Marc Maron Tells Listeners ‘WTF Is Coming To An End.’

The news of WTF’s future comes in episode No. 1,648 from host Marc Maron himself. “We had a great run, and now it’s time folks. WTF is coming to an end,” he said in an episode released Sunday. The podcast marks its 16th anniversary on Sept. 1 and Maron said the long-running series will end production in the fall.

“It’s our decision,” Maron tells listeners, saying the decision was made jointly with producer Brendan McDonald. “We both realized together that we were done, and there was no convincing or pushback or arguing we were done. And it’s okay for things to end after 16 years.”

The series, which Maron still records in his garage studio, was at the forefront of the podcast medium, launching in 2009 at a time when comedians were seeing it as a new way to reach fans. WTF with Marc Maron debuted a month after The Adam Carolla Show launched, and was three months ahead of The Joe Rogan Experience’s debut. Yet it was also five years before Serial’s first season helped to bring millions of people into the podcast listening habit.

“This was a show that was started when there were no podcasts. And now there are nothing but podcasts,” Maron says. “We’ve done things that we never thought we would be able to do because of the podcast. My life changed dramatically — and it really comes down to the fact that we have put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost 16 years.”

WTF with Marc Maron was a 2022 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee.

Maron announced in March that he is returning to his stand-up comedy roots with a new special in production for HBO. It was recorded last month during a New York stop for his “All In” tour. That may have helped to usher in the end of the podcast, as Maron says he has several projects in the works.

“We’re tired, we’re burnt out, and we are utterly satisfied with the work we’ve done,” Maron said on the latest episode. He also leaves open the door to returning to the podcast format. “This doesn’t mean I’m never going to do something like this again. Doesn’t mean I’ll never have some kind of podcast at some point in time.”

Unlike many of Maron’s fellow early adopters, WTF has remained independently produced through the years. In March 2023 it signed a three-year deal with Acast to host, distribute and sell advertising on the show.

“We’ve had great partners who have helped us do the show over the years. Acast has been our partner for the past three years, and we’ve been able to do things on our terms with them,” Maron says. “And we’ve been very fortunate to be able to do things the way we want to do them. And now, this is part of it — ending it the way we want it to end.”

No final episode date has been decided, but Maron is clear on his plans for the coming months. He says he wants to feature as many guests as possible during the home stretch of the series, which releases episodes twice a week.

“I’ll be honest with you, it’s nice to be able to end things on our terms. And we’ve always had that power to do that. And that’s what we’re going to do,” he says. “We started the show on our terms. We grew it on our terms, and we’ll end it on our terms.”