335 - Rosie Perez

  Rosie Perez initially thought success would paper over her trauma. But the emotional ramifications from the abuse she went through as a child were never going to stay hidden for long. Rosie and Marc talk about how acting is still risky for her but now she...

• Ray Liotta from 2018

  From 2018, Ray Liotta talks with Marc about getting his start in soap operas, the debt he owes to Melanie Griffith, and the emotional filming of Goodfellas. Ray died on May 26, 2022 at age 67. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly...

• Episode 1334 - Joey Camen

  Joey Camen left a dysfunctional home in Detroit as a teenager and, thanks to an ad he saw in a Playboy, knew exactly where he needed to go. He went straight to the brand new club on the Sunset Strip, The Comedy Store, and quickly became one of the club's...

• Episode 1333 - Marc Goes To Washington w/ Dr. Dwandalyn Reece and Lance Mion

  This is an episode about history. Collective history and personal history. Marc finds himself in Washington, DC on the latest leg of his standup tour, a place imbued with symbolism, both for what we want it to be, but also what we really are. And it'...

• Episode 1332 - Michael Che

  Michael Che wanted out his life on the Lower East Side, but his initial path was not comedy. It was painting and fine art. Michael tells Marc how he became enamored with standup while living in his brother's basement, how he came to love the grind of buil...

• Episode 1331 - Sandra Oh

  Sandra Oh spent much of her career believing certain opportunities weren't going to come her way because they're just not afforded to Asian actors. Sandra and Marc talk about what she found in herself to overcome that sense of externally imposed limitatio...

• Episode 1330 - The Doobie Brothers / Steven Jenkins

  The Doobie Brothers is a band with almost twenty official members throughout its five decades of existence. But Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons have been playing guitar and performing vocals for the band since Day One. Tom and Pat talk with Marc about how th...

• Episode 1329 - A Tribute to Dan Vitale

  Marc remembers the life and comedy of Dan Vitale, a comedian whose raw and unapologetically personal style of stand-up was a big influence on a young Marc Maron. Marc talks about how his perception of what it meant to be a stand-up comic changed while wat...

• Episode 1328 - Nicole Holofcener

  Nicole Holofcener has trouble breathing. She finds herself holding her breath for too long, which could be a result of allergies or a byproduct of sleep apnea. But it's also an apt metaphor for the life of an independent filmmaker. Nicole and Marc talk ab...

• Episode 1327 - Tony Hawk

  Tony Hawk walked into Marc's garage on a broken leg, the result of a recent skateboarding trick gone wrong. It's everything about Tony that's on display in the new documentary Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off, distilled down to one cracked femur. Tony...

• Episode 1326 - Trombone Shorty

  It's normal for everyone to call Troy Andrews by his stage name, Trombone Shorty, because he's been playing the trombone since he was a tiny, four-year-old boy. Troy and Marc talk about the musical culture of New Orleans, growing up in the Treme, touring...

• Episode 1325 - Vanessa Bayer

  Vanessa Bayer knows her comedic talent comes from a decidedly unfunny place. Vanessa's teenage cancer diagnosis focused her comedy skills, which in turn allowed her to help people process, understand and laugh at horrible things. Vanessa and Marc talk abo...

• Episode 1324 - Aaron Blabey

  Children's book author Aaron Blabey can measure success by the more than 30 million books he's sold. But that success was a long time coming and in many ways felt like it was never in reach. Aaron tells Marc how the popular art and culture coming from out...

• Episode 1323 - Robert Eggers

  Robert Eggers was never into Vikings or hand-to-hand combat or macho stuff. And yet he just made the Viking movie to end all Viking movies, filled with brutal violence and macho posturing. But as he tells Marc, making The Northman was all in the service o...

• Episode 1322 - Harvey Fierstein

  The guiding philosophy in the life of Harvey Fierstein is simple: Say yes. As he put together his new memoir, I Was Better Last Night, it was clear to Harvey his extraordinary life relied on saying yes to opportunities, yes to activism, and yes to his own...

• Gilbert Gottfried from 2012

  From 2012, Gilbert Gottfried talks to Marc about his comedy peers, his one-year stint on SNL, the times his jokes got him in trouble, and more. Gilbert died on April 12, 2022, at age 67. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus...

• Episode 1321 - Bonnie Raitt

  Bonnie Raitt doesn't feel the need to slow down. With the release of her 18th studio album and the start of an eight-month world tour, the prolific singer-songwriter knows what it's like to make the most of your opportunities. Bonnie talks with Marc about...

• Episode 1320 - Zazie Beetz

  Zazie Beetz and Marc were in three things together - Joker, the Netflix series Easy, and the new animated film The Bad Guys - but they're only now meeting each other for real. That makes for a good opportunity to interrogate their respective anxiety issue...

• Episode 1319 - Adam Ray

  Comedian Adam Ray was a high school athlete, a musical theater performer, and an acting student with his eyes on Hollywood. But one thing he never could shake was the feeling of being an overweight kid when he was younger. Adam and Marc talk about how doi...

• Episode 1318 - Guy Torry

  Comedian Guy Torry spent 13 years creating and running the most famous all-black comedy night in America at The Comedy Store. And now Guy just spent another 13 years making a documentary about that influential weekly comedy show, Phat Tuesdays. Guy and Ma...

• Episode 1317 - Flea

  The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around for almost 40 years and Flea has been there for every minute of it. He and Marc talk about Flea's jazz-based upbringing that made him the bassist he is today, the various incarnations of the band, and the current...

• Episode 1316 - Sam Jay

  Sam Jay has a lot of irons in the fire. She's on the comedy series Bust Down, she has her own HBO late night show Pause, and she never stops doing standup. Sam tells Marc that standup is the one thing that's guided her through it all, whether it was getti...

• Episode 1315 - Jeff Foxworthy

  Jeff Foxworthy still cringes when he knows other comics are watching his work. That persistent insecurity and the desire to always stay funny is why Jeff has a new Netflix special and a whole new act. Jeff talks with Marc about the drive that made him qui...

• Episode 1314 - Ariana DeBose

  Ariana DeBose knows there was no way for her to prepare for what's happening right now. There's no instruction booklet for being a professional dancer at age 18 and suddenly becoming an Academy Award-nominated actress. Ariana and Marc talk about how getti...

• Episode 1313 - Keith Richards

  It's been almost seven years since Marc smoked a cigarette with Keith Richards in a radio studio in New York City. Since then, Keith gave up smoking, continued to tour with the Rolling Stones, released multiple new albums including a blues record, and is...

• Episode 1312 - Mike O'Brien

  Mike O'Brien has the distinction of being responsible for Marc Maron crossing over into the world of improv. With a background in the Chicago improv and sketch scene and seven seasons writing for Saturday Night Live, Lynn Shelton approached Mike to help c...

• Episode 1311 - Caroline Rhea

  Not many people know Marc the way Caroline Rhea does. They have a history that runs through the many different stages of each of their lives and careers. Caroline and Marc sit down for a conversation about confronting the past, learning from failure, and...

• Episode 1310 - Mira Sorvino

  Mira Sorvino has a lot of talents beyond acting. She speaks Mandarin Chinese, she dances ballet, she plays guitar. But acting is what Mira believes she was born to do. And then for almost 20 years, she was prevented from doing it on her own terms because...

• Episode 1309 - Sam Elliott

  Sam Elliott plays a lot of tough guys - cowboys, bikers, soldiers - who can (and often do) beat people up. But in reality, Sam says the only guy he beats up is himself. Sam and Marc talk about how he came to terms with some of the things in his life that...

• Sally Kellerman from 2013

  From 2013, Sally Kellerman talks with Marc about being his TV mom, embracing Hot Lips, and working with Robert Altman, Marlon Brando, Rodney Dangerfield and more. Sally died on February 24, 2022 at age 84. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archiv...

• Episode 1308 - W. Kamau Bell

  W. Kamau Bell has talked with Marc before about his life, his comedy and his thoughts about the world. But this time there's a single topic that needs to be addressed: Bill Cosby. Kamau tells Marc why he decided to make the documentary series We Need To T...

• The Amazing Johnathan from 2014

  From 2014, Marc talks with John Szeles, better known as The Amazing Johnathan, about his life doing comedy and magic, often at the same time. John died on February 22, 2022 at age 63 Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus mat...

• Mark Lanegan from 2017

  From 2017, Marc talks with Mark Lanegan, the former frontman of Screaming Trees, about the '90s grunge scene and his collaborations with various artists. Mark died on February 22, 2022 at age 57. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and wee...

• Episode 1307 - Andy Garcia

  Andy Garcia says it's surreal to look back on his early life as a shy Cuban exile who was idolizing famous actors and filmmakers, only to be reminiscing now about the work he's done with Sean Connery, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and so many others. Andy and...

• Episode 1306 - Roy Wood Jr

  Roy Wood Jr can't be angry on stage. He wants to be angry. But he believes his face is too round to be angry. Now, whenever Roy wants to say something mean in his act, he knows he has to smile while he does it. Roy tells Marc how he learned to navigate th...

• Episode 1305 - Ana Gasteyer

  Ana Gasteyer learned a major life lesson from Will Ferrell and it has nothing to do with their time together on Saturday Night Live. It was about making choices, square dancing and knowing how to have fun. Ana and Marc talk about how much fun she's had in...

• Ivan Reitman from 2014

  From 2014, Marc talks with filmmaker Ivan Reitman about his career, his movies and his relationship with his writer-director son, Jason. Ivan died on February 12, 2022 at age 75. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus materia...

• Episode 1304 - Chris Spencer

  Chris Spencer is the kind of guy the White House calls when they need a show business favor. How did he become so connected? In Chris's words, Black Hollywood is a small place. Chris talks with Marc about how his early comedy career paved the way for a bi...

• Episode 1303 - Judd Hirsch

  Judd Hirsch is interested in the pursuit of truth. That's why he loved math as a student, that's why he got a physics degree, and that's why he has a civil engineering background. But he also learned to apply the pursuit of truth to his acting. Judd tells...

• Episode 1302 - Sam Richardson

  Sam Richardson thinks desperation is the key to comedy. His characters from shows like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave are a testament to that philosophy. Sam and Marc talk about his childhood being split between the United States and Ghana, his d...

• Episode 1301 - Tony Kushner

  Tony Kushner is one of the most important American playwrights of the past 50 years who is now a creative partner of one of the most important American filmmakers of the last 50 years. Tony talks with Marc about working with Steven Spielberg on Munich, Li...

• Episode 1300 - Dana Stevens

  Film critic Dana Stevens took her love for Silent Movie Era star Buster Keaton and told the story of the 20th century film industry as it evolved alongside Buster's own life. Marc talks with Dana about her new book, Camera Man, which is not just a biograp...

• Episode 1299 - Peter Dinklage

  Peter Dinklage spent a good portion of his life trying to come to terms with ambition. It's something he's had an adversarial relationship with, going back to the days when he started a theater company that mounted no productions. But Peter tells Marc how...

• Remembering Louie Anderson

  Hear Marc's two conversations with comedian and actor Louie Anderson from June 2016 and April 2018. Louie died on January 21, 2022 at age 68. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-...

• Episode 1298 - John Mellencamp

  John Mellencamp considers his whole career to be a total fluke. Maybe that's because he never planned for anything in his life and just let the chips fall where they may. As he releases his twenty-fifth studio album, Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, John tells M...

• Episode 1297 - Nicole Byer

  Nicole Byer hosts the hit shows Nailed It! and Wipeout, is working on her new standup hour, hosts four different podcasts and is starring in the new primetime NBC series Grand Crew. But she still had time to join Marc in the garage so they can try to figu...

• Episode 1296 - Drew Michael

  Drew Michael wants his comedy to feel different. He wants the audience to have a unique experience. This mindset actually reminds Marc of his own style of comedy, as well as a few other iconoclastic stand-ups who used their time on stage to get laughs but...

• Episode 1295 - Javier Bardem

  Javier Bardem finds lots of inspiration in his native Spain: the art, the creativity, the history, the ham. Marc talks with Javier about the importance of being raised in a creative family, including his uncle who fought the fascists through his films and...

• Remembering Bob Saget

  Marc pays tribute to comedian Bob Saget and revisits his three WTF appearances from September 2010, April 2014 and November 2017. Bob died on January 9, 2022 at age 65. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https:/...

• Peter Bogdanovich from 2015

  From 2015, Marc talks with director Peter Bogdanovich about his life as a filmmaker, his days in the theater and his friendship with Orson Welles. Peter died on January 6, 2022 at age 82. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonu...

• Episode 1294 - David Manheim

  Most people who know David Manheim don't know him as David Manheim. To fans of the Dopey podcast, he's just Dave (no last name given), a recovering drug addict who built a tight-knit digital community around addiction, recovery and being human. David talk...

• Episode 1293 - The Smothers Brothers

  Recently, Marc talked with television historian David Bianculli about The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and the important place it holds in American culture. Talking with Tom and Dick Smothers themselves, Marc finds that the brothers are as surprised as a...

• Episode 1292 - Rory Cochrane

  When Rory Cochrane started acting, he knew he didn't want to be a movie star. He wanted to be a freight train that keeps on moving. Rory tells Marc about the practices and measures he put in place to attain his goal of career longevity and artistic satisf...

• Episode 1291 - Aida Rodriguez

  Aida Rodriguez wanted her first HBO special to be more than a comedy show. She wanted to depict the parts of her past that are foundational to her comedy. So that's why she filmed a short documentary about her visits to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Repub...

• Episode 1290 - Guillermo del Toro

  Guillermo del Toro believes in one universal truth: We all get to a moment in our lives when we see ourselves for who we really are. That belief not only guides his own life, it guides the characters through his many films. Guillermo and Marc talk about h...

• Episode 1289 - Peter Jackson

  Despite multiple Oscars and billions of dollars in box office returns, Peter Jackson still has the same interests he had when he was 10 years old: First World War airplanes, monster movies, using his Super 8 camera, and The Beatles. Peter tells Marc what...

• Episode 1288 - Cat Power

  At one point, Chan Marshall was in a band called Cat Power. But it's appropriate for someone like Chan, who had to be self-reliant almost from birth, that she'd adopt the name as her own once the band dissolved. Chan and Marc talk about her rebirth as Cat...

• Episode 1287 - Halle Berry

  Halle Berry wasn't supposed to be in the movie Bruised. And she definitely wasn't supposed to direct the movie Bruised. Then she wound up being in it and directing it, but no one wanted to take a chance on it. Now it's such a hit for Netflix that they've...

• Episode 1286 - Jesse Plemons

  Still only in his early 30s, Jesse Plemons has already delivered a laundry list of indelible performances in everything from Breaking Bad to Friday Night Lights to Black Mass, working with directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese and now Jane...

• Episode 1285 - Jennifer Hudson

  Jennifer Hudson didn't start singing with her eyes open until she was 19 years old. That's not a metaphor. Jennifer tells Marc how she was so afraid to sing in public, the only way she could do it was by closing her eyes. They talk about what it was like...

• Episode 1284 - Benedict Cumberbatch

  Benedict Cumberbatch is a busy man. When he's not holding the Marvel Universe together as Doctor Strange or making prestige dramas with celebrated directors, he's flying between the U.S. and the U.K. to raise a family. Benedict and Marc talk about his lat...

• Episode 1283 - Bill Pullman

  Bill Pullman's upbringing in rural Western New York prepared him for a multifaceted life, since he always had to keep his options open. So aside from being an actor, Bill's also been a theater teacher, a rancher, a fruit grower, even a traveling Shakespea...

• Episode 1282 - Jason Bailey / Fun City Cinema

  WTF takes over the historic Paris Theater in New York City for the first live audience episode of the show in more than six years. Marc is joined by film critic and historian Jason Bailey, author of the new book Fun City Cinema. They get into what the mov...

• Episode 1281 - Ridley Scott

  Ridley Scott has a secret weapon as a filmmaker and it probably has a lot to do with his career longevity and versatility. As a young boy, he would draw everything, and to this day he still storyboards every one of his films with his own drawings. That he...

• Episode 1280 - Kenneth Branagh

  Kenneth Branagh had a lot on his mind when making the movie Belfast, a film based on his own childhood. He thought mostly about loss. Loss of family, loss of where you come from, loss of innocence. As Kenneth tells Marc, he's been thinking about loss a lo...

• Episode 1279 - George Clooney

  George Clooney is 60. Which means, much like Marc, he's always reminding himself that he doesn't know how much time he has left. George tells Marc how this mindset affects all his decisions, whether it's the projects he takes on, the causes he fights for,...

• Episode 1278 - "Canceled Comedy" w/ Kliph Nesteroff and David Bianculli

  Marc is trying to get to the bottom of something. What does it really mean to be 'canceled' in comedy? Is it something comedians have always worried about? What does actual censorship in comedy look like? And who or what is traditionally responsible for c...

• Episode 1277 - Felipe Esparza

  The challenges of standup comedy were nothing compared to the obstacles Felipe Esparza faced throughout his childhood. His family was caught crossing the border and sent back to Mexico. When he finally made it to America, he found himself living with an a...

• Episode 1276 - Bob Spitz

  How did Bob Spitz become the preeminent biographer of the most important and influential names in rock and roll? Before he wrote the definitive narratives of Bob Dylan, The Beatles and now Led Zeppelin, Bob was a business manager who was there for the dis...

• Episode 1275 - Ricky Velez

  Being from Queens is as much a part of Ricky Velez's personality as his humor, his dyslexia and his depression. Ricky tells Marc how he put it all together when he started doing standup in New York City as a teenager, which eventually led to collaborating...

• Episode 1274 - Jennifer Lee Pryor

  Jennifer Lee Pryor was there for Richard Pryor's highest highs and his lowest lows. She experienced so much with Richard that she married him twice. Jennifer and Marc talk about the brilliant, complicated, visionary, frustrating man that was Richard Pryor...

• Episode 1273 - Hasan Minhaj

  Hasan Minhaj took the pressures put on him to become a lawyer and channeled them into the ambition necessary to start a standup career, become a Daily Show correspondent, host his own show (Patriot Act), get cast on a prestige drama (The Morning Show), an...

• Episode 1272 - David Chang

  David Chang wouldn't have opened his first restaurant if he wasn't depressed. Now, with his Momofuku empire that brings joy to foodies everywhere, David still finds himself struggling to find joy. Marc talks with David about their shared demons and what s...

• Episode 1271 - Jane Goodall

  Jane Goodall has hope. Yes, even in these times. That doesn't mean the good doctor looks at the world with rose-colored glasses. It means she knows hope is a necessary part of our survival as a species. Marc talks with Dr. Goodall about The Book of Hope:...

• Episode 1270 - Alan Ruck

  As Connor Roy on Succession, Alan Ruck finally has the kind of role he's been waiting to get for more than 30 years. And as Alan tells Marc, some of those years weren't very fun. There was the time after playing Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when he...

• Episode 1269 - Taraji P. Henson

  Taraji P. Henson says all her f***s are behind her now. But after three decades in show business, Taraji admits she only feels freedom from her f***s because of her openness around mental health. Taraji and Marc talk about the importance of coping with me...

• Episode 1268 - Kelefa Sanneh

  Kelefa Sanneh has been writing about music for his entire career. Drawing on his experience as the music critic at The New York Times, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and a lifelong music obsessive, Kelefa took a detailed look at how music unites and d...

• Episode 1267 - Julie Delpy

  American audiences fell in love with Julie Delpy as the romantic French traveler Celine in Before Sunrise and its two sequels. But Julie didn't have an equal love affair with the making of Hollywood films. She tells Marc that she was always happier as a w...

• Episode 1266 - Rosebud Baker

  Rosebud Baker knows all about the fine line between sadness and funny. She's learned how to get laughs out of the tragedy that befell her family, her alcohol addiction, her co-dependent and abusive relationships, and her grandfather, who happened to be on...

• Episode 1265 - B.J. Novak

  Even when he was a kid, B.J. Novak wanted to achieve greatness. His hard work and ambition brought him to Harvard, to the Lampoon, to doing standup, to getting on The Office, to writing a massively successful children's book, to directing movies and creat...

• Episode 1264 - Franklin Leonard

  Franklin Leonard helped change the way movies get made in Hollywood. It's not what he expected as a young Black math wiz growing up in Georgia. But after a love affair with movies that started at Kim's Video in New York City, Franklin established The Blac...

• Episode 1263 - David Chase

  No one is harder on David Chase than David Chase. Even after a successful career as a screenwriter, show creator and director, after changing the face of television with The Sopranos, after putting HBO on the map as the home for prestige drama, David is s...

• Episode 1262 - Melanie Vesey

  Melanie Vesey has a dividing line in her life: Before and after she got shot. The before part includes being a Juilliard and Alvin Ailey trained dancer, a Stella Adler trained actor, a party girl, a person in recovery, and a co-dependent who sought chaoti...

• Norm Macdonald from 2011

  From October 2011, Marc's revelatory conversation with Norm Macdonald about life, comedy, gambling, death and Rodney. Norm died on September 14, 2021 at age 61. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.ac...

• Episode 1261 - Tim Reid

  Tim Reid's life changed on a New Year's Eve in the 1960s when he lucked his way into a club to see a hot young comedian. That club was Mister Kelly's, that comedian was Richard Pryor and nothing has been the same for Tim since. Tim tells Marc about his se...

• Episode 1260 - Steve Buscemi

  Steve Buscemi has covered a lot of ground in New York City: standup comedy, experimental theater, independent film, even firefighting. Marc talks with Steve about his career beginnings and some of his most memorable roles. They also talk about his time as...

• Remembering Michael K. Williams

  Marc revisits his conversation from earlier this year with actor Michael K. Williams. Michael died at age 54 on September 6, 2021. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-...

• Episode 1259 - Sasheer Zamata

  Sasheer Zamata doesn't have a ton of free time. She's on the Hulu series Woke, the ABC sitcom Home Economics, a voice actor, a standup, a podcast host and an ambassador for the ACLU. This all happened in the wake of her departure from Saturday Night Live,...

• Ed Asner from 2015

  From 2015, Marc talks with actor Ed Asner about his legendary career, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the time he played Marc's dad, and more. Ed died on August 29, 2021 at age 91. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material!...

• Episode 1258 - Zoe Lister-Jones

  When Zoe Lister-Jones found herself dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty we all encountered during the pandemic, she made a movie about the end of the world. Marc talks with Zoe about how she often finds herself channeling her fears into her work, inc...

• Episode 1257 - Billie Jean King

  Billie Jean King is forever remembered as the winner of the Battle of the Sexes, but the battles she fought for equal pay and non-discrimination are still reverberating today. Billie talks with Marc about her realization at 12 years old that she needed to...

• Episode 1256 - Kimmy Gatewood

  Ever since Marc and Kimmy Gatewood said goodbye to each other and their fellow castmates on the set of GLOW, the world has been in a constant state of flux. Marc and Kimmy spend some time catching up and dive into the details of Kimmy's experience di...

• Episode 1255 - Barry Jenkins

  Barry Jenkins is grateful that he's been able to harness the tools of filmmaking in order to tell the stories of his ancestors. Barry and Marc get into all the details of making the ten-part series The Underground Railroad and how Barry differentiates bet...

• Episode 1254 - Liesl Tommy

  When Liesl Tommy got hired as a first-time feature film director to make the new Aretha Franklin movie Respect, she knew there were 100 reasons why she couldn't screw it up. Marc and Liesl talk about their experience making the film together and Liesl exp...

• Episode 1253 - Marlon Wayans

  Marlon Wayans and Marc spent their time on the set of the movie Respect cracking each other up and that dynamic continues in the garage. It's a situation that's familiar to Marlon, growing up with nine funny siblings and hanging around legendary comedians...

• Episode 1252 - Sterlin Harjo

  Sterlin Harjo is relishing the opportunity to depict Native lives and stories on mainstream television with his new FX comedy series Reservation Dogs. But it's not like entertainment industry was a wide open door for Indigenous filmmakers like himself. St...

• Episode 1251 - Tom McCarthy

  Tom McCarthy approaches his films like a journalist, even when he's creating a work of fiction. Just as a reporter discovers facts about their stories, Tom's years of research help him unearth truths about the characters he's creating. Tom and Marc talk a...

• Episode 1250 - A.O. Scott

  Marc is concerned about the erosion of critical thinking as a broad part of American society. So who better to talk criticism than a person who makes his living doing just that? A.O. Scott brings his expertise as the film and culture critic for the New Yo...

• Episode 1249 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

  Joseph Gordon-Levitt's long career in show business has left him with a keen sense of the problems caused by the constant bombardment of media and technology in our lives. Joseph tells Marc how he was able to channel some of his anxieties about how we're...

• Episode 1248 - Lindsey Buckingham

  Lindsey Buckingham wasn't going to let anything - from the pandemic to major heart surgery - stand in the way of finishing his new self-titled solo album. But it was in part his work on the album and the planning of a live tour that led to Lindsey being o...

• Episode 1247 - Matt Damon

  Matt Damon's continuing presence and popularity in American films can be summed up in four words: He loves to act. Matt tells Marc how he made the most out of working with icons like Clint Eastwood, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson,...

• Episode 1246 - Sovereign Syre

  Sovereign Syre and Marc have been friends for several years, sharing career paths in comedy, podcasting and writing. Now, as she ventures for the first time into the fraught process of pitching and selling a television pilot, Sovereign and Marc talk about...

• Episode 1245 - Rick Rubin

  Rick Rubin's love of music led him to help popularize hip-hop, rejuvenate artists' careers, and leave his mark on literally thousands of popular songs. But there was a point in his youth where Rick put music aside and focused on something else: Comedy. Ri...

• Episode 1244 - Rick Ingraham

  Comedian Rick Ingraham is a Comedy Store institution. But he's also the last of a system that was in place going back to the ‘70s, where young comics were baptized and raised in the rites and rituals of the Store. Rick and Marc compare their early c...

• Episode 1243 - James Murphy

  LCD Soundsystem is one of the hippest, most beloved bands of the early 21st century, but its frontman says he's spent a lifetime being uncool and no fun. James Murphy talks with Marc about the personal and global tragedies that precipitated the founding o...

• Episode 1242 - John Swab

  John Swab could have been a real world version of the characters from his films who are casualties of addiction and criminality. But his desire to create art and his natural talents won out and set him on the road to recovery. John tells Marc how he chann...

• Episode 1241 - Danny Trejo

  There are Hollywood tough guys and then there's Danny Trejo. No need to front when you've lived a life of crime, drugs, and prison as explicitly as Danny has. But as his new memoir highlights, Danny went from being a criminal and a drug addict to a ubiqui...

• Episode 1240 - Steven Soderbergh

  There's a reason Steven Soderbergh's movies are always so unlike whatever movies he's made before. He tells Marc his goal is to take things that have worked in other contexts and turn them into something that doesn't feel like anything else. They talk abo...

• Episode 1239 - Quentin Tarantino

  The pandemic forced a lot of changes on all of us, but for Quentin Tarantino, he was already undergoing a huge change right as the pandemic started: He became a first-time father. Now with the release of his first novel, the famed director talks with Marc...

• Episode 1238 - Erik Griffin

  If he hadn't been getting laughs as a high school basketball coach, Erik Griffin may never have gone back to comedy. He tells Marc the story of his comedy beginnings, his self-imposed exile, and his stand-up revival that got him back in the game. Erik and...

• Episode 1237 - Ellen Burstyn

  Ellen Burstyn doesn't stop working. She's an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony winner with iconic performances in everything from The Last Picture Show and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore to The Exorcist and Requiem for a Dream, but as Ellen tells Marc, stopping acti...

• Episode 1236 - David Hidalgo

  David Hidalgo has been making music and touring the world with his bandmates in Los Lobos for almost 50 years. From their start playing in schools, in restaurants and at weddings to their crossover into the LA music scene, David tells Marc how Los Lobos b...

• Episode 1235 - Anthony Carrigan

  Anthony Carrigan set out to become an actor despite growing up with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. When he finally went completely bald while on a major network TV show, people in the business told him his career was over. Anthony...

• Episode 1234 - Jackson Browne

  Jackson Browne is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters in modern music. He talks to Marc about how a lot of his aptitude comes from his enjoyment of being a solitary player. But that doesn't mean Jackson doesn't have stories about his career collab...

• Episode 1233 - Helen Hunt

  Helen Hunt: Oscar winner, Emmy winner, filmmaker, mother, and self-proclaimed “worst celebrity in the world.” Helen sits down with Marc to talk about how, despite her many accomplishments, she was able to block out the spotlight of fame, throu...

• Episode 1232 - Danny Elfman

  Danny Elfman did not set out to become one of the most prolific film composers in history. He was a distractible kid who couldn't focus on much of anything except music, loved jazz, loved Stravinsky, taught himself how to read, write and play music, and f...

• Episode 1231 - William Zabka

  William Zabka spent the ‘80s playing a variety of bullies all seemingly modeled after his star-making performance in his first movie, The Karate Kid. But by the time he was in Back to School, William grew tired of playing the same jerk again and aga...

• Episode 1230 - Andrew Santino

  Andrew Santino and Marc didn't know much about each other, aside from both being Comedy Store regulars and comedians from different ends of a generational divide. But in this conversation, they discover the similar paths they both paved in comedy, startin...

• Episode 1229 - Gabe Kaplan

  Whether he was getting booked on The Tonight Show or becoming the first standup to have a hit sitcom based on his act or finding success as a professional poker player, Gabe Kaplan says it all happened in spite of his lack of ambition. Gabe tells Marc how...

• Episode 1228 - Rickie Lee Jones

  Rickie Lee Jones is, first and foremost, a storyteller. She realized at a young age that she could process her feelings and tell her own story through the fiction of songs. As she tells Marc, that same impulse prompted her to write a memoir in which she c...

• Episode 1227 - Eric Bana

  American audiences know Eric Bana from his complex performances in movies like Munich, Black Hawk Down and Ang Lee's Hulk. But in his native Australia, Eric got his start doing standup and sketch comedy. Eric and Marc share their respective experiences of...

• Episode 1226 - Kristin Hersh

  Kristin Hersh needs to make music. Whether it's with her bands Throwing Muses and 50FOOTWAVE or in her solo albums, making music is a compulsion. But she only recently figured out that music was her way of managing trauma. Kristin tells Marc about a life...

• Episode 1225 - Steve Miller

  Steve Miller didn't expect to become a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with hit songs that stand the test of time, like The Joker and Fly Like An Eagle. He was just a kid from Wisconsin who loved the Blues and wound up with teachers like T-Bone Walker and his...

• Episode 1224 - Mark Normand

  Mark Normand is relieved to get back to the comedy clubs after a year of doing outdoor shows and other compromised sets during the pandemic. But Mark never considered stopping because comedy is something he has to do. Maybe it goes back to growing up feel...

• Episode 1223 - Nancy Wilson

  Nancy Wilson is one of the world's great guitarists, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and creator, along with her sister Ann, of one of the great American rock bands, Heart. But after more than 40 years in the business, she's finally releasing her f...

• Episode 1222 - Robert Smigel

  Robert Smigel became best known for having a foul-mouthed dog puppet on his hand, but the truth is he's a defining force in popular comedy for the past 35 years. Robert tells Marc how he was on the path to becoming a dentist until a stand-up comedy compet...

• Episode 1221 - Richard Kind

  Richard Kind knows his face is memorable, but he still thinks he uses it too much. He knows his characters often exude warmth and joy, even though he is personally powered by dread and anxiety. He wants to be more like George Bailey, but worries he's clos...

• Episode 1220 - John Waters

  On the day this episode is released, John Waters is celebrating his 75th birthday. But he's still doing the same things that brought him cultural notoriety when he started making movies in the ‘60s: Celebrating filth, fighting censorship, and breaki...

• Episode 1219 - Tom Jones

  Tom Jones doesn't feel like resting on his laurels. He tells Marc there's one main reason he's going strong, recording new music and performing live at the age of 80: Because he still has a point to prove. Tom and Marc talk about his big hits like It's No...

• Episode 1218 - Yo-Yo Ma

  Yo-Yo Ma remembers a moment in his childhood where it all began to make sense. As a seven-year-old prodigy, he was playing cello in front of an audience that included two U.S. Presidents. But it was an act of kindness and respect from the actor Danny Kaye...

• Episode 1217 - Sally Struthers

  Sally Struthers is thinking a lot about the passage of time these days. For one, this year is the 50th anniversary of All In The Family premiering on CBS. She's also thinking that so many people she worked with in movies like Five Easy Pieces and The Geta...

• Episode 1216 - Katey Sagal

  Katey Sagal is known by the public in ways she doesn't see herself. She's known as an actor, but always thought of herself primarily as a singer. She's known as a seminal comedic TV character, even though she didn't think of herself as funny. She's define...

• Episode 1215 - Hunter Biden

  Marc only knew Hunter Biden from what he saw in the news. He never heard him speak, he had no sense of who he really was, and he wasn't sure he cared much about the troubled son of a President. Then he read Hunter Biden's book. The sad, tragic, honest, di...

• Episode 1214 - Daniel Kaluuya

  Daniel Kaluuya doesn't want to stop the journey. Getting nominated for Oscars, winning a Golden Globe, hosting Saturday Night Live. These are moments within the journey, but he doesn't want any of them to feel bigger than the journey itself. Daniel and Ma...

• Episode 1213 - Azazel Jacobs

  Writer-director Azazel Jacobs was born into the world of experimental film. But it was a combination of comic books, old radio shows, Mad Magazine and The Clash that helped him develop the sensibility he would later put on screen. Aza tells Marc how his p...

• Episode 1212 - Eddie Huang

  Eddie Huang has been fighting for things his whole life. Whether fighting for respect from a culture that is unwelcoming, or fighting for normalcy amidst a chaotic upbringing, or fighting for approval from his immigrant parents, all his achievements came...

• Episode 1211 - Christopher Lloyd

  Christopher Lloyd has a career spanning more than 60 years on stage, TV and film. But Marc was enamored with stories about the first movie Christopher ever made, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Christopher tells Marc about the unique audition process, ho...

• Episode 1210 - Serj Tankian

  Serj Tankian from System of a Down says he is dedicated to the truth in a very naive way. That basic need to tell the truth and be honest with himself comes through in his art, his activism and his personal life, all of which are depicted in the new docum...

• Episode 1209 - Laraine Newman

  Laraine Newman titled her memoir May You Live in Interesting Times, a phrase many people believe to be a curse. But Laraine thinks it's an appropriate framework for her life and career. She tells Marc what it was like to be a part of culture-changing come...

• Episode 1208 - Hugh Grant

  Hugh Grant thinks he's only getting better as an actor now. The work he's done for the past few years feels real to him, as opposed to felling like he was faking it when he made all those romantic comedies. Hugh and Marc talk about that realization and wh...

• Episode 1207 - Eddie Murphy

  In order for Eddie Murphy to become “Eddie Murphy” he had to become a comedian. Eddie tells Marc, comic-to-comic, what it was like being a Black teenager on Long Island building a standup act fueled by impressions and inspired by Richard Pryor...

• Episode 1206 - Jake Gyllenhaal

  Jake Gyllenhaal knows he has a great job as a celebrated film actor. But the thing that brings him true joy is bursting into song as part of a stage musical. Jake talks with Marc about his love of theater, which ended up landing him three Tony Award nomin...

• Episode 1205 - Tim Allen

  Tim Allen has embodied enough different personas - Tim Taylor, Mike Baxter, Buzz Lightyear, Santa Claus - that he often doesn't know which guy he actually is. But at least he's no longer the directionless young man who made bad choices and ran afoul of th...

• Episode 1204 - Michael K. Williams

  Michael K. Williams knows that a lot of people consider his character, Omar Little, to be the best character on The Wire. But he has a different opinion about the show's best character. Michael tells Marc about how he brought his struggles as an addict to...

• Episode 1203 - Melissa Leo

  Melissa Leo's acting style is a combination of gut instincts and a compulsive need to ask questions. It's a style that already earned her an Oscar and continual employment, but also keeps her from falling into the trap of business-as-usual. Melissa and Ma...

• Episode 1202 - Sam Neill

  Sam Neill never had any ambitions as an actor, which is not true about his ambitions as a wine maker. Speaking to Marc from one of his vineyards in New Zealand, Sam talks about how he's still striving to make the greatest bottle of wine as he lives a sort...

• Episode 1201 - Jodie Foster

  Jodie Foster came out on the other side of being a child actor as a two-time Oscar winner, a celebrated director, a producer and someone who is content with her life. She tells Marc how she did it, which has a lot to do with her mother and establishing bo...

• Episode 1200 - Mark Harris

  Mark Harris is a writer, journalist, critic and lover of film, which is why Marc wanted to talk with him. After months of at-home movie watching, Marc is convinced that artistic appreciation and critical thinking around film is more important than ever. M...

• Episode 1199 - Salma Hayek

  Salma Hayek says she survived in Hollywood because she didn't let anger get the better of her. And she'd have good reasons to be angry, facing a barrage of sexism, discrimination, typecasting, and a general dismissiveness of her talent. Salma and Marc tal...

• Episode 1198 - Stanley Tucci

  Stanley Tucci is fortunate that he broke into the mainstream with his movie Big Night because it combined two of the things he loves the most: acting and food. Stanley talks with Marc about the comfort he gets from cooking and the satisfaction he gets fro...

• Episode 1197 - David Duchovny

  David Duchovny knows you know him from The X-Files. He knows you know him from Californication. But that's not going to stop him from wanting to be taken seriously as a novelist and a recording artist. David and Marc talk about his multifaceted career, hi...

• Episode 1196 - Rick Glassman

  Not unlike a lot of comedians, Marc's relationship with Rick Glassman started out with an apology. But that apology led to both of them liking each other more than they expected. Rick explains how a recent diagnosis has given him more self-awareness and p...

• Episode 1195 - George Wallace

  For a guy who's been working at the top of the comedy scene since the 1970s, George Wallace has held a lot of other identities too. He was a computer engineer, a rag salesmen, an ad executive, and a real estate investor. Even within the comedy world, Geor...

• Larry King from 2013

  From 2013, Marc talks with talk show icon Larry King about his start in the business, how he got over being nervous on the mic, and the interview subjects who left the biggest impression on him. Larry died on January 23, 2021 at age 87. Sign up here for W...

• Episode 1194 - Andy Zaltzman

  When Marc first met Andy Zaltzman, Andy was in his element at the Edinburgh Fringe. They talk about why the festival circuit was important for Andy and other comics working their way up in the UK. They also talk about Andy's podcast The Bugle, which he st...

• Episode 1193 - Daniel Lanois

  There's a good chance Daniel Lanois is responsible for some of your favorite music ever and it's all thanks to a penny whistle he bought with his allowance when he was growing up in Canada. Daniel tells Marc about his time working with Gospel choirs and d...

• Episode 1192 - Kate Winslet

  Kate Winslet is all about learning on the job. She never trained to be an actor, she just observed her talented co-stars on set. She used her work in Contagion to prepare herself and her family at the onset of the COVID pandemic. And she learned that glob...

• Episode 1191 - Nicole Kidman

  Nicole Kidman keeps going for a very simple reason: She feels like her job helps her understand the meaning of life. After winning pretty all the major film and television acting awards, after being one of the world's biggest movie stars, and after becomi...

• Episode 1190 - Thundercat

  Thundercat thinks bass players run the world and not just because he's a great one. The multi-talented singer-songwriter talks with Marc about growing up with music all around him, learning at the feet of his brother and his friends Kamasi Washington and...

• Episode 1189 - Mandy Patinkin

  Mandy Patinkin is a renowned star of stage and screen, beloved for his roles in The Princess Bride and Homeland, admired for his mellifluous voice and impressive vocal range. But Mandy and Marc barely talk about any of that. Instead, they get deep into a...

• Episode 1188 - David Ritz

  David Ritz is one of the most prolific biographers of music industry titans, writing about the lives of artists from BB King to Willie Nelson to Janet Jackson. David tells Marc about his obsessive pursuit of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin an...

• Episode 1187 - Patty Jenkins

  Patty Jenkins's connection to superheroes runs deep. Long before she became the first woman to direct a major superhero film, Patty was relying on Superman to help her process the loss of her father. Marc talks with Patty about how she was intrigued by th...

• Episode 1186 - Sam Tallent

  Sam Tallent felt compelled to write a book about the guy he was afraid to turn into. As a comedian plying his trade on the road, Sam did enough one-nighters and heard enough horror stories from other comics to know there's a path to ruin while going from...

• Episode 1185 - Andrew Bird

  Andrew Bird's music defies categorization, so much so that he's not even sure how to categorize it himself. Andrew walks Marc through the process by which he developed his sound, from youthful obsessions with classical music and jazz to his days on the ro...

• Episode 1184 - Bootsy Collins

  Bootsy Collins is one of the world's preeminent practitioners of The Funk, although that might not be the case if he hadn't snuck his brother's guitar out of the closet when no one was around. Bootsy tells Marc about starting out with a homemade bass and...

• Episode 1183 - Scott Glenn

  Scott Glenn is convinced that every good thing that's ever happened to him has been an accident. That includes serving in the Marines, getting his start in acting, meeting his wife, finding religion, gaining Lee Strasberg as a mentor, moving to Idaho, and...

• Episode 1182 - Brad Williams

  The first time Brad Williams got on a stand-up stage, he was just an audience member. Brought up on stage by a comedian who was telling little people jokes, Brad realized the power that comes with making people laugh on his own terms. Marc talks with Brad...

• Episode 1181 - Zach Braff

  Zach Braff and Marc both dealt with a lot of loss in the past year. For Zach, keeping it all in perspective is helping him get through the daily stress of pandemic life, as he fires up his creative impulses. Zach and Marc talk about the struggle of saying...

• Episode 1180 - John Densmore

  John Densmore was the drummer for one of the most influential bands of the ‘60s, The Doors, but he's always been on a quest to find truth through art and creativity. John explains to Marc that his love of jazz inspired a lot of the rock and roll he...

• Episode 1179 - James Caan

  It may not surprise you that James Caan has been in a few fights. He also played football, boxed and was in rodeo competitions, among other “non-Jewish activities,” as he calls them. James and Marc talk about how he turned his rough and tumble...

• Episode 1178 - Mike Campbell

  Mike Campbell was more than Tom Petty's bandmate. He was more than a friend, too. He was a partner who had an almost telepathic writing relationship with his famed frontman. Mike talks with Marc about crafting so many of those Petty hits, how they develop...

• Episode 1177 - Johnny Flynn

  Johnny Flynn and Marc already developed a rapport while they were road-tripping through Canada. They were playing David Bowie and Bowie's publicist at the time, but they still got to enjoy each other's company. Now they get to converse just as themselves,...

• Episode 1176 - Michael J. Fox

  Michael J. Fox didn't intend to be an inspiration but he's glad he can help out. As Marc learned from talking with him, Michael maintains a perspective on life filled with gratitude and optimism as he lives with the effects of Parkinson's disease. Recentl...

• Episode 1175 - Glenn Close

  It took Glenn Close a long time to open up about some aspects of her past. Shame was stubbornly in the way. But Glenn tells Marc she was able to discover her inner rebel and push past that shame, many years after she already became famous for finding the...

• Episode 1174 - Rhea Seehorn

  Better Call Saul features characters who are not honest about their lives and identities, so it's appropriate that one of the show's stars, Rhea Seehorn, suffers from imposter syndrome in real life. Rhea and Marc compare notes on why they both feel insecu...

• Episode 1173 - Frank Langella

  Mel Brooks once told Frank Langella, “Nobody would believe you're from Bayonne. You look like a prince without a country.” But whether he's playing Dracula or Richard Nixon or King Lear, Frank is still a Jersey Boy at heart. Marc asks Frank ab...

• Episode 1172 - Heidi Schreck

  With the world still wondering what this year's Presidential election really means, it's the right time for Marc to talk with actor and playwright Heidi Schreck, who knows a thing or two about power structures and why they don't serve everyone equally. Th...

• Episode 1171 - David Cross

  David Cross is one of Marc's oldest friends in show business. And right now is a good time for them to catch up, as David balances his life as the dad to a three-year-old with the demands of going back to work on film and television sets during the pandem...

• Episode 1170 - Melinda Hill

  If comedy equals tragedy plus time, comedian Melinda Hill has reached the point where she can make some funny out of the traumas from her past. Melinda and Marc talk about processing the pain, particularly dealing with parents suffering from mental illnes...

• Episode 1169 - Hari Kondabolu

  When Hari Kondabolu was a college student, he interviewed Marc for a research paper about standup comedy. Twenty years later, they're talking to each other as peers whose lives have changed considerably in the past two decades. With a newborn baby, a rece...

• Episode 1168 - Matthew McConaughey

  These are appropriate times for reflection and Matthew McConaughey just went through the process of reflecting on his whole life while writing his memoir, Greenlights. Marc talks with Matthew about the revelations he encountered, the perspective he gained...

• Episode 1167 - Patti Smith

  Patti Smith has been at the vanguard of art, poetry, rock and roll, and other forms of self-expression since the 1960s. But this talk with Marc happens to be her very first one-on-one conversation done over Zoom. They talk about Patti's days living at the...

• Episode 1166 - Lewis Black

  Everyone needs to let off some steam these days and there are few people better who do it better than Lewis Black. Marc welcomes his old friend back to the show for a talk about pandemic comedy, going stir crazy during quarantine, avoiding cults and pulli...

• Episode 1165 - Wayne Coyne

  Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne was in Los Angeles and decided to stop by the garage for a rare pandemic-era in-person chat. It's been a long time since Wayne and Marc hung out last. Since then both dealt with deaths of people close to them and they tal...

• Episode 1164 - Wynton Marsalis

  Wynton Marsalis created a profound examination of America, race, class, politics and human impulses with his latest epic composition, The Ever Fonky Lowdown. He explains to Marc how his perspective for the piece was largely aided by his fear of flying. Wy...

• Episode 1163 - John Cusack

  John Cusack is always trying to stay engaged with the world. From a young age when activist priests used to visit his parents to the Reagan years when he underwent a political awakening to present day, John uses his perception of how the world works as a...

• Episode 1162 - Barbara Kopple

  Barbara Kopple is known for her acclaimed documentary films, but for Marc the most memorable time Barbara spent behind the camera is the day she directed him in a phone commercial. Marc and Barbara reminisce about how that happened and talk about her entr...

• Episode 1161 - Cecily Strong

  The adage “you can never go home again” didn't apply to Cecily Strong. She did, and it's what got her on Saturday Night Live. Cecily tells Marc why she didn't stick around in Los Angeles after studying acting at CalArts, a move that people tol...

• Episode 1160 - Barry Levinson

  Barry Levinson finds himself waking up in disbelief to every outlandish and shocking item in the day's news. It's a different mode for a filmmaker who spent his career focused on the natural, quiet moments that make up everyday life. Marc and Barry talk a...

• Episode 1159 - Alicia Keys / John Leguizamo

  It's a New York City doubleheader! First up, Marc talks with the woman behind the modern day New York anthem, Alicia Keys. On the release of her seventh studio album, Alicia looks back on what it was like to start a huge music career so young and how she...

• Episode 1158 - Wendell Pierce

  Wendell Pierce isn't doing a lot of acting during the pandemic, but he's keeping busy. He's spending more time with his 95-year-old father in New Orleans, he's hosting radio shows on a local station he bought, and he's helping to figure out the future of...

• Episode 1157 - Toni Collette

  Toni Collette might be the first actor to tell Marc that, yes, she does learn about herself through the characters she plays. That's a lot of learning, considering the wide range of characters Toni has played over the years. Toni and Marc talk about how s...

• Episode 1156 - Martin Short

  Even in the face this year, Martin Short remains an optimistic guy. Maybe it's because he's had a career he loves, or maybe it's his mild-mannered Canadian disposition, or maybe it's because he suffered through a lot of tragedy as a kid. Martin and Marc t...

• Episode 1155 - Bad Internet w/ Matt Furie, Arthur Jones & Andrew Marantz

  One year ago, Marc used the Labor Day episode of WTF to find out why so much bad stuff in the world gets birthed in the darkest corners of the internet. A year later, it's only gotten worse. Marc talks with comic artist Matt Furie about how his creation,...

• Episode 1154 - J.K. Simmons

  J.K. Simmons faced a tough balancing act when his lifelong nonchalance about awards for acting came up against him becoming the runaway favorite to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. J.K. and Marc talk about how he reconciled that contradiction with...

• Episode 1153 - Chelsea Peretti

  Chelsea Peretti joined Marc in the garage more than ten years ago on a very early episode of WTF. Since then she became a writer for Parks and Rec, played Gina on Brooklyn 99, got married to Jordan Peele, and became a mom. Now she's catching up with Marc...

• Episode 1152 - Billy Crudup

  It's been 20 years since Marc demanded that someone “lock the gates” on Billy Crudup and the rest of the band in Almost Famous. Now that both of them are older and wiser, Billy and Marc discuss the simultaneous drudgery and privilege of acting...

• Episode 1151 - Giancarlo Esposito

  Whether it's Gus from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul or Buggin' Out from Do The Right Thing or Moff Gideon from The Mandalorian, Giancarlo Esposito's characters always leave an indelible impression. Perhaps that's because Giancarlo spent a lot of his l...

• Episode 1150 - Kieran Culkin

  A lot is going on for Kieran Culkin right now. He's a new dad, he has an Emmy nomination, he's dealing with life during the pandemic like the rest of us. But chaos is familiar to Kieran, who grew up in a railroad apartment with six brothers and sisters, a...

• Episode 1149 - Kerry Washington

  Kerry Washington has a lot to talk about with Marc, but it's appropriate that they spend the first portion of their conversation singing the praises of Lynn Shelton. Kerry talks about what Lynn brought to Little Fires Everywhere, but they also discuss how...

• Episode 1148 - Elliot Page

  [NOTE: This episode and its synopsis were published on August 13, 2020.] At the time when Juno became an award-winning hit film, Ellen Page experienced two things she never experienced before in her young life: She was now instantly famous and she fell in...

• Episode 1147 - Sarah Snook

  Sarah Snook plays a character on Succession who exists in the center of the American power structure. But in real life, she's riding out the pandemic on the other side of the world, from her homeland of Australia. Sarah and Marc talk about how she was tol...

• Episode 1146 - Joe List

  Joe List shot his new standup special a week before everything shut down, but that doesn't mean he's given up on comedy. He's been performing in parks, at drive-ins and even on Zoom. Marc talks with Joe about pandemic comedy. They also explore Joe's roots...

• Episode 1145 - Ice-T

  Tumultuous times call for sensible comments from voices of reason. Who better to speak to the issues of the day than Ice-T? The legendary rapper, rocker and actor talks about his personal experiences with COVID to offer some much-needed perspective. He al...

• Episode 1144 - Marsha Warfield

  Not only is Marsha Warfield one of the early pioneers of the Comedy Store scene, she was also there at the start of standup comedy as we know it in Chicago. Marsha tells Marc what it was like to compete for limited spots while coming up against the politi...

• Episode 1143 - Seth Rogen

  Trigger warning if you are an anti-Semite: First of all, why are you listening to this show? Get lost! Secondly, you are REALLY not going to like this episode. Seth Rogen returns to WTF for the first time in six years and has, by far, the Jewiest talk wit...

• Episode 1142 - Chris Fairbanks

  Chris Fairbanks lives the life of a comic, which means a lot of his life is on hold right now. Chris and Marc compare notes on what it's like to live alone during Covid, a non-ideal situation that is nevertheless providing them both with room for personal...

• Episode 1141 - Marc and Tom's Normal Things

  Tom Scharpling and Marc spend some time talking about the kind of things we all cared about when life was normal: music, coffee, comedy, live performances, and other things that make us feel alive. Leave your worries at the garage door and listen to these...

• Episode 1140 - Jim Carrey

  Jim Carrey just wrote his first novel, a semi-autobiographical look at show business and an examination of persona. It makes sense because Jim has been playing with persona during his entire career in show business. Jim talks with Marc about his days doin...

• Episode 1139 - Colin Jost

  Colin Jost has 15 years of Saturday Night Live under his belt but the time in his life he feels he's still running away from is his upbringing on Staten Island. Colin tells Marc why his Outer Borough roots loom so large in his life and how he's linked wit...

• Episode 1138 - Helen Mirren

  Dame Helen Mirren is a winner of the Oscar, the Tony, the Emmy, and the BAFTA, and is in the middle of an illustrious career in which she played the great roles of Shakespeare, Catherine the Great and Queen Elizabeth, to name a few. And yet she still begg...

• Episode 1137 - John Legend

  John Legend is a multiplatinum recording artist, a winner of the coveted EGOT, a loving family man and, as Marc found out in this conversation, a tremendously nice guy. The combination of John's talent and his kind disposition is what makes him the type o...

• Episode 1136 - George Lopez

  George Lopez says much of his career is driven by spite. He talks with Marc about how the people who told him he wasn't going to make it served as fuel for his ambitions, especially coming from a background where his opportunities were limited. George rem...

• Carl Reiner from 2013

  From 2013, Marc talks with Carl Reiner about his journey from writing to acting to directing, as well as his collaborative relationships with Sid Ceasar, Dick Van Dyke, Steve Martin and, of course, Mel Brooks. Carl died on June 29, 2020 at age 98. Sign up...

• Episode 1135 - Alan Zweibel

  One thing Alan Zweibel learned by being a writer for so many funny people is you have to set your ego aside. In doing so, Alan was able to have a career spanning decades and criss-crossing with multiple generations of comedy history. Alan tells Marc about...

• Episode 1134 - Nora McInerny

  As Marc dealt with personal grief, he looked around the Internet for some guidance on coping with loss. He found a TED Talk by Nora McInerny, who spoke about losing her father, her husband and her unborn child within the span of a few weeks. Since that ti...

• Episode 1133 - Janelle Monáe

  Janelle Monáe is not going to stop creating, but right now she feels the urge to use her creativity in the service of action. Marc talks with Janelle about the social and political unrest in the country today and why no one has an excuse to remain...

• Episode 1132 - Amber Preston / J-L Cauvin

  It's been five years since President Obama joined Marc in the garage and WTF is marking the occasion not with Donald Trump, but with comedian J-L Cauvin, who talks to Marc about his Trump impression going viral and reinvigorating his standup career. Then...

• Episode 1131 - Joe Pantoliano

  Joe Pantoliano is widely known for playing bad guys, lowlifes and disreputable characters. He even has his own pseudo-Mafioso nickname: Joey Pants. But Joe tells Marc the reason he got so good at playing bad guys is because he was always bullied when he w...

• Episode 1130 - Stacey Abrams

  Stacey Abrams believes deeply that the problems facing America today - police brutality, racial discrimination, economic inequality, Covid-19, creeping authoritarianism - all require the same solution: Free and fair elections. As the only Black woman ever...

• Episode 1129 - Jerry Seinfeld

  WTF started as a comedy podcast. It’s a show made by a comedian who wanted to talk to other comedians about comedy. Finally, after more than 10 years, Marc talks with the most well-known, most successful, and arguably most influential comedian in history,...

• Episode 1128 - Chris Cooper

  Chris Cooper was a guy who worked with his hands. He was raised to be a cowboy on his father’s ranch, spent time building Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and worked as a jack-of-all-trades when he was trying to scrape by. Then he became known as a guy w...

• Episode 1127 - G.E. Smith

  G.E. Smith started playing guitar when he was four. As he grew up, he liked The Beatles fine but it was really the Kinks and the Stones that grabbed him. Cut to many years later and G.E.’s had the opportunity to play with many of his heroes. He tells Marc...

• Episode 1126 - Jeffrey Wright

  Film and television production is on hold, but Jeffrey Wright is using the time to focus on his community. Jeffrey tells Marc how his attempt to help out a friend led him to a Brooklyn-wide effort to keep neighborhood restaurants afloat while feeding fron...

• Episode 1125 - Kenya Barris

  Kenya Barris retreated from the abusive situation in his childhood home by listening to party records and reading comic books. Those early influences shaped his understanding of who he is and prompted the creation of Black-ish years later. Kenya talks wit...

• Episode 1124 - Samantha Bee

  Samantha Bee says there was a point in her teenage years when she was clearly headed toward a life of crime. Thankfully, that was also the point when she realized she was being an a-hole and things needed to change. Sam tells Marc how she shook off the gr...

• Remembering Fred Willard

  Marc revisits his 2012 conversation with comedic actor Fred Willard, in which they discuss Fred’s career in improv-heavy films and beloved television projects. Fred passed away at age 86 on May 15, 2020. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives...

• Remembering Lynn Shelton

  Marc pays tribute to his creative collaborator and romantic partner Lynn Shelton, who passed away at age 54 on May 16, 2020. This episode includes her August 2015 interview on WTF. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus mater...

• Episode 1123 - Eliza Hittman / Dan Savage

  Filmmaker Eliza Hittman talks with Marc about telling the stories of teenagers in ways that feel like the lived experiences of actual teenagers. That’s partly achieved by the naturalistic performances she gets from many non-actors. But it’s also achieved...

• Episode 1122 - Cate Blanchett

  Conventional wisdom holds that Cate Blanchett is one of the world’s greatest living performers, but one person who disagrees with that is Cate Blanchett, who thinks she’s pretty terrible most of the time (her words, not ours). Marc and Cate try to get to...

• Episode 1121 - Liz Garbus / Andy Kindler

  Filmmaker Liz Garbus knows the importance of telling stories. Her father is one of America’s preeminent First Amendment lawyers, defending people with important stories to tell like Daniel Ellsberg and Lenny Bruce. Liz used her filmmaking skills to make a...

• Episode 1120 - Dan Levy

  The OTHER Dan Levy joins Marc to talk about the Canadian perspective of America, the rite of passage for all Canadians that is Degrassi, and having Eugene Levy as a dad. Dan reminisces about his first big show business job, working on Canadian MTV, which...

• Episode 1119 - Whitmer Thomas

  Comedian Whitmer Thomas and Marc made a movie together in Alabama. But while Marc was just a visitor, Whitmer knows Alabama to the core. Growing up in Gulf Shores and living the life of a disaffected Southern skateboarding garage rocker, Whitmer was surro...

• Episode 1118 - Laura Linney

  Laura Linney thinks about mortality a lot and not just because of the current global predicament. Her thoughts are driven mostly by late-in-life parenthood and how her six-year-old is a constant reminder of the time she has left. Then there’s also the fac...

• Episode 1117 - Barry Sonnenfeld

  Director Barry Sonnenfeld had zero interest in film and went to college mainly to get away from his parents. His obsession with lenses and f-stops put him on the path to becoming a cinematographer and soon he was making his first feature film with the Coe...

• Episode 1116 - Rosie O'Donnell

  In a first for WTF, Rosie O’Donnell joins Marc over video chat for a bicoastal conversation about her standup career, musical theater and life during coronavirus. Rosie recalls what it was like to become a touring comic as a teenager, win big on Star Sear...

• Episode 1115 - Sam Morril

  The other half of a quarantined comedy couple, Sam Morril joins Marc in the garage at a six-foot distance to talk about the circumstances keeping him away from his home in New York and living with Taylor Tomlinson. Sam explains how he navigates scenarios...

• Episode 1114 - Taylor Tomlinson

  Taylor Tomlinson is possibly the first guest who grew up listening to WTF and learned the comic trade from comedians on the podcast. At the time, she was a teenager doing standup in churches and she was soon a fixture on the Christian comedy circuit. Tayl...

• Episode 1113 - Fran Drescher

  Fran Drescher has a distinctive personality, but she says it wasn’t until her forties that she truly figured out who she is. Fran talks with Marc about growing up in Queens, being very close to her parents, and marrying her high school sweetheart. It wasn...

• John Prine from 2016

  From Episode 746, Marc's conversation with John Prine about Kris Kristofferson, Steve Goodman, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and delivering the mail. John passed away on April 7, 2020. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus materia...

• Episode 1112 - Jeff Dunham

  A lot of comedians spend years or decades finding their voice on stage, but Jeff Dunham was very young when he settled on his comic voice. He then proceeded to throw that voice, to great success. Jeff tells Marc what attracted him to ventriloquism, how he...

• Episode 1111 - Byron Bowers

  One thing Byron Bowers knows for sure is that comedy taught him who he is. He needed it after a childhood filled with parental discord and moving around Georgia. That was followed by a period where Byron was living three separate lives, as a basketball pl...

• Adam Schlesinger from 2012

  From Episode 348, Marc's conversation with songwriter and musician Adam Schlesinger about Fountains of Wayne, That Thing You Do, Broadway and more. Adam passed away on March 31, 2020. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus ma...

• Episode 1110 - Ben Sinclair

  Even with the popularity of his HBO series High Maintenance, Ben Sinclair is still not great at taking compliments. He gets a lot of them, considering the show is one of the early success stories from the world of DIY web series that crossed over to mains...

• Episode 1109 - Kathy Valentine

  Kathy Valentine is in one of the most famous and profitable female rock bands ever but she’s really taken to becoming a writer. That's because she’s got a lot of stories to tell. Kathy talks with Marc about her new memoir that chronicles her early life an...

• Episode 1108 - Dan Aykroyd

  Dan Aykroyd has thrived in show business but he’s always been in tune with the business part as much as the show part. Whether it was running his own radio ad company or an after-hours speakeasy, or his House of Blues clubs and his Crystal Head line of vo...

• Episode 1107 - Utkarsh Ambudkar

  The world took notice of Utkarsh Ambudkar with his freestyle performance on the Oscar telecast but he was almost a classic cautionary character: The guy who blows his big break because of struggles with substance abuse. Utkarsh tells Marc about his early...

• Episode 1106 - Thandie Newton

  When Thandie Newton took the part of Maeve on Westworld, she had no idea the character would wind up being a perfect metaphor for her life. As Thandie tells Marc, she didn’t really understand her outsider status as a mixed-race young person in England unt...

• Episode 1105 - Don Gavin

  Don Gavin has Boston in his bones, so much so that he’s still cold even after moving to Florida. Marc reminisces with Don about their stand-up days in New England, where Don’s kindness and encouragement of younger comics helped earn him the moniker The Go...

• Episode 1104 - Don Cheadle

  It’s a good thing Marc cleaned the garage before Don Cheadle came over, otherwise Don might not have lived through this episode due to his life-threatening cat allergy. With no airborne irritants to cause problems, Don and Marc were free to talk about Don...

• Episode 1103 - Thora Birch

  Being sixteen is tough for almost everyone. But when Thora Birch was sixteen, she went from being a familiar child actor to the girl from an Oscar-winning phenomenon, American Beauty. That movie changed her career, but it was her follow-up movie, Ghost Wo...

• Episode 1102 - Peter Berg

  Filmmaker Peter Berg and Marc never would have predicted their respective futures when they were living together in a shared apartment back when both of them were just starting out in Hollywood. Now, after they embarked on wildly different careers, their...

• Episode 1101 - Carol Kane

  Show business paid off early for Carol Kane. She was in her first movie at age 17 and got an unexpected Academy Award nomination for Best Actress when she was 23. Carol tells Marc what it was like to break into the business working with directors like Mik...

• Episode 1100 - Juliette Lewis

  Juliette Lewis spent much of her life facing her fears. She was a natural introvert who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight as a teenager. She had anxiety about going to public places. She saw herself getting into trouble and wondering if she could sur...

• Episode 1099 - Adam Pally

  Adam Pally watched his dad put his own show business ambitions aside while he personally washed out of a high school band and quit the basketball team. So Adam was used to the idea of things not going the way they were planned. But it was when he joined t...

• Episode 1098 - Ronan Farrow

  Ronan Farrow needed to come to terms with a lot of things. He processed the pain and trauma that existed in his family during his upbringing. He came to an understanding with his own ambition and drive. And he realized that the deck is stacked against vic...

• Episode 1097 - Brett Smrz

  Some people are born into stunt performing, some achieve it, and some have it thrust upon them. For Brett Smrz, it’s all three. He was born into a family of stuntmen, including his uncle who died doing a stunt. Brett was given his uncle's name, but instea...

• Episode 1096 - Ben Schwartz

  Ben Schwartz was afraid to do plays in high school. In fact, if it wasn’t for his college girlfriend pushing him to audition for the school improv group, his life would be dramatically different. Ben talks with Marc about his early comedy ambitions which...

• Episode 1095 - Dan Levy

  Once Marc gets over the confusion around Dan Levy’s name (he pronounces it differently than the Dan Levy from Schitt’s Creek), he tries to figure out how Dan went from being a guy opening at comedy clubs to a creator and showrunner of his own network sitc...

• Episode 1094 - Ashton Kutcher

  Ashton Kutcher is still close with the modeling agent who discovered him in a bar in Iowa. He’s also still with the manager who got him his first acting work. Ashton talks with Marc about why he feels such a strong loyalty to the people who first gave him...

• Episode 1093 - Ben Bailey

  Ben Bailey and Marc share a particular gripe as comics. Both of them became widely known for beloved projects they started doing on a whim. For Ben it was Cash Cab, for Marc it was this podcast. And as much as they love those projects, they really just wa...

• Episode 1092 - Terry Crews

  Terry Crews survived a lot. He survived a tumultuous upbringing in an alcoholic household. He survived the destruction of his hometown, Flint, Michigan. He survived playing in the NFL. He survived a pornography addiction that sent him to rehab, and his ma...

• Episode 1091 - Josh Klinghoffer

  Josh Klinghoffer came over to Marc’s house just days after receiving the surprising news from the Red Hot Chili Peppers that his time with the band was over. He talks with Marc about John Frusciante’s sudden RHCP reunion and being the odd man out. But he...

• Episode 1090 - Brian Cox

  When listening to actor Brian Cox talk with Marc, it’s hard to see how this pleasant man is anything like the despotic, cold-blooded patriarch Logan Roy, who he plays on HBO’s Succession. Except there is one thing they have in common: They both see the hu...

• Episode 1089 - Randall Park

  Randall Park’s Korean immigrant parents were skeptical about their son’s career path. But that all changed when Randall played the actual dictator of North Korea in The Interview, a movie that caused an international incident. Randall also tells Marc why...

• Episode 1088 - Lily Tomlin

  Lily Tomlin received a bit of advice early in her life that she really took to heart: If you can’t be direct, why be? Lily’s direct approach to performing, exemplified by her creation of original characters, led her to early success in New York cabarets,...

• Episode 1087 - Joe Mantegna

  Joe Mantegna is about as Chicago as they come. He grew up in Chicago, he talks like he’s from Chicago, he got his acting start in Chicago, he even used to play with the band Chicago. That might explain why he tells Marc he still thinks of himself as a blu...

• Episode 1086 - Brad Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio

  During a victory lap for their movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio put movie stardom on hold for an hour to have a chat with Marc. They talk about their early days as show business outsiders, the moment they knew their liv...

• Episode 1085 - Scott Caan

  Scott Caan stars in major movies, is on a long running television series, published his own photography, wrote more than 20 plays, and yet he’s still not sure what he wants to do when he grows up. Scott and Marc talk about finding professional fulfillment...

• Episode 1084 - Shauna Duggins

  Shauna Duggins does stunts for blockbuster movies and TV series, but at first she just wanted to entertain. She went to Los Angeles fresh out of college with a business degree and a lifetime of gymnastics experience. At the neighborhood gym, she started h...

• Episode 1083 - Brittany Howard

  Brittany Howard always needs to keep moving forward. That’s part of the reason she made the difficult decision to take a break from her band Alabama Shakes and go out on her own. Now, for the first time as a Grammy-nominated solo artist, Brittany is tryin...

• Episode 1082 - Jimmy Tingle

  Jimmy Tingle has a lot in common with Marc and many other Boston-based WTF guests. But what sets Jimmy apart is the merger of his comedy with politics and civic engagement. Jimmy tells Marc about his sobriety, his shift toward one-man shows and his focus...

• Episode 1081 - Alex Gibney

  Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney is always trying to understand why things are the way they are. He’s done so with Enron, Scientology, the War on Terror, Donald Trump and other topics where he often finds people believing that the ends just...

• Episode 1080 - Jay Roach

  Jay Roach went from directing major comedies like the Austin Powers series and Meet the Parents to making timely political films like Recount, Game Change and his new movie Bombshell. The transition makes more sense when you hear Jay tell Marc how he’s go...

• Episode 1079 - Paul Walter Hauser

  To play Richard Jewell, Paul Walter Hauser knew he needed to tap into a part of himself he thought he left behind in Saginaw, Michigan. Paul and Marc talk about his Christian upbringing as the son of a Lutheran pastor, the importance of faith in his life...

• Episode 1078 - Cedric the Entertainer

  Before he was a King of Comedy, before he was even an entertainer, he was Cedric the Insurance Claims Adjuster. Cedric and Marc talk about his emergence in the St. Louis-area comedy scene and how the business of Black Comedy took off. Cedric also looks ba...

• Episode 1077 - Ethan Russell

  Photographer Ethan Russell is the only person to shoot album covers for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who, which is quite an achievement considering he didn’t even want a career as a photographer. Ethan talks with Marc about going from the U.S....

• Episode 1076 - Jessica Kirson

  There was a point in Jessica Kirson’s life where she was living with too many secrets. She was a pot dealer, she had a hidden cocaine habit, and she was deeply in the closet. Jessica worked to unburden herself of all those secrets and found a breakthrough...

• Episode 1075 - Keith Wager

  Keith Wager is a recovery friend of Marc’s who has a lot to be thankful for. Instead of doing drugs and getting arrested, like he did in the past, now he’s telling stories about his addiction and recovery on his podcast It’s All Bad. And because it always...

• Episode 1074 - Mike Sweeney

  Mike Sweeney tried on several different careers before becoming the head writer for Conan O’Brien: trial lawyer, standup comedian, warm-up comic. But it’s a miracle he was able to do any of them after growing up in a violent, unpredictable household. Mike...

• Episode 1073 - Louis Katz

  Comic Louis Katz was working with Marc just before the launch of WTF. In the ten years since, Louis and Marc have taken paths that are both similar and completely different. They share their experiences on the road and get into the nuts and bolts of comed...

• Episode 1072 - Nathan Lane

  When a very complementary newspaper profile called Nathan Lane “the last of the great entertainers,” Nathan couldn’t help but wonder, “Is that all there is?” Nathan talks with Marc about the subsequent steps he took to get himself out of the box people wa...

• Episode 1071 - Lili Taylor

  Actress Lili Taylor and Marc quickly realize how much they have in common, like their nearly 50 combined years of sobriety, their similar stories about parents struggling with mental illness, and their search for belonging in New York City when they were...

• Episode 1070 - Tony Hale

  Tony Hale is trying to be more present. He’s motivated by the fact that some of the biggest moments of his career on shows like Arrested Development and Veep are lost down the memory hole. Tony and Marc trace the reasons for these mental gaps, which are l...

• Episode 1069 - Kate Nash

  Kate Nash says getting cast on GLOW saved her life and, when you hear about the emotional roller coaster she was on before landing the gig, that might literally be true. Kate tells Marc what it was like to leverage her MySpace account into pop stardom at...

• Episode 1068 - John Goodman

  John Goodman has more than four decades of experience on stage, in movies, and on television, but he’s just now learning to trust himself. After a lifetime of trying to please everyone and beating himself up over everything, John tells Marc what finally c...

• Episode 1067 - Joan Shelley

  Marc doesn’t consider himself a “folk music guy” but he cannot deny how strongly he responds to singer-songwriter Joan Shelley’s work. Joan talks with Marc about her Kentucky upbringing and how she’s careful to respect the roots of folk music while also i...

• Episode 1066 - Edward Norton

  Edward Norton knows the importance of slowing things down. While many entertainers feel the need to move immediately from project to project, Edward has learned from his peers, his idols, and his own experience that sometimes it’s all about what you don’t...

• Episode 1065 - Pamela Des Barres

  No one can doubt Pamela Des Barres’s commitment to the life of rock and roll. She’s known as THE rock groupie, but further distinguished herself as a writer, educator, tour guide and interviewer, all involving her life on the road throughout modern music...

• Episode 1064 - Rick Baker

  It’s very likely Rick Baker created something that made you smile, laugh, cringe, scream, or all of the above, as one of the most innovative and memorable creators of makeup effects in movie history. Rick tells Marc about being obsessed with movie makeup...

• Episode 1063 - Woody Harrelson

  Living in Hawaii gives Woody Harrelson a pretty good perspective of what life should really be about. It’s a mentality that influences the way he chooses projects, the way he engages in activism, and the way he fulfills is spiritual side. Woody and Marc t...

• Episode 1062 - Rachel Maddow

  Marc sees Rachel Maddow on TV almost every night. But there was a time when they saw each other every day, back when they worked together at Air America Radio. Rachel and Marc talk about those early radio days which turned out to be a transitional point i...

• Episode 1061 - Jackie Tohn

  Jackie Tohn is the co-star on GLOW who Marc feels he knows the most. Not because they knew each other before making the show, but because they share backgrounds and upbringings that make them very familiar to each other. Jackie tells Marc about growing up...

• Episode 1060 - Argus Hamilton

  Argus Hamilton is the human embodiment of The Comedy Store, with the distinction of being one of the original Comedy Store comics and the only person of his generation who still works there today. In other words, he’s the perfect guest for WTF, as Marc co...

• Episode 1059 - Danny DeVito

  Danny DeVito is one of America’s most beloved actors and that’s true across multiple generations. Whether it’s because you came of age with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or watched Taxi every week or accepted his version of The Penguin as definitive or...

• Episode 1058 - Marilu Henner

  Marilu Henner will not forget what was said in this conversation. That’s mostly because she has a rare condition that allows her to remember virtually everything that ever happened to her. But it’s also because she and Marc go deep into her life and multi...

• Episode 1057 - Jeannie Gaffigan

  Jeannie Gaffigan had a lot on her plate. She was raising five kids, writing comedy with her husband Jim, and producing a television sitcom. She was so busy taking care of others that she forgot to take care of herself. Jeannie tells Marc how that self-neg...

• Episode 1056 - Byron Allen

  How did Byron Allen go from teenage stand-up to highly successful media mogul and entrepreneur? Byron thinks it has everything to do with growing up in Detroit, watching his dad working at Ford and internalizing that factory worker mentality. Of course, h...

• Episode 1055 - Chaunté Wayans

  Chaunté Wayans has a last name that adds a lot of pressure to a comedy career. She also happens to be the niece and cousin of many famous comedians with that last name. That’s one reason she stayed away from comedy when she was younger, choosing instead t...

• Episode 1054 - June Diane Raphael

  June Diane Raphael knows people are likely to mispronounce her last name (it’s RAY-feel) but she’s ok with it. She has other things on her mind right now, like being a working mom in Hollywood, getting more women encouraged to run for office, and the simp...

• Episode 1053 - Danny Huston

  Danny Huston felt somewhat doomed when it came to show business. His father John and grandfather Walter were legendary Hollywood figures and his half-sister Anjelica seemed like the coolest person in the world to him. To Danny, getting into the business s...

• Episode 1052 - Bruce Dern

  When Bruce Dern showed up at The Actors Studio, Lee Strasberg told him he was going to be their Frankenstein Monster and Elia Kazan told him “you’re not into acting, you’re just into being.” But they also told Bruce he would never be a leading man and no...

• Episode 1051 - Edi Patterson

  When Marc first saw Edi Patterson on Vice Principals, he knew she was the kind of performer who can’t possibly stifle who she is. It turns out her raw, comedic intensity was born in Texas oil-refining country, where she was an anxious, sensitive kid who w...

• Episode 1050 - Dale Beran

  Unlike Marc, Dale Beran was immersed in internet culture for most of his life. He considered himself an artistic, creative person with aspirations to become a writer. But what Dale discovered in the online communities he frequented was a disconnected, nih...

• Episode 1049 - Buddy Guy

  Legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy had many insecurities about performing and they didn’t really subside until musicians like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck would tell him how big of an influence he was on them. Buddy tells Marc about is humble beginnings, g...

• Episode 1048 - Betty Gilpin

  Betty Gilpin’s performance on GLOW has brought her critical accolades, Emmy nominations, and personal fulfillment. So why does she feel like she’s constantly running from a monster that is snapping at her ankles? Part of it is she lost a certain degree of...

• Episode 1047 - David Shields

  David Shields is always looking to push the form forward, whether it’s by way of his writing, his filmmaking or his thinking. Using collage-style prose and film techniques to help draw connections, David intrigued Marc with what his art says about the wor...

• Episode 1046 - Patricia Clarkson

  Patricia Clarkson came to show business by way of New Orleans, where exposure to all manner of public figures who were equal parts good and bad may explain why she never judges the characters she plays, even if they’re monstrous. That’s true of her Emmy-n...

• Peter Fonda from 2018

  From Episode 930, Marc's conversation with actor Peter Fonda about childhood trauma, Easy Rider, and talking George Harrison down from a bad trip. Peter passed away on August 16, 2019. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus m...

• Episode 1045 - Stephen Root

  Stephen Root grew up moving all over the country because of his dad’s job. Being uprooted all the time meant he was shy and quiet without too many friends.  Fortunately, shy, quiet people are good observers. Stephen tells Marc how he was able to channel t...

• Episode 1044 - Bashir Salahuddin

  Bashir Salahuddin is having a moment. He has two new shows out that he co-created and stars in, South Side and Sherman’s Showcase. He’s back in the third season of GLOW. And he’ll be in Top Gun: Maverick next year. But despite all this, Bashir tells Marc...

• Episode 1043 - Greg Kinnear

  Greg Kinnear actually bailed on being an actor. Even though he performed in high school plays and hosted his own radio show as a teenager, when he started acting in college he decided it wasn’t for him. As Greg tells Marc, it felt like too much of a crap...

• Episode 1042 - Walton Goggins

  Walton Goggins has played tough guys, weird guys and guys who completely defy description, but to him it’s all just playing pretend. Walton found himself as the center of attention at a young age while he was being raised by a group of women - his mother,...

• Episode 1041 - Juston McKinney

  Juston McKinney’s story keeps coming back to New Hampshire. It’s where he grew up, where he lost his mother at age six, where his father was a homeless alcoholic, and where Juston became a cop. He tells Marc why he joined the police force in the first pla...

• Episode 1040 - Kurt Andersen

  At some point in the past decade, Kurt Andersen felt like he had to figure out America. Coming from a professional career rooted in satire and troublemaking, Kurt had a pretty good vantage point to examine the tug of war between reason and magical thinkin...

• Episode 1039 - Tom Dreesen

  Now that Tom Dreesen has 50 years in show business under his belt, he wants to enjoy life. He’s earned it because he’s already experienced enough for five lifetimes. Tom takes Marc all the way back to when he was a kid in suburban Illinois, holding on to...

• Episode 1038 - Geena Davis

  Geena Davis says the biggest thing she had to learn as she made her way through show business was how to speak up for herself. This was particularly difficult because she was taught at a very young age that politeness was paramount, to the point where it...

• Episode 1037 - Alex Ross Perry

  Not only did director and writer Alex Ross Perry work in a video store while he was learning to become a filmmaker, his first film crew was made up of his friends and co-workers at the video store and they remain his crew today. Alex explains to Marc that...

• Episode 1036 - Sean Lennon

  Sean Lennon admits that he was naïve about his family legacy when he began a career in music. He also admits that when he received bad reviews for his first solo record, deep down he agreed with them. Sean talks with Marc about how he grew into himself as...

• Episode 1035 - Nahnatchka Khan

  When Nahnatchka Khan started developing Fresh Off The Boat for TV, she knew it was an undertaking that no one had tried for more than 20 years: A network sitcom with an Asian-American cast. And it was a premise that appealed to her as a first generation A...

• Episode 1034 - David Lee Roth

  You only need to hear David Lee Roth talk for a few seconds to understand why he is the consummate rock and roll frontman. Diamond Dave takes Marc on a stream of consciousness ride through his past, present, future and whatever else he’s thinking about in...

• Episode 1033 - Jamie Lee

  Jamie Lee started her career in close proximity to comedy, but not actually doing it. She was working in PR at Comedy Central and found herself around a lot of comics in a professional capacity. It wasn’t long before she caught the bug and was doing open...

• Episode 1032 - Stephen Dorff

  Stephen Dorff started acting in movies before he was a teenager, but the sudden and tragic death of his brother made him contemplate leaving the business altogether. Stephen tells Marc why he stuck it out and how he wound up landing one of his most fulfil...

• Episode 1031 - Brent Butt

  Even though Brent Butt grew up in rural Saskatchewan, his path to comedy is similar to American comics, except it was exclusively Canadian. He was a directionless youth who was taken in by comedy on Canadian TV, he booked gigs throughout the Canadian coun...

• Episode 1030 - Stephen Colbert

  Before Stephen Colbert knew what he wanted to do with his life, all he wanted was to be Hamlet. Not to play Hamlet, but to be Hamlet. That’s how he felt as an outsider teen dealing with family tragedy and deep, unaddressed grief. Stephen tells Marc how co...

• Episode 1029 - Steve Sweeney

  When Steve Sweeney was growing up in Boston, the last thing he expected to become was an entertainer. He rubbed elbows with career criminals in Charlestown but somehow wound up doing summertime productions of Shakespeare plays and seeing actors like Lawre...

• Episode 1028 - Eve Ensler

  When Marc read Eve Ensler’s new book The Apology, he knew he had to speak with her right away. Not just because it was a harrowing, beautifully written, courageous book, but because Marc believes the book fully reveals the geometry of toxic masculinity. E...

• Episode 1027 - Jamie Denbo

  Jamie Denbo’s life and career would not be the same were it not for her job at a Renaissance fair. Her future in comedy, improv, acting, and now writing and producing might not have taken shape if she didn’t mistakenly audition for a gig she didn’t unders...

• Episode 1026 - Mavis Staples

  As Mavis Staples turns 80 years old, she continues to perform and record with young musicians and producers across musical genres, just as she’s done her whole life. Mavis talks with Marc about her early years as a gospel singer with her family, the stunn...

• Episode 1025 - Perry Farrell

  Perry Farrell is the creative force behind Jane’s Addiction, Porno for Pyros, and the Lollapalooza festival, but while talking with Marc, it’s clear a lot of Perry's focus these days is on being a dad. Perry sees the parallels in how he was angry at his f...

• Episode 1024 - John Turturro

  When you talk with John Turturro, it’s quickly apparent that he’s a student of history. But John says that type of education really only happened for him once he left school and engaged with the world. His breadth of knowledge has certainly helped him as...

• Episode 1023 - David Letterman

  David Letterman started out doing the very thing that scared him to death - getting up in front of strangers and trying to make them laugh. Now after wrapping up a legendary and influential career as late night host, Dave talks with Marc about his early d...

• Episode 1022 - Timothy Olyphant

  In the last decade or so, Timothy Olyphant realized that a lot of his interests when he was younger were either impractical, ill-fitting or not very cool. He found himself going in many different directions because, as he puts it, he was scared to death o...

• Episode 1021 - Duff McKagan

  Duff McKagan weathered the storm of rock and roll excess and now finds himself with a loving family, sobriety, a reunited band, and a new solo album. Duff takes Marc back to the days when he first met Axl Rose, when Guns N’ Roses became one of the biggest...

• Episode 1020 - Lisa Kudrow

  Of course Lisa Kudrow talks with Marc about Friends. But first they discuss several other topics Lisa knows well, including genealogy, global migration patterns, evolutionary biology, and headaches. Lisa also explains how Jon Lovitz was responsible for pu...

• Episode 1019 - Kyle Mooney

  A fateful moment in Kyle Mooney’s life was when his high school hip hop group went up in flames. Quite literally. All his equipment was destroyed in a fire. Lacking an outlet for his creativity, Kyle gravitated toward improv and making digital videos, two...

• Episode 1018 - Anjelica Huston

  If there was one constant in Anjelica Huston’s early life and career, it was the pressure to prove herself. Anjelica tells Marc about the benefits and drawbacks of being part of a Hollywood dynasty, the strains on the relationship with her father when she...

• Episode 1017 - Anna Konkle & Maya Erskine

  Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine, co-creators and stars of the middle school-based comedy PEN15, met and bonded in college. But they knew their most authentic collaboration would come from playing themselves as adolescents, which started them on a six-year jo...

• Episode 1016 - Dennis Quaid

  Dennis Quaid believes in the benefits of familiarity. In fact, he attributes his career to it. Multiple generations of audiences know him for different films, be it Breaking Away or Dreamscape or The Parent Trap or The Rookie, but everyone has a sense of...

• Episode 1015 - Irwin Winkler

  After fifty years in Hollywood producing some of the most popular movies of all time, Irwin Winkler says the question he still gets asked the most is, What does a producer do? To get the answer, Irwin tells Marc about his days running the bumper cars on C...

• Episode 1014 - Jane Fonda

  Jane Fonda is still acting and is still an activist, two constants in her entire adult life. But as she tells Marc, Jane spent a lot of her life thinking she was a worthless person. Carrying the twin burdens of her mother’s suicide and a strained relation...

• Episode 1013 - Bryan Callen

  Bryan Callen always wished he could be a tough guy. Maybe it was the influence of his Marine father or maybe it was the snippets of American culture he was taking in as he grew up all over the world. Whatever it was, it caused a crisis of identity that pu...

• Episode 1012 - Brené Brown

  Brené Brown’s degree in social work and her research into conditions like empathy and vulnerability led to one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time, millions of readers of her books, and celebrity boosters like Oprah Winfrey. But it was her academic w...

• Episode 1011 - Mark Arm / The Pashman Cometh

  Mark Arm was there at the beginning of a Seattle music scene that became a national phenomenon. But all Mark ever thought he and his bandmates were doing was entertaining themselves. Mark talks about how he grew up in Suburban Washington with pressure fro...

• Episode 1010 - Christina Hendricks

  Christina Hendricks can relate if you had a lousy time in high school. Between moving around a lot to her goth fashion style and music choices to her time spent with the school theater crew, Christina was a target of bullies and wanted to get as far away...

• Episode 1009 - Bruce McCulloch

  Bruce McCulloch’s characters and disposition on The Kids in the Hall would lead you to conclude he’s somewhat shy, sensitive and kind. And while that may be true now, Bruce says he was an angry young man, a drinker, a fighter. Growing up in Calgary, there...

• Episode 1008 - Vincent D'Onofrio

  The last time Vincent D’Onofrio saw Marc it was at a standup show where Marc got tackled on stage by a disgruntled audience member. A lot has changed for both of them since then. You know Marc's story. But Vincent says in the decades since that night, he...

• Episode 1007 - T Bone Burnett

  Growing up in Texas, young Joseph Henry Burnett first experienced musical transportation while listening to records of Cole Porter and Ella Fitzgerald. He developed into not just a versatile musician and producer, but an obsessive archivist and student of...

• Episode 1006 - John Lithgow

  John Lithgow can go from playing the sweetest characters you’ll ever see to truly deranged psychopaths, sometimes within the same movie. He’s good at playing kind and evil in equal measure partly because he developed his acting range at a young age growin...

• Episode 1005 - Phoebe Robinson

  Phoebe Robinson knows too well the feeling of being “the only one.” Whether it was being the only black person in her grade, the only woman or person of color on a standup show, or the only person being asked to step out of the line at the airport, the on...

• Episode 1004 - Rob Lowe

  Rob Lowe had several revelations over the course of his life. One is that there’s more fun in sobriety than in being under the influence. Another is that he should have had a sex tape scandal later in life when it actually would have helped his career ins...

• Episode 1003 - Tal Wilkenfeld

  The word prodigy gets thrown around a lot, but if Tal Wilkenfeld isn’t one then the word has no meaning. Tal tells Marc how she never even saw a person play guitar until she was 14 years old. Thanks to encouragement from her grandfather, she started playi...

• Episode 1002 - Amy Sedaris

  Amy Sedaris had no plan of action for her career other than going to Chicago to do sketch comedy and going to New York to do plays with her brother David. And as she tells Marc, she still has no plan except for doing things that she finds fun. Amy and Mar...

• Episode 1001 - Aidy Bryant

  Aidy Bryant only recently felt like she could tap into her inner rage. She remains a wonderfully nice person and hilarious performer, but with things like her new show Shrill and other mental adjustments, Aidy feels like she’s taking ownership of some rig...

• Episode 1000 - Episode 1000

  To celebrate the milestone of 1000 episodes, Marc and WTF producer Brendan McDonald reflect on how they got here, why they created the show in the first place, and what the future holds for them and WTF. They answer listener questions and divulge some nev...

• The Marc and Tom Show #5

  Media juggernauts Marc Maron and Tom Scharpling join forces once again, this time to save not only themselves but the world as well. Along the way, they talk about Howard Stern, movie theater food, falling for advertising, sweating, and Jonah Ray’s influe...

• Episode 999 - Alfred Molina

  Alfred Molina was told early on that he was a “dreadful actor but a marvelous show off.” Thankfully, he took that assessment as a positive and became one of our great actors, working in experimental British theater, BBC radio plays, and large-scale musica...

• Episode 998 - Gary Clark Jr.

  Gary Clark Jr. tries not to put too much pressure on himself. That’s not surprising since outside forces seem to put a lot of pressure on Gary, with guys like Eric Clapton asking him to go on tour and outlets like Rolling Stone calling him The Chosen One....

• Episode 997 - Andrea Savage

  Andrea Savage didn't really know Marc but thought he was a little scary. Marc didn't know Andrea but found her to be intimidating. What was it about these two funny people that had them keeping a distance from each other? Perhaps it was because of what th...

• Episode 996 - Jon Bernthal

  Jon Bernthal’s path to becoming an actor was less about following a dream than about getting out of a nightmare. Before he was The Punisher or other streetwise characters in The Wolf of Wall Street and The Walking Dead, Jon was a kid with a nose for troub...

• Episode 995 - Mandy Moore

  Mandy Moore has already gone through several career phases in her young life, from teenage pop star to animated voice artist to dramatic actress. But her latest phase, as matriarch Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us, came after a long period in which she put h...

• Episode 994 - Yeardley Smith / Krusty the Clown

  Yeardley Smith knows that Lisa Simpson gets people through tough times. She knows because strangers come up to her in public and tell her how much Lisa helped them. And yet, despite portraying this iconic character for 30 years, Yeardley struggled for a l...

• Episode 993 - Tony Shalhoub

  Tony Shalhoub grew up with nine siblings so it’s no surprise he developed a way to stand out. Tony and Marc talk about his upbringing in Green Bay, Wisconsin, worshiping at the Church of Lombardi, aka Lambeau Field, and eventually leaving town to become a...

• Episode 992 - Yorgos Lanthimos

  Yorgos Lanthimos makes films that pose a lot of questions and Marc wants answers. But it turns out the question Yorgos finds the least interesting is “Why?” Perhaps his disinterest in simple answers stems from the fact that he was on his own at the age of...

• Episode 991 - Anderson .Paak

  Long before Anderson .Paak was getting nominated for Grammy Awards, well before his collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and Q-Tip, before he was releasing solo albums to critical acclaim, he had already walked away from the music business and h...

• Episode 990 - Allan MacDonell

  Writer Allan MacDonell shaped his writing style at the punk magazine Slash, refined it while working for Larry Flint at Hustler, and turned it all on its ear with his trilogy of memoirs. Allan tells Marc how his life was shaped by a David Bowie concert, h...

• Episode 989 - Allison Janney

  Allison Janney won an Oscar playing the mother of a figure skater, but when she was younger she actually wanted to be a figure skater. That dream was cut short by a freak accident as a teenager and her acting career didn’t really take off until she was 38...

• Episode 988 - Brad Garrett

  If Brad Garrett had to bet on it - and he likes to bet - he’s pretty sure he’ll die in Las Vegas. Which is appropriate because he grew up with an abiding love of Vegas and got his comedy start at the famous Desert Inn on the strip. Brad and Marc talk abou...

• Episode 987 - Aaron Sorkin

  It's very possible the only reason Aaron Sorkin became a writer is because he spent a lonely night in a friend's apartment where the only thing working was an electric typewriter. Aaron tells Marc how that fateful night put him on the path to writing his...

• Episode 986 - Linda Cardellini

  For Linda Cardellini, a person whose spiritual crisis took her all the way to the Vatican, it's appropriate that the pivotal moment in her career happened when she took a leap of faith on a little TV pilot called Freaks and Geeks. Linda and Marc talk abou...

• Episode 985 - Howie Mandel

  Howie Mandel went to Hollywood and tried to make a living by putting a latex glove on his head. He never thought he’d be able to maintain it, so he always made other plans: Investor, entrepreneur, actor, voiceover artist. And it wasn’t until Deal or No De...

• Episode 984 - Sam Lipsyte

  Not only is Sam Lipsyte one of the funniest modern fiction authors, he’s also one of Marc’s best friends, a kindred spirit with whom Marc shares a deep mutual respect and understanding. Whenever Marc is in New York City, he and Sam sit around and talk, go...

• Episode 983 - Steve Coogan

  When Steve Coogan realized he was good at doing impressions, he also realized it was a really good way to get attention. But Steve also knew he had to deliver beyond the impressions if he wanted to get funnier. Steve talks with Marc about that evolution,...

• Episode 982 - Seth MacFarlane

  Seth MacFarlane can host award shows, create button-pushing animated shows, and sing standards in symphony halls, but nothing changes the fact that he’s an introvert by nature. Seth tells Marc why he’s always enjoyed making trouble through comedy, how tha...

• Episode 981 - Reinaldo Marcus Green

  Before directing his first feature film, Reinaldo Marcus Green's life could have gone down multiple paths. There was baseball in his teen years, then teaching elementary school students, then going to work on Wall Street, then helping his brother and othe...

• Episode 980 - Kyle Dunnigan

  Kyle Dunnigan was saved from a midlife crisis by Instagram. He explains to Marc how he bent the social media platform to suit his comedy as they both discuss the challenges of facing down middle age. Kyle takes Marc all the way back to when he was a young...

• Episode 979 - Topher Grace

  Topher Grace is at a point where he’s only going to make what he wants to make. Not all actors can afford that luxury, but Topher tells Marc that working on That '70s Show for seven years taught him more about acting than any school, working with Ashton K...

• Episode 978 - Fahim Anwar

  Fahim Anwar's path to show business went through Boeing. It's not the most traditional route to Hollywood success, but it was necessary for a son of immigrant parents who did not approve of his standup comedy pursuit. Marc finds out about those early days...

• Episode 977 - The Beastie Boys

  Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz deal with many of the typical challenges of middle age, but they’re still deeply in touch with the alter egos they created four decades ago: Mike D and Ad-Rock. They tell Marc about running wild as kids in late-70s/early-...

• Episode 976 - Maggie Gyllenhaal

  Maggie Gyllenhaal grew up with filmmaker parents but didn't really feel like her family was in show business. That disconnect has helped her in her work and life, like when she performs with her husband, Peter Sarsgaard, or when she turns to her mother fo...

• Episode 975 - Jeff Daniels

  Jeff Daniels has delivered great performances in films, plays and TV shows for more than 40 years but he thought a true “dream role” had eluded him. Until now. Marc talks with Jeff in the midst of rehearsals for Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill A Mock...

• Episode 974 - Ted Alexandro

  Ted Alexandro is a comic who believes deeply in social responsibility. Whether it’s responsibility to his fellow comics as he fought for better pay from clubs, or to his fellow citizens as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, or to his audience as he...

• Episode 973 - Tim Blake Nelson

  Tim Blake Nelson might be a familiar face due to his indelible character roles in many films, but that didn’t stop him from defying just about all of Marc’s preconceptions about him. Marc had no idea, for example, about Tim’s Jewish upbringing in Tulsa, o...

• Episode 972 - Jeff Tweedy

  Jeff Tweedy doesn’t spend a lot of time reflecting on the past. But he awakened a whole lot of it while writing his new memoir. That means he has fresh thoughts on his mind about Jay Farrar, Uncle Tupelo, the early days of Wilco, and coming into his own a...

• Episode 971 - Martin Mull

  Martin Mull has many job titles in front of his name: Actor, musician, painter, writer, comedian. But when he was younger, struggling to make it as any of those things, he couldn't afford heat for his apartment and had to borrow an electric blanket, which...

• Episode 970 - Annie Lederman

  Comedian and writer Annie Lederman saw her adolescence take a turn for the worse after a childhood car crash. She was growing up with learning disabilities and attending a Quaker school. Then after the crash she was making choices she didn’t want to make...

• Episode 969 - Kenneth Lonergan

  Kenneth Lonergan doesn’t think there’s a real difference between comedy and drama, at least not in the way he writes and directs. The playwright-screenwriter-director talks with Marc about the lie of sentimentality, how ideas collapse when he’s writing an...

• Episode 968 - Michael Douglas

  Michael Douglas produced an Academy Award-winner for Best Picture, was the star of a successful television series, and was compiling a notable filmography both in front of and behind the camera. But he still didn't feel like he made it. That finally chang...

• Episode 967 - D.L. Hughley

  "The most dangerous place for black people to live is in white people’s imaginations." That idea has allowed D.L. Hughley to organize a lot of his thoughts on what we're dealing with as a country, and he believes what we're really doing is fighting fear....

• Episode 966 - Sandy Hackett

  Sandy Hackett learned from the best, but not just because Buddy Hackett was his dad. But also because Buddy was his best friend, his road companion, and the guy he opened for night after night. Sandy tells Marc what it was like to grow up in and around La...

• Episode 965 - Rita Rudner

  Rita Rudner is very likely the only person to start a comedy career because of an article in the New York Times business section on soft soap. It was quite the turn of events for Rita, who was dancing professionally on Broadway since she her teenage years...

• Episode 964 - Roger Daltrey

  Roger Daltrey believes you can't retire from rock and roll, rock and roll retires you. But for now, as long as Pete can still play and Roger can "sing the s--- out of the songs," The Who will go on. On the release of his memoir, Roger talks with Marc abou...

• Episode 963 - Zoe Kazan

  Zoe Kazan doesn't think much about the concept of "Hollywood royalty." Yes, her parents are in show business, but she still had to run the gauntlet of failed auditions and odd jobs. Yes, her grandfather's body of work is legendary, but she had a relations...

• Episode 962 - Eric Idle

  Python Week continues on WTF as Eric Idle gives Marc his perspective on the creation of the legendary British comedy group, talks about the making of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Rutles, and Spamalot, and explores his feelings about the other Pyth...

• Episode 961 - John Cleese

  John Cleese says there's one constant throughout his life, from Monty Python through today. He still has a very strong childish side and it has done him well. John talks to Marc about putting that childish side to work when he was doing sketch comedy at C...

• Episode 960 - Richard E. Grant / Brian Posehn

  Actor Richard E. Grant keeps a daily diary and has done so since he was ten years old. Having immediate access to his past experiences has no doubt helped his performances as a wide variety of characters throughout his career. Richard and Marc talk about...

• Episode 959 - Busy Philipps

  Busy Philipps is on the cusp of becoming a late night talk show host, so it's appropriate for her and Marc to talk about anything and everything during an afternoon in the garage. Busy explains what it's like raising young daughters, how she navigated lif...

• Episode 958 - Kurt Vile

  Recording artist Kurt Vile and Marc like a lot of the same stuff: Tom Scharpling, the blues, Randy Newman, Neil Young, flat driveways. They get to share their mutual admiration of these things while also talking about Kurt's unique upbringing with nine si...

• Episode 957 - Charles Demers

  Writer and comedian Charles Demers has a lot of thoughts on the differences between the United States and his home country, Canada. Differences that are political, social and professional. But he also tells Marc his thoughts about how Canada presaged Dona...

• Episode 956 - Sissy Spacek

  Sissy Spacek was a girl from Texas with a guitar who just wanted to sing. But after spending some time as a teenager living in New York City with her relatives, Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, Sissy got the acting bug. She talks with Marc about the life-chan...

• Episode 955 - Anna Faris

  Anna Faris had Marc on her podcast once. They both agree it got a little weird. They try to navigate that weirdness in the garage for Round Two, while also discussing Anna's painful insecurity as a teen, the great advice she got from Keenen Ivory Wayans,...

• Episode 954 - Gale Anne Hurd

  Gale Anne Hurd is one of Hollywood’s most successful producers, with films like The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss and Armageddon under her belt. She tells Marc how her first job out of college, working as an assistant for Roger Corman, prepared her for a...

• Episode 953 - Joan Jett

  Joan Jett wanted to be a rocker ever since she got a hold of a guitar, even though she was told girls don’t play rock and roll. That didn't stop her from forming The Runaways despite the sexist roadblocks the band faced. It also didn't stop her from putti...

• Episode 952 - Slash

  Slash is known for guitar wizardry, the top hat, and a prolific career across several major rock acts. But he's less known as Saul Hudson, a British, biracial son of a costume designer who was into drawing and BMX, not music. He tells Marc about being inv...

• Episode 951 - Kristen Bell

  Kristen Bell had an experience as a guest on WTF that not many others get to enjoy: Marc made her a meal beforehand. So with a full stomach, Kristen and Marc talk about why Dax Shepard is pushing her to have an ecstasy party, why does she have a hard time...

• Episode 950 - Adam Cayton-Holland

  Comedian, actor and writer Adam Cayton-Holland didn't plan on having a memoir in his 30s. But Adam's life took a stunning turn when his sister took her life six years ago and the grief process ran through the writing. Adam and Marc talk about hereditary m...

• Episode 949 - Billy Eichner

  Billy Eichner was singing before he was yelling. The star of Billy on the Street had an early love of Broadway and musical theater but, as he tells Marc, comedy didn’t come quickly. No stand-up, no improv, no sketches. Then he developed a stage show in Ne...

• Episode 948 - Sir Paul McCartney

  Marc talks with Paul McCartney about, well, a lot: The Beatles and Stones rivalry that wasn’t, his current relationship with Ringo, the influence of Little Richard, The Who, The Beach Boys, how he needs to have an out-of-body experience to really examine...

• Episode 947 - ​Dan Schlissel

  Dan Schlissel died recently. He tells Marc all about it, along with the less harrowing tale of how an isolated Jewish kid from Nebraska got into producing records. Dan turned his production know-how into a vibrant business when he started Stand Up Records...

• Episode 946 - Ian Bagg / Bert Kreischer

  If there was a competition for WTF guest who comes from the most far-flung, middle-of-nowhere place, comedian Ian Bagg would probably win by a lot. Ian tells Marc about growing up in Northern British Columbia, being part of the blast crew in a gold mine,...

• Episode 945 - Jo Koy

  Jo Koy is one of the biggest headlining comedians in the world and it might not have turned out that way if he hadn't become a vigorous self-promoter. Jo tells Marc how moving around a lot as part of a military family and dealing with his brother's severe...

• Episode 944 - Tanya Donnelly / Jason Bateman

  A lot has changed in the 30 years since Marc and Tanya Donnelly worked together at a luncheonette in Boston. Tanya saw her emerging music career take off in the early '90s, thanks to her bands Throwing Muses, The Breeders and Belly. Now in the midst of a...

• Episode 943 - Shooter Jennings / Rob Riggle

  Shooter Jennings was born into Nashville royalty, the son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. But he didn't exactly fit the Outlaw Country archetype. In fact, he was a computer nerd whose real influence was Nine Inch Nails. Shooter talks with Marc about...

• Episode 942 - Joe Walsh

  There were two times Joe Walsh felt part of a community. The first was as a student at Kent State, but that all went away after the National Guard shooting. The second was when he got to LA and met a bunch of other musicians, including Don Henley and Glen...

• Episode 941 - Jimmy O. Yang

  Jimmy O. Yang felt like an outsider growing up in Hong Kong and then felt like he didn't fit in studying economics in America. It was only once he starting paying five bucks to do an open mic night in Hollywood that he found a community. Jimmy tells Marc...

• Episode 940 - Chris O'Dowd

  Chris O'Dowd charmed and amused audiences in things like Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd, and recently the Get Shorty TV series, but things could have gone differently if he had followed through on his political science major. Chris and Marc talk about growing...

• Episode 939 - Jay Leno

  Jay Leno came up as a comic's comic, a performer recognized by other comedians as one of the best in the game. He also became one of the most successful late night television hosts in history, not once but twice. Those two sides always seemed at odds with...

• Episode 938 - Luzer Twersky

  Luzer Twersky is an actor who has been seen on shows like Transparent and High Maintenance. But prior to 2008, he wasn't seen by anyone outside of his Hasidic Jewish community. Luzer tells Marc about his cloistered upbringing, the details of Hasidic life,...

• Episode 937 - Mila Kunis / Iliza Shlesinger

  Mila Kunis says she's had a most fortunate trajectory in show business. That's because she got to experience it as a hobby and as a career. She explains to Marc what that means, along with telling him what it was like to arrive in LA as a religious refuge...

• Episode 936 - Sue Costello / Jim Gaffigan

  Marc welcomes back to the show two comedian friends from the early years of WTF, both of whom have experienced a lot of changes in their lives since their previous visits. First, Sue Costello talks with Marc about how she persisted in the face of ingraine...

• Episode 935 - Bo Burnham / David Sedaris

  It’s a summertime double-header of returning guests. First, David Sedaris takes a break from his months-long 'Calypso' book tour to tell Marc about his visit to Buckingham Palace, how he's navigating life with his elderly conservative father, and why he g...

• Episode 934 - Daveed Diggs / Bob Newhart

  Before he was in Hamilton, Daveed Diggs was an aspiring actor, rapper and spoken word performer creating "a rap curriculum" for Bay Area schools. Marc talks with Daveed about how that was the perfect starting point for his eventual portrayal of Thomas Jef...

• Episode 933 - Gus Van Sant

  Filmmaker and kindred guitar noodler Gus Van Sant meets Marc in the garage and jumps in for a deep dive on his movies, including Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, Milk and more. Gus tells Marc why doing Good W...

• Episode 932 - Ray Liotta / Jim Jefferies

  Ray Liotta had no intention of getting into acting but his fearless disposition led him to performing in school musicals, and the rest was history. Ray tells Marc about why being on a soap opera was great training, why he owes his movie career to Melanie...

• Episode 931 - Boots Riley / Bobcat Goldthwait

  Filmmaker and hip hop artist Boots Riley wants his audiences to be radically engaged. He grew up with parents who were organizers and he believes political radicalism prompts cultural change. Boots and Marc talk about social movements, power structures, a...

• Episode 930 - Peter Fonda / Andy Kindler & J. Elvis Weinstein

  Peter Fonda is happy to be figuring things out, no matter how long it took. Childhood traumas and an emotionally distant father affected his life and career, and he finally has some missing pieces of the puzzle. Peter also talks with Marc about Easy Rider...

• Episode 929 - Paul Rudd

  One constant for Paul Rudd as he spent a large portion of his childhood moving around the country, chasing an identity, is that he loved watching adults be silly. Even when he was in acting school and performing Shakespeare on stage, he took a lot of cues...

• Episode 928 - Eleanor Kerrigan

  Comedian Eleanor Kerrigan knows a lot about The Comedy Store. Not only did she become the club's head waitress, she also became a confidant and sometime-assistant to the owner, Mitzi Shore. After a stint as a professional wrestler and an opener for Andrew...

• Episode 927 - Lil Rel Howery

  Lil Rel Howery burst into the mainstream as a hero. Playing the character who saves the day in Get Out, Lil Rel can see how that role changed everything for him, as he's now the lead in the new movie Uncle Drew and he's putting his life on TV with his own...

• Episode 926 - Dave Itzkoff / Robin Williams from 2010

  New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff came into Robin Williams's life right around the same time Marc talked to Robin for WTF. Dave and Marc share notes on what they learned about this one-of-a-kind comedic performer, how his death affected the wor...

• Episode 925 - Billy Bob Thornton

  Billy Bob Thornton sees himself in a certain way and feels as though the world sees him differently. That's why he feels uncomfortable at parties, uneasy about being a celebrity, and most relaxed when he can retreat into a new role. With Marc's help, Bill...

• Episode 924 - Holly Hunter / Amber Tamblyn

  Holly Hunter left the family farm in Georgia to become an actor. She talks with Marc about her early days in New York, catching the attention of the Coen Brothers as they were on the verge of making their first film, and everything that followed, includin...

• Episode 923 - Bob Balaban

  Bob Balaban was born into show business and he didn't even know it until he was 10. The ubiquitous actor tells Marc how his immigrant family came to Chicago at the turn of the century and broke into the movie business, eventually winding up in charge of P...

• Anthony Bourdain From 2011

  From Episode 233, this is Marc's conversation with Anthony Bourdain, conducted in 2011. Anthony died on June 8, 2018, at age 61. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-po...

• Episode 922 - ​Vanessa Hollingshead

  Vanessa Hollingshead can honestly say that a cruise ship saved her life. She tells Marc what led to a comedy career in the first place after a childhood spent in communes, foster homes, and around lots of grown-ups on acid and other psychedelic drugs. Van...

• Episode 921 - David Harbour

  David Harbour became pretty cynical about the acting profession before landing the star-making role of Jim Hopper on Stranger Things. But he and Marc are in agreement that it was probably better for David to hit it big after four decades of dealing with a...

• Episode 920 - Rachel Brosnahan

  Rachel Brosnahan related to the pressures and insecurities of standup comics when she got the lead role of a 1950s standup in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. That's because she feels constant dread as an actor, going from project to project, always worried it'...

• Episode 919 - Tom Papa

  Tom Papa got the comedy bug early in life but his unconventional path went from football to live theater to standup. Once Tom started writing jokes while working as a security guard, there was no turning back. Tom talks with Marc about the competitive '90...

• Episode 918 - ​Paul Rodriguez

  Paul Rodriguez has always been paying his dues. Even before he paid his dues doing open mics and parking cars at The Comedy Store, he paid his dues growing up in Compton, serving in the Air Force, and struggling with the religious devotion of his family....

• Episode 917 - Neal Brennan

  Nearly seven years after doing an episode of WTF that never aired, Neal Brennan sits down with Marc for a conversation that is probably the one they should have had all those years ago. Neal and Marc talk about how the two of them have changed since then,...

• Episode 916 - Mary Steenburgen

  Mary Steenburgen started out pretty far away from Hollywood, as a young girl in Little Rock, Arkansas, growing up during the era of school desegregation. She fortified herself in that environment before heading out to become an actor, working directly wit...

• Episode 915 - Josh Brolin

  Josh Brolin knows that time and maturity saved his life. Going back to his rebellious youth, Josh can point to many times where he could have been done in, even after he was already a successful actor. Josh and Marc talk about addictive behavior, self-des...

• Episode 914 - Melissa McCarthy

  Before comedy and acting were ever on Melissa McCarthy's radar, she was like a lot midwestern teens trying to find herself. She tells Marc how her cheerleading years were followed by a partially-shaved head and goth makeup. The search for an identity led...

• Episode 913 - Rachel Bloom

  Rachel Bloom is a self-described show pony, a people-pleaser with a lifelong desire to perform as a means of keeping her anxieties at bay. She tells Marc how those impulses pushed her toward musical theater, which in turn led to self-produced music videos...

• Episode 912 - Drew Carey

  Drew Carey was in a bad place. After losing his dad at a young age, suffering through anxiety and depression in high school, confused by the pressures of religion, Drew made a rash decision when he was in college. But it was comedy that pulled him out of...

• Episode 911 - Scott Thomson / Tom Rhodes

  Scott Thompson from The Kids in the Hall isn't too worried about the way of the world these days, mostly because he's been through so much that it all seems like gravy from here out. Scott tells Marc about his recent battle with cancer, his family's tragi...

• Episode 910 - Mandy Stadtmiller

  Writer Mandy Stadtmiller's career as a dating columnist was taking off as her post-divorce social life was filled with late-night excitement and famous hookups. But she also couldn't get off the hamster wheel of trauma and feel better about herself. Mandy...

• Episode 909 - Bradley Whitford

  Bradley Whitford was a huge Key and Peele fanboy who was desperate to work with them. But he didn't know what to think when Jordan Peele asked him if he liked horror movies. It turns out Bradley wound up starring in one of the most talked about movies of...

• Episode 908 - Sam Tripoli

  Sam Tripoli never doubted he would become a comic, so his decision to study psychology was not an attempt to craft a backup plan. Instead he used his psych background to wage mental warfare with his demanding family, temperamental comedy club owners, payi...

• Episode 907 - Aisha Tyler / Louie Anderson

  Aisha Tyler's directorial debut is a film called Axis about a guy who has hit the wall. That's appropriate for Aisha, following several years of big changes in her life. She ended a long marriage, walked away from a comfortable gig on The Talk, and got ri...

• Episode 906 - Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite / E of Eels

  Charlie Musselwhite and Ben Harper are musicians with wildly different backgrounds but a unifying love of the blues. Charlie was there at the birth of rock and roll. Ben grew up immersed in music while his family ran a landmark music store. They tell Marc...

• Episode 905 - Bill Simmons

  Writer, producer and podcast pioneer Bill Simmons is a man whose life, career and worldview have changed in real time with the evolution of Internet. Bill talks with Marc about some of the checkpoints in that evolution, including why he walked away from a...

• Episode 904 - Jason Alexander

  Jason Alexander was one of countless New Jersey kids who couldn't resist the lights of Broadway on the other side of the river. When he became a steady working actor on the New York stage, Jason was totally content with how things turned out. But then he...

• Episode 903 - Neil Patrick Harris / Michael Imperioli

  Neil Patrick Harris credits his New Mexico upbringing with helping him weather the ups and downs of being a child star. It's also something he has in common with Marc. In addition to their memories of being teens in Albuquerque, Neil and Marc talk about D...

• Episode 902 - They Might Be Giants

  John Flansburgh and John Linnell tell Marc the unlikely story of how a couple high school friends became a two-man band at the height of the New Wave performance art era in crime-ridden New York City and somehow carved out four decades of mainstream succe...

• Episode 901 - Sean Penn / Lynn Shelton

  Sean Penn wrote a novel to slow things down. He fell out of love with making movies, he is disillusioned by the culture, and he finds it hard to draw hope from current events. Sean explains to Marc how writing makes him feel like he's not part of the nois...

• Episode 900 - Nick Nolte

  Nick Nolte makes an appropriate guest for the 900th episode of WTF because he clearly has about 900 episodes worth of stories to tell. They can't get to all of them, so Nick tells Marc the ones about football, farming, irrigation, Martin Scorsese, getting...

• Episode 899 - Nell Scovell

  Nell Scovell has written for a Murderers' Row of television comedies - including The Simpsons, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Murphy Brown, and Newhart - created Sabrina the Teenage Witch, wrote for Vanity Fair and Spy Magazine, and co-wrote the mega-hit bo...

• Episode 898 - David Mamet

  David Mamet's love for Chicago shows up all the time in his works, including his new novel which is called, yup, Chicago. The prolific playwright-director-novelist-screenwriter talks with Marc about his Chicago roots and how he learned a lot about drama b...

• Episode 897 - Ted Danson

  Ted Danson is one of the most visible and familiar actors of the past four decades, and yet he still describes himself to Marc as "a phony," "a fraud," "an outsider," someone with "no real talent," and "too chicken" to do theater. Ted explains why such in...

• Episode 896 - David Oyelowo

  David Oyelowo got America’s attention with his instantly-iconic portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the film Selma. But this classically trained actor was making history on stage years prior, becoming the first black actor in the U.K. to play an En...

• Episode 895 - Sharon Stone

  Sharon Stone made a decision after she achieved fame with Basic Instinct. She wanted to build a way forward in Hollywood without being typecast. Sharon tells Marc how she navigated that part of her career, leading to projects like her recent multimedia my...

• Episode 894 - Bill Janovitz / Danny Lobell

  When Marc was a young comic living in Boston, Buffalo Tom was one of his favorite bands. Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz joins Marc in the garage to talk about the band's rise from the pre-Nirvana days of indie rock to a point where huge mainstream suc...

• Episode 893 - Jennifer Lawrence

  Jennifer Lawrence takes a break from being one of the biggest movie stars in the world to stop by the garage and talk with Marc about Kentucky, cats vs. dogs, older brothers, Winter's Bone, The Hunger Games, David O. Russell, Darren Aronofsky, Amy Schumer...

• Episode 892 - Duncan Jones / Brendon Small

  Filmmaker Duncan Jones put his philosophy degree to good use when he started making science fiction films. Now on his fourth one, Duncan tells Marc how he tries to crack life's big questions through sci-fi stories, including Moon and his new movie Mute, w...

• Episode 891 - ​Heather Graham / Sebastian Maniscalco

  Heather Graham had stories she wanted to see made and roles she wanted to play, so she took them into her own hands. As she releases her directorial debut, Half Magic, which she also wrote, Heather talks with Marc about David Lynch, meditation, Drugstore...

• Episode 890 - Gina Rodriguez

  Gina Rodriguez is living the dream with her Golden Globe-winning performance as Jane the Virgin, roles in big Hollywood movies like Annihilation, and new opportunities as both a director and a producer. But she can't stop putting pressure on herself. Gina...

• Episode 889 - Esther Povitsky

  Almost a decade ago, a down-on-his-luck Marc Maron told 20-year-old aspiring comic Esther Povitsky to run far away from The Comedy Store because it would be the death of her. Thankfully, she did not take his advice and they talk about why that place wound...

• Episode 888 - Tracy Letts

  Tracy Letts is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, a Tony Award-winning actor, and someone Marc is nervous about saying hello to when he sees him out in the world. Tracy tries to disabuse Marc of that concern as they talk about the difficult process of w...

• Episode 887 - Riki Lindhome / Laurie Kilmartin

  Show business finally clicked for Riki Lindhome when she started the comedy music duo Garfunkel and Oates with her friend Kate Micucci. It makes sense because, as she tells Marc, she always wanted to perform when she was growing up in Buffalo, catching gl...

• Episode 886 - ​Ezra Furman / David Wain

  Ezra Furman started writing songs when he was 14 years old after hearing Bob Dylan but while still wanting to be a member of Green Day. Ezra tells Marc how those seemingly contradictory preferences took hold in his music and performances, how comedy was h...

• Episode 885 - Rita Moreno

  Rita Moreno is a show business legend with an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony to her name, as well as several lifetime achievement awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She tells Marc about the ups and downs of her 70 year career as a singer,...

• Episode 884 - Don Was

  Bass player and record producer Don Was is a Renaissance man in the music world. Whether he's producing albums for bands like the Rolling Stones or running the jazz label Blue Note Records or playing in his own band Was (Not Was) or directing documentarie...

• Episode 883 - Macaulay Culkin / Cameron Esposito

  Macaulay Culkin considers himself retired, dabbling in whatever he chooses at any given time. It's understandable he would want to settle down, considering he was one of the most famous people on the planet by the age of ten. Mac tells Marc about the stru...

• Episode 882 - Derek Waters

  Derek Waters created Drunk History, but he really doesn't want to know about the darkness that lies in his family history. And while he doesn't have a drinking problem, he's long been plagued by sleep problems. These are just some of the things Marc learn...

• Episode 881 - ​Laurie Metcalf / Tom Segura

  Laurie Metcalf has never been through anything in her acting career like what she's going through now. After four decades of performances on stage and screen, she tells Marc why everything feels different with Lady Bird. They also talk about Laurie helpin...

• Episode 880 - Richard Jenkins

  Richard Jenkins is one of the great character actors working today but he was a late starter in show business. As he continues to rack up awards and accolades for his performances, including his latest in The Shape of Water, Richard reflects on the early...

• Episode 879 - Fortune Feimster

  Comedian and actor Fortune Feimster joins Marc in the garage fresh off getting engaged to her girlfriend, which feels pretty far away from the young Southern girl who didn't come out as a lesbian or perform comedy until she was in her mid-20s. Fortune tel...

• Episode 878 - Ta-Nehisi Coates

  Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of America's most celebrated and insightful writers. But there's part of him that would be fine with it all going away. Marc and Ta-Nehisi talk about the impulse to pull back when things start to get good, the burden of being treat...

• Episode 877 - Marc's Family

  Ring in the New Year with the Maron Family. Marc takes a trip back to some of the earliest episodes of WTF to hear classic interactions with his father, mother, and brother, all of whom help explain how and why Marc got to where he's at now. From his dad'...

• Episode 876 - Michael Marcus / Dr. Steve

  Marc closes out 2017 with some old friends. Author Michael Marcus might not have made it to the garage if his life had continued the way it was going. He talks with Marc about his days of criminal behavior, addiction and eventual sober living, all of whic...

• Episode 875 - WTF Shows of Christmas Past

  For Christmas Day, Marc presents a look back at some holiday moments from the earliest years of WTF. First, hear Todd Glass and Marc talk about the perils of going home for the holidays. Then some highlights from the 2009 live WTF Christmas show with Sara...

• Episode 874 - Neal Preston

  Photographer Neal Preston is known for taking some of the most iconic shots of the world's most famous rock musicians. Neal tells Marc how his love of music and love of photography merged when he was in high school, leading to a rock and roll lifestyle fi...

• Episode 873 - Steven Van Zandt

  Steven Van Zandt, a.k.a. Little Steven, is an encyclopedia of rock and roll history. Steven talks with Marc about learning to play music by watching the Beatles, learning to be a performer by watching the Rolling Stones, and using those skills to form a p...

• Episode 872 - Darren Aronofsky

  Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky knows his films are not always crowd pleasers but he also knows exactly what he wants to say. Darren talks with Marc about the universal mysteries that inspire him - from numerology to Old Testament parables to shadowy professio...

• Episode 871 - Loudon Wainwright III / Judd Apatow

  Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III talks life, love and Roman numerals. The prolific musician tells Marc about the heyday of the folk music scene, the late-in-life acting career he didn't expect, and the burden of having talented singer-songwriter ch...

• Episode 870 - James Franco

  At some point after James Franco became a high-profile movie star, he found himself asking, "What if you get everything you want and nothing changes?" As James explains to Marc, that led to a re-engagement with art and academics, a stint on General Hospit...

• Episode 869 - Greta Gerwig

  Like the protagonist of her new film Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig grew up in Sacramento, spent the summer going to the state fair, had a complicated relationship with her mother, and escaped to institutes of higher learning in New York City. Marc and Greta tal...

• Episode 868 - Sam Beam / Bob Saget

  His given name is Sam Beam but he's known in music as Iron & Wine, maker of soulful folk rock. Marc finds Sam to be a thoughtful son of the South who let his early interests in avant-garde photography, filmmaking and artwork open the door to a career in m...

• Episode 867 - Rob Huebel

  Rob Huebel and Marc start a new podcast within this podcast. It's a show called Contact List and they're pretty sure it makes them sound like jerks. But before that, Rob tells Marc about getting started in comedy during the early days of the UCB Theater,...

• Episode 866 - Jimmie Vaughan / Kasper Collin & Bennie Maupin

  It's an extra helping of music talk for Thanksgiving. First Marc sits down with filmmaker Kasper Collin and jazz musician Bennie Maupin to talk about the documentary I Called Him Morgan, which deals with the life, love and murder of jazz trumpeter Lee Mor...

• Episode 865 - Christina Pazsitzky

  For Christina Pazsitzky, comedy was finally something she enjoyed doing after burning through twenty-two different jobs in the course of four years. She talks with Marc about her troubled teen years, her ineffectual degree in philosophy, her general post-...

• Episode 864 - Lawrence O'Donnell

  Lawrence O'Donnell is on MSNBC every weeknight talking about the chaos and tumult of uncertain times. He's no stranger to historic national turbulence, as he came of age in the Vietnam Era and received his draft notice shortly before the U.S. withdrawal....

• Episode 863 - Kim Deal

  As a member of The Pixies and The Breeders, Kim Deal is already a rock legend. But she was also a backup singer in a disco band with her twin sister Kelley and a budding cellular biologist with a degree in Medical Technology. Kim talks with Marc about all...

• Episode 862 - John Dwyer

  Whether you call his band Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, or OCS, there's no denying John Dwyer's prolific musical output. From garage bands in Providence to noise rock in San Francisco to his current jam in Los Angeles, John has been doing it his own way, includi...

• Episode 861 - Jenna Fischer

  Jenna Fischer came to Los Angeles when she was 22 with no contacts, no guidance, and no idea of what it meant to sink or swim in show business. Now with a successful acting career and a long-running role as the beloved Pam on The Office, Jenna wants aspir...

• Episode 860 - John Hammond / Michael Rapaport

  John Hammond was kid from New York with a dad in the music industry, so it's no surprise he became a recording artist. But it was a bit unexpected that he became obsessed with the Blues at an early age. As one of the premiere Blues artists of the past six...

• Episode 859 - Joy Behar / Adam Goldberg

  Joy Behar was already a successful comic when she became a co-host on The View. But before she was a comic, she had already been a teacher, raised a daughter, and worked on staff at Good Morning America. Joy talks with Marc about the many chapters of her...

• Episode 858 - Lizzy Goodman / Dana Gould

  Marc completely missed the era of music that writer Lizzy Goodman chronicles in her book 'Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011.' But as Lizzy explains to Marc, that era is just one chapter in the larger New York cu...

• Episode 857 - Willem Dafoe

  Actor Willem Dafoe might have had a hard time standing out while he was growing up as the seventh of eight kids. But he found a way to express himself performing in community plays, which led to the pursuit of stage acting and an embrace of the avant-gard...

• Episode 856 - Bassem Youssef / Sam Seder

  Bassem Youssef was a surgeon in Egypt who started doing a YouTube show from his house and eventually became the most popular television personality in his country, doing what people called "The Egyptian Daily Show." Bassem talks with Marc about using come...

• Episode 855 - Tracey Ullman

  On a list of the world's funniest people, Tracey Ullman ranks pretty high. But Tracey tells Marc she doesn't consider herself a comedian or a comic, but rather a character actor. The fact that she started performing as a way to cheer up her widowed mother...

• Episode 854 - Marilyn Manson

  Despite being born Brian Warner, Marilyn Manson doesn't separate his stage persona from who he is as a person. That makes for an interesting chat with Marc in the garage. Marilyn talks about his early years getting kicked out of Christian school, being be...

• Episode 853 - Jeff Bridges / Beau Bridges

  It just so happens that Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges are both in new movies at the same time (Only the Brave and The Mountain Between Us, respectively). So it's as good a time as any to have the two brothers in the garage for separate chats. First, Beau...

• Episode 852 - Waiting For The Punch

  Marc presents a special audio version of the first chapter of Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live by from the WTF Podcast. This chapter features thirty WTF guests talking with Marc about growing up. Hear from Conan O'Brien, Sir Ian McKellen, Kevin Hart,...

• Episode 851 - Elliot Gould

  Elliot Gould was at the vanguard of American New Wave Cinema in the 1970s, but he tells Marc there were two enemies always working to diminish his potential: ego and vanity. On the cusp of launching a new network sitcom, 9JKL, Elliott talks about his earl...

• Episode 850 - Tom Colicchio

  Top Chef's Tom Colicchio discovered a passion for cooking at a young age, thanks to a book his corrections officer father found in a prison library. Even now as a celebrity chef, with restaurants around the country, Tom still marvels at the simplicity of...

• Episode 849 - Pete Davidson

  Saturday Night Live's "Resident Young Person" Pete Davidson might be the only member of the SNL cast who knew about the show exclusively through YouTube clips. Pete tells Marc how he landed the show just shortly after graduating high school, how he surviv...

• Episode 848 - George Schlatter

  Television comedy impresario George Schlatter created Laugh In at the peak of cultural upheaval in 20th Century America. He tells Marc why he linked the rebellious youth movement of the '60s to a buttoned-up style firmly rooted in the history of show busi...

• Episode 847 - Lee Daniels

  Lee Daniels got his start in show business by running a nursing agency. That may seem unusual but the road to success for the producer-writer-director behind Precious, The Butler and Empire has always been unorthodox. As Lee tells Marc, the sideways natur...

• Episode 846 - Kathy Bates / Graham Elwood

  Kathy Bates hammered her way into movie and pop culture history with her Oscar-winning performance in Misery. Kathy tells Marc why acting never seemed like an option when she was younger, what she learned working with colleagues like Dustin Hoffman, Jessi...

• Episode 845 - Ken Burns & Lynn Novick

  Ken Burns and his frequent collaborator Lynn Novick have made indelible documentaries about American life, on subjects like jazz, baseball, the Civil War, and World War II. Their latest film is a ten-part examination of the Vietnam War, and Marc talks wit...

• Episode 844 - Lorde

  Not every global pop superstar would feel at home in Marc's garage, but Lorde isn't your average global pop superstar. The singer-songwriter takes some time before kicking off her worldwide Melodrama tour to talk with Marc about her life in New Zealand, h...

• Episode 843 - ​Warren Hutcherson

  Warren Hutcherson and Marc were getting their starts in standup around the same time. Then, as Marc recalls it, Warren was suddenly a television writer and wasn't on the standup scene anymore. Warren explains how his college-age writing was responsible fo...

• Episode 842 - Steve Jordan

  Steve Jordan is considered one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time. He joins Marc in the garage to talk about his years playing in the house bands for David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, which included being part of The Blues Brothers'...

• Episode 841 - Jay Baruchel

  Actor Jay Baruchel takes the trip down from Canada to talk with Marc about life, acting and the Great White North. Jay explains what it was like being raised in a family that was righteously engaged in politics while also beset by criminal activity and al...

• Episode 840 - Alice Cooper

  Marc gets the full story of how Vincent Furnier became Alice Cooper and took rock & roll into dark and unexpected territory. Alice tells Marc about the early formation of his band, how his return to Christianity helped him confront his alcoholism, and how...

• Episode 839 - Brent Weinbach / Ms. Pat

  First things first: Brent Weinbach and Marc need to have a good conversation about crying. Once that's out of the way, the two of them figure out how Brent's performance-based comedy, filled with multiple characters and flights of absurdity, is connected...

• Episode 838 - Jennifer Jason Leigh

  To prepare for this conversation, Marc watched one of Jennifer Jason Leigh's earliest films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as well as her most recent, the crime thriller Good Time. The details of what happened in between help explain why Jennifer is one o...

• Episode 837 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Phil Stutz

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players ever, but he's happy if you know him as a writer, a cultural critic, an activist, a chronicler of African-American history, an actor, an ambassador, and a coin collector. Kareem and Marc talk a...

• Episode 836 - Mike MacDonald / Jon Ronson

  Canadian comic Mike MacDonald survived four decades in comedy, drug abuse, Sam Kinison, chronic illness, psych wards, and a liver transplant to make it to the garage. Mike takes Marc through his early days doing comedy in Canadian punk rock clubs up to hi...

• Episode 835 - The Lucas Brothers

  Keith and Kenny Lucas are identical twins and Marc is freaking out at how similar they are. Well, freaking a little bit anyway, but only at first because once the three of them get talking it's hard not to be taken with the Lucas Brothers' story. They tal...

• Episode 834 - Rory Scovel / Maz Jobrani

  Rory Scovel is from the South, he was born into a legacy of postal workers, and one of his first jobs was in production at a local TV station. It's all great background material for a comedy career, which is probably why Rory and Marc have such a thorough...

• Episode 833 - Al Gore

  Former Vice President Al Gore has been thinking about change his whole life, whether it was the way the changing media shaped our politics or the way a changing climate altered the way we live on this planet. He talks with Marc about our current political...

• Episode 832 - David Alan Grier / Joe Mande

  David Alan Grier studied to become a serious actor at Yale School of Drama, which actually came in handy when he got cast on one of the funniest shows of all time, In Living Color. David talks with Marc about his varied career on stage, screen and in the...

• Episode 831 - Randy Newman

  Marc believes - and many agree with him - that Randy Newman is an American genius. One person who's not so sure is Randy himself who, after half a century as a recording artist, 13 solo albums, 23 soundtracks, six Grammys, two Oscars and induction into th...

• Episode 830 - David Remnick

  David Remnick is a seasoned journalist, an accomplished writer and a proud amateur guitar player. But he's also the gatekeeper of an American institution as editor of The New Yorker. Marc and David talk about the versatility of The New Yorker's content, f...

• Episode 829 - Edie Falco

  With indelible roles in shows like The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, and Horace and Pete, a lot of people feel like they know Edie Falco very well, even though they only know her characters. Edie helps Marc dispel some of these preconceived notions by discussin...

• Episode 828 - Keb' Mo' / Taj Mahal

  Blues legends Keb' Mo' and Taj Mahal are distinctly different individuals. One grew up in Compton, California, the other grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. One was raised on Caribbean music, the other got schooled in the Southern Blues. One is quiet a...

• Episode 827 - Glow Writers & Creators

  Give a listen to how the sausage of television gets made as Marc talks with the creative team behind the show GLOW. First, hear about the process of scripting a season of television as a group from the show's writers, Rachel Shukert, Nick Jones and Sascha...

• Episode 826 - Jeff Baena / Dave Anthony

  Filmmaker Jeff Baena was always into movies that didn't fit into easy categories. He tells Marc about having his mind blown at an early age thanks to directors like Kubrick and Fellini, which helps explain how Jeff could wind up writing a screenplay like...

• Episode 825 - Kia Stevens / Chavo Guerrero Jr.

  It's a tag team match with two of Marc's GLOW colleagues. First, Chavo Guerrero Jr. stops by to tell Marc what it's like to be part of a wrestling dynasty and how he put his lifetime of experience to use as the behind-the-scenes trainer on GLOW. Then Kia...

• Episode 824 - Jason Mantzoukas

  Jason Mantzoukas is a great improvisational comedian, which you would know from seeing him in shows like The League, on podcasts like How Did This Get Made? and in movies like The House. As he explains to Marc, it was only after undertaking a global music...

• Episode 823 - Jenji Kohan

  Even when she was in school, Jenji Kohan didn't like being told what she couldn't do. So it makes sense that after she was told there was no chance she'd ever get on a TV writing staff, Jenji would make the hit shows Weeds, Orange is the New Black and now...

• Episode 822 - Sofia Coppola

  Despite a surname that is practically synonymous with modern American cinema, Sofia Coppola didn't want to be a film director. She tells Marc about her early career ambitions and how they inevitably led her into the family business. The two of them also d...

• Episode 821 - Alison Brie & Betty Gilpin

  Marc sits down with his coworkers Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin to take stock of the time they spent shooting the first season of the new Netflix series GLOW and to learn a bit more about each other now that they're not in character anymore. They also disc...

• Episode 820 - Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon / Jim Florentine

  Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon are married. They also wrote the movie The Big Sick, which is based on their lives and in which Kumail plays himself. Marc also wrote an episode of television that was based on Kumail, only Kumail did not play himself. The...

• Episode 819 - Ariel Leve / Wheeler Walker, Jr.

  When Marc crossed paths with writer Ariel Leve back in the '90s, she was working at MTV and on the verge of making a splash as a print journalist. Ariel didn't know she would soon uncover the trauma inflicted by her gaslighting mother. As Ariel tells Marc...

• Episode 818 - Marc Mulcahy / Phil Elverum

  It's a doubleheader of singer-songwriters who are separated by several years but tied together by similar tragedies that reshaped their lives and their art. First, Phil Elverum of The Microphones and Mount Eerie tells Marc why he urgently needed to write...

• Episode 817 - Lesley Stahl / Demetri Martin

  Marc interviews an interviewer when Lesley Stahl spends 60 minutes in the garage. The veteran journalist tells Marc what it was like to cover Watergate, interview U.S. Presidents, report on the struggles of real people, confront the changing nature of jou...

• Episode 816 - Senator Al Franken

  Marc travels to Washington, DC for a conversation with his old radio co-worker who now happens to be a United States Senator. Al Franken takes Marc through his start in comedy with Tom Davis, his fifteen years at SNL and his emergence as a political leade...

• Episode 815 - Jake Fogelnest / Ron Funches

  Jake Fogelnest was a teenager with a public access show who was thrust into a high-profile MTV gig and before too long was in rehab for drug addiction. Now Jake's a successful writer and show runner but it all started out with him as a 10-year-old comedy...

• Episode 814 - Danny Fields / J Mascis

  Danny Fields is a music manager, a publicist, a magazine editor, a writer, and a conduit to some of the greatest artists ever, including Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, the Doors, the Ramones, and many others. Danny takes Marc through a his experienc...

• Episode 813 - Griffin Dunne / Bill Burr

  Griffin Dunne caught the acting bug at a young age and had early success with movies like American Werewolf in London and After Hours. But tragedy struck when his career was ascendant and his whole family channeled grief into activism. Griffin tells Marc...

• Episode 812 - AJ Mendez Brooks / Fred Stoller

  As AJ Lee, she was a larger than life superhero who won the WWE women's wrestling championship three times. But as AJ Mendez Brooks, she spent most of her life coping with mental illness. AJ tells Marc why she decided to open up about her struggles now th...

• Episode 811 - Joel Hodgson / Jonah Ray

  Joel Hodgson took his Midwestern sensibility, his interest in theater of the absurd, his standup comedy experience, and his robot assembly skills, put them together and created the beloved comedy institution Mystery Science Theater 3000. Joel takes Marc t...

• Episode 810 - Kevin Bacon

  Kevin Bacon started his career with an awkward experience on the set of Animal House. Then his fear of becoming a major star after Footloose led him to self-sabotage. It wasn't until he rejected Hollywood's idea of being a leading man and embraced being a...

• Episode 809 - John Michael Higgins / Maria Bamford

  John Michael Higgins is instantly familiar to audiences after seeing him in the Christopher Guest movies and Pitch Perfect and so many other films and TV shows. But he and Marc discover in the middle of their conversation that they actually share a comedy...

• Episode 808 - Wendi McLendon-Covey / Al Madrigal

  Wendi McLendon-Covey may have found success with The Goldbergs and Bridesmaids but the Hollywood lifestyle was never her thing. As she tells Marc, Wendi lived at home with her parents until she was 26, worked at a hotel in Anaheim while she was in the Gro...

• Episode 807 - Mark Mothersbaugh

  Although Mark Mothersbaugh co-founded Devo, he didn't think it was a band at first. To Mark and his bandmates, Devo was an art movement. Mark sits down in the garage to talk about his upbringing in Akron, attending Kent State University when the National...

• Episode 806 - Mark Lanegan / Mac DeMarco

  Mark Lanegan is the soft-spoken elder statesman of the '90s Seattle grunge scene. Marc Maron talks with the former frontman of Screaming Trees and finds out how Mark went on to collaborate with a wide variety of artists, from Guns N' Roses to Belle and Se...

• Episode 805 - Walter Hill

  Poor health kept Walter Hill out of the Army in the '60s, but that twist of fate led him into filmmaking during the tumultuous end of that decade. Walter tells Marc about being there for the major shift in cinema during the '70s, making his own influentia...

• Episode 804 - Amanda Peet / W. Kamau Bell

  Marc is a fan of Amanda Peet when she's playing funny, quirky characters, like in Togetherness or Brockmire, and when she's cold-hearted and mean, like in Changing Lanes or Syriana. He finds out in person if those two sides of Amanda come to the surface i...

• Episode 803 - Baron Vaughn / Moshe Kasher

  Baron Vaughn knows that growing up without a father and sharing a bunk bed with grandma can ignite the comedy spark. He tells Marc about being a latchkey kid watching cable TV and drawing inspiration from the black comedians of the early '90s. With a succ...

• Episode 802 - Michael Chiklis / Kurt Braunohler & Lauren Cook

  It turns out Michael Chiklis and Marc went to Boston University at the same time, but soon after school Michael got cast as John Belushi in the movie Wired, which almost ended his career on the spot. Michael talks about how he bounced back with The Commis...

• Episode 801 - Anne Hathaway / Aimee Mann

  Marc tries not to fanboy out too much with Anne Hathaway in the garage. While he attempts to keep it together, they talk about her path from party girl to motherhood, the lessons gleaned from messed up relationships, dealing with the aggressive anonymity...

• Episode 800 - Jeff Ross

  For the 800th episode of WTF, Marc welcomes back the show's very first guest, Jeff Ross. Just as WTF evolved since that first episode in 2009, Jeff evolved from the Roastmaster General to a comedian using his talent as a put-down artist in order to help u...

• Episode 799 - Jason Zinoman / Hank Azaria

  New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman is the one person analyzing comedy from the most prominent journalistic platform in the world. So naturally Jason and Marc would want to talk about the nuts and bolts of creating comedy and, very specifically, th...

• Episode 798 - Paul Beatty / Jackie Kashian

  Marc was blown away by author Paul Beatty's celebrated novel The Sellout and wanted to know how a writer can turn a stew of ideas about identity, race, pride, language and representation into a provocative and hilarious book. Paul visits the garage to pro...

• Episode 797 - Paul Shaffer

  Paul Shaffer takes Marc down the path that turned a piano-playing kid from Canada into a keyboard-for-hire who became the bandleader for the famous Toronto production of Godspell. And from there, the dominoes fell, as Paul joined the SNL band, the Blues B...

• Episode 796 - Reza Aslan

  Religious scholar Reza Aslan has spent his life studying the facts and misconceptions about belief and the evolutionary reasons people need to believe in something larger than themselves. Beginning with his family fleeing a religious revolution in Iran, t...

• Episode 795 - Paul Rust / Dax Shepard

  Actor and writer Paul Rust knew how to be funny as a kid growing up in Iowa and struggling with OCD. But he tells Marc it was his knack for taking intense, borderline-unspeakable risks on stage when he got to LA that caught the attention of people like Sc...

• Episode 794 - Louis Theroux

  Filmmaker Louis Theroux once tried to make a documentary featuring Marc but he never used the footage. Marc's been puzzled by that ever since, but when you look at the subjects of many Louis docs - addicts, criminals, hate mongers, pornographers - Marc mi...

• Episode 793 - Kevin Nealon

  Kevin Nealon is trying a new approach to life in order to be less of a people pleaser and to allow himself some anger from time to time. But Kevin is able to keep that anger at bay while he tells Marc about heading to LA during the '70s comedy boom, worki...

• Episode 792 - Fred Melamed / Andy Kindler

  Fred Melamed is instantly familiar, not only because of his scene-stealing performances in the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man and Maria Bamford's Lady Dynamite, but because he is an indelible New York character. But that familiarity came with a price, as 20...

• Episode 791 - Eugene Levy

  Eugene Levy brings more than five decades of comedy history from north of the border into the garage. He tells Marc about his early days as a college student in Canada hanging out with Martin Short, Ivan Reitman, and Catherine O'Hara, performing in a fabl...

• Episode 790 - Jennifer Coolidge

  Whether you see her in Christopher Guest's movies or on 2 Broke Girls or as Stifler's mom, Jennifer Coolidge is always a unique comic presence. She tells Marc how she put her wild New York City cocaine days behind her to come to LA and join the Groundling...

• Episode 789 - Raoul Peck

  Filmmaker Raoul Peck spent more than a decade putting together the documentary I Am Not Your Negro, a powerful film illuminating the words and life of writer and social critic James Baldwin. But as Marc learns in this conversation, Raoul’s own backstory o...

• Episode 788 - Norah Jones / Pete Holmes

  Singer-songwriter Norah Jones can float between multiple genres of music with ease, whether it’s jazz or standards or country or acoustic pop. That's not surprising when you consider how she was influenced by her Texas roots, her early piano playing, perf...

• Episode 787 - Trae Crowder / Lena Dunham

  Comedian Trae Crowder does not shy away from his Southern upbringing, in which he saw economic devastation and drug abuse lay waste to several generations around him. But in defiance of the stereotypes some might assign to him, Trae finds himself being ca...

• Episode 786 - Will Arnett

  Unfolding world events are messing with Will Arnett and Marc as they sit in the garage, but they won't let the existential terror stop them from tracking Will's path and finding out how growing up in Toronto, getting kicked out of school, becoming a voice...

• Episode 785 - Ryan Adams

  Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams knows there's a stark difference between the way he views the work throughout his career and the popular perception of it. Whether it's his years in Whiskeytown or his song New York, New York becoming a rallying cry after 9-11...

• Episode 784 - Steve Jones / Jed Maheu

  If Steve Jones was going to start a band after a troubled upbringing filled with petty crime, it makes sense that the band wound up being the Sex Pistols. Steve takes Marc through the formation of the band, the rocket ride to the top and the just-as-fast...

• Episode 783 - Bill Paxton / Dylan Brody

  If Bill Paxton hadn't suffered from rheumatic fever when he was growing up in Texas, he might not be in show business. Bill tells Marc some great stories about some of his most memorable work in things like Weird Science, Aliens, Big Love, and his new TV...

• Episode 782 - Joe DeRosa / John Hodgman & Jesse Thorn

  Marc had prejudged comedian Joe DeRosa. He thought he was a Philly tough guy who wouldn't want to have anything to do with a guy like Marc. Now that they're friends and realize how similar they are, they can commiserate about the insecurities and doubt th...

• Episode 781 - Robbie Robertson

  Robbie Robertson is in the garage to give Marc the full lowdown on the history of The Band, from its origins as a backing group to its final bow with The Last Waltz. Robbie talks about being with Bob Dylan when he went electric and dealing with the blowba...

• Episode 780 - Jonathan Daniel / Nick Thune

  How did an '80s glam metal bassist become one of the most prominent music managers in the industry, representing Sia, Weezer, Train, Courtney Love, Fall Out Boy, Lorde, and many others? Marc hears one of the most unlikely stories of show business success...

• Episode 779 - Martin Landau

  Martin Landau is an Oscar-winning actor with a lifetime of work on film, TV, and stage. But he's also one of the foremost educators on his craft. Martin takes Marc through his early days in New York City at The Actors Studio studying under Lee Strasberg a...

• Episode 778 - Martha Kelly / Bruce Talk with Dan Pashman

  Comedian Martha Kelly told Zach Galifianakis she cannot act. That didn't stop Zach from casting her as one of the leads on his show Baskets, but Martha's insecurity plagued her throughout life and, as she tells Marc, probably had something to do with her...

• Episode 777 - ​John Larroquette

  John Larroquette knows that people still identify him most strongly with Night Court, and he's okay with that. John believes things would have been different if he hadn't made his character, Dan Fielding, endearing beneath his cynical exterior. John and M...

• Episode 776 - Roger Corman / G.J. Echternkamp

  Roger Corman made hundreds of films and gave huge opportunities to filmmakers who became the best Hollywood has to offer. Now, at 90 years old, Roger joins Marc to look back at his career of high concepts and low budgets. Plus, hear from a young director,...

• Episode 775 - James Hetfield

  Before James Hetfield formed Metallica, his musical awareness was shaped in equal parts by classical music, Aerosmith, and the desire to kill disco. James talks with Marc about the band's continued growth, his recovery from not only addiction but also ang...

• Episode 774 - ​Martha Plimpton / Laurie Kilmartin

  Martha Plimpton says she learned how to act on the job. She talks with Marc about her childhood roles in movies like The Goonies, how those paved the way for her work on Broadway, and what she does to overcome crippling stage fright. Plus, Marc's friend L...

• Episode 773 - Bruce Springsteen

  Marc leaves the cozy confines of the garage and heads to New Jersey (where else?) to talk with The Boss. Just two Jersey guys hanging out, talking about dads, depression, fear, fulfillment, and the future. Bruce tells Marc how and why he constructed "Bruc...

• Episode 772 - David Bromberg

  Singer-songwriter David Bromberg is a human bridge between at least a half-dozen different styles of music. David and Marc talk about the pivotal evolution of modern music, as folk transitioned into rock, and all the people David worked with over the year...

• Episode 771 - Sammy Shore

  Marc makes a pilgrimage to Las Vegas for a sit-down with Sammy Shore, a comic with a long show business life that doesn't quite have the ending he planned on. Sammy tells Marc about starting his career as Shecky Greene's partner, becoming the opening act...

• WTF Uncovered - Live At Now Hear This

  It's not entirely accurate to say this episode has never been heard by anyone before. About 700 people were in the room at the Now Hear This podcast festival in Anaheim this past October to hear Marc and his producer Brendan McDonald reveal the secrets be...

• Episode 770 - Derek Trucks

  A lot of former child stars have been in the garage, but Derek Trucks wasn't so much a child star as he was a prodigy. At the age of nine, Derek was a guitar wizard. He talks with Marc about avoiding the pitfall of becoming a novelty act and evolving into...

• Episode 769 - Annette Bening

  Annette Bening attributes her longevity in acting to stopping when she wanted. She talks with Marc about being able to put the brakes on her career when dealing with the responsibilities of parenting. They also talk about privacy, winning (or not winning)...

• WTF Uncovered - The Lost Marc and Tom Show

  Every so often Marc gets together with Tom Scharpling of The Best Show to figure out life's big questions. They record these conversations and release them as The Marc and Tom Show. This one was recorded almost four years ago and was never released. For t...

• Episode 768 - Billy West

  Comedian Billy West is a master of voices and one of the preeminent voiceover artists working today. Billy tells Marc about his need to escape into characters while growing up in a chaotic home. It was a retreat from reality that led to success later in l...

• Episode 767 - Casey Affleck

  Casey Affleck says he doesn't want fame or stardom. So how's he handling it now that the spotlight keeps getting hotter? Casey talks with Marc about growing up in Massachusetts, maturing as an actor, living in the public eye, having kids, dealing with an...

• WTF Uncovered - Jerry Lewis

  In September 2016, Marc recorded a conversation with the legendary Jerry Lewis. Until now, no one has heard it other than those in the room. This was supposed to be a full-length episode of WTF, but the interview was compromised and there were no plans to...

• Episode 766 - Shane Mauss

  Comedian Shane Mauss saw his career gathering steam only to stall out and make him feel like opportunities were passing him by. Then an accident that left him with two broken feet coincided with another journey. One that involves neuroscience, psychedelic...

• Episode 765 - Dana Carvey

  As Dana Carvey puts it, he gave a Heisman to fame, essentially putting himself on the sidelines of showbiz for 15 years. Dana and Marc talk about the string of events that happened after SNL and Wayne's World that prompted Dana to reevaluate what's import...

• WTF Uncovered - Maria Bamford

  We go back into the WTF Shoebox Vault to find another unaired pilot for The Marc Maron Show in Los Angeles from 2006. This time the guest was comedian Maria Bamford, the sidekick was still Jim Earl, and the investigative reporter was Eddie Pepitone. The o...

• Episode 764 - The Handsome Family / Sam Pollard

  Gothic folk duo The Handsome Family meet up with Marc while he's in Albuquerque to talk about American roots music, carnival sideshows, meeting your heroes, and dealing with bipolarity. But first, documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard joins Marc in the garage...

• Episode 763 - Joe Matarese

  Comedian Joe Matarese has struggled with bouts of rage, anxiety, and paralyzing indecisiveness. As he tells Marc, Joe is correcting these problems through medication, therapy, help from his wife, and inspiration from one particular episode of WTF. Joe als...

• WTF Uncovered - Patton Oswalt

  This limited series dives deep into the WTF Vault (aka a shoebox under producer Brendan McDonald's bed) to present lost Marc Maron material that has never been heard by anyone else. In this episode, hear an unaired test show Marc and Brendan created ten y...

• Episode 762 - Scott Fagan

  Singer-songwriter Scott Fagan created a beautiful album in 1968, called South Atlantic Blues. But things didn't go the way they were supposed to. Scott talks with Marc about why the album and his career fizzled, how they were both resurrected, and how he...

• Episode 761 - Michael Shannon

  Michael Shannon cuts a pretty intimidating figure on stage and screen. The combination of his Southern upbringing and his early-career immersion into the Chicago theater scene probably accounts for much of his intensity. Michael and Marc talk about his ex...

• Episode 760 - Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain / Andre Royo

  Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain wrote a book that changed Marc's life. On the 20-year anniversary of 'Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk,' Legs and Gillian tell Marc why they wrote it in the first place and why it still resonates two decade...

• Episode 759 - Lin-Manuel Miranda

  Lin-Manuel Miranda is not only the creator of Hamilton and In The Heights, he's also a long-time WTFer. So he's well prepared to get into everything with Marc during a visit to the garage, including his multicultural upbringing, his early exposure to both...

• Episode 758 - Shep Gordon

  Talent manager Shep Gordon had no real interest in pop music. He was a young hippie making money dealing drugs to rock stars. Shep tells Marc how he transitioned into a life of management and production with an eclectic group of clients including Alice Co...

• Episode 757 - Sam Quinones

  On the eve of the U.S. Presidential Election, you owe it to yourself to hear this conversation between Marc and journalist Sam Quinones. Sam's travels in Mexico and his curiosity about the epidemic of opiate addiction in America led him to discover how ch...

• Episode 756 - Paul Major & Jesper Eklow (Endless Boogie)

  Endless Boogie was never supposed to become a band. It was made up of some guys who worked at Matador Records, one in particular who loved to collect old vinyl. Frontman Paul Major and guitarist Jesper Eklow tell Marc what it took to put the mother of all...

• Episode 755 - Roger Waters

  Roger Waters wrote songs that changed rock and roll, organized them in ways that changed how albums were made, and performed them in ways that changed how concerts were staged. The Pink Floyd frontman tells Marc why he only now feels like he's getting it...

• Episode 754 - Ron Howard

  Ron Howard knows the key to longevity in show business. He should, considering his evolution from child actor to sitcom star to award-winning director to highly respected producer. Ron divulges that key to Marc, and also talks about his experiences with J...

• Episode 753 - Sarah Jessica Parker

  Sarah Jessica Parker started her acting career at age 11 working with Harold Pinter on Broadway. That would be enough for most people, but it only got better from there. With a new show on HBO called 'Divorce,' Sarah Jessica and Marc talk about her career...

• Episode 752 - Ritch Shydner / Anthony Bourdain

  Comedian Ritch Shydner is a true road warrior who made his reputation during the comedy club boom of the 1980s. Ritch talks with Marc about diving into the deep end of stand-up comedy, getting out entirely, and then coming out of retirement after more tha...

• The Marc and Tom Show #4

  It's been almost four years since the last Marc and Tom Show. After countless hours helping each other figure out what's going on, they're now facing something different: What happens when you might be winning? What's happens after the fight is over?...

• Episode 751 - David Crosby

  David Crosby readily admits that he probably shouldn't be alive. Drug addiction, alcoholism, and health issues have taken their toll but have not knocked David out. He's still making music and going out on tour, but he had a little time to talk with Marc...

• Episode 750 - Margo Price

  Singer-songwriter Margo Price entered the garage on a wave of acclaim and notoriety that is rare for an artist with only one album. But Margo's country music bona fides are not in doubt. Despite her modest origin as a young Midwestern cheerleader and danc...

• Episode 749 - Larry Clark

  Larry Clark does not consider himself a photographer and he explains to Marc why he doesn't. But that didn't stop a young Marc Maron from being drawn to Larry's raw, unflinching photos and his uncompromising art. Larry talks with Marc about his photograph...

• Episode 748 - Hutch Harris/A Pashman Interlude

  When Marc first saw Hutch Harris perform live with his band The Thermals, he was won over immediately and invented a whole mythology around who Hutch Harris must be. But as Hutch tells Marc, he was just a kid who wanted to start a band and did it with tal...

• Episode 747 - Rachel Feinstein

  Comedian Rachel Feinstein has conquered one of the most difficult spaces in the comedy world: The back table at The Comedy Cellar in New York. You better be able to give as good as you get if you sit there. Rachel talks to Marc about her early years of li...

• Episode 746 - John Prine

  If you're wondering how John Prine, one of America's greatest living songwriters, came up with such great lyrics, just look to your mailbox. John tells Marc how his days as a mailman provided him time to ruminate on music, which led to his discovery by Kr...

• Episode 745 - Katie Couric

  America is plenty familiar with Katie Couric in the role of interviewer. But what about when the roles are reversed? Marc finds out why Katie got into journalism and gets her take on the notable moments of her career, including her live coverage of the 9/...

• Episode 744 - Kamasi Washington / Ben Ratliff

  It's Jazz Fest at The Cat Ranch. First, Kamasi Washington tells Marc how an Inglewood kid growing up in the early 90s wound up at the forefront of a modern jazz revolution, including groundbreaking work with Kendrick Lamar and his own massive debut album,...

• Episode 743 - Geoff Tate / Nick Kroll & John Mulaney

  Comedian Geoff Tate always found it a little odd that Marc needed to squash so many beefs with other comics, because the two of them hit it off so well. Marc and Geoff explore the shared parental connection that helped them relate to each other and also g...

• Episode 742 - Chris Garcia

  Comedian Chris Garcia thought his upbringing was fairly typical as the son of first-generation immigrants, with stories and experiences that paved the way nicely for a career in comedy. But Chris tells Marc that a recent trip to Cuba and the discoveries m...

• Episode 741 - Ron Perlman

  Actor Ron Perlman is often buried under layers of makeup, whether he's playing Hellboy or the Beast or some other humanoid oddity. But Ron's not hiding anything when he joins Marc in the garage, revealing his heartfelt thoughts on the entertainment busine...

• Episode 740 - Billy Crystal

  Billy Crystal's early love of show business put him on the path to standup comedy, which in turn got him on TV shows like Soap and SNL. Marc talks with Billy about his own show business footprint, including movies like When Harry Met Sally, Mr. Saturday N...

• Episode 739 - Joseph Arthur / Peter Bebergal

  Joseph Arthur faced some of the same struggles as Marc even though he's a musician and artist, not a comedian. Joseph and Marc talk about the false starts, the friendships with heroes like Lou Reed and Peter Gabriel, and the challenge of feeling okay with...

• Episode 738 - Laura Albert & Jeff Feuerzeig

  Whether you know the story of JT LeRoy or not, you certainly haven't heard an episode of WTF like this. First, Marc talks with filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig about documenting the rise and fall of literary phenom JT LeRoy, a celebrated young man who was later r...

• Episode 737 - Robert Kelly

  Robert Kelly is at the point in his comedy career where he can't help thinking about what's next. He's on the FX television show Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, he's touring all over the country, he has a great family, and yet he keeps wondering what happens if it a...

• Episode 736 - Gad Elmaleh

  Gad Elmaleh is a mega-successful international comedian and actor. Now he's basically starting from scratch to perfect his act in America, not in his native French but in English. Marc and Gad talk about the challenge of doing comedy in another language a...

• Episode 735 - Alan Alda

  Alan Alda always strives to play someone different. He takes Marc through the many characters he's created, from Hawkeye to Uncle Pete, and explains how he challenges himself from role to role. Plus, Alan talks about why he created an academic organizatio...

• Episode 734 - Kristen Wiig

  Kristen Wiig is afraid of too many things going well at once, speaking in front of groups of people, and deep water. But she's not afraid of sharing these things with Marc, as well as the story of how she became a performer after a meeting with Mike the P...

• Episode 733 - Werner Herzog / Godfrey

  Werner Herzog is one of the only people who could make a great movie from inside Marc's garage. With a new documentary about the internet on his mind, the legendary filmmaker talks with Marc about the achievements and follies of humanity. You know, light...

• Episode 732 - Lauren Lapkus

  Lauren Lapkus showed up to the garage as herself, but she clearly could lapse into one of dozens of characters at any time. Marc and Lauren talk about how she honed her talent for improv, how she missed out on her dream of SNL, how she found a home on Com...

• Episode 731 - Seth Meyers

  Seth Meyers didn't expect to be on Saturday Night Live. Then he didn't expect to anchor Weekend Update or become the show's head writer. And then he really didn't expect to host his own late night talk show. Seth and Marc retrace the steps to figure out h...

• Episode 730 - Eric Andre

  Eric Andre and Marc did not like each other. An incident from when Eric first started doing comedy in LA kept him from doing WTF for seven years. Marc and Eric talk about their beef and also dive into Eric's background in music, his rejection of another c...

• Episode 729 - Roseanne Barr

  Long before Roseanne Barr ran for President, even before she had the number one sitcom in America, she was a giant in the comedy world. Marc and Roseanne talk about her tumultuous early life, her first days doing stand-up, and her memories of The Comedy S...

• Episode 728 - Brian Scolaro

  Comedian Brian Scolaro is back to pick up where he left off 627 episodes ago. The last time, Brian and Marc barely scratched the surface of how they met. This time they get into everything, including Brian's childhood love of The Marx Brothers, how he use...

• Episode 727 - Jane Lynch

  Before Jane Lynch stole scenes in Best in Show, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Glee, Party Down, and everything else she's ever been in, she was told she would never make it at one of the country's biggest comedy institutions. Jane and Marc talk about shaking of...

• Episode 726 - Chuck Klosterman

  Writer Chuck Klosterman is always thinking. That's a good thing because his latest book is called "What If We're Wrong?" and you don't want someone who doesn't think raising that question. Marc and Chuck break down the ideas in the book by going all the w...

• Episode 725 - James L. Brooks

  James L. Brooks is responsible for something you love. Probably many things. Marc talks with the prolific writer-director-producer about all of it - The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Taxi, Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets, The Simps...

• Episode 724 - Amber Tozer

  Amber Tozer is a comedian who wants out. She tells Marc about her move away from standup after years of sobriety, a semi-successful bootleg mattress hustle, attempted lesbianism, and a quest for the guidance of Tony Robbins. And upon the release of her me...

• Episode 723 - Paul Dano / Adam Goldberg

  Actor Paul Dano has chosen interesting, off-beat roles since he was a teenager. He tells Marc the reasoning behind those choices, as they talk about his indelible work in Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, Prisoners, Love and Mercy, Youth, and his...

• Episode 722 - John Caponera / Adam Devine

  Comedian John Caponera was one of the Comedy Store comics who left a real impression on young Marc Maron. John and Marc catch up in the garage and talk about the grind of the road, corporate gigs, comedy on cruise ships, and raising a family while doing t...

• Episode 721 - Jeff Goldblum

  It's not really Independence Day without Jeff Goldblum. Instead of spending the holiday fighting aliens, Jeff sits down with Marc in the garage to discuss Robert Altman, Wes Anderson, Pittsburgh, the Meisner technique, The Fly, Jurassic Park, Carl Sagan,...

• Episode 720 - Joe Dante / John Carpenter

  Marc dives deep into genre waters when he welcomes madcap director Joe Dante into the garage. They talk about art school, Roger Corman, Piranha, minimal budgets, Gremlins, Innerspace, and more. But first, a master of modern horror also stops by the garage...

• Episode 719 - John C. Reilly / Brett Gelman

  People think they know John C. Reilly. There's something about his performances that seem so familiar, even though he doesn't like to reveal much about himself personally. Marc tries to pull the curtain back a bit, talking with John about Chicago, clowns,...

• Episode 718 - Deon Cole / Dweezil Zappa

  Deon Cole didn't think he would become a comedian when he was growing up on the South Side of Chicago. But now with a new comedy special, acting roles on two hit TV shows and continued success on Conan, Deon tells Marc how it all went down. Also, Dweezil...

• Episode 717 - Neil Young

  Neil Young. There's not a lot you need to say in introducing a legendary musician with three dozen studio albums spanning five decades. Neil joins Marc in the garage to talk about his music, his family, his friends, his guitars, his innovations, and his n...

• Episode 716 - Chelsea Handler / Jen Kirkman

  Chelsea Handler is embarking on a brave new world with a weekly talk show on Netflix. But Marc wants to find out if this Chelsea is really any different than the last Chelsea. Awkwardness ensues. Plus, Jen Kirkman stops by to talk about her new book and f...

• Episode 715 - Louie Anderson

  Louie Anderson's standup career is unquestionably legendary. But his astounding performance as Christine Baskets has put Louie in an entirely new dimension. Marc and Louie go through it all, from the Midwestern upbringing in a household of 11 kids to gett...

• Episode 714 - Daniel Clowes / Ezra Edelman

  Cartoonist and writer Daniel Clowes brings the world of underground comics into Marc's garage. They talk about the great comic artists who paved the way, the difficulty in translating some graphic novels to film, and the similarities between creating comi...

• Episode 713 - George C. Wolfe / Daniel Nazer

  George C. Wolfe is a giant of American theater - directing, producing, and writing some of the most important works of the last 25 years. Fresh of seeing George's latest musical, Shuffle Along, Marc finds out what George wants audiences to take from the...

• Episode 712 - Joe Wong / Doug Stanhope

  Comedian Joe Wong grew up in China. Then he came to America and learned how to be a standup comic. Now he's back in China, helping to shape the Chinese comedy scene, and starring in his own TV show. Joe talks with Marc about overcoming language barriers a...

• Episode 711 - Chris Gethard / Quincy Jones

  Comedian Chris Gethard and Marc bond over their New Jersey upbringings, but Chris has Marc beat when it comes to unbelievable stories from growing up in the Garden State. They also talk about Viagra, public access TV, and dashed dreams of sitcom glory. Al...

• Episode 710 - Stephen Karam / Josh Brener

  Playwright Stephen Karam received his first Tony nomination about an hour before sitting down with Marc to talk about his experiences in the New York theater community, the way he writes himself into all of his characters, and the shock of having his play...

• Episode 709 - Joanna Newsom

  Marc welcomes singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom to the garage, sadly without her harp, although it probably wouldn't fit. Joanna tells Marc how her musical style evolved from composing pieces influenced by American classical music to collaborating with some...

• Episode 708 - Terry Reid / Jim Norton

  Terry Reid is one of the most talented singers and rock musicians who never had a massive break, but he doesn't seem to sweat it. Terry tells Marc great stories from throughout his expansive career in the music business, and he sets the record straight ab...

• Episode 707 - Natasha Leggero

  Natasha Leggero is ready to embark on a standup tour with her husband just in time for the premiere of her TV show's second season. Things may be going well now but, as Natasha tells Marc, it wasn't always like that. In fact, a fateful trip to Australia w...

• Episode 706 - Sturgill Simpson / John C. Reilly

  Sturgill Simpson has all the makings of a classic country star, complete with an upbringing in coal country, a job on the railroad, and the stamp of approval by country music legends. But as Sturgill tells Marc, he's not interested in being country's savi...

• Episode 705 - Clark Gregg / Dan Pashman

  Clark Gregg is well known in the Marvel Universe as Agent Coulson from The Avengers and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But as Marc finds out, Clark long ago established himself as a serious actor with The Atlantic Theater Company under David Mamet's guidance. Cla...

• Episode 704 - Ali Wong

  Ali Wong wants you to know what "leaning in" is like for a working stand-up comic who also happens to be a new mother. Marc talks with Ali about her new life as a mom and her continuing life as a road comic who is bucking conventions on the stage and in t...

• Episode 703 - Garry Marshall / Open Mike Eagle

  Garry Marshall went from writing jokes for comedians in a deli to creating culture-changing television shows and directing blockbuster movies. Garry takes Marc through his entire show business career, from The Tonight Show to Happy Days to Pretty Woman, r...

• Episode 702 - Rob Reiner

  Rob Reiner has been around show business his entire life, which might explain why he's excelled in so many different areas. Rob shares stories with Marc about Groucho Marx, the Smothers Brothers, All in the Family, Albert Brooks, This Is Spinal Tap, Stand...

• Episode 701 - Steve-O

  Steve-O probably could have died several times while making Jackass. But that's nothing compared to the amount of life-threatening danger he faced in real life. Now sober and full of clarity, Steve-O tells Marc talk about his lifelong quest for attention,...

• Episode 700 Part 2 - Louis CK

  It's a two-part 700th Episode extravaganza. First, Marc and Julia Louis-Dreyfus talk Seinfeld, SNL, Second City, Larry David, Woody Allen, Veep, being a mom, and getting older. Then for Part 2, Marc's friend Louis CK stops by to spill the beans on everyth...

• Episode 700 Part 1 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus

  It's a two-part 700th Episode extravaganza. First, Marc and Julia Louis-Dreyfus talk Seinfeld, SNL, Second City, Larry David, Woody Allen, Veep, being a mom, and getting older. Then for Part 2, Marc's friend Louis CK stops by to spill the beans on everyth...

• Episode 699 - Susan Sarandon

  Susan Sarandon achieved tremendous success as an actor, but one career accomplishment remains elusive. She tells Marc about this major goal and why she is willing to split it with Bruce Springsteen. They also talk about her impressive filmography, her tho...

• Episode 698 - David Simon

  David Simon is the creator of arguably the greatest television show in history. He cemented his reputation as a hard-nosed, truth-seeking journalist. But when David walks into the garage, he's a lot like Marc: A guitar-loving Jewish kid who still thinks h...

• Episode 697 - Nikki Glaser

  Comedian Nikki Glaser and Marc share a bond that might be deeper than love: They share an eating disorder. Nikki and Marc talk about how they've both struggled, where they've found support, and what they needed to fix elsewhere in their lives in order to...

• Episode 696 - John Lurie

  John Lurie has a creative fire that rages without end. But sometimes he can't avoid burning himself. John talks with Marc about his many artistic pursuits, including jazz, acting, scoring films, and painting. John also goes into detail about making his sh...

• Episode 695 - Sam Rockwell / Richard Linklater

  Sam Rockwell has become such a memorable actor in films and on stage because he really likes to prepare. On the release of his latest film, Mr. Right, Sam and Marc talk about doing good work and why that sometimes means saying no to a paycheck. Also, Rich...

• Episode 694 - Quinn Cummings

  Writer Quinn Cummings does not let her Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress define her. After all, she was only 10 when it happened. Quinn tells Marc why she rejected acting after her early success and why she prefers to write. They also t...

• Episode 693 - Ethan Hawke

  Audiences have watched Ethan Hawke grow up on screen. But he’s also grown as a writer, a director, a stage actor, and more. Ethan talks to Marc about the challenge of playing drug-addled trumpet player Chet Baker and also tells some great stories about Bo...

• Episode 692 - Al Lubel

  Comedian Al Lubel stopped being a lawyer in order to start doing stand-up. But he never stopped putting himself on trial. Al tells Marc how his desperate search for an identity was coupled with a never-ending barrage of crippling self-judgment, even after...

• Remembering Garry Shandling

  Marc’s conversation with Garry Shandling from May 2011. Garry passed away on March 24, 2016. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

• Episode 691 - Todd Rundgren

  If you look at Todd Rundgren’s body of work, you might think it’s the product of a dozen different people in various fields of the music industry. But it’s just one guy. Todd talks with Marc about his many projects, including his own music and his work wi...

• Episode 690 - Ryan Singer

  For longtime WTF listeners, comic Ryan Singer is a continuing presence throughout the history of the show. But this is the first time he goes in depth with his friend Marc, getting into Ryan’s deep-seated Catholic roots, his scuffles in the comedy world,...

• Episode 689 - Michael Rapaport

  Michael Rapaport thought he was going to be a professional basketball player. That didn’t happen, but Michael happily surprised himself with an acting career that saw him working alongside childhood heroes and legendary directors. Michael and Marc talk ab...

• Episode 688 - Dweezil Zappa

  When it comes to making music, high standards were set for Dweezil Zappa at a very young age. His father made more than 80 albums in his lifetime, which provided Dweezil with a lot of influences but created some roadblocks, too. Dweezil tells Marc that hi...

• Episode 687 - Bonnie McFarlane

  Comedian Bonnie McFarlane has a backstory like no other guest on WTF. That’s probably because no other guest grew up in circumstances that could be described as Canadian Little House on the Prairie. Bonnie tells Marc why she left the Great White North to...

• Episode 686 - Iliza Shlesinger

  Comedian Iliza Shlesinger doesn’t need to convince Marc she’s at the top of her game. He’s watched her put in the work for years, during nightly shows at The Comedy Store and on the road where she grinds it out as a touring comic. But despite Iliza’s conf...

• Episode 685 - Scott Ian

  Scott Ian is a founding member of Anthrax and one of the most respected metal guitarists in the world. But despite being in one of the four bands that brought thrash metal into the mainstream, Marc finds out that Scott’s musical awakening was spurred by E...

• Episode 684 - William Friedkin

  Director William Friedkin is a consummate storyteller, which explains why he tells such an entertaining story of his own life, rooted in three recurring themes: faith, fate, and film. Within that story, William tells Marc about the making of The French Co...

• Episode 683 - Sacha Baron Cohen

  You know Borat. You know Bruno. You know Ali G. But you probably don’t know much about Sacha Baron Cohen. The man himself sits down with Marc in the garage to talk about what goes into bringing such rich comedic characters to life, why he was drawn to com...

• Episode 682 - Herb Alpert / Mark & Jay Duplass

  Herb Alpert had enormous success as a musician and recording artist before becoming a massively influential recording industry executive when he co-founded A&M Records. Herb’s talks to Marc about the past and explains why he’s still recording music, touri...

• Episode 681 - Abbi and Ilana

  Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer got Broad City off the ground when they were fed up with not getting their shot. In that way, they have something in common with Marc and WTF. Abbi and Ilana join Marc in the garage to talk about the birth of their hit show,...

• Episode 680 - Ben Hoffman

  Comedian Ben Hoffman’s latest venture into country music seems inevitable. As an out-of-place Jewish kid in Kentucky, he found an escape by becoming a comedic actor and writer. But Ben tells Marc that career ups and downs, not to mention OCD and crippling...

• Episode 679 - Pete Correale

  Pete Correale and Marc probably didn’t intend for their conversation to turn into an unabashed celebration of stand-up comedy, but that’s what happened when these two comics sat down in the garage. They take a warts-and-all look at the profession they bot...

• Episode 678 - Cindy Crawford

  Cindy Crawford was unquestionably the most famous model in the world during the 1990s. She survived and prospered far beyond the typical career duration of a model by determining early on that if the industry was going to use her, she needed to use it bac...

• Episode 677 - Mike Binder

  Mike Binder’s career evolved in unforeseen ways since he first started doing stand-up on TV when he was 18. After being a staple in the glory days of The Comedy Store, Mike tells Marc how doing comedy led to writing some early screenplays, which opened th...

• Episode 676 - Peter Guralnick

  Peter Guralnick’s childhood love affair with the Blues led him on a life-long journey through the history of rock and roll. Peter shows Marc why he is considered one of American music’s preeminent writers and historians, dropping knowledge about some of h...

• Episode 675 - Michael Moore

  Michael Moore says he’s angrier than he’s ever been about the state of things. But Marc senses something softer in Michael’s personality these days. The filmmaker and activist sits down with Marc in the garage to discuss where that anger comes from, why h...

• Episode 674 - Cintra Wilson / Zach Galifianakis

  Cultural critic and writer Cintra Wilson has always made Marc’s head spin. She takes him back to her wild and woolly days in San Francisco and gets him up to speed on her most recent project, a cross-country exploration of American fashion. Plus, Zach Gal...

• Episode 673 - Crispin Glover

  Crispin Glover knows you might think he’s crazy. As he tells Marc, he sees madness as being good for art. They talk about what that perception has meant for his acting career, including the lawsuit that stemmed from Back to the Future, and the roles he’s...

• Episode 672 - Garrett Morris

  Garrett Morris is the first original member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players to sit down in the garage. Garrett tells Marc how he made it to SNL despite being homeless, addicted to cocaine, and cursed by his grandmother. He also gets into his caree...

• Episode 671 - Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson

  Writer-director Charlie Kaufman takes Marc through his impressive filmography, including Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Synecdoche, NY. But they also go back to when Charlie was a panic-stricken writer on TV shows like Get a Life and The Dana Carve...

• Episode 670 - Todd Haynes / Sarah Silverman

  Todd Haynes has been messing with Marc’s mind for decades. Well, his films have. The writer-director sits down in the garage to go over it all, from his Barbie doll biopic about Karen Carpenter to his identity-bending Bob Dylan film to his latest love sto...

• Episode 669 - David Spade

  David Spade kicks of 2016 in the garage, talking with Marc about growing up with guns, becoming a father unexpectedly, turning the corner at SNL after years of struggling, getting to know and love Chris Farley, and hitting the road to do stand-up again. P...

• Episode 668 - Bill Burr / 2015 In Review

  Bill Burr returns to WTF for the first time in six years. He talks with Marc about big banks, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, playing drums for Slash, and his new animated series on Netflix, F is for Family. Also, Marc bids farewell to Lemmy and looks ba...

• Episode 667 - Neil Strauss

  Author and journalist Neil Strauss became the story after he wrote the enormously popular and controversial book, The Game. He got so deep into the world of pick-up artists and the seduction community, he struggled to find the truth about his own identity...

• Episode 666 - Bob Forrest

  Singer-songwriter Bob Forrest has a hell-and-back story befitting the 666th episode of WTF. Bob tells Marc how he became a drug counsellor after struggling with addiction while leading the band Thelonious Monster. He also explains why he felt Celebrity Re...

• Episode 665 - Horatio Sanz

  Horatio Sanz didn’t always plan on becoming a comedian or an SNL cast member for eight seasons. Initially he wanted to be a CIA special agent. Marc talks with Horatio about the sudden change in career path and how it eventually led to the start of the UCB...

• Episode 664 - Eric Bogosian

  Eric Bogosian leads several creative lives, as a stage performer, a film actor, a playwright, a screenwriter, a novelist, and now a non-fiction writer. Eric takes Marc on the journey from his breakout play Talk Radio through his absorbing new history book...

• Episode 663 - Brian Grazer

  Super-producer Brian Grazer joins Marc in the garage for an incredible conversation about what it takes to get stuff done in Hollywood. Brian is responsible for dozens of the most beloved movies and television shows of the past three decades, everything f...

• Episode 662 - Danny Boyle

  Director Danny Boyle takes Marc through his impressive and versatile filmography, from Shallow Grave and Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire and Steve Jobs. And while all of Danny’s films are vastly different, he says redemption is at the core of all of...

• Episode 661 - Adam Resnick

  Adam Resnick’s career should be the envy of any living comedy writer. He’s written for Letterman, Get a Life, SNL, and The Larry Sanders Show. But as Adam tells Marc, he never really wanted to be in show business, a sentiment underscored by his devastatin...

• Episode 660 - Brian Kiley / Brian Posehn

  Comedian Brian Kiley has been writing for Conan O’Brien’s shows for more than 20 years. But prior to that, he and Marc were doing open mics in Boston, and Brian was living with Todd Barry. They revisit the good old days, and the bad ones too. Plus, Brian...

• Episode 659 - Gloria Steinem / Kliph Nesteroff

  American icon Gloria Steinem visits the garage to talk with Marc about her journey on the road as an activist and cultural leader. They discuss how the feminist movement has deepened throughout the years while the challenges facing the movement evolved. P...

• Episode 658 - Jim Ladd & Frazer Smith

  Recorded in front of a live audience at the LA Podfest, Marc pays tribute to the radio legends who helped make it possible for podcasters to operate with complete freedom. Jim Ladd and Frazer Smith are icons of freeform rock radio, and they have no shorta...

• Episode 657 - Ira Kaplan / Bob Odenkirk & David Cross

  Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan tries his best to demystify the band, but Marc is convinced that Yo La Tengo remains hugely influential in the world of indie rock. Hear Marc make his case while Ira takes it in stride. Plus, Bob Odenkirk stops by, and Marc gets D...

• Episode 656 - Robert Trujillo & Flea / Aziz Ansari

  Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers are two of the best bass players on earth. Now both of them are in the garage, paying tribute to Jaco Pastorius, a bass legend who is the subject of a new documentary that Robert made. Plus, Az...

• Episode 655 - Daniel Radcliffe

  Daniel Radcliffe has his head on pretty straight for someone who was thrust into worldwide superstardom at the age of 10. Daniel stops by the garage to talk about growing up as part of the Harry Potter juggernaut and how he’s chosen projects like Equus, K...

• Episode 654 - Elvis Costello

  Fresh off writing his memoir and primed by a high octane espresso from Marc’s kitchen, Elvis Costello is ready to dive into his past and connect the dots on his prolific career. Elvis talks with Marc about forming The Attractions, producing for The Specia...

• Episode 653 - Lorne Michaels

  In the history of WTF, Lorne Michaels is talked about more than any other person. Now he is finally a guest. The man behind SNL goes through it all, from the reason he started the show back in 1975 to the reason he keeps doing it. Meanwhile, Marc tries to...

• Episode 652 - James Corden

  James Corden knows a thing or two about hosting a talk show. The host of The Late Late Show trades notes with Marc about their respective jobs, and James explains that he got the gig by accidentally pitching it to CBS executives. Marc and James also nerd...

• Episode 651 - Patricia Arquette

  Long before Patricia Arquette won an Oscar, long before she filmed a movie over the course of 12 years, long before she worked with directors like Scorsese, Burton, and Lynch, and long before she delivered a star-making turn in True Romance, she was a kid...

• Episode 650 - Steve Albini

  Steve Albini had his hands and fingers on the mixing board for some of the greatest albums ever, like Nirvana’s In Utero and the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa. But don’t call Steve a producer. He hates that. As Steve tells Marc, he sees himself as an audio engineer...

• Episode 649 - Aaron Draplin

  It’s likely that Aaron Draplin has more passion about graphic design than you have about anything. Marc visits Aaron at the seat of the empire he created in Portland and finds out how a skater kid from the Midwest worked his way up through Snowboarder Mag...

• Episode 648 - James Taylor

  Legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor stops by the garage for one of the more surprising conversations Marc can remember. James holds nothing back as he tells Marc about the ups, the downs, the darkness, the light, and everything else he encountered du...

• Episode 647 - Mikal Cronin / Patrick Stickles

  A garage is a pretty comfortable place for Mikal Cronin. He’s been making rock music with his buddies since high school, especially with his longtime friend and collaborator Ty Segall. As he tells Marc, it’s always been a DIY affair. Plus, Patrick Stickle...

• Episode 646 - Mike Epps / Pashman Returns

  Mike Epps doesn’t stop. The comedian and actor is one of the busiest people in show business, starring in new TV shows like Survivor’s Remorse and Uncle Buck, making movies like the upcoming Richard Pryor biopic, doing standup around the country, and bein...

• Episode 645 - Annie Baker

  Playwright Annie Baker is one of the most original and exciting voices in American theater. She’s already a Pulitzer Prize winner and counts super-producer Scott Rudin as one of her most ardent supporters. But as she tells Marc, Annie just wants to write...

• Episode 644 - John Mayall / Dan Pashman

  Blues legend John Mayall founded one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. John talks with Marc about ushering musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and John McVie through his band, giving birth to Fleetwood Mac, and using music to g...

• Episode 643 - Peaches

  Peaches defies easy categorization, unless you want to define her as a multi-media event. She takes Marc on her journey, from growing up Merrill Nisker in Toronto through her artistic career as a musician and performance artist. Marc finds out what provok...

• Episode 642 - Michaela Watkins

  Actress Michaela Watkins is not only very funny, she can make you cry without warning, as Marc found out in the garage. Through laughter and tears, the two of them talk about the power of mime, very long engagements, stage acting, the Groundlings, Jill So...

• Episode 641 - Jake Kasdan / Fred Stoller

  Writer/director Jake Kasdan inherited some good show business genes from his father. But he’s paved his own way, whether it was through his work on shows like Freaks and Geeks or by writing and directing his own feature films. Jake and Marc discuss if it...

• Episode 640 - Nick DiPaolo / Brian Regan & Joe Bolster

  Comedian Nick DiPaolo is a relentless button-pusher, which might be why Marc likes him so much despite all their differences. Marc and Nick reminisce about their early comedy days in Boston, as they both try to figure out whether they’ve changed all that...

• Episode 639 - Keith Richards

  Marc finally comes face to face with his childhood hero and the results do not disappoint. Keith Richards is rock and roll to many people, including Marc. So it’s no surprise that Marc would talk with Keith about his career arc, the evolution of The Rolli...

• Episode 638 - Sir Patrick Stewart

  Marc and Sir Patrick Stewart together in the garage? Make it so. The cultural icon engages with Marc about his life as an actor, from the English stage to the Starship Enterprise, culminating with his new show Blunt Talk. Sir Patrick also talks about the...

• Episode 637 - Matt Sweeney

  You’ve probably heard something Matt Sweeney recorded, even if you don’t immediately recognize the name Matt Sweeney. As Marc discovers in this conversation, Matt has left his fingerprints all over the last 20 years of rock music as a member of several ba...

• Episode 636 - Fred Armisen

  Fred Armisen sits down with Marc for a surprisingly revealing chat, especially considering how Fred can completely disappear into the many characters he creates. They talk about Fred’s love of music, his desire to take comedy to uncomfortable places, the...

• Episode 635 - Bob Guccione, Jr.

  Bob Guccione, Jr. knows a thing or two about publishing. He’s the founder of Spin Magazine, and his father was the man behind Penthouse. Now back at Spin to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Bob talks with Marc about the problems in the publishing industry,...

• Episode 634 - Richard Thompson / Lemmy Kilmister

  Richard Thompson and Lemmy Kilmister seem like they exist at opposite ends of the rock spectrum, but you’ll notice a lot of similarities in this double-header episode. First, Marc talks with Richard about his brand of guitar wizardry and how he keeps the...

• Episode 633 - Lake Bell

  Lake Bell is an actor, a writer, a director, and a mother. She tells Marc how all four of those things came to be, including what it took to get her own movie made, how she got connected with the comedy community, and what complications arose while making...

• Episode 632 - Peter Bogdanovich

  It’s been 14 years since Peter Bogdanovich made a movie, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. The man who burst on the scene with The Last Picture Show is busier than ever, and he joins Marc in the garage to reflect on a life in show business, startin...

• Episode 631 - Jerrod Carmichael

  Still in his mid-20s, Jerrod Carmichael already has a reputation in comedian circles as a comic who has the goods. Marc talks with Jerrod about his rapid rise, which includes an HBO special directed by Spike Lee and a new NBC sitcom called The Carmichael...

• Episode 630 - Robert Rodriguez / Jonathan Ames

  Robert Rodriguez has been making movies on his own terms since he was 12 years old. Before Spy Kids and Machete and Sin City, he famously made his first feature, El Mariachi, for $7000. And, as Robert tells Marc, it’s possibly all just a prelude to the ne...

• Episode 629 - John Ridley

  Before John Ridley won the Academy Award for writing 12 Years A Slave, he was a stand-up comic. Marc talks to John about the times they crossed paths in comedy clubs and why John needed to leave comedy behind so he could move forward as a writer, a filmma...

• Episode 628 - Chris Hayes

  MSNBC’s Chris Hayes steps away from the anchor chair and into the garage to talk with Marc about life outside of cable news. Chris explains how his upbringing shaped his political conscience and how his career in journalism fine-tuned his sense of empathy...

• Episode 627 - Lynn Shelton

  Filmmaker Lynn Shelton works outside the Hollywood system. About 1,000 miles outside the Hollywood system, in fact. Lynn talks to Marc about living in Seattle while being a working director for film and television. She also discusses the creative evolutio...

• Episode 626 - Jason Bateman / Bob And Barry

  Jason Bateman wondered if he was done with acting. After finding success at a very young age, Jason thought about hanging it up. He talks with Marc about his career rebirth, from Arrested Development to his latest movie, The Gift. Plus, Marc’s friends Bob...

• Episode 625 - Harmony Korine

  Filmmaker Harmony Korine and Marc give it a second try after a fairly awkward live WTF episode a few years ago. Without Eddie Pepitone and James Franco to distract them, Harmony and Marc have a long chat about making movies, pushing boundaries, shooting o...

• Episode 624 - Sinbad

  Sometimes people ask Sinbad if he’s “still got it.” But as he proves to Marc, you can’t lose funny. And Sinbad’s been funny for a long time, from his time as a cutup in the military through his career as an actor and standup comedian. Sinbad tells Marc ho...

• Episode 623 - Jason Segel

  Jason Segel was drawn to acting because of a quote from The Muppets. Now that he’s been on a hit TV series, starred in several successful movies, and helped resurrect those very Muppets, what’s next? Jason talks to Marc about the changes in his life, the...

• Episode 622 - Wyatt Cenac

  Wyatt Cenac and Marc go way back. But despite two WTF appearances, Wyatt never sat down with Marc for a full conversation in the garage until now. Wyatt talks about the loss of his father, the struggles with his mother, his pursuit of SNL that led him to...

• Episode 621 - Ian McKellen

  Sir Ian McKellen turns the garage into a master class as he tries to help Marc develop a better understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare. Along the way, they talk about what it was like growing up during World War II, why he felt liberated as an act...

• Episode 620 - Vince Gilligan

  Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has a reputation as one of the nicest showrunners in Hollywood. It's a deserved reputation based on this incredibly friendly conversation in the garage with Marc. They talk about Albuquerque, the South, used books, film...

• Episode 619 - Robert Kirkman / Bob Fingerman

  The Walking Dead creator and writer Robert Kirkman gives Marc a crash course in the comic book industry and explains how he got started in the business by self-publishing out of his home in Kentucky. Plus, Marc's old buddy Bob Fingerman heralds the return...

• Episode 618 - Ed Asner / Adam Goldberg

  Ed Asner has enough acting credits to cover several lifetimes and he's not even close to finished. Ed talks with Marc about his legendary career, from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to the time he almost played Marc's dad. Plus, Adam Goldberg stops by to enjoy...

• Episode 617 - Laura Jane Grace

  Laura Jane Grace, founder and lead singer of the band Against Me!, tells Marc about her experiences as a trans woman in a punk rock world. Laura tells Marc how she got her start in music, why punk rock was such a natural fit and the many ways her life cha...

• Episode 616 - Rich Vos

  Comedian Rich Vos and Marc were pounding the same pavement decades ago when they were both starting out in comedy. Of course Rich was smoking crack, but why quibble with minor differences? Rich tells Marc how he made it out of the drug-fueled insanity of...

• Episode 615 - Penelope Spheeris

  Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris was born into a traveling carnival, so it makes sense she would wind up in show business. The director talks to Marc about her early work with Richard Pryor, Albert Brooks and Lorne Michaels, as well as her experiences making T...

• Episode 614 - The President Was Here

  From the minute the Presidential motorcade pulled away, Marc began recording his reaction to the momentous event that just occurred in his garage. Hear Marc's ongoing reflections in the aftermath as well as a discussion with WTF producer Brendan McDonald...

• Episode 613 - President Barack Obama

  Marc welcomes the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, to the garage for conversation about college, fitting in, race relations, gun violence, changing the status quo, disappointing your fans, comedians, fatherhood and overcoming...

• Episode 612 - Judd Apatow

  Judd Apatow has a lot going on right now. So when he came over to the garage to talk with Marc about some of his projects, it's no wonder they kept talking for an hour. Judd and Marc discuss charitable works, the fear of insignificance, and continuing to...

• Episode 611 - Godfrey

  Godfrey and Marc usually bust on each other in the back of comedy clubs, but this is the first time they've sat down for an hour to bust on each other in a garage. When they're not hurling insults, Godfrey tells Marc about his Nigerian background, his mem...

• Episode 610 - Mike Watt

  Fair warning: Mike Watt's story of a near-death experience is not for the squeamish. The good news is he survived. One of history's greatest bass players, Mike tells Marc about forming the rock bands Minutemen and Firehose, helping reunite Iggy and the St...

• Episode 609 - Constance Zimmer

  Constance Zimmer kicked off her busy summer with a role on the new season of Maron and followed it up with two movies and a new TV show. Constance talks with Marc about getting acting roles in her 40s, an experience which is not what she expected. Plus, t...

• Episode 608 - Kurt Metzger

  Comedian Kurt Metzger is currently a staff writer on Inside Amy Schumer, which is a far cry from his first TV writing job on a game show hosted by Marc. Kurt tells Marc how he broke out of his life as a Jehovah's Witness, became a comedian, and found hims...

• Episode 607 - Haley Joel Osment / Jerry Stahl

  Haley Joel Osment not only survived being a child actor, he was one of the most celebrated child actors of all time. Haley and Marc talk about the massive run of success he had during his youth, why he left Hollywood, and why he came back. Also, Marc's go...

• Episode 606 - Kevin Corrigan

  Kevin Corrigan is a prolific character actor and a quintessential New York guy. So it makes sense that there's a lot of Scorsese worship in this episode. Kevin also talks to Marc about growing up in the Bronx, the importance of music in his life, and how...

• Episode 605 - Tommy Davidson / Phil Hendrie

  In Living Color changed the face of sketch comedy and Tommy Davidson was one of the main faces. He talks to Marc about how the show came to be, what got him into standup, and how he almost didn't live to the age of two. Also, radio legend Phil Hendrie dro...

• Episode 604 - Terry Gross

  The tables are turned on one of the world's greatest interviewers, when Marc sits down with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in front of a live audience at the BAM Opera House in Brooklyn. The voice of NPR and the mind of WTF go deep into Terry's past to examine t...

• Episode 603 - David Byrne

  For many people, including Marc, David Byrne has served as a tour guide through a new frontier of creativity. The frontman for Talking Heads sits down with Marc to talk about forming the preeminent new wave band of the 20th century and then branching out...

• Episode 602 - Richard Lewis / Greg Proops

  Richard Lewis and Greg Proops have been in the garage before, but whenever they stop by for a chat, it makes sense to turn the mics on and roll tape. They always have a lot to say. First, Greg tells Marc about his experiences doing his podcast all over th...

• Episode 601 - Kenan Thompson / Scharpling & Wurster

  Kenan Thompson was on his way to a pitch meeting at Saturday Night Live when he stopped by Marc's hotel room to talk about The Mighty Ducks, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, and Lorne Michaels' handlebar moustache. Plus, Marc has a chat with Tom Scharpling and J...

• Episode 600 - Sam Seder

  For the 600th episode of WTF, Marc goes back to someone who was there at the beginning. Sam Seder and Marc retrace the path of their contentious friendship, which reached its combative apex right before WTF was created. Also, a surprise guest who is stayi...

• Episode 599 - Parker Posey

  Indie film superstar Parker Posey talks with Marc about her life so far, from being born "the size of a beer can" to recently contemplating whether she should leave the movie business. Plus, Parker offers her take on working with directors like Woody Alle...

• Episode 598 - Robert Williams

  Artist Robert Williams is on Marc's Mount Olympus of Mind-Blowers. Robert talks with Marc about his numerous career highlights, including his work for Zap Comix, his founding of Juxtapoz magazine, his banned album cover for Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Des...

• Episode 597 - Zach Woods

  You've seen Zach Woods in Silicon Valley, The Office, Veep and In The Loop, but Marc saw him doing improv at the UCB Theater and was blown away. Zach tells Marc why improv is the one thing in life that makes him feel truly comfortable. Zach also explains...

• Episode 596 - Blake Mills

  Songwriter Blake Mills might not be comfortable with being called a "guitar wizard" but that doesn't stop Marc from unapologetically slapping that title on him. Blake tells Marc how the sight of Kurt Cobain with a guitar led him down the path to becoming...

• Episode 595 - Rose Byrne / Kevin Pollak

  Rose Byrne is everywhere. With two new movies coming out, Adult Beginners and Spy, and a laundry list of big hits in recent years, she still had some time to chat with Marc about her journey from Australia to Hollywood and all the stops along the way. Als...

• Episode 594 - Britt Daniel

  Spoon frontman Britt Daniel tells Marc what it was like growing up in Texas as a sensitive kid who liked The Cure. Britt and Marc also trace the path of young heartbreak that preceded the formation of Spoon. Also, Jon Ronson returns to the garage to talk...

• Episode 593 - Henry Winkler

  Sit on it ("it" being your most relaxing podcast-listening seat) and enjoy this conversation between Marc and Henry Winkler. Although he's embedded in popular consciousness as The Fonz, Henry tells Marc how he finally feels like the real Henry Winkler is...

• Episode 592 - John Agnello / Maz Jobrani

  After The Rolling Stones called into the show on two consecutive episodes, record producer and engineer John Agnello gives Marc an idea of what happens on the other side of the studio glass. Plus, Maz Jobrani returns to WTF almost five years after his fir...

• Episode 591 - Amber Tamblyn / Keith Richards

  Amber Tamblyn's life as a child actor was in her mind when she wrote Dark Sparkler, a collection of poems about departed Hollywood starlets. Marc talks with Amber about her obsession with the book's subjects, her show business upbringing, her acting caree...

• Episode 590 - Drew Friedman / Mick Jagger

  Cartoonist Drew Friedman is a true student of comedy. Marc talks with Drew to find out how this attachment to comedians started and why Drew has spent a good part of his life illustating funny people. Also, Marc invites his friend (and Rolling Stones supe...

• Episode 589 - Michael Imperioli

  Michael Imperioli leads a much different life from the one led by his iconic television character Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos. Michael and Marc talk about what it's like to have played a role that left such an indelible mark and how his career...

• Episode 588 - Kim Gordon

  Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth put her life story into the book Girl In A Band. But Marc wants to know what Kim's life is like today, after decades in the visual art world, after the dissolution of a pioneering band, after marriage, after parenting. What's nex...

• Episode 587 - Joe Swanberg

  Filmmaker Joe Swanberg is a true independent in every sense of the word. Marc looks at Joe's most recent films, Happy Christmas and Drinking Buddies, to understand Joe's approach to his art. Also, Joe talks about shooting on film, the kind of movies he th...

• Episode 586 - John Doe

  John Doe was there at the beginning. When American punk rock was taking shape, his band X was at the forefront. John talks with Marc about being a young poet who fled Baltimore to immerse himself in the LA punk scene, where he experienced the rise and fal...

• Episode 585 - Alex Karpovsky

  Alex Karpovsky and Marc are enemies on the fourth season of the HBO series Girls. But in this conversation, they bond instantly over OCD, separation anxiety, karaoke and gratitude. Alex also talks with Marc about the films he's written and directed, and a...

• Episode 584 - Chris D'Elia

  Comedian and actor Chris D'Elia always seemed mysterious to Marc when he was waiting backstage at the comedy clubs. Turns out Chris was just cripplingly insecure. Marc and Chris talk about what it takes to overcome your fears, especially at a place like T...

• Episode 583 - Dan Zanes / Christopher Mansfield

  Dan Zanes is one of the most popular musical acts in the country for young children. Marc is a huge fan, too, but that's because of Dan's old band The Del Fuegos. Dan and Marc talk about how he went from rock and roll almost-stardom to being a family favo...

• Episode 582 - Rob McElhenney

  Rob McElhenney was fed up with being a struggling actor, so he grabbed a couple friends and made a TV show. Marc talks with Rob about the unlikely success of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and how Rob is now on the cusp of once again redirecting the co...

• Episode 581 - Mick Foley

  A legendary wrestler, a best-selling author, an advocate for abuse victims, a father of four and a part-time Santa Claus, Mick Foley has led a distinctive life. He even has a past history with Marc, who sits down with Mick in the garage to catch up and to...

• Episode 580 - Kevin Allison

  Kevin Allison found life after The State with his storytelling show RISK! In the garage at The Cat Ranch, Marc gets a full load of Kevin's stories that track all the way back to his very early sexual awakening right up until his recent BDSM exploration. P...

• Episode 579 - Nick Tosches

  Author and journalist Nick Tosches is often called one of America's greatest living writers. Marc considers him to be an indispensible tour guide through the darkness in life. Nick talks with Marc about his work, including his influential biographies of D...

• Episode 578 - Harry Shearer

  Harry Shearer always leaves his mark, whether it's on The Simpsons or in Spinal Tap or in Christopher Guest's movies or on his long-running radio show or in his latest performance as Richard Nixon. Harry and Marc talk about those career touchstones as wel...

• Episode 577 - Conor Oberst

  Conor Oberst is a virtuoso singer-songwriter, known for fronting bands like Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk and Desaparecidos. Now with his first solo album under his belt, Conor sits down with Marc to talk about the intangible nature of writing songs, the...

• Episode 576 - Live From the LA Podfest Whitney Cummings / Shelby Fero / Pamela Adlon / Desi Jedeikin / Amber Preston

  Live from the LA Podfest, Whitney Cummings deals with codependency, Shelby Fero reckons with being a black sheep, Pamela Adlon doesn't understand why nipples aren't allowed on TV, Desi Jedeikin tries to explain what her tweets mean, and Amber Preston surv...

• Episode 575 - Cameron Esposito

  Comedian Cameron Esposito made her mark when a spontaneous moment during an appearance on The Late Late Show put her toe to toe with Jay Leno. Cameron tells Marc about that night and its aftermath, and also discusses what she believes are her responsibili...

• Episode 574 - Marty Allen

  92-year-old comedian Marty Allen visits the garage to talk about performing for eight decades and witnessing the evolving landscape of entertainment. Marty tells Marc about his appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including the night The Beatles were intr...

• Episode 573 - Jim Gaffigan

  Even though this is Jim Gaffigan's fifth appearance on WTF, it's the first time he and Marc actually have a full-length conversation worthy of the garage. Jim talks with Marc about big families, absent dads, clean comedy, Greg Giraldo, working with your s...

• Episode 572 - Brian Koppelman

  Brian Koppelman is a writer, a director, a producer and a podcast host, but his most life-defining event occurred two decades ago in an entirely different field... the music industry. Brian tells Marc about the person who changed everything for him, way b...

• Episode 571 - Jimmy Dore

  Jimmy Dore was one of the early adopters of the comedy podcast. Marc and Jimmy discuss their podcast origins, Jimmy's massive Irish family, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, and the perils and rewards of doing political comedy. Plus, Marc gives Nick DiPaolo a ca...

• Episode 570 - Andrea Martin

  Actress and comedian Andrea Martin conquered the stage and screen, earning Tony and Emmy awards, performing in the legendary cast of SCTV and publishing her memoir, Lady Parts. But as she explains to Marc, there was one accolade that remained elusive thro...

• Episode 569 - Jason Schwartzman

  Despite being a member of the Coppola family, all Jason Schwartzman really wanted was to be in a band. But he tells Marc about the chance occurance that got him cast in Rushmore without any prior acting experience. Jason has more great stories about his p...

• Episode 568 - Mike Judge

  Mike Judge and Marc have a lot to talk about. First of all, they both grew up in Albuquerque. Then there's Mike's groundbreaking animated work, which began on a whim and wound up birthing Beavis and Butt-head, King of the Hill and Office Space. There's al...

• Episode 567 - Jeff Garlin

  At long last, Jeff Garlin is in the garage for a one-on-one with Marc. They talk about how Jeff got paired with Larry David to birth Curb Your Enthusiasm, how Marc and Jeff once pitched a cop show together, and how Jeff found inner peace after getting arr...

• Episode 566 - Richard Linklater

  Director Richard Linklater takes Marc through the unprecedented 12 year process of making his latest film, Boyhood, and goes into detail about Dazed and Confused, Matthew McConaughey, School of Rock, Waking Life, the Austin Film Society and much more. Sig...

• Episode 565 - Paul Thomas Anderson

  Director Paul Thomas Anderson joins Marc in the garage for a thorough discussion of each and every one of Paul's films, including his latest, Inherent Vice. Paul explains his creative process and spills some amazing on-set stories about Boogie Nights, Mag...

• Episode 564 - Melanie Lynskey

  Actress Melanie Lynskey is always an engaging screen presence, whether in movies like Up in the Air or Heavenly Creatures, or in TV sitcoms like Two and a Half Men. But she probably never thought the gift of a cookie would jumpstart a deeply involved and...

• Episode 563 - Jason Nash

  Close out the year with a WTF that harkens back to the days of old, when Marc and his guests stomped through the wreckage of strained relationships and bad feelings. This time it's with actor and comedian Jason Nash, who never believed Marc liked him and...

• Episode 562 - Larry Grobel

  Larry Grobel has interviewed everyone. As the premiere profile writer for Playboy Magazine, Larry became a renowned chronicler of celebrity and culture. But not unlike Marc, interviewing famous people was not in Larry's plans. Marc finds out how Larry dea...

• Episode 561 - Melissa Etheridge

  Melissa Etheridge makes Marc's garage sound better than ever with an amazing conversation followed by a killer live performance. Love, loss, children, parents, cancer, recovery, desolation, vindication - it's all covered, and then some. Plus, Melissa deli...

• Episode 560 - Adam Goldberg

  Adam Goldberg is one of the only WTF guests who can match Marc's neuroses note for note. He's also a Renaissance man who continues to hone his skills in photography, songwriting, filmmaking and acting. And, oh yeah, he was thrilled to be gruesomely murder...

• Episode 559 - St. Vincent

  Whether you call her St. Vincent or Annie Clark, all Marc really wants to know in this conversation is how she went from being a guitar-rocking 12-year-old in Oklahoma to one of the most celebrated musicians in the country. Plus, a little tease of Marc's...

• Episode 558 - Jenny Slate

  Jenny Slate is making it happen on her own terms, whether it's her standup, her children's character Marcel the Shell, or her movie projects like Obvious Child. Jenny and Marc talk about how a difficult year at SNL helped her take control of her creative...

• Episode 557 - Ian Edwards

  The last time comedian Ian Edwards was WTF, Marc embarrassed himself in spectacular fashion. Now Ian is in the garage for a less cringeworthy conversation about his early life in Jamaica and a stand-up career that started in a Burger King drive thru. Plus...

• Episode 556 - Chrissie Hynde

  Chrissie Hynde was just an unabashed rock and roll music fan from the Midwest before a journey to England turned her into a genuine rock star and the face of The Pretenders. Chrissie tells Marc about her early influences, including biker culture, undergro...

• Episode 555 - Norman Lear

  Legendary producer Norman Lear is responsible for shows that not only changed television, but altered the culture at large. At 92 years old, Norman joins Marc in the garage to reflect on his early life and the path that led him to All in the Family, The J...

• Episode 554 - Rhett Miller

  Rhett Miller was tagged with the "alt" label early in his career, as in alt-country. But as Rhett explains to Marc, he was actually emo before emo was a thing, and that brooding, angst-filled teenager in Texas fought through some truly dark times in order...

• Episode 553 - Julia Sweeney

  With her wit and kind nature, Julia Sweeney proves she can make an irresistibly entertaining conversation out of topics like death, cancer, loss of faith, divorce, alcoholism, insecurity and, of course, SNL. Plus, food talk in advance of Thanksgiving with...

• Episode 552 - Bret Easton Ellis

  Bret Easton Ellis is still the guy who wrote Less Than Zero, American Psycho and Lunar Park, but he's also way different than that guy from decades ago. Bret and Marc compare notes on evolving with age and trying to keep it all together. Plus, Marc's old...

• Episode 551 - John Mulaney

  John Mulaney pays a visit to the garage while certain things in his life are in a state of flux. For one, the status of his TV show is up in the air and his next job is unknown. Marc talks to John about the balancing act between unexpected success, like w...

• Episode 550 - Allie Brosh

  Allie Brosh is the creator of the popular comic Hyperbole and a Half, which is more than just extremely funny. It's been called one of the best contemporary portraits of depression. Allie and Marc talk about the ongoing struggle for sufferers of depressio...

• Episode 549 - Dave Ross

  Comedian Dave Ross and Marc got off on the wrong foot. Luckily, they were able to have this chat in the garage where they realized how much they have in common, like difficult dads, struggles in radio, heroin experimentation and crying. Plus, Pauly Shore...

• Episode 548 - Jimmy Vivino

  Jimmy Vivino is the current bandleader on Conan, but during his two decades with the various incarnations of Conan O'Brien's late night shows, Jimmy has also served as an unofficial guitar mentor to Marc Maron. Now Marc brings Jimmy into the garage to lea...

• Episode 547 - Dr. Drew

  Dr. Drew Pinsky has been practicing medicine for more than 30 years. Along the way, he became one of America's most recognizable physicians. Dr. Drew tells Marc how he got into the family business when he really wanted to be an opera singer, how he got in...

• Episode 546 - David Lowery

  Two of Marc's favorite bands, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, share a common denominator: Frontman David Lowery. Marc and David discuss the eclectic styles of both bands and why Cracker is having a bit of a renaissance with young people. Plus, David sha...

• Episode 545 - Bill Scheft

  Bill Scheft is one of the first people Marc ever saw perform live stand-up comedy. Now Bill is working mainly as a writer, doing jokes for David Letterman since 1991 and using his life experience to write several novels. Bill also has quite the story abou...

• Episode 544 - Andre Royo

  You may know Andre Royo as Bubbles from The Wire. For Andre that's both a blessing and a curse. He describes the near-breakdown he had while playing the sympathetic Baltimore street junkie and how the role forever changed his career. Also, Andre and Marc...

• Episode 543 - Martin Starr

  Based on the characters Martin Starr played on shows like Freaks & Geeks, Party Down and Silcon Valley, Marc wasn't sure what to expect. But it turns out Martin's genuinely tranquil nature is rooted in a deep spiritual understanding and the perspective ga...

• Episode 542 - Bob Rubin

  San Francisco in the 1980s was a hot zone of standup comedy and Bob Rubin loomed as large as anyone on the scene. Bob's eccentric and unpredictable style is on display while he talks with Marc in the garage. And even though things still get random and abs...

• Episode 541 - Larry Wilmore

  Many people know Larry Wilmore from The Daily Show. Many more will soon know him as the heir to Stephen Colbert's late night slot. But throughout his life, Larry wanted to be known as many things: an athlete, a magician, an actor, a comic, a writer, a pro...

• Episode 540 - Ms. Pat

  Before Ms. Pat became the comedian she is today, she was Rabbit, a drug dealing single mom in the ghetto who was shot twice and beaten within an inch of her life many more times than that. Marc gets the full portrait of Patricia Williams, a woman who surv...

• Episode 539 - Chris Parnell

  Chris Parnell adds to WTF's ever-increasing list of SNL alumni with tales of triumph, heartbreak and, of course, Lorne. Chris also talks about his Southern roots, his time as a school teacher and his favorite impressions. Also, Marc pays tribute to a pers...

• Episode 538 - Ian Karmel/Ron Funches

  The Portland comedy scene is booming, with Ian Karmel and Ron Funches being two of its greatest exports. In this double-header episode, Ian tells Marc about becoming a local Portland celebrity and leaving it behind for a soul-crushing experience in Los An...

• Episode 537 - Rivers Cuomo

  Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is the subject of much rock and roll lore, and Marc wants to get it all on the table. Why did Rivers decide to go to Harvard just as Weezer was taking off? What was he really doing when he dropped off the grid after the failur...

• Episode 536 - Tim and Eric

  Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim created a comedy universe that defies easy explanation. But what Tim and Eric can explain to Marc is how they became friends and developed a signature style in unconventional ways. They also reflect on how that style is evo...

• Episode 535 - Nick Frost

  Nick Frost never intended to become an actor, let alone be part of some of the most popular comedies in recent memory. Before Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Nick had no goals, no ambition, and a penchant for getting into trouble. But as Nick tells Marc,...

• Episode 534 - Nicholas Stoller

  Neighbors director Nicholas Stoller is someone who movie studios trust with millions of dollars in production costs. Naturally, Marc wants to know how Nick got that way. He suspects Nick's Harvard education has a lot to do with it, much to Marc's chagrin...

• Episode 533 - Dax Shepard

  Parenthood star Dax Shepard first caught Marc's attention as the barely functional simpleton named Frito in Idiocracy. And while he's had an expansive acting career, starting at Punk'd and leading up to his latest movie This Is Where I Leave You, Dax's li...

• Episode 532 - Kathy Griffin

  Kathy Griffin stops by for a true throwback WTF episode. It's a throwback because Kathy and Marc spend the first 10 minutes defusing past tension and figuring out the root of their problem. Then with that out of the way, they talk about the alternative co...

• Episode 531 - Anna Kendrick

  When Anna Kendrick was 10 years old, she convinced her parents to drive her from their home in Maine to New York City for auditions. That decision has paid off with a pair of huge award nominations, roles opposite some of the world's biggest movie stars a...

• Episode 530 - Jay Bakker

  Jay Bakker was thrust into the world of televangelism as the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. When their empire came crashing down, Jay struggled to survive the wreckage. He tells Marc about his journey and where it has brought him today. Also, filmmaker...

• Episode 529 - Mac McCaughan

  Mac McCaughan from Superchunk is also the founder of one of the biggest and most prolific indy music labels in the country - Merge Records. Mac and Marc talk about the creation of Merge and the evolution of Mac's own musical output. Also, comedian Carol L...

• Episode 528 - Robyn Hitchcock

  When singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock looks back at the roots of his prolific career, he sees a little Bob Dylan, a little Syd Barrett and a little Doctor Who, to name a few influences. Robyn talks with Marc about his first band The Soft Boys, his mixed...

• Episode 527 - Wanda Sykes

  Wanda Sykes is one of the funniest people alive. But Marc remembers Wanda when she was first starting out in the New York comedy clubs and says she was a completely different performer back then. Wanda tells Marc how she found her confidence and became mo...

• Episode 526 - Ty Segall

  In a way, Ty Segall has the life Marc always wanted. Still in his mid-20s, Ty already has eight solo albums, as well as others with various bands, and rubs shoulders with rock legends while making music with his long-time friends. That probably explains w...

• Episode 525 - Alec Sulkin

  Comedy writer Alec Sulkin found success on Family Guy and the movie Ted. But as he explains to Marc, the road to good TV writing jobs is long and winding, filled with connections, coincidences, injustice and nepotism. Alec explains how he made it through...

• Episode 524 - Bob Mould

  Bob Mould shook up alternative music in the '80s and '90s with his influential bands Husker Du and Sugar. But Bob seems willing to shake up his own life at every turn, too. Bob tells Marc how he took advantage of sudden opportunities that set his life dow...

• Episode 523 - Bob Newhart

  Bob Newhart is an American institution thanks to his incredibly funny and popular television shows. But the way Marc sees it, Bob Newhart is one of the most important stand-up comedians ever. Marc talks with the legend about the comedy albums that turned...

• Episode 522 - Pat Healy

  Actor Pat Healy is coming off a string of acclaimed performances in challenging films like Compliance and Cheap Thrills. But how do those complex roles compare with another from his past? That role being the roommate of Marc Maron's ex-wife. Pat and Marc...

• Episode 521 - Peter McGraw and Joel Warner

  Authors of The Humor Code, psychologist Peter McGraw and journalist Joel Warner, traveled around the world to find out what makes things are funny. They stop by the garage to share their findings and conclusions with Marc, including a scientific theory of...

• Episode 520 - Claire Danes

  Claire Danes always had a Plan B. In fact, throughout her life, Claire could have taken several alternate career paths. But whether it was because of My So-Called Life or Temple Grandin or Homeland or something else, Claire kept coming back to acting. She...

• Episode 519 - Adam Ferrara

  Comedian and actor Adam Ferrara is enjoying his gig as host of the car show Top Gear, which is surprising because he's never been good at fixing cars. But he tells Marc there's one major reason it's the perfect job for him. Adam and Marc also share their...

• Episode 518 - Mike Myers

  Wayne's World. Austin Powers. Shrek. Mike Myers doesn't just make comedy. He makes worldwide sensations. Mike tells Marc how a working class kid from Toronto made his way through the improv ranks to land on SNL and how his phenomenal career set the table...

• Episode 517 - Denny Tedesco

  Denny Tedesco has been on a quest to tell a story for 18 years. His father, Tommy Tedesco, was a member of The Wrecking Crew, a group of studio musicians who went unrecognized while recording some of the biggest records in history. Denny tells Marc the st...

• Episode 516 - Leonard Maltin

  A lot of things in Leonard Maltin's life were unexpected. He never expected to become a ubiquitous American film critic. He didn't expect to be entrenched in show business after spending his formative years revering it. And he definitely didn't expect to...

• Episode 515 - Jack Antonoff

  Jack Antonoff won two Grammys with the band Fun. His new project, Bleachers, already has a chart-topping hit. He's written blockbuster pop songs for Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles. In light of this early success, Jack tells Marc how everything he's done...

• Episode 514 - The Amazing Johnathan

  The Amazing Johnathan is known for his unique blend of comedy and magic. But the current situation he finds himself in is not an illusion, it's deadly serious. Johnathan tells Marc why he retired from a career filled with blood, coke, speed and wild perfo...

• Episode 513 - Brian Frazer

  Brian Frazer was known to Marc and his peers in the 1980s comedy scene as the bodybuilding comic. Turns out the layers of muscle mass obscured a fragile person dealing with a host of disorders. Brian tells Marc about his life-long struggles with control i...

• Episode 512 - Gabriel Iglesias

  If you didn't know that Gabriel Iglesias is one of the most popular comics in the world, hear Gabriel explain how he went from working the Latino comedy circuit to selling out arenas and releasing concert films like The Fluffy Movie. Plus, Gabriel tells M...

• Episode 511 - Rosanne Cash

  In the world of country music, the last name Cash holds a lot of weight. Rosanne Cash tells Marc how she paved her way in the music industry, how she bounced back after hitting the wall, and how she learned to cope with the long shadow cast by The Man In...

• Episode 510 - David Huntsberger

  Comedian David Huntsberger has a life story unlike any Marc has heard on WTF. It involves roping, branding, rodeos, engineering, horse shoeing, anvils, alcoholism, barrel racing, Last Comic Standing and Tig Notaro. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full sh...

• Episode 509 - Romany Malco

  Fresh off the success of Think Like A Man Too, actor Romany Malco finds out how a chance encounter on an airplane can lead to an in-depth sit-down in the garage. Romany and Marc cover everything, from Trinidad to trailer parks, from Southern Hip-Hop to se...

• Episode 508 - Craig Gass

  Comedian Craig Gass visits the garage and spooks Marc with an uncanny Sam Kinison impression. Craig explains why growing up in a family where everyone was deaf helped him develop a talent for doing impersonations. Craig also takes Marc through the chain o...

• Episode 507 - Josh Groban

  Singer Josh Groban remains strangely indefinable for a guy who sells millions of records and became a public celebrity at age 17. Marc tries to pin down the reasons Josh is not so easily categorized and Josh reveals the aspects of his personality that may...

• Episode 506 - Billy Gibbons

  ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons details the journey of a band that has been together for nearly 45 years, with beards and without. Billy tells Marc what he learned opening for Jimi Hendrix, how he made a guitar out of Muddy Waters's house, and what he though...

• Episode 505 - Billy Wayne Davis

  Comedian Billy Wayne Davis is in the garage to enlighten Marc on how the culture of the South closely alligns with the culture of standup comics. And there's still plenty of time to talk about things like sports, fighting, arrests, bipolarity, drinking, s...

• Episode 504 - Giovanni Ribisi

  Actor Giovanni Ribisi takes a break from his press tour for "A Million Ways To Die In The West" to sit down with Marc and talk about child acting, The Method, Steven Spielberg, boot camp, Scientology, psychiatry and more. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the...

• Episode 503 - Rebecca Corry

  According to Marc, comedian Rebecca Corry is funny and she has an attitude. That's definitely not a bad thing, especially when she deals with material like failed relationships, estrangement from parents, fighting against animal abuse and her advocacy for...

• Episode 502 - Chris Cornell

  Chris Cornell and Soundgarden are heading out on tour for the 20th anniversary of their most successful album, Superunknown. Chris sits down in the garage to tell Marc about the creation, break up and reformation of the quintessential Seattle band and to...

• Episode 501 - Vince Vaughn

  Marc and Vince Vaughn take the stage in front of a live audience in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of The Wild West Comedy Festival. They get into Vince's upbringing, his show business career, sports, parenting, improv comedy, Jon Favreau, rejection, failu...