Marc Maron’s heart made “WTF” a hit. In the Joe Rogan age, it’s all about shallow brawn

In the way of many things that were born at the dawn of an era, “WTF with Mark Maron“The podcast started with good intentions. Some of us remember how this area was, especially when” WTF “was launched, and as Maron Remember at the top of the Monday episode, June 2, no one knew what podcast is.

While identifying what the podcast would increase to be loved, Maroun gave a space to his guests to fill the distance between their celebrities and their humanity. The early “WTF” episodes are a deep recognition, and it is a product of Maron discovering the direction of his life after a terrible divorce. His novel on self -examination had a way to open everyone from comedians to President Barack Obama in 2015He made the podcast for him the first to meet the head of the sitting. Anyone wanted to spend some time with him in his garage and contemplate what everything meant on the squad, with the definition of “that” from moment to moment.

Suitable enough, the two episode appeared John Mawlani – Performance and host, like Maroun, lived a chaos in the eyes of the public and was sentenced to it. Mulaney may have been a guest of Maron, but the main fast food of the episode was the host’s announcement that he ended the podcast after sixteen years.

Maroun told his believers listeners during the check -in to the opening of the episode, before we were completely satisfied with the work we did.

Yes, and. After a few minutes, he cast a more accurate recognition. He said, “I feel that I partially did a great thing for culture.” “But on the other side, I feel I released Kraken.”

precise. Maron production was hard from the first days of “WTF”, and it comes out two rings per week to build an archive exceeding 1,600 feet. (Monday episode is No. 1648.) After all these years, and with additional competition from a constellation, it is still one of the most downloaded podcasts and downloaded.

But it is also a small island in the theater of the average shallow anger Celebrate thought. Within that whirlpool, “WTF” appears as a spice of meditation thanks to Maroun to present its width as an open cave for feeling, and constantly displays new angles of insight and inviting listeners inward to reach these discoveries.

Maron said on Monday while he was contemplating the podcast heritage: “He is always doubled when you are at the beginning of a new broker,” said Maron on Monday while he was contemplating the Podcasts. “There is a lot, like,” Wow, freedom! “I think these words are said before anything turns into a horrific malicious power.”

“WTF” may not be the first podcast comedy, but Maron is one of the first performers of the largest names that prove that coordination is useful for expanding the base of fans.

Before “WTF”, he was a distinguished character on Air AmericaA short -lived gradual response to conservative modern radio. But Maroun was less popular than his colleagues Janine Garvaloand Franken family And the “daily presentation” participating creative Liz Wintement. Garofalo and Franken were already stars while Maroun recorded his first movie in his movie Cameron Crowe2000 classic “Almost(A sound sample of his most distinctive line of this movie – “Gates lock!” – Opens each episode “WTF”.

After separating roads with “Air America”, Maron Hold on the key card To Aar Studio and it was secretly used to record the first few episodes of “WTF”, which he launched with his producer, Brendan McDonald. At that time, Maron had no television deals or films awaiting him – only his garage in Los Angeles, where the subsequent episodes of “WTF” will be recorded.

Mark Maroun tour “All In” at the North Shore Center for Dramatic Arts on March 28, 2025, in Skokie, Elli Brecheisen/Getty Images)

In September 2009, Maroun’s profession was in Nader. But the country was so. “WTF with Marc Maron” was launched where the great financial recession began to lift. Since this title did not do much to get us out of collective depression, Maron may be the right man to meet us where we were.

His first guest “WTF” was a comic colleague Jeff Ross. His place in Hayland Park soon became a destination for actors, managers, producers and rock music stars. Bridge Evereand Ryan Koglerand Ariana Grandeand Delroy Lindo and Curry Con They are among his new guests.

In 2015, Maron sat with Chris Hayes on “All In” from MSNBC, where he revealed his secret to obtaining the largest number of characters to reduce her defenses. “If you listen to the first 100 or so, this is a very veiled effort for me to get an emotional help from celebrities.” “… I don’t feel that I meet people. I feel I need to contact the conversation and emotional.

This trend makes his listeners feel visitors to some exclusive spaces, as guests say things they will not reveal to a regular interview. “WTF” is the place in which Obama participated frankly with his experiences with racism. comic You would like glass He went out during his interview. And in 2010, Robin Williams He admitted his ideas about suicide four years before seeing these dark delusions to their end.

Ultimately, this episode was entered into The national registration record of the Library of Congress. “WTF helped with the popularity of Marc Maron in adding legitimacy to the podcast, such as coordinating the media and creating a private document for this moment of American culture,” as he reads the accompanying text.

Maroun enhances this sincerity by applying itself. The upper part of each episode “WTF” is the time of emotional check -in it, sometimes giving up against the exciting policy at any moment, but it usually shares some perception.

This part in late October 2024 shows this. In that, Maroun shares his remembrance of Sharon Stone, encouraging him to communicate with his loving memories of his late partner, Lin Shelton. But the generous praise sensitivity of the stone serves another purpose, allowing its listeners to know that it appears in a movie with Stone by describing a scene asking him to cry.

Maron is likely Owen WilsonAnd in which he participated in Apple TV+”Stick”, now flows. Maron is playing Mettz, a former partner in the case and the current partner at Old Press Cahill, a golf professional in Wilson, who finds a second time late in life by discovering a young miracle.

Mark Maroun in “Stick” (Apple TV+)

Mitts reminds us of Bassam Silvia, the beloved Grump Maron Netflix DRAMEDY “Glow”. But then, only a little Sam was removed from those who know Maron through “WTF” and “Maron”, which is the IFC comedy in which he played a fictional version of himself.

“WTF”, however, both are perfect for him and an entity of unique importance. It has never been designed as an answer with left-wing tendencies on anything-I do not bring the radio and certainly not.Joe Rogan experience“Partly because their climbing methods are greatly different.

Before “WTF”, Maroun got more respect than his most prominent peers than industry.

Podcast Rogan, which was launched months after “WTF” for the first time, took advantage of Rogan’s high as a host of the “Fear Failure” in NBC and was accompanied by the final fighting championship. He has always followed an opposition approach from Maron, Purveying Tuch instead of raw honesty, guiding Swagger, shock and rejection rather than communication and familiarity. This trend, unfortunately, is more harmonious in our time.

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Although the last race of the presidency was called the podcast elections, “WTF” was not mentioned in that conversation.

I doubt that Maroun wanted to be. Except for the times when he used his platform to say What does a little of his peers do? on The role of comedy in enabling fascism Or turn Roe V. Wade, he has intentionally moved away from making a political “WTF”.

This would contradict what the show sought to be from the beginning, which is a refuge, no matter how temporary, of anger and confusion in the world. In ending “WTF” now, Maroun Al -Wasila leaves one lower advanced and sympathetic voice. Looking at its reasons to start this, we can understand why it is ready to give up podcast.

“WTF” may be stopped this autumn, as Maroun said Monday, but his fans will not see the last mile. In addition to “Stick”, it also has a new HBO comedy, especially on the road. Next week, a documentary movie entitled “Are we good?” For the first time at the Tripika Film Festival.

“It is okay for things to end,” Maroun assured us. “… let’s just enjoy it. The world is burning … we will find a little joy, and we will find a simple call, we will find some condolences in each other’s company. We will learn some things. We will get some laughter. We will cry a little bit. We will move.”