WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

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, working as a bartender at the Improv, getting onto The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and unexpectedly landing on SNL. Kevin also talks about the im...

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 years of successful work actually led to a complete bottoming out in Fred's life. He tells Marc how he pulled out of it. Plus, Andy Kindler stop...

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 fabled production of Godspell in Toronto with an all-star lineup of comedy stars, and joining the Second City theater, which paved the way for SCTV. ...

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 Groundlings, where she established her comedic chops. Jennifer also talks about her blown chance to get on Saturday Night Live and what she learned from th...

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 of living under dictatorships, studying across four continents, and learning how to engage activism through art is just as important in understand...

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, performing arts school and her estranged father, who she only got to know later in life. Plus, Pete Holmes stops by to test how prickly Marc will get...

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 called the Liberal Redneck Comic. He and Marc talk about what those labels mean in today's social climate. Plus, Lena Dunham returns to the garage...

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 voiceover actor, hanging out at UCB, doing off-Broadway plays, and working on failed pilots all led to Arrested Development. They also discuss how the...

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, Ryan tells Marc why history has created a different narrative of these events than what he experienced at the time and how that guides what he'...

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 dissolution, which led to Steve's descent into heroin addiction. Also, Marc's neighbor Jed Maheu of the Zig Zags stops by to premiere the band's...

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 show Training Day. Plus, Marc's friend Dylan Brody returns with an all new ornate wardrobe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

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 that plagued both of their careers. Also, John Hodgman and Jesse Thorn stop by to compare facial hair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

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 blowback of that, and he explains how he came to have such a great working relationship with Martin Scorsese on many of the director's films. Hosted on...

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 from his friend of more than 20 years, Jonathan Daniel. Plus, comedian Nick Thune stops by to talk about making jokes with Jesus. Hosted on Acast...

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 alongside fellow students like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, which led to Martin becoming a revered acting teacher in his own right. Hosted on Ac...

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 alcoholism, depression, eating disorder, and suicidal thoughts. Plus, Marc's buddy Dan Pashman stops by to talk about Bruce Springsteen. Hosted o...

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 Marc talk about booze, recovery, sobriety, Stripes, The Librarians, and the one job that was so intense, John forgot his wife's birthday for the o...

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, G.J. Echternkamp, who just went through the full Corman experience while making Roger's latest film, Death Race 2050. Hosted on Acast. See acast...

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 anger issues, and his belief that bands need to reconcile no matter how bad the break-up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

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 Laurie Kilmartin stops by to talk about how she was able to take overwhelming grief and turn it into a new comedy special. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

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 "Bruce Springsteen" and what he's learned about the struggle we all go through to become who we really are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

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 years, including Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, The Band, The Grateful Dead, and Reverend Gary Davis. Plus, David explains why he quit for 20 years and d...

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 for Elvis, starting The Comedy Store, and how each of these successful points of his career seemed to fall apart every time. Hosted on Acast. See...

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 behind WTF. It's the first time Marc and Brendan ever did anything like this together in front of a live audience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

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 a versatile practitioner and appreciator of music, with help from several notable mentors along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...