Marc Maron Reflects On 16 Years Of ‘WTF’ As Podcast Comes To An End.

After 16 years behind the mic, Marc Maron is closing the garage door for good. He released the final episode of “WTF” today (Oct. 13) featuring an interview with former President Barack Obama. “This is the last episode of WTF,” Maron says at the open of No. 1686, explaining why Obama was “singular” for the finale.

The comedian’s second-to-last episode, released last week, was more personal for Maron. He used his signature confessional style to speak directly to listeners — without guests — for what he told fans was the last one-on-one conversation they would have.

“I know some of you are sad. I’m sad,” he said. “It’s a big change for me. But sometimes you have to move on.”

Maron, who began “WTF” in 2009 when his career was “in the toilet,” retraced the arc of a show that helped define podcasting’s first generation of hits. What started as “rash or extreme behavior born of desperation” became one of the medium’s most influential interview series — famous for its emotional honesty and its home-garage intimacy.

Across an hour-plus monologue, Maron unpacked the words that have driven both his comedy and his show: desperation, urgency, connection, need, selfishness, and anxiety. Once framed as flaws, he now sees them as the creative fuel that allowed him to speak truthfully and build community. “Out of that combination,” he said, “I became a more full, compassionate, empathetic, wiser, funnier, humble person. But I couldn’t have done it without that path — and without you.”

He recalled the original garage “filled with crap, broken furniture, lamps, tchotchkes — literally my life in one room.” That chaos, he said, became a physical representation of the show’s soul: intimate, cluttered, and real. From there, “WTF” evolved into hundreds of longform conversations with comedians, actors, musicians, and public figures, recorded everywhere from Maron’s “cat ranch” to hotel rooms around the world.

Obama — returning to the show he helped popularize in 2015 — offered counsel on creative transitions, democratic resiliency, and how to keep doing meaningful work without mistaking “fashion” for conviction. Asked how to handle the vacuum, Obama advises Maron not to rush: “Take a beat… pat yourself on the back for a second… be a little brain dead for a while.” Then find the “next highest and best use” — a new purpose that scratches the same itch — without sprinting into it “unless you’ve got some bills to pay.”

Maron serves as both interviewer and avatar for his audience — creators and civilians who relied on the show’s voice to feel “less alone.” He worries aloud about what listeners will do “to deal with my mental this or that.”

Obama said he thinks listeners trusted Maron because he was vulnerable and consistent. “There’s a power in it — the human voice — you grow attached to,” Obama said.

Now 62, Maron said he’s ready to live life “without the urgency” that has kept him producing nonstop. “I was driving over Laurel Canyon and realized — I’m sitting in my body, in my car, fully in my life,” he said. “It’s taken me this long to get here.”

He also tanked longtime producer Brendan McDonald, his guests, and the millions who found solace in hearing someone “work it out, out loud.”

“I love you guys. I think you’ll be okay without me. I’m not entirely sure I’ll be okay without you,” Maron said. “It’s been quite a ride, quite an adventure, quite a life.”