WTF with Marc Maron is apodcast andsyndicated radio show that was hosted by the American stand-up comedian and actorMarc Maron. It was launched on September 1, 2009 and ended on October 13, 2025 after 1,686 episodes, and aired weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. The show was produced by Maron's formerAir America colleague Brendan McDonald.
The show's title stems from the slang abbreviationWTF (for "What thefuck?").WTF launched in September 2009 following the cancellation of Maron'sAir Americaterrestrial radio programBreakroom Live with Maron & Seder. Maron retained his Air America buildingkeycard and, without permission, used their studios to record the first several episodes ofWTF.
After the first episodes, Maron moved from New York to California. Most episodes were generally recorded in Maron's home garage, nicknamed "the Cat Ranch", in Los Angeles. He ended most podcasts with the phrase "Boomer lives" in honor of a cat he brought from New York who went missing. The phrase became a hashtag and his production company name.[2]
Occasionally shows were recorded in Maron's varioushotel rooms (while on the road performing stand-up), the offices of his guests, or other locations. Every show opened with an audio sample of one of Maron's lines from the filmAlmost Famous: "Lock the gates!"[3]
WTF began being distributed to radio byPublic Radio Exchange in 2012.[4] On the episode released on June 2, 2025, Maron announced thatWTF would end later that year.[5] Maron interviewedBarack Obama again for the final episode, released on October 13, 2025.[6]
WTF has received generally positive reviews, including positive write-ups inThe New York Times[7] andEntertainment Weekly.[8] On average, it receives over 443,000 downloads per episode, with the show purportedly surpassing 600 million downloads by July 2022.[1] In 2014,Rolling Stone listedWTF #1 on their list ofThe 20 BestComedy Podcasts Right Now.[9] In 2022, the episode featuringRobin Williams from April 26, 2010, was selected by theLibrary of Congress for preservation in the United StatesNational Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," becoming the first recording from the 2010s to be inducted.[10][11]
Episode 67:Robin Williams (April 26, 2010),[18] Remembering Robin Williams (August 11, 2014):[19]
Williams discussescontemplating suicide.[20] In response to the news ofWilliams' death onAugust 11, 2014, Maron reposted the original conversation later that day—complete with new host segments describing how much the episode had shaped the entire show and impacted his own personal life. In 2022, this episode was inducted into theNational Recording Registry by theLibrary of Congress.[10][11]
Mencia discusses theaccusations of plagiarism that had been following him since a 2005 post byJoe Rogan. After the recording session, Maron thought that "something didn't feel right," and the very next episode began with interviews with comedians Willie Barcena and Steve Treviño, who both offered accounts of Mencia stealing material. Maron contacted Mencia for a rebuttal prior to its release and he immediately returned for a reprise which aired as the last segment of that episode. In it, he admits to "having an agenda" when recording the initial interview, and discusses the allegations and his reputation in a much less guarded and more forthright manner.[23]
Episode 111:Louis CK part 1 (October 4, 2010),[24] Episode 112:Louis CK part 2 (October 7, 2010):[25]
A two-episode interview during which Louis C.K. and Maron publicly reveal that they previously had a falling out, then discuss and eventually rekindle their old friendship. During the podcast, C.K. became audibly emotional when talking about the birth of his first daughter.Slate called the interview the greatest podcast episode of all time in a 2014 list.[26][27]
Smith details his acrimonious working relationship withBruce Willis on the set of his filmCop Out, which triggered a public feud between the two of them.[29][30]
Gallagher walks out mid-interview after Maron broaches the subject of the recent accusations of Gallagher's material as being racist and homophobic, which sparked a heated argument.[32]
When Maron's assistant gauges his interest in interviewing "Kevin McDonald" for an upcoming episode, Maron, an avowed fan ofThe Kids In The Hall comedy troupe quickly gives his assent. However on the day of the interview, Maron is greeted by a publicist who informs him that her client is participating primarily to promote his movie. Though surprised, he thinks little of it, as he rarely researches or prepares extensively before interviews. His surprise is justified when the interviewee that arrives a short time later is not the Canadian comedian he'd expected, but instead a Scottish film director he'd never heard of: KevinMacdonald.
Since the director had arrived early, Maron excused himself to research and prepare in private and therein learned that the man's filmography includedThe Last King of Scotland, which he had seen, and another he'd heard of,Being Mick, and set about using what he'd learned as a starting point for the conversation.The resulting interview was shorter than a typical episode, however, and did not air immediately. Later, while performing in Los Angeles, Maron had a chance encounter with KevinMcDonald and personally invited him to interview, proposing that it serve as a second segment of the same episode. McDonald agreed, noting that he had never met the director but they were both represented byWilliam Morris Agency, and this was not their first mix up (theInternal Revenue Service had previously made the same mistake).[38]
Obama records an episode in Maron's garage after theCharleston church shooting, receiving extra attention due to Obama's use of the word "nigger" when discussing racism in America.[40][41]
The two-hour interview with the creator ofSaturday Night Live had added significance owing to Maron's frequent references throughout the podcast toSNL and its creators, along with the impact of his own rejection from being hired forSNL in the mid-1990s.[43]
A previously unreleased recording of an interview with Jerry Lewis from the prior August that had been planned as a full episode. When Lewis abruptly ended the show without explanation after less than a half-hour had elapsed, Maron opted not to release any of it to spare the elderly comic any humiliation. AfterLewis' death was announced onAugust 20, 2017, the full recording was released as a special episode of the podcast later that day.[45]
Actress and singer Mandy Moore admits thather marriage to musicianRyan Adams that ended in divorce in 2015 had an "entirely unhealthy dynamic" and subjected her to frequent emotional abuse.[49]
In his first public interview since leaving theRed Hot Chili Peppers, former lead guitarist Josh Klinghoffer discusses the circumstances surrounding his abrupt ouster after a dozen years as part of the popular rock band.[51]
Dinklage's appearance attracted media attention as a result of his criticism ofDisney's then-upcomingremake ofSnow White, commenting on the "backwards" depiction of theSeven Dwarfs and accusing them of hypocrisy in using the film to promote progressive values.[53]
In the last episode Obama returned to the program, this time recorded at Washington D.C.. Over the course of an hour-long interview, the two spoke about the state of the world and how to stay optimistic amid political strife and chaos.[55]
^"Listen Up: The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now".Rolling Stone. May 8, 2014.Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 18, 2025.Whether digging in the dirt or allowing subjects room to reveal themselves, Maron innately knows how to move a conversation along better than anyone else, and when getting a laugh might just get listeners closer to the truth.
