I Came In Hot.

Hello, Folks!

L’Shana Tova, Jews! Happy 5779!

How are you all holding up? I miss Minnesota already. I was just there. The weather was perfect. What a relief to be in the nice cool breeze of the Midwest. What a relief to be on the road.

It’s almost impossible to clear my head when I’m home. There’s always something to do. Something coming at me and when there isn’t, I find something. I guess it’s just my nature or maybe it’s just the nature of being self-employed and basically having three or four jobs. Podcast, standup, writing and acting. Shit never stops. I’m not complaining because I love the work but I can’t get a break. Because if I have an hour-and-a-half of free time each day there’s still a ton of routine maintenance and house shit and errands and food stuff to do. So, getting out on the road gets me some space. Physically and mentally.

That’s not always great either. My mind can get pretty out there, but then I reel it all in and see what’s at the end of the hooks and fillet those monsters on stage.

The crowds in Minneapolis are great. Smart people, cultured people, polite people, sweetly passive-aggressive people. I’m sure there are plenty of assholes there but I think they are polite.

I’ve been aggro, short-fused, ready to pounce for a week or so. Not sure what is going on. Maybe I just feel over-extended. When I got to Minneapolis I just wanted to get my room set up and lock in, relax, write, think. I came in hot. Told the guy at check in I wanted a water kettle so I can make my tea in the room. He said they didn’t have one. I thought, what kind of upscale hotel doesn’t have one? I don’t always stay at upscale places but lately I’ve realized that I have no wife or kids and I’m not sure why I’m not spending money on nice things. It pissed me off that they didn’t have one. I told him they should get one, they’re cheap. He said it wasn’t his job, basically. That just pissed me off. So, after I checked in, I walked to Target and bought one. Fifteen bucks. I stomped back to the hotel with it under my arm, not in a bag, to make a point. I was so ready to just righteously, aggressively but causally, go in there, tell him it was cheap and they could keep it. I had even planned to tweet a pic of it and tag the hotel with some snotty, snarky bullshit remark. I had my cause.

It's sad when the world is out of control and scary that the battles we chose to fight can be stupid and petty just to feel like we have control of something, anything.

I got back and he was gone. A pregnant woman was now behind the counter. She saw me walk in, steamed, carrying the box, and she said, 'Oh you bought one. I found you one. It’s in your room.’ Defeated and humbled I say, ‘Thanks.’ Then the killer line. She says, ‘I can return that for you.’ It was perfect. Polite and annihilating. Masterful passive-aggression but genuine. She would’ve done it. I said, ‘Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow.’

I was in Minnesota for 24-hours and I had been to Target twice and returned something. That’s the life I’m living. 

I need to be humbled a bit. Taken down a notch. It grounded me. Got me level for the shows.

Thanks for coming out Minneapolis.

Today I talk to Billy Eichner about how he became Billy Eichner. On Thursday I talk to comic/writer Adam Cayton-Holland about his memoir which moves through his sister's suicide. Heavy but also funny and sweet. Good talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Nice and Slow.

People! 

Back home for a minute. I’ve been out there doing the road jester thing pretty hard the last few weeks. I’ll be doing it for few weeks more. It’s good. I like the time away sometimes. There’s something about being in a hotel room in a strange town that is relaxing.

I was in Bloomington, Indiana. That town is not strange to me. I’ve been going there for years. It is a strange town in general, though. I’ve never been able to quite figure out why but it is. Something weird always happens when I’m there. Not this time, though. It might be me. I think I'm less of a magnet for weirdness than I used to be. I’m a bit more grounded. I think if you exude the weird, needy vibe, the weirdness will come try to fill it.

I had a very productive, relaxing time there. I got work done. Big work. Did the thinking. I wandered around scribbling the thoughts in my notebook. Stopping on sidewalks and parking lots when they were being delivered. I finally got some reading done. Just the act of sitting and reading. I read almost an entire Baffler which is not light fair generally. Great magazine. Just thinky. I locked in though. Felt good to put new ideas in the head. It lights up my creativity. Spreads my mind out. I also have an advance copy of the new Sam Lypsite book ‘Hark.’ It's fucking hilarious. Very excited for him. He’s my pal.

I had no car there so I was just walking around in heat and rain. Smoking cigars. Thinking. Processing. Pulling things together for the shows I was doing at night. I would push my brain pretty far out there and try and hold it out there and get on stage in that place. Riffage. I’ve been to the Comedy Attic many times. I can’t quite explain why but for me it’s a magic space. It’s a tight little room and I can one-brain it on a good night. Get into the deep groove. No filter. No second guessing. People come there from miles around, literally. Fans were there from Detroit, St. Louis, San Diego, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philly. One guy was seeing me for the 11th time. He brought his kid who was finally old enough to come to the show. It’s crazy. Very humbling. Some of them know though. They know that’s where shit happens. A small, tight room. Best kind of space to do real club comedy. The deep stuff. Taking the risks.

The crowds are amazing. It feels like I’m visiting friends I haven’t seen in while when I work there.

It’s a totally different pace there. It’s nice and slow. I napped, ran, went to a local gym in a corrugated steel structure. Walked back and forth to the Kroger to stock up my mini fridge with shit I can eat. I ate good food at The Farm. Bought some wax at Landlocked Records. It’s nice knowing a town a bit. How to do it.

Today I talk to a behind-the-scenes guy. Dan Schlissel has been running Standup Records for years. He’s put out two of my CDs and re-issued another. He’s recorded so many great comics. Today he talks to me. On Thursday I talk to guy who was in a great band back in the day, The Beatles. I was able to talk to Paul McCartney at a Capitol Records event in front of a crowd that didn’t know he was the surprise guest. The deal was I’d do it if we could release it as a podcast. So, dig that on Thursday. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

That Guy.

Hola, People!

How’s it going? I’m okay. I’m all strung out on cigars again but I guess there are worse things. I can kick any time. Tomorrow.

It’s just that I have a porch now. I love sitting on the porch. I’m sitting here now writing this. Cigars and porches kind of go together. Cigars, porches and never-ending nicotine addiction all go together. Beers and summer cocktails go with porches too. That’s not an option for me. I guess just sitting here with an iced tea would be good. I do that too. With a cigar. Sometimes. Goddammit.

Some housekeeping—I’ll be on Conan tonight. I believe it is a full-on comedian show. My pal Dean Delray will be making his television debut doing standup and I think Bert Kreischer is the other guest on panel. He’ll be on WTF on Thursday too. My Bloomington shows and Minneapolis shows are sold out but I believe there are still tickets for The Denver Comedy Works, September 21-22 and Standup Live in Phoenix. There are still seats for the big show at The Beacon in NYC for the NYC Comedy Fest in November on Nov. 10. Please go to the festival site for tickets before you complain that $1000 is too much for a seat because you went to a scalper site and didn’t realize it. Pay attention, people.

I had an amazing time shooting in Chicago. Love that city. It will be the last time I play Jacob Malco in Joe Swanberg’s Netflix show ‘Easy.’ I worked with Jane Adams again. She’s always amazing. We went deeper this time than the other two episodes we did together. I also do a scene with Melanie Lynskey who is one of the best actors ever. It’s all improvised, so the entire process is one of discovery. It was profound stuff.

Also, I like to keep you up to speed on some of my personal life. I’m sure you sometimes wonder if I ever become friends with people who I interview. Most of the time it’s a one-time thing and I don’t know the people before and I don’t really follow up. There are some people who I really hit it off with and I still don’t follow up. I’m a professional and I don’t want to be a pest or ‘that guy’ from the podcast reaching out. But… I knew Tracy Letts lived in Chicago so I asked him if he would have some deep dish with me and we did it. It was a blast. Love that guy. Good hang. Lou Malnati’s. He was skeptical at first because it’s sort of a tourist joint but they nail that pie. Had some laughs over a Classic—double cheese and sausage.

Today I talk to Jo Koy. I’ve known about him for years but only met him recently. He’s a worker. Real road comic. Good talk. On Thursday I talk to comic Ian Bagg. I’ve known him for years, just seeing him around. Since back in the day in NYC. Got to know him too. Also, Bert Kreischer and talk-jam on that episode. Great shows!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Gritty.

What’s up, Folks?

How’s it going. I’m okay. I’m in Chicago. I love Chicago. Gritty people here who give zero fucks about their health, it seems. I like that though. It’s commitment.

I just took a walk along the water and there is some kind of massive air show going on. This was the second day of it. When I got here I went up to my room at the hotel, eighteen floors up, and saw a profoundly menacing jet rocketing along the edge of the lake, way too low. Sadly, my first assumption wasn’t ‘air show.’ It was ‘uh oh.’ I guess I operate at that level of fear and panic that some kind of military action could just unleash at any moment. And, sadly again, I would assume that it would be our own military attacking our own city. I know, crazy, right? Could never happen. Right? I was thinking this is how the president is showing his dissatisfaction with the Chicago police. Strafing the South Side. Crazy, though. Right?

It was interesting to see the thousands of people lakeside watching planes and jets do tricks. All kinds of people. It seemed like every ethnicity was represented. Every size and shape of human showed up. All types of food were being grilled on many types of grilling apparatus. People brought chairs and tents. It was messy, gritty, half-nude and sweaty. Just relaxing and watching the gutted menace of jets with no agenda other than to entertain. I jogged past all these people of all kinds half giving a shit about the planes, out for a day in the sun on the beach. I wondered what the contrast would be between this crowd and whoever would show up at the military parade that the president wanted but couldn’t have just yet. Because what I was jogging past, in all its sweaty diverse beauty, was what America looks like. I can’t imagine that an audience for a military parade assembled by this president would look like what America looks like. I assume it would look like a nationalistic aspiration of intolerance and dominance by a narrow ideological swath of a minority of this country. Angry monsters who failed the test of tolerance out of a core fear of the other and submersion in paranoiac mythology.

Anyway, it’s nice here in Chicago. Weather is great.

I’m not entirely out from under my own reading of the eschatological signs that I make up. The water creeping up. The skies full of smoke. The land burning. The bees dying. The explosion of ticks and lizards. Coyotes out during the day. The new nature. Just the scary things will remain. I talked to my mother the other day and she got off the phone by saying, ‘I have to go feed my Iguanas.’ It wasn’t code. My mother doesn’t own iguanas. My mother is not losing it. After a little research I found the there is a massive Iguana problem in South Florida and I guess my mother is just helping it along. It’s my favorite end times tableau to date. My weird mother out in back of her house feeding dinosaurs. Hail Satan.

Today I talk to the eclectic and country Shooter Jennings about experimenting with music, country western and his dad Waylon. Also, a little chat with Rob Riggle today. On Thursday Belly’s Tanya Donelly and I catch up after 30 or so years. We worked at a restaurant in Boston together back in the day. The new Belly album is great. Also a little bit of Jason Bateman on Thursday too. Good talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Nineteen Years.

I had 19 years sober on Aug. 9th. Few days ago. Crazy.

I didn’t mention it on Thursday because I record the day before and you never know what can happen. Maybe I’d hit my head Wednesday night and think the last 19 years had been a dream and I was 35 years old and I would head to a bar, have a few drinks, get some blow and wonder where all my stuff was and whose house did I have keys to. That wasn’t going to happen. I actually just spaced it. Yes. I know it seems like something you would be vigilant about and would always have it situated firmly in the front of your mind but that is not the case. Thankfully.

Yes, I amazed and happy and grateful to be sober but It is something I just am now. It’s not a struggle or a fight or hard. It just is. When I tweeted I was 19 years sober a lot of people responded with things like ‘what an accomplishment’ or ‘that’s hard work’ or ‘how’d you do it?’ These are all fair things to ask or say but the truth is if you stop drinking and do at least some of the work, eventually you won’t think about drinking or doing drugs every second of the day or really at all for that matter. One of the core promises of the program is that the obsession will be lifted. It happens at different times for people but it happens. Jesus, if I still wanted to drink and use every day after 19 years that would suck. I don’t. If I do, I do it on purpose to see what my brain does. It knows it can’t. Deeply.

Over time, if you don’t drink or use, you don’t. Though you have to remain a vigilant because you don’t want to one day just think you can because it’s been a while. I’ve seen people do that and die or never come back. If you are an addict or alcoholic you should be scared to death of drugs and alcohol because, with your help, they are definitely trying to kill you.

Thanks for all the congratulatory feedback. I’ll take it. I earned it. It is just who I am now and I am grateful for that. It is an amazing achievement that really does happen one day at time. Early on it was a minute at a time. It is better. It is good. 

In other news, LaFonda was sick but I think she’s going to be okay. I went into it a bit on the show.

Today I talk to Jimmy O. Yang. He’s a quirky, funny guy. I really liked meeting him and chatting. On Thursday I talk to guitar legend Joe Walsh. That was a tricky talk. No easy flowing convo but it was great to hang out with him. He’s very sober by the way.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Vibes.

What’s up, Folks?

I’m in the air, in a little plane, flying out of the Utah desert.

I really want to thank everyone in Salt Lake City for coming out. I’ve been to Wiseguys quite a few times at this point. Enough to have seen a few different locations come and go. The one downtown is an odd space but a good club. We sold out four shows which I think is about the maximum amount of people I can draw in SLC. About 1,000. Maybe I’m not giving myself enough credit but it just feels like all the people in that city who are into what I do come out. I’m not complaining I appreciate it. It’s just an odd place.

I always seem to forget what it feels like to go there until I get there and I always go back so I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s sort of a fascinating vibe. There’s certainly no place else like it. There’s just there’s an awkward vibrating balance going on there. It’s not tense that I can tell. You do feel the presence of the Mormon history and it weighs on the place but it's kind of engaging and mysterious. That and the heat and the high altitude and the sterility of the downtown area make for a kind of dark but interesting vibe. I always walk around for hours when I’m there, even in the heat. It’s a good place to get worn down and think for some reason.

The shows are always pretty exciting because by the fourth show, the late one on Saturday, I’m pretty loopy from walking and thinking and I always seem to improvise there. Finding the through line for the new shit. It was a wild show.

On a less mystical note, they have a great farmer’s market there on Saturdays in Pioneer Park. A lot of fruit, vegetables, baked good, food and crafts. I bought some wooden spoons from a wooden spoon guy. I got tired of looking at my wooden spoons so a spent a little bread for a handcrafted wooden spoon upgrade.

Today on the show I talk to Jay Leno. I know, right? I didn’t think that would ever happen but it did. There were a few very specific things I wanted to cover with him. Back in the day he was one of the best comics working, well-respected, prolific. Then over time, because of several events, a lot the comic community seem to sour on him and lose respect for him. We talk about that a bit. On Thursday the very charming, very funny, very Irish, Chris O’Dowd and I talk about the things. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Community.

Hello, People!

I snuck off to Montreal for two days and I didn’t tell you guys. Sorry.

Also, I’ll be in SLC, Utah at Wiseguys Comedy Club this weekend, Aug. 3-4. Go to wtfpod.com/tour for the ticket link!

I haven’t been to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal for a few years and I generally don’t go. A couple of weeks ago I was asked by the guy in charge if I could help him reach out to the creators of GLOW, Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive, because he wanted to see if they could receive the comedy writing of the year award at the festival. So, I helped him out and they were into it. Then they asked if I could present them with the award. I was honored to. They gave me my big break and I love the show. So, the festival flew me up and put me up for a couple of days and I did the presenting.

It was actually a perfect amount of time and I forget the good parts of the festival because when I was younger I was so full of panic and dread about the sets I was doing because all the audiences were about a third industry and every set counted. That’s exactly the kind of pressure that used to make me choke and be consumed with anxiety. Now, I don’t give as much of a fuck. I’m established enough that the festival doesn’t do anything for me career-wise and most people know me for better or worse.

I did get one set in up there on Andy Kindler’s Alternative show and it was fun. I had a very decadent dinner with Dean Delray and some Cuban cigars. I saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in years and that was moving and fun. I forget just how much of a community this industry is. I forget that I’ve been in this business in earnest since my early twenties and all the people that surround it - execs and agents and managers and comics and club owners - have known me since I was a kid. It’s nice to check in. Especially since I’m not sweaty and angry and full of panic anymore. At least not about show business.

The truly great moments of the trip happened around the awards show. I was able to introduce Liz and Carly to my world. I introduced them to Chapelle and Tiffany Haddish, Howie Mandell, Maria Bamford and others. We all met Hannah Gadsby for the first time. The show itself turned out to be very moving. I presented them. Deon Cole presented to Lil Rel Howery. Howie presented to Jo Koy. Maria presented to Hannah. Kevin Hart presented to Tiffany and all the winners got a little choked up. It was sweet.

It was great reconnecting with people. I have a community. It’s just one full of outsiders and weird individuals. Unlike me. Totally stable and normal. I’m so glad they all accept me.

This week is good. Today I talk to Mila Kunis about being a religious refugee and Ashton Kutcher and acting and a lot of other stuff. Also, today, I talk to Iliza Schlesinger about her stalker and new special. On Thursday I have a very intense, interesting talk with the actor, Luzer Twersky, about leaving the Hasidic community to live a normal life and pursue his dreams. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Older.

People!

Dad was here. I’m happy I have the opportunity to assess the current distance between apple and tree.

I made it through, and you know what? It was good. It was nice to hang out with him for a couple of days. I don’t think I could’ve made it more than that but I was able to deal with him for that amount of time a not get sucked into the misery/worry vortex that is his mind.

I must be getting a bit more forgiving as I get older. I think that should happen naturally. Who has the energy to maintain lifelong resentments after a certain point? I mean, a couple of little ones, sure. Not big ones. I think the fact that I have become somewhat successful in what I do tempers my problems with him and also makes his innate attempts at diminishing me or dismissing me a bit impotent, which is good. Bottom line though, he is proud and in awe of what I have done and that is nice.

He is also getting older. When you don’t see your dad for a year or two and he’s in his seventies it can be jarring when you do. He’s going to be 80 this year. He and his wife and I went on a little hike with a very small incline and he just couldn’t handle it. It really hit me that he’s fragile and old. So, I didn’t make him hike or make him feel bad about not being able to do it like he might have done to me when I was younger. I should’ve. Kidding. There’s always some part of your brain that keeps your parents where they were when you were a kid. Now the reality of where he is at is bigger. I felt it. I’m glad he is still around and we can spend time together now. Again, two days max but I am glad.

I’m also realizing things about him that I don’t think I saw the same way years ago. He’s an envelope pusher, a risk taker. I always knew him to be a bit manic and impulsive, irresponsible, which could appear like he was taking risks, but I don’t think he ever put much thought into it. I now know differently. Listen to today’s show for the story.

Today and Thursday I talk to people who have been on the show and who I thought were going to be short talks on different episodes but they turned out to be medium talks and we paired them up. David Sedaris and Bo Burnham today and Sue Costello and Jim Gaffigan on Thursday.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

It's All Gravy.

We did it, folks. 

Something.

GLOW got Emmy nominations for all kinds of awards—hair, makeup, titles, casting, cinematography, stunts, production design, directing and BEST COMEDY! AND Betty Gilpin got nominated for Supporting Actress in a Comedy. She’s amazing. It’s so great that happened. She is a real envelope pushing actor. A real risk taker at every point of her approach and that makes her character beautifully complex. She had a lot of heavy lifting to do first season in order to make her situation believable. The attention is well-deserved.

I got a lot of tweets saying I was robbed and Alison was robbed. I don’t know how Alison feels but I do not feel like I was robbed. I don’t really like the whole idea of having competition imposed on me. Life is dire enough. Sure, I tried to get nominated because why wouldn’t I but I didn’t really feel disappointed. I think it would’ve been great to get that kind of respect from my peers but I’m not really the award-winning type of person for whatever reason. I just do the work. It’s all gravy for me in a lot of ways. I didn’t think I was going to have the opportunity to do any of the stuff I am doing. I work hard, I like it and so do you. That’s really enough. I did buy some fancy clothes for the other award shows I went to and for TV and I would like to wear them more. I guess that’s the real bummer. I want to dress up. Maybe I’ll just wear my fancy suits around the house more. Maybe I’ll buy myself a trophy and wander around giving acceptance speeches to my cats. Truth is I was better second season. See, maybe I did really want to get nominated. Of course, I did. There, I admitted it. But I think I’m getting better at it and that’s what’s important. Both acting and admitting things. Competition stinks and if it isn’t sports its usually suspect in terms of how it’s all decided. Like elections.

In other news, I got my 23 and Me genetic results back. It actually just said JEW. Seriously. 99.5 percent Ashkenazi Jew with a smattering of "broadly European," whatever that means. Probably Jew too. I have no hereditary disease propensities and there were some details that were just odd. Like, they knew I could smell asparagus in my pee. I’m glad we have these advances to confirm these important traits that we pass on generation to generation.

Today I talk to Gus Van Sant about his new movie 'Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot’ and a lot of his other movies. There’s some surprising stuff about his starting out as an artist that I thought was interesting and fun to know. On Thursday I talk to Daveed Diggs about his new film, ‘Blindspotting.’ It’s a very personal and brutally beautiful film about his hometown of Oakland. We also talk about ‘Hamilton’ and track and stuff. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Repair.

Hot enough for ya, People?

Ridiculous. It’s happening and it’s all of our faults. We ruined the planet. Time to adapt or leave. I know, I know. And go where? Maybe devolve and grow gills and move back into the water. 

Happy Monday!

I’m weird. I like it when it gets up around 113°. It’s mind-altering. That has been known for centuries. It’s like time spent in the desert. That’s when you see things. Manna and burning bushes. You don’t need drugs, you need heat. As someone who has been sober for almost 19 years, I welcome the occasional natural freebie. It seems that my metabolism slows down in the heat. My blood feels like mud in my veins. I’m a bit queasy. Light-headed. Spaced. I don’t move much. 

I spent some time over the weekend dealing with boots. Polishing. Bringing them in for repair. I sat out on my porch in the 100° heat and slowly, methodically polished up one of two pairs of White’s boots that I had been neglecting. It’s a Zen chore. After the polish I had to bring the unpolished pair in for new heels. When I get it in my head to do something, especially non-urgent tasks, I get them done compulsively asap. The guy I used to go to for boot work retired or died. His store is gone. The last time I was in there he didn’t seem great. He was rolling a respirator around. Hopefully he’s just sitting at home, breathing easier. I don’t know. 

I reluctantly went to another old man across the street that I had gone to in the past. I was nervous to go there because the last time he didn’t have the right sized sole for my boots and he said he would make them work, trim them, grind them down. TMI. I just want them to look and feel right. I don’t need to hear about unnecessary challenges and making do. They looked fine, great even, but the experience stuck in my head. I didn’t think it could happen again. When I went back he didn’t have the right sized heel. I thought, ‘fuck.’ It was huge. He said he would trim it and grind it down. Of course he needed cash so I walked three blocks in the 100°-plus weather to the bank. 

In minutes I was almost hallucinatory, sweating, riding the edge of heatstroke. But I liked it. A haze was closing in around my vision, everything slowed down. I felt the earth screaming as air-conditioned cars whizzed by. ‘We’re so fucked,’ I thought. We gambled like children trying to get away with something and now we just wait to get caught in the catastrophic disaster of the big shift on all fronts, for the worst. ‘Nothing matters anymore,’ I thought, nearly passing out. 

I made it to the bank and back. Paid the old man. Went home. In two hours my boots were done. I went back. They looked perfect. He said, ‘You were worried but I love what I do so I do great work I am proud of.’ That seemed like a solid reason to live. I took those boots home and polished them perfectly to match those perfect heels.

Today I talk to the wise and talented Boots Riley about music, life and his new film ‘Sorry to Bother You.’ Good talk. Also, a little talk with Bobcat Goldthwait, too.  On Thursday I talk to the one and only Ray Liotta about his career, life and New Jersey. Great talk. Plus a short drop-in by David Sedaris. 

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Pause.

Well, Folks.

I’m about done doing everything I always wanted to do. Not quite but most of it. I’m not stopping right away because I have other things to do. Though I do think it’s time I look back and retroactively enjoy my life and accomplishments. I’m always so busy ploughing through, doing the next thing and working that I really don’t even take a minute to process what I have done. Well, not just ploughing through and working but not really giving myself much credit either. I think that’s how I stay humble. Just beating myself enough not to be happy or think I did good enough. It’s a bad loop. A curse. Something I need to record over. Dumb. Life is getting shorter.

Example. GLOW, the show on which I am a featured member of the cast, premiered last Friday and I forgot to mention it on my own damn show. I didn’t tell you guys. I forgot. What is that about? Obviously, a lot of you figured it out but still. I know there’s been a lot going on re: the end of the world and our democracy but still. I know I get focused on what I am going to say and what I am saying but still… I spaced promoting a very big thing in my life, on my own show.

Part of me probably thought, ‘well, we did that a long time ago.’ I finished with my feelings about it already. Now, I have to make that right. I watched them all, again. As someone who plays a part you have no idea how the whole thing is going to come out. It came out so fucking good. I’ve seen how excited people are by the show. I’m happy about that. I guess part of me doesn’t think any of it is real until people react to it. The reaction has been great. And, I think I did a good job. I’m proud of my work. And now I’m telling you about it. I had to take pause and let myself have that so I don’t just plough through thinking I did fine and it was okay and what are doing now...

Honestly, I’m thrilled about the show. The second season is better than the first and that was great. I like working with everyone involved and this season really allowed me to let Sam have some depth and take some chances as an actor a bit. It’s amazing working with all the actresses (and Chris Lowell) because they make me better and they’re amazing. I want to congratulate everyone who is involved with the show and thank everyone for watching it.

Today I talk to the all too nice Paul Rudd. I tried to find some dark in there but couldn’t really. Great guy, great talk. On Thursday I go on a tight, easy ride in the mind of Peter Fonda, no helmet. It was before he went (rightfully) nuts on Twitter and pushed the envelope a bit. Good talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Aware.

People!

Everyone hanging in as well as possible? Ok.

I’ve got nothing new to say today. My computer seems to be one of the Apple Macbook Pro that is entitled to a free keyboard replacement or repair. I’ve been battling with this thing for months thinking it was somehow my fault. Some of my emails look like I’m having a stroke while writing them. Now, I just have to get over to the Genius Bar to get it taken care of. It’s ridiculous that I’ve literally stopped using my computer most of the time as opposed to getting this thing fixed. It’s exciting. You live in mild misery long enough out of laziness when you do get it remedied it's life changing. It’s like waiting to pee just because it will feel better when you do. Addict brain.

Speaking of addiction, my big shift to tea a half year ago or so is paying off. It’s blossomed into a very diverse, reliable compulsion with equipment and variety. There are strainers and blends and greens and blacks and scents and brewing temperatures. It’s crazy. I know the difference between First and Second Flush Darjeeling. I know the difference between Irish and English Breakfast teas. None of that is as important as knowing which ones get you high. For me it’s Organic Assam. That shit clears mind and makes everything shiny.

Please stay engaged and aware. We have to remain awake and focused and informed. We can’t fall into ourselves. Try to keep clarity. Assam. Conscience. No killing yourselves.

Today I talk to Lil Rel Howrey about coming up in the black comedy scene of Chicago and his new movie. Great guy, great talk. On Thursday I talk to Comedy Store lifer Eleanor Kerrigan about starting as an actress, being a waitress and getting into comedy. We talk a lot about Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore. It was recorded before she died and there’s a lot of insight into who she was towards the end of her life. Great talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Speak Out.

People!

I have a cold. I’m ok. Just snotty.

So, we’re shamelessly torturing children and parents by separating them at the border. That’s what the USA is now. We torture children as an example and warning and punishment to desperate people seeking refuge. That’s the USA’s new method. Taking kids away from their mothers at a young age is torture. They will not recover from the trauma. It will define them for the rest of their lives. There is no justification for it. Warning or punishment. If you can justify this in your head you don’t believe in democracy or decency. You’re a bad egg. The USA is shamelessly torturing children as policy. What can we do? We can speak out. Or add this verse to the famous series of statements by Martin Neimoller.

       ‘When they came for the immigrant’s children
       I did not speak out. 
       Because I was not an immigrant.’ 

You know how it ends.

      ‘Then they came for me—and there was no one
      Left to speak for me.’

Brendan found a good organization that provides legal representation and bond funds to get parents out of immigration detention and back with their children. It's called RAICES: Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. You can donate here. Raicestexas.org

I hope the voting works when we vote.

I went to see the Bowie exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. It was far more amazing then I heard. The exhibition itself was really phenomenal. There was historical ephemera: clothes, records, writings, art work, a napkin with lipstick on it, photos, videos. It was completely immersive. You are in the world, history and work of Bowie. 

It was crowded. I couldn’t read everything. It is a guided tour. You wear a headset that is connected to a WIFI activated receiver and it allows you to move at your own pace. What I didn’t expect was how emotional I would get. I was standing in front of a wall-sized projection of Bowie as Ziggy on Top of the Pops or some show like that singing Starman and I just started weeping. It happened over and over again watching videos and interviews. Maybe it was grief, maybe it was joy, maybe both. There was something so amazing about that guy. The way he could intentionally occupy his body in so many ways. The way he could transform himself through movement, music, costume, appearance. He represented something singular and important about creativity and its power to transform. Maybe I was grieving the fact that there seems to be less room for that now. Maybe I was grieving my own youth. Maybe I was just acknowledging how much Bowie meant to me at many stages of my own life maybe I was just feeling my mortality. Maybe I was just moved to the core.

It was great.

Today I talk to Billy Bob Thornton about Billy Bob Thornton. Good talk. On Thursday I talk to Dave Itzkoff about his amazing Robin Williams biography. Another good talk. Good week.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Greatness.

Hey, Gang!

I’m upstate. New York. Thinking.

It’s been a rough few days. When we have to repost an episode in memoriam it's always rough. I was totally surprised that Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. I would never have expected that. I guess I didn’t really know him and even if I did you just don’t know what is going on in someone’s heart or mind. He seemed to have it all. His heart was in the right place. He was righteous and outspoken but very humble and giving. He did so much to bring people together and he seemed to always be so engaged in life and living it. Who knows what made him decide to do that. It’s terribly sad.

What I realized when I reposted the episode is just how many people loved him and found hope in what he did and were inspired by his journey. His many journeys--as a writer, eater, cooker, explorer of the human experience in all forms and a radical speaker of truth to power. I think it’s hard for people who build relationships with people based on their public persona when something like this happens. Remember, you only know of them what they are making available. Their struggles are sometimes profoundly personal and their own. Try to keep your hope, if you have any left, intact. Have empathy and feel the grief but don’t assume you understand and project and personalize it and take on your idea of their struggles and make it your own. Especially if you are sensitive and prone to spiraling. We didn’t know. Remember him for the greatness. The episode we did in 2011 was a beautiful representation of who he was. I liked talking to him.

I am in Upstate NY visiting with Sarah the Painter’s family for a couple of days. Weather is perfect, the first strawberries are here and I’m dodging deer ticks. Tomorrow we are heading down to NYC. I will be appearing on Good Morning America on Wednesday and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday. I bought some new clothes I’ll be wearing. I forget why I don’t have nice clothes. They’re a pain in the ass to travel with—garment bags and more than one pair of shoes in the duffle. I figure I can dress up a little on TV. I’ve done it before but I just stopped because of the terrible fashion choices I have made over the years. You can go see decades of them at wtfpod.com in the video section.

Today I talk one of my favorite actors, Bob Balaban. Great talk. On Thursday me and Holly Hunter hash some stuff out. It was a trip having her over. Very intense. Great talk as well.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Healthy.

Hey, Folks!

Exciting opening. Exclamation point and everything. Like I have something to tell you.

I got nothing.

Just slowly prepping my brain to having to adjust to living in an actual authoritarian country and what that means. Aside from that, just the same dumb everyday shit that most of us go through. Though that as a baseline tends to exacerbate other dumb aggravations. At least, just for today, there’s no lava, water or fire ripping down my street. Just in my brain. So, that’s nice.

I’ve been trying to get into some regular exercise habit. I generally work out a couple or more times a week but I mean, like, getting my heart pounding so it feels like I’m going to die. You know, feeling like I’m really doing something ‘healthy.’ I have been through this cycle so many times before. Some of you people have probably been through it with me. I guess I’m aging into being the guy that just cycles and actual change is very incremental and relative to slowly giving up a little at full loop. With me it’s always about food, weight, nicotine and relationships. Any prolonged period when I think I’m really growing or moving forward I eventually end up in very familiar territory and it becomes hand-to-hand combat with myself. But one side is tired now and that seems to be the me that doesn’t think he’s good enough or complete or worthy. That guy is getting tired of trying to convince the other one that he’s not that great and it’s a tough sell given how life has been lately. That’s all good but I wish I could get there without stuffing myself for weeks until I have to relent to dietary control or disappear into a dark void of sad self. I’ve been hitting the dumb cigars a bit too and I’m all nic-fitty and annoyed. Emotionally I think I am genetically incapable of trust or opening up in a relationship and staying open and just letting it be. But like I said, all these things are not as harrowing as they used to be because I’m ok. Been here before. Can deal. Not cancer. Not drinking. Not yet. Aware.

I have great guests this week! I’ve always been a fan of David Harbour and I always thought we might get along in a very specific and engaged way. We did. It was an exciting talk. That’s today. On Thursday I talk to comedian Vanessa Hollingshead. It’s a harrowing tale. We have a bit of history but I’m glad she is doing okay. Great comic talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

I'm Not Sure I Know.

Back home, People!
 
Finally. I’m going to be home for a stretch. I need to regroup and get grounded. I need to work on the new place. I need to get all the dings on my leased car fixed. I need to not eat garbage. I need to reconnect with the cats. I need to buy some plants. I need to… I'm just glad to be home. 

I'm getting reacquainted with my records. One snuck up on me. It has just been hanging out for years. I haven’t really paid attention to it sitting there. I haven’t really listened to it in years. I decided to download it onto my phone for my trip among dozens of others and I was listening to it on the plane and my mind just got blown. It was Dylan’s ‘Planet Waves.’ All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the stacks, it’s my favorite Dylan album and maybe one of the greatest records ever. I don’t hear anyone ever talking about it. I also didn’t realize that Dylan only did two ‘studio’ records with The Band and this was one of them. All of them are so in the pocket it’s crazy. The space between them perfectly filled by one or all of them. It’s just astounding to me. I like when this happens. Something out of the past, that I have known for years, rises up and changes my life. The songs run the range of emotions from grief to ecstasy. There was just a perfect symbiosis between the songs and the people playing them. Peak. Jesus, I’m talking about it like just came out. 1973. I’m a bit obsessed. It will pass. I bought five copies of the album just to have and give to people if needed. It’s not hard to find or that expensive and that just baffles me. It’s fucking box of jewels.

 I’m back from Alabama and I guess I can now talk about what was going on down there. As I assumed many of you guessed I was working on a little movie that we shot out in like two weeks. It was conceived and written by Lynn Shelton and Mike O’Brien and Lynn directed it. The film is completely improvised and it’s a pretty crazy little movie—well at least the footage is—can’t wait to see how it all comes together. It will. Shelton is a wizard. It’s called ‘Sword of Trust’ and it features me, Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell, Jon Bass, Toby Huss, Whit Thomas, Dan Bakkedahl and Tim Paul. It was hot as balls down there and the shooting was pretty intense at times. Emotional and hilarious and odd. Improvising an entire film is exhausting but it’s a very honest path to discovery. I think I had a good time at least half of the time. That’s pretty good. It was awesome working with everyone and the crew was great. Amazing experience. What’s it about? I’m not sure I know. I do know my character owns a pawn shop and that at some point four of us get out of a truck and interrupt someone inseminating a horse. Enough said. 
 
Today I talk to Tom Papa. He’s a great comic and a guy I’ve known for years but didn’t really know and made assumptions about. I never had him on. We work through it. On Thursday Rachel Brosnahan and I talk about acting and her show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which I like. I didn’t think I would like as a comic but I do. It does something very interesting in retrofitting a woman with a defined comedic voice doing spontaneous long form bits onstage into the '50s. Great talks! 

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Understanding.

What’s up, People?

You don’t have to answer.

I’m in Birmingham, Alabama. I’ve been here for a few days. I’m doing some work down here. Not construction, show business. I’ll tell you about it when I’m done. I can’t right now. I can tell you about being here, I guess.

As many of you know I am always pleasantly surprised when I come down South. Almost always. After years of prejudgment and assumptions and stereotyping, I have grown to embrace and accept the South in bits and pieces, towns and cities, not as whole necessarily. You get what I’m saying. The point is Birmingham seems nice. It takes a lot for cities down here to work against the evil ghosts of oppression and terror that occupy the streets and buildings and fields and trees but they seem to be doing it. I like it here. Good energy, good food, nice people. I’ve been limited to a set and a couple square blocks but at least my judgments are leaning toward the good side which might be too idealistic. I don’t know.

On my day off I did take the trip to Montgomery to see the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum. In all my life of wandering through memorials and monuments and museums dedicated to the legacy of horror of one kind or another I have never been so gutted by a work of public art and museum of history. From their website:

‘The memorial structure on the center of the site is constructed of over 800 corten steel monuments, one for each county in the United States where a racial terror lynching took place. The names of the lynching victims are engraved on the columns. The memorial is more than a static monument. In the six-acre park surrounding the memorial is a field of identical monuments, waiting to be claimed and installed in the counties they represent. Over time, the national memorial will serve as a report on which parts of the country have confronted the truth of this terror and which have not.’

The steel rectangles are suspended evenly from posts, seemingly hanging, as you walk beneath them, hundreds of them. The effect is devastating and elevating simultaneously. Oppressive. The entire monument is situated on several acres of property and it takes time to walk around and take it in. No matter what I thought I knew or understood I have to admit my ignorance of the impact and terror of the violent history for African Americans in this country. I really knew very little other than it was wrong and awful and a few bits and pieces of the history because some part of me didn’t want to know. It is almost impossible to claim empathy as a white person but that isn’t required. What is required is to understand and learn and to know in your heart and mind what happened and the effect it had and continues to have.

After the memorial I drove to the museum which takes you through the entire history of organized murder and institutionalized racism in America. I felt ignorant and shallow and wrong for not knowing it in any real detail. I do now. The museum is in an old slave warehouse and that port on the river in Montgomery was a major hub of slave commerce. You are there in the house with the ghosts real pain and unthinkable horror.

Because of that day trip I won’t be the same and my heart and mind won’t be the same and that is powerful. That is being schooled. It’s an important trip to make if you can.

Today I talk to Josh Brolin which was fun and deep and fast moving. Great talk, great guy. On Thursday Mary Steenburgen and I have a great time getting to know each other and talking about her journey as a person. Great talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Old Lady.

Hey, Folks!

Thanks for all of your input on the Marc Maron/WTF Ben and Jerry’s flavor that will never happen. I think the consensus was What the Fudge. There were some other clever mixtures that involved dark, bitter flavors and some involved the vanilla cut that I talked about on one of my specials. I wasn’t really even expecting it to be a thing but the suggestions came in.

Also, thanks for the commiserating and confirming emails about pooping on the road and while traveling. Glad to know it’s a common thing and we are all that close.

See, you all make me feel less alone too.

La Fonda is okay. She’s old, but she’s okay. I talked about her having a hard time. When I got home from Europe she was peeing blood. It seemed to start when I got home. When a cat is 14 years old and starts peeing blood you just prepare for the worst. Sarah got her into a carrying case and I immediately took her to the vet. It is no easy trip for my weird cats. They pee and shit all over the cage and howl the whole way there. It is very stressful and traumatic but I had no choice.

I did make a decision not to see my regular vet because I can’t deal with him anymore. I didn’t want a chipper morbid prognosis with an upselling of more tests. This guy, even if the cat is okay, will let you know that it’s only a matter of time before they get sick and die and there’s always time for more tests before that happens. I didn’t want to deal with that so I went to a new vet at the same place. She was great, thorough, earnest. We did all the tests. 

They knocked La Fonda out for a set of x-rays. Shot her up with some antibiotic and a steroid and told me it might be a UTI and I might need to give her meds. That’s a nightmare. There just no way to give my cats meds. Never has been. That made me nervous but I waited out the results. She called a couple of days later saying it was a UTI and the antibiotic she used would treat it. I was thrilled. La Fonda wasn’t dying yet. The vet did say that she had weight loss and it could be Lymphoma and I should get more tests. I asked her what the treatment was. She said, ‘Chemotherapy.’ I was said, ‘We’ll see. She’s 14. She’s an old lady. Let’s wait it out.’ I think the visit to the vet takes months off her life just from the stress. Bottom line, she’s okay for now. That’s the best any of us can hope for.

Today I talked to Rachel Bloom about her new movie ‘Most Likely to Murder,’ Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Jews and more. We got each other. On Thursday I talk to Melissa McCarthy about her new movie ‘Life of the Party’ and other stuff. Great talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron