John Mulaney has been through a lot since the last time he was on the show, so it’s nice he can identify the present as, in his words, a happy time that he can appreciate. John offers Marc his reflections on the first run of his Netflix talk show Everybody’s Live, reflections on his sobriety five years after everything fell apart, and reflections on the history of WTF, a show he was listening to right from the beginning. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus materi...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 41 min
Scott Frank is one of Hollywood’s most prolific screenwriters but he still has perpetual anxiety about his job security. Scott and Marc talk about the impulse that keeps him grinding away, whether he’s working on original screenplays, rewrites, or his limited series like Godless, The Queen’s Gambit and his new Netflix show Department Q. They also talk about Scott’s mentors, his influences, and the construction of his most well known screenplays, like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, an...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 41 min
Nick Kroll was one of the first dozen guests on WTF and in the nearly sixteen years of his life since then, loved ones have been lost, babies have been welcomed to the world, and Nick can now see things about himself that he couldn’t identify before. Nick and Marc talk about those changes, as well as the artwork of his wife Lily Kwong, the trip to Italy he made for his new movie I Don’t Understand You, and the fulfillment of creating eight seasons of Big Mouth. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the f...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 33 min
Peter Wolf didn’t want to write the typical rock and roll memoir filled with lurid tales and score settling. Instead he wanted to write a collection of short stories that stem from his serendipitous encounters with everyone from Marilyn Monroe to David Lynch. Peter tells Marc how he wrestled with his own memories to write the book, how he drew from his friendships with Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and how he got right with the topics he wanted to avoid, namely his time with The J...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Sarah Silverman and Marc go back more than 30 years and although they know a lot about each other from the past, they can both acknowledge that they haven’t stopped growing and learning and changing right up to the present. Sarah and Marc talk about making peace with the signs of aging, including hearing loss, and how an embrace of closure helped her deal with the loss of her father and stepmother, which is the center of her new Netflix special, PostMortem. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full ...
May 19, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Carol Leifer has been a standup comic for almost 50 years, but the knowledge she can impart from her lifetime of experience isn’t limited to the standup stage. That’s why Carol co-wrote the new book How to Write a Funny Speech, applying the building blocks of comedy to weddings, graduations and anywhere else one might speak in public. Carol and Marc talk about how to be funny at a memorial, her experience writing for the recent Oscars, and how she’s tapped into the current zeitgeist thanks to he...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 19 min
When Bridget Everett was growing up in Kansas, the question “How are you feeling?” was not often asked. That’s part of the reason why Bridget embraced singing and making music as her primary way to connect with people. She tells Marc how this led to the development of her live cabaret shows which got her noticed by Michael Patrick King, Amy Schumer, and eventually HBO. They also talk about how Bridget’s acclaimed and beloved show Somebody Somewhere taught her how to face grief and live with it. ...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Singer-songwriter Samantha Crain wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to make music again after a car accident left her without the ability to play instruments or physically write songs. Samantha talks with Marc about her recovery and how her physical improvement coincided with the evolution of her artistic confidence. Samantha also explains her family’s storied history of powerlifting, the influence of Jason Molina, and why she feels it’s important to write and perform songs in the Choctaw languag...
May 08, 2025•1 hr 34 min
While he was once known for all manner of comedy involving animals, both alive and dead, Tom Green’s relationship with the animal kingdom is now much more traditional, as he spends some of his time doing farm work on a remote plot of unspoiled land in Canada. Tom talks with Marc about why he made the big change in his life, which is documented in the new Prime Video series Tom Green Country. They also talk about their respective pioneer work in the early days of streaming video and podcasting. S...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 24 min
David Harbour and Marc met in the garage seven years ago at the height of Stranger Things and the beginning of a new phase in David’s career. Now with the Marvel movie Thunderbolts coming out, David and Marc have both had surprising success in their careers, which leaves them both searching for things they can’t quite pin down. They’ll try to help each other out, while also discussing meditation, mortality, and the future of art and entertainment in a world of shorter attention spans. Sign up he...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 31 min
David Cronenberg starts making each new film of his as though he’s making a movie for the first time. Marc sees connective tissue through all of David’s work, consisting of “the meat, the machine, mutations of desire, and pain.” David and Marc explore these ideas in specific films, including Scanners, The Brood, The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash, Cosmopolis, and Maps to the Stars, as well as David’s latest film The Shrouds, which he considers to be a discussion with his audience about grief. Sign up h...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 25 min
Jessica Kirson was a guest on WTF six years ago, when she talked with Marc about her start in comedy and her personal background. This time, she came back just to hang out and have some laughs. And for Marc at this exact moment in time, it was much needed and greatly appreciated. They talk about Jessica’s new special, I’m the Man, their experiences with crying, the never-ending fight against embarrassment, the many similarities from their New Jersey upbringings, and whatever else they’re thinkin...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Comedian Liza Treyger is frequently mystified by human behavior. Why are people so mean when leaving internet comments? Why do adults continuously repeat the patterns of children? Why are friendships so hard to maintain later in life? She asks these questions as a sociology major but also as a comic, and was recently able to explore these ideas in her first Netflix special. Liza and Marc talk about these issues, as well as Liza’s path to comedy, which included many crash courses she didn’t antic...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 32 min
Jillian Bell’s history of anxiety goes back to when she was a baby and would hold her breath until she passed out. But she didn’t let panic attacks stand in the way of her dream to get hired at SNL or her desire to become a working comedic actor. And as Jillian tells Marc, she definitely wasn’t going to let anything stop her from becoming a director, which she did with her first film, Summer of 69. They also talk about the great experience they shared while making Lynn Shelton’s Sword of Trust. ...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 28 min
As a writer and director, Ryan Coogler is drawn to stories about identity. He made Fruitvale Station to confront his own thoughts and fears about being a Black man in America. He made Creed as an extension of the dynamic he has with his dad. He made Black Panther while conscious of the impact it would have on a global community. Ryan and Marc talk about these films as well as Ryan's latest movie Sinners, which also explores Ryan's preferred topic of identity, but this time through the lens of De...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 28 min
By all accounts, Gavin Matts has carved a successful path for himself as a comedian, actor and writer at the young age of 30. But he can’t shake the feeling that he came into show business at the tail end and he’s mourning the possibilities that no longer seem as attainable as they once were. Gavin and Marc talk about the changes in the world of comedy, the struggles of local comedy clubs, and the rise of arena shows. Gavin also explains how he was influenced by the pace of comedians like Todd B...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Peter Weller knows that most people think of him as RoboCop. But he also knows that when they approach him to talk about RoboCop, it’s his opportunity to talk to them about art, jazz, theater and many other areas that are not merely hobbies for him, but actual artistic pursuits. Peter tells Marc why he got his Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance Art History and how his jazz trumpet playing in college stuck with him his whole life, leading him to a friendship with Miles Davis. They also talk about the n...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 35 min
When Lynne Margulies was 25 years old, she met Andy Kaufman on the set of the film My Breakfast with Blassie. Two years later, just shortly before he died, Andy made Lynne promise she would keep his work alive. With the release of the new documentary Thank You Very Much, Lynne talks with Marc about fulfilling that promise over the decades by showcasing Andy’s comedy and also allowing the myths about him to persist. They also talk about Andy’s inspirations and why professional wrestling was a fou...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Delroy Lindo can take pride in many accomplishments - his family, his career, his educational - while being aware that he’s still in the process of finding himself. Delroy and Marc, despite their differences, find it easy to relate to each other over that lifelong journey of self-discovery, which for Delroy included the decision to go back to school later in life after his film career already took off. He also explains to Marc how acting saved his life, from the Christmas pageant he was in at ag...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 23 min
Some comedians think of comedy as a higher calling, but Modi Rosenfeld knows exactly where the call came from. He points to a story of two comedians in the Talmud, men who gave cheer to those who were depressed and who made peace between those who were at war. Modi and Marc talk about this lofty purpose and how comedy is rooted in not only Jewish scripture but in the patter of the Yiddish language. Modi also explains how doing comedy shows on Zoom during Covid changed the entire trajectory of hi...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Nick Thune is a comic Marc is always happy to welcome back on the show. But this time, it’s very fortunate that Nick is able to join Marc in the garage at all because there was a time in which he spiraled into alcoholism and almost didn’t survive. With a new comedy special released and his sobriety holding strong, Nick tells Marc what happened since the last time they talked, how he struggled with daily blackouts, hospital stays, and the dissolution of his marriage, and how he was helped into re...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 25 min
Unlike many comedian guests on WTF, Chris Fleming had a lot of support and encouragement from his family when it came to pursuing a career in comedy. In fact, it was his mother who got him started at open mics. Chris talks with Marc about how he embraces being both inclusive and avant-garde, building a loyal audience but also being accessible to newcomers, and using the stage to create characters, like his popular suburban mother Gayle, while also giving plenty of space to telling jokes. Sign up...
Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 33 min
Jane Marie’s early life in Michigan didn’t necessarily put her on the glide path to the future world of podcasting, but an internship at This American Life gave her a crash course in the type of journalism that allowed her to create The Dream podcast. Jane talks with Marc about the subject matter of The Dream’s past seasons, including pyramid schemes, the wellness industry, and life coaching, and why these topics are truly representative of modern day America. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the fu...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 20 min
When Mike Elias wanted to learn the guitar, his dad told him he had to teach himself. Mike took that rule and ran with it for the rest of his life, teaching himself everything from sewing to metal fabrication to fashion design, which he deployed when he founded Ship John Leather and Canvas in Portland, Oregon, and created one of the most sought after garments in the world, the Wills Jacket. Mike tells Marc about growing up oyster fishing and hunting in New Jersey, why he wound up making clothing...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 19 min
W. Kamau Bell and Marc are similar comedians in that neither of them will ignore the current political environment in their acts. Kamau and Marc talk about how that’s shaping up today versus how it was during the first Trump administration and what they each feel about the balance between civic responsibility and entertainment. They also talk about Kamau’s decision to play the Kennedy Center despite the Trump takeover, his five year break from comedy, and what happened after he released his docu...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 20 min
Prolific singer-songwriter Will Oldham has been able to maintain what Marc calls “a haunting and elated tone” over the course of his career, whether in his collaborations with other artists or under the name Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Will talks with Marc about how his music stems from the example of his artist mother, records checked out of the library, and his Kentucky roots. They also talk about his recent album The Purple Bird as well as Will’s acting career, which launched when he was a teenage...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Don Johnson’s life took him far from where he thought it was going growing up in Missouri and Kansas. But at this point, he’s confident that nearly everything he knows in life he learned from the women in it. Don talks with Marc about his wild days in San Francisco and LA, how he handled his sudden fame from Miami Vice, his friendship with Hunter S. Thompson, his career all the way up through his current show Doctor Odyssey, and his hard-fought journey toward enlightenment. Sign up here for WTF+...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 17 min
When Chris Hayes was last on the show almost ten years ago, it was a much different world. Barack Obama had just recently been in the garage and Donald Trump had just declared his candidacy for President. Making sense of that changing world is what Chris does nightly on MSNBC, but he’s also written a new book about our changing brains. Chris and Marc talk about that book, The Sirens’ Call, and our rapidly evolving relationships with attention, information, media and our phones. Click here to sub...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 20 min
As someone from a working class Ohio family, Carrie Coon didn’t think much about acting as a plausible career path. But her post-college work in regional theater led her to Steppenwolf in Chicago, which in turn led her to Broadway, and ultimately to a Hollywood career. Carrie and Marc talk about her first movie being being a baptism by David Fincher’s unique fire, meeting her husband Tracy Letts, learning that acting is not pretending, and spending six months in Thailand for the new season of Th...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Mo Amer was new to America when he was nine years old and his brother took him to see his first standup show. From that point on, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Then at age 17, he took advice that helped him map out his entire career. Mo talks with Marc about his love for Houston, its diversity, and its comedy scene. He also explains how he’s honoring his family and his Palestinian heritage in his Netflix series Mo and why the show had to be told from his personal perspective. Click...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 19 min
