Marc Maron to End ‘WTF’ Podcast in the Fall
After 16 years, Marc Maron has announced that his WTF podcast will finally come to a close this fall. The acclaimed host and founding co-producer Brendan McDonald have made the joint decision to retire the long-running and archetypal series, and will air its final episode at a currently unspecified date later this year. Maron broke the news on today’s episode, then posted his explanation to the podcast’s site.
“The time has come, people!” Maron shared. “All good things must come to an end. The end is nigh for most things, generally speaking, but more specifically, the end of the WTF podcast is coming in the fall. I know it will be jarring for many of you. It’s a bit difficult for me. It is time though. Brendan and I had an understanding that the only reason we would stop the show was if one of us was ready to stop. So, that happened, for both of us. We’re tired, people. Burnt out.
“As of September, we will have been doing the show for 16 years. Wow. That’s a long time to do anything. We have put a new show out twice a week for 16 years and we’ve put everything we have into those shows. That’s just the way we work. We have since the beginning and it’s always been just us. Obviously, we had help along the way, but in terms of creating the show, Brendan does his job, I do mine. No networks, no boss. Just us and hundreds of guests and you.”
Maron went on to address what goes into each episode of WTF and his satisfaction with being able to conclude the beloved project on their own terms. He expressed gratitude for the podcast’s international, intergenerational following, remarking, “We’ve been through a lot together. I hear from so many of you that I helped you through hard times, cultural changes, sobriety, depression, fear… I want you all to know that I appreciate deeply that you were all there for me as well. You changed my life in so many ways. You helped me through so much.”
Maron and McDonald launched the podcast back in 2009, when the format that now seems inescapable was still in its infancy. Over the course of more than 16,000 episodes, the series pioneered a new kind of grassroots media and presented unforgettable interviews with icons in comedy, politics, music, writing and more, including President Barack Obama and a conversation with Robyn Williams, since inducted into the Library of Congress’s recordings archive.
Among the most memorable musicians featured on the show were Trey Anastasio, Keith Richards, Billy Strings, Dave Grohl, Elvis Costello, John Mayall, Fiona Apple, Flea, Henry Rollins, Herb Alpert, Iggy Pop, J Mascis, Jack White, James Taylor, Jason Isbell, John Lurie, Josh Homme, Kim Gordon, Maynard James Keenan, Mike Watt, Nick Cave, Patterson Hood, Peaches, Reggie Watts, Richard Thompson, Robyn Hitchcock, Rosanne Cash, Samantha Crain, St. Vincent, Stephen Malkmus, Tenacious D, Thom Yorke, Tim Heidecker, Todd Rundgren, Ty Segall and the late Steve Albini.
“We changed the world, literally,” he reflected. “We showed the world that it was possible to create a specific type of show on one’s own terms. We helped unleash an exciting type of delivery system for pure self expression. Sadly, on some level, we also unleashed a format that can be used for dubious means, propaganda and pure evil. But hey, it’s not the atomic bomb.”
Though WTF’s end is on the horizon, Maron has other irons in the fire. On Wednesday, Apple TV will release Stick, his new series with Owen Wilson, which will be followed by Are We Good, a documentary that details his grief after the death of his partner in 2020. Maron is also recently finished filming a comedy special set to be released through HBO later this year.
“I’m looking forward to these fun and full months of final shows. I’ll be doing my standup, acting and hopefully enjoying life a bit. I’ve earned that,” he said in closing. “So, that’s the big news. I’m sure we’ll talk about it in the weeks to come but for now, thank you all for being here.”
Read Maron’s full statement and learn more about the WTF podcast here.
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