Marc Maron

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2023

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Marc Maron has been performing stand-up comedy for decades. He always figured that would be his legacy. Until he started the mother of all podcasts: WTF with Marc Maron. The podcast came out of a very uncertain time in Marc's life as a comedian: he'd work the road, get a TV gig now and then. But as he got closer to middle age, he realized that lifestyle wasn't sustainable. So, he started making WTF. The success came shortly after, but Maron didn't leave stand-up behind. Earlier this year, he released a new comedy special on HBO called From Bleak to Dark where he talks about the loss of his partner, Lynn Shelton. It's some of his best work yet. This week on Bullseye, Marc Maron reminisces on his life as a struggling comic and talks about his tremendous success as a podcast host. Plus, what it was like to get behind a mic after losing one of the most important people in his life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Immigration raids, masked ice agents, Operation Patriot.
0:05.8	Our podcast, Here and Now Anytime is looking at Trump's agenda of mass deportation through the eyes of one state.
0:12.6	I'm coming to Boston. I'm bringing hell with me.
0:14.7	Listen to the podcast, Here and Now Anytime from NPR and WBOR.
0:31.8	Bullseye with Jesse Thorne is a production of Maxim does it all. He's a stand-up comic, an actor, and he's the host of one of the biggest podcasts out there,
0:56.0	WTF. Mark was a comic for decades before he got into podcasting. He'd work the road,
1:02.7	get a TV gig every now and again, but as he got closer to middle age, it just didn't seem like
1:08.1	a sustainable life. So, he took a job doing morning radio. That show got
1:13.6	canceled. He got another one. That one got canceled. But his key card still worked. So he and his old
1:21.7	producer started sneaking into the office at night and making a podcast. That show was WTF. A few months in, Mark moved to
1:30.8	L.A. started recording in his garage. A few months after that, he was a phenomenon. WTF became
1:38.4	one of the most important podcasts the medium has produced. But Mark didn't leave stand up behind, far from it. His new
1:47.0	special is called From Bleak to Dark. Mark's stage work has always been personal. This time around
1:54.3	he had to deal with some particularly heavy stuff. The pandemic, of course, but also the death
2:00.4	of his partner, Lynn Shelton.
2:02.7	She died of cancer in 2020.
2:05.6	The special, though, isn't sad, per se.
2:08.8	In fact, Mark seems as comfortable within himself as he's ever been.
2:14.0	Able to be frank and vulnerable on stage, but also a little bit silly. Not a lot, but a little.
2:22.3	It's some of his best work. I do want to mention that we talk about Lynn Shelton's passing and
2:28.1	dealing with grief more generally in this conversation. So be prepared if that's a sensitive
2:33.0	subject for you right now. I get it.
	...

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