In the way of many things born at an era’s dawning, “WTF with Marc Maron” reminds us that podcasting began with good intentions. Some of us remember what that territory was like, especially when “WTF” launched and, as Maron recalls at the top of his Monday, June 2 episode, no one knew what a podcast was.
As he defined what his podcast would grow to be loved for, Maron carved out a space for his guests to bridge the distance between their celebrity and their humanity. Early “WTF” episodes are deeply confessional, a product of Maron figuring out his life’s direction after a horrendous divorce. His version of self-examination had a way of prying open everyone from comedians to President Barack Obama in 2015, making his podcast the first to interview a sitting president. Anyone willing to spend time with him in his garage and contemplate what it all means was on the lineup, with the definition of “it” changing from moment to moment.
