Marc Maron appeared on Pod Save America this week and had a fun and riveting conversation with Jon Lovett.
I was particularly struck with Maron’s whip smart facility to dissect language and meaning. For example, when Lovett casually asserted that Marco Rubio had “surrendered” his beliefs in service to Trump and MAGA, Maron pushed back, instead framing it that Rubio had consciously “killed off” his own beliefs in service of power and ambition, proximity to the throne.
I was reminded too that Maron is now an elder statesman of comedy and political thinking, a much needed figure to provide perspective, wisdom, and laughs in equal measure during these troubling times.
Don’t forget to get panicked
Maron has been on a media blitz promoting Panicked, his second special produced for HBO (or HBO Max, whatever the hell it’s called these days).
Lovett and Maron also discuss Maron’s hilarious riff on what Hitler appearing on Theo Von’s (MAGA-friendly) podcast might have been like.
Hearing Maron doing a southern accent and dropping some dawgs is well worth your attention alone. But the punchline at the end is pure gold: hugely funny and satirical, pointing at the truth of the dangers of platforming lunatics while not pushing back on them with a white-hot laser.
Howard Stern understands this
Howard Stern would regularly have Daniel Carver, a self-admitted Ku Klux Klan member from Georgia on his radio show back in the day… and Stern would skewer him mercilessly and hilariously.
That’s the polar opposite stance from modern day podcasters like Von and Joe Rogan, who regularly bring on guests with vile and toxic worldviews and react to their ugly assertions with a well it takes all kinds, I guess kind of vibe.
WTF, soon to be RIP
Maron’s long running podcast, WTF, is soon coming to an end. This is a bummer but to be fair, I haven’t listened to it for a long time. I think one of the repercussions of WTF being so good for so long – and being one of the early high-quality players in this space – is that there’s a glut of great, longform interview podcasts these days.
The good news is that it’s like a funnier and rawer version of Fresh Air, evergreen-ish audio content that can be revisited anytime.
Let’s put me in this story now (more)
I used to wonder occasionally if I was close to Marc Maron’s house years ago when I worked for The Los Angeles Times. I lived in Pasadena back then, and Google Maps would sometimes direct me off the 110 and into Eagle Rock streets that would always make me think of Maron and his famous in-house podcast studio.
It was fun to imagine too the havoc that then President Obama must have caused when he stopped by Maron’s house to do the podcast in the summer of 2015.
What’s next for Marc Maron?
I’ll answer the question with what I hope to see more of: Maron doing more scripted TV shows.
If you’re not familiar with Maron’s acting work: he’s flat out great on his self-titled show on IFC and especially as Sam Sylvia on the “glorious ladies of wrestling” show, GLOW.
In researching this piece, I realized that Maron is part of the cast of the new Owen Wilson-fronted comedy, Stick, on Apple TV+.
I’ve heard some good things about Stick, and now I have another reason to check it out.
Marc Maron’s origin myth (for me)
I eventually learned about Maron’s deep background in standup comedy and lots of other things about his life, but I first heard him by way of his voice on the short-lived liberal radio network, Air America.
I recall driving around Pasadena and thinking, “Who is this angry-sounding punk rock guy doing liberal political stuff on the radio?”
I also recall listening to a bubbly, super talented woman on Air America.
Her name? Rachel Maddow.