6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
'WTF with Marc Maron' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time
Comedy & Fiction
After 16 years of interviewing some of the most famous actors, athletes, and politicians (for a long time in his garage), Marc Maron is planning to wrap up his pioneering podcast in the fall of 2025. While the comedian's many gripes, like his rejection by Lorne Michaels for a role on Saturday Night Live, and his either feigned or real ignorance of his subjects and their work, especially in the early days, could be a little irksome, his basic questions into people's backgrounds and tendency to commiserate about rocky career launches solicited great answers from his subjects. And Maron's personal arc—especially as his acting career began to flourish—gave the show a sense of the host evolving as a human as well as an interviewer. Maron's impact on podcasting is undeniable. Remember when he snagged an interview with President Barack Obama, a coup that put podcasting as a platform on the map for those who'd been ignoring the growing medium? There would be no Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy or Donald Trump on This Past Week With Theo Vonn without Maron paving the way. Other standout episodes include Robin Williams' emotional reflection on his struggles with depression and alcoholism, a confrontation-turned-therapy session with Louis C.K. about their tumultuous friendship and professional resentments, all before C.K. faced cancellation, and Mel Brooks living up to his status as a comedic legend.
