WTF with Marc Maron

The show's title stems from the Internet slang abbreviation WTF (for "What the fuck?"). WTF launched in September 2009 following the cancellation of Maron's Air America terrestrial radio program Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder. Maron retained his Air America building keycard and, without permission, used their studios to record the first several episodes of WTF.

After the first episodes, Maron moved from New York to California. Most episodes of the show are generally recorded in Maron's home garage, nicknamed "the Cat Ranch", in Los Angeles. He ends most podcasts with the phrase "Boomer lives" in honour of a cat he brought from New York who went missing. The phrase became a hashtag and his production company name.[1]

Occasionally shows are recorded in Maron's various hotel rooms (while on the road performing standup), the offices of his guests, or other locations. Every show opens with an audio sample of one of Maron's lines from the film Almost Famous: "Lock the gates!"[2]

It began being distributed to radio by Public Radio Exchange in 2012.[3]

WTF has received generally positive reviews, including positive writeups in The New York Times[4] and Entertainment Weekly.[5] On average, it receives over 220,000 downloads per episode—with the show purportedly reaching 100 million downloads by December 9, 2013.[6] In 2014, Rolling Stone listed WTF #1 on their list of The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now.[7] In 2022, the episode featuring Robin Williams from April 26, 2010 was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," becoming the first recording from the 2010s to be inducted.[8][9]

• Louis C.K. gave a two-episode interview, in which Maron and C.K. revealed that the two of them had a falling out, and discussed and rekindled 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.[16][17][18]
• In 2013, Maron's assistant asked if he would be interested in interviewing "Kevin McDonald", to which Maron, a fan of The Kids In The Hall comedy troupe, agreed. On the day of the interview, Maron was greeted by a publicist who said that her client would be arriving to promote his movie. Maron was surprised, but thought little of it, as he rarely does much research or preparation before interviews. When the interviewee arrived, it was not Kids In The Hall comedian Kevin McDonald, but instead Scottish film director Kevin MacDonald, who Maron had never heard of. Since MacDonald had arrived early, Maron excused himself, then researched MacDonald and learned that he'd directed The Last King of Scotland, which he had seen, and Being Mick, which he had heard of. Maron used this knowledge as a starting point for the conversation, but the interview was shorter than a typical episode. Later, Maron bumped into Kevin McDonald while they were both performing in Los Angeles, and invited him to interview, so it could be a second segment of the same episode. McDonald noted that he had never met the director, but they were both represented by William Morris Agency and had been mixed up before (including once by the Internal Revenue Service). The episode was released with the title "Kevin MacDonald/Kevin McDonald" on March 10, 2014.[19]
• Carlos Mencia came on and discussed allegations of his plagiarizing other comics. After the interview, Maron said that "something didn't feel right". He did further research, and interviewed comics Willie Barcena and Steve Trevino, who offered accounts of Mencia stealing material. Maron then contacted Mencia, who immediately returned for a follow-up interview. Mencia admitted that during the initial interview, he "had an agenda", and then went on to discuss the allegations and his reputation in a much less guarded, more forthright manner.[20][21]
• Maron confronted Dane Cook about accusations of plagiarizing Louis C.K. and about his tension with Steve Byrne.[22][23]
• Maron brought up online accusations against Gallagher about his performing of homophobic material. An argument ensued, in which Gallagher became the first and only guest on the podcast to walk out mid-interview.[24]
• In a special broadcast of "WTF Uncovered", Maron aired a September 2016 recording with Jerry Lewis that was planned as a full episode. The episode was never released, since Lewis ended the show abruptly after about 20 minutes of conversation.
• Todd Glass used his appearance on the podcast to come out of the closet as gay.[25][26]
• Todd Hanson gave a detailed account of his suicide attempt in a hotel room in Brooklyn, and spoke about his lifelong struggle with depression.[27]
• Kevin Smith complained about Bruce Willis's lack of involvement in promoting the film Cop Out, which triggered a public feud between the two of them.[28]
• On an episode released in April 2010, Robin Williams discussed contemplating suicide.[29] Maron later reposted the episode following the news of Williams' death, complete with new host segments talking about how much the episode shaped the show and his own personal life.[30][9]
• President of the United States Barack Obama recorded an interview in June 2015 (recorded Friday June 19, 2015, in the garage). The interview received much media attention due to the President's use of the word "nigger" while discussing racism in America.[31][32]
• Maron interviewed Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels in October 2015. The interview was significant because throughout the history of the podcast, Maron would frequently discuss Michaels and his own rejection from being hired for SNL in the mid-1990s. The two-hour interview was posted in November 2015.[33]
• Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson appeared on the program in September 2017 and revealed his diagnosis and treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder.[34]
• Actor Sean Penn discussed his book Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff as a form of catharsis for current events, as he no longer wants to make movies.[35]
• In February 2019, actress Mandy Moore said on the podcast that her marriage to musician Ryan Adams was "entirely unhealthy" and emotionally abusive.[36]
• Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer discussed the circumstances surrounding his exit from the band in his first public interview since leaving.[37]
• Peter Dinklage appeared on Maron's podcast in January 2022 to criticize Disney's remake of Snow White. Dinklage commented on the "backwards" depiction of the Seven Dwarves.

• Official website