WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

"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. D.L. tells Marc about his experiences growing up in South Central Los Angeles, getting out before he got lost, and building himself up through co...

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 Las Vegas, how his entertainment career actually started out as a career in hotel management, and why he decided to create a touring show about The...

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. Rita tells Marc how she utilized the performing arts culture of New York City to create a comedy curriculum for herself, how she rose up throug...

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 about building his first guitar by hand, meeting Pete Townsend and John Entwistle as schoolboys, finding Keith Moon in a Beach Boys cover band, getti...

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 relationship with him that was completely removed from his career. Zoe talks with Marc about paving her own way, as well as working with the Coen Brothers...

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 Pythons. Eric also explains what it was like growing up at the end of World War II, how rock and roll became his escape from reality, and why he woun...

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 Cambridge and why the success of Monty Python had a lot to do with five guys who all liked pushing boundaries. Also, John and Marc try to find the...

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 his standout roles, working with directors like Scorsese, Coppola, and Altman, and now working side-by-side with Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever...

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 life after a sexual assault, and why she feels like she's done with acting, despite staring in beloved shows like Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks,...

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 siblings in Philadelphia and the banjo that led to his development as a musician. In his early 20s, Kurt had a job driving a forklift and in his fr...

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 Donald Trump in one specific way, how socialized medicine in Canada helps the national psyche as well as individual lives, and how the alt-comedy sce...

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-changing moment when she made Badlands, how the studio didn't want her in Carrie, what it was like going on the road with Loretta Lynn for Coal Miner...

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, her breakout movie roles, the reasons actresses have it tough if they want to be honest, why she became clickbait fodder, and why she loves her c...

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 lifetime in the movies and how her collaboration with James Cameron helped her storm the gates of the studios. Gale also talks about shifting fro...

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 putting out her own albums when she couldn't get a record label to do it. Joan takes Marc through her past, most of which was shared with her longtime...

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 involved with a tangled web of Los Angeles bands that led to the formation of Guns N’ Roses, the band no one wanted to see succeed except the people...

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 remembering things, and why she began singing opera at a young age. There's also some talk about her beloved projects like Veronica Mars, Forget...

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 mental illness, the urge to romanticize depression and self-destruction in comedy, and navigating the aftermath of a family tragedy. Adam also rem...

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 New York and the seeds of his comedic persona were planted. Billy also talks about the new season of American Horror Story, his role in the upcomin...

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 the Beatles legacy, the reception of his solo work after the Beatles, recording Band on the Run in Nigeria, what messages are in his songs, which...

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 and became a Grammy-winning comedy industry mainstay, producing and distributing albums for everyone from Maria Bamford to Doug Stanhope to Hann...

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, and realizing that the satisfaction he got blowing things up was equaled only by doing stand-up comedy. Also, Bert Kreischer returns to the show...

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 mental illness  made him realize that if he was going to do something big, he had to do it himself. Jo and Marc also talk about holding down oth...

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 Belly reunion with tour dates and a new album, Tanya tells Marc how things evolved in the more than two decades since. Also, Jason Bateman return...

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 developing his own style, idolizing George Jones, collaborating with Stephen King, and always changing things up. Also, Rob Riggle stops by to ex...