WTF with Marc Maron: The Brilliance Of His Comedy Special

In a 2016 Washington Post article NPR's Terri Gross says of podcast host and creator Marc Maron, “There’s something paradoxical about Maron,” says “Fresh Air” host, a loyal “WTF” listener and interviewee. “His TV and onstage persona is kind of cranky, angry. Yet he’s so intuitive and empathetic as an interviewer. He emotionally commits when he’s doing an interview, and I think that’s one of the reasons why people, like me, feel comfortable confiding in him.”

WTF with Marc Maron podcast is one of the most popular podcasts in the medium. Maron actually started podcasting in his garage before Joe Rogan, another interviewer with massive appeal.

Maron has thrown himself on grenades of his making for much of his life. Born to a surgeon who suffered bipolar disorder and narcissism, Maron has suffered alcoholism, cocaine addiction, two divorces, getting fired, never getting that big show-biz break, and a pesky inner voice that is unruly and constantly undermining his happiness.

Yet through all that self-inflicted suffering, Maron has emerged as a podcast host who has the intellectual heft, emotional barometer, and a gift for active listening that has sustained and nurtured him through his 1,400+ episodes.

For a performer who has this reputation for being cranky, crotchety, and cantankerous, Maron approaches his interview guests with an open mind, two open ears, and the ability to subvert any personal agenda and focus on his guests.

There is a new HBO Max comedy special recorded at New York's Town Hall with Maron performing a 60-minute stand-up routine.

The special is called From Bleak To Dark, and in it, Maron offers viewers a virtuoso performance by exposing his darkness and, by extension, shining a light on topics other comedians wouldn't touch.

And that's Maron's consummate skill. He makes fun of the world by making fun of himself. Early on, he takes a shot at comedians who he says they self-identify as "anti-woke." He chides them because they blame their lack of paying gags on cancel culture instead of their insistence on telling the "same three jokes."

Maron tackles the devastating effects of dementia on his father by relating how in the early stages when his father is docile, "it's the sweet spot for dementia."

He attacks Christian fascism and how its belief system offers the rewards of such fanaticism "after you die."

No topic is taboo for Maron, especially in an era where some comedians and "cancel culture warriors" claim that any jokes deemed unacceptable will be official banning by some unnamed and anonymous organization.

Here's the brilliance of Marc Maron. Instead of making fun of groups of people, Maron attacks himself. His self-deprecating humor disarms his audience and lets them know, "Yeah, I no better than you. Maybe much worse."

What other comedian -- Jewish, no less -- can get away with dark humor surrounding the possibility of an Auschwitz joke book written by the Jewish inmates?

When speaking of the death of his business and romantic partner, Lynne Shelton, Maron waxes pedantic about grief and how to handle it.

At the end of his routine, Maron talks about buying a gun for protection. Instead of launching into a familiar diatribe about the Second Amendment, Maron makes a K turn to his favorite topic -- his own foibles.

He talks about having a baseball bat by his bed for his protection. He tells the audience, after contemplating suicide several times during his life, the bat is a strong deterrent to killing himself because, as he says, "you have to really be committed to killing yourself with a bat." Then he pantomimes several bat blows to his head and finishes with, "I feel better."

Maron's 60 minutes of humor and insight on taboo topics explodes the whiny caviling of comedians like Dave Chappelle, who claim to be canceled while they earn millions and are worth hundreds of millions.

Check out Marc Maron's comedy special on HBO Max and listen to his podcast, WTF With Marc Maron. His latest episode with actor Austin Butler -- "Elvis" -- is 90 minutes of compelling dialogue.