Episode 1492 - Jesse David Fox

Jesse David Fox thinks comedy is serious business. As the comedy reporter at Vulture, he’s been writing about it for more than a decade. Now Jesse is attempting to explain the role of comedy in our ever-evolving culture in his newly published Comedy Book. Marc, as you may imagine, has some thoughts. Jesse and Marc talk about standup as an art form, the meaning of edginess, the melding of comedy with tragedy and grief, and the reason Maria Bamford is their favorite comedian working today.

Episode 1491 - Albert Brooks

A conversation more than a dozen years in the making, Albert Brooks finally agreed to sit down with Marc overlooking the Pacific Ocean at The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica. After recently going over parts of his life and career in a documentary directed by his friend Rob Reiner, Albert fills in the gaps with Marc, talking about his early days doing bits for radio stations and television variety shows, his standup sets in LA clubs, and his first writing gigs. There are also lots of stories along the way about folks like Jack Benny, Garry Shandling, George Burns, Paul Lynde and Albert’s mom.

Episode 1490 - Elliott Caine

When Marc was living in Highland Park, he found out something interesting about his neighborhood optometrist. Not only was this man an eye doctor, he was an accomplished jazz trumpeter. Marc welcomes Dr. Elliott Caine to the garage to find out how a Midwestern Jewish kid stayed on parallel tracks throughout his life, one fulfilling a career pursuit, one fulfilling his musical passion. Also, Marc delivers his annual Thanksgiving pep talk from Florida.

Episode 1489 - Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi has his hands in dozens of projects at any given time, but he says the connective thread of all his work is that he’s still trying to impress his deceased father. Taika and Marc discuss the core of grief in all of Taika’s films and television shows, including the Thor movies, JoJo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows, Reservation Dogs and his most recent film Next Goal Wins.

Episode 1488 - Fisher Stevens

Fisher Stevens left a lasting impression on Marc in the early ‘80s when Fisher was in Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. Since then, Fisher’s career has taken him from acting to directing to making documentary films, winning an Oscar for The Cove. Fisher talks with Marc about landing himself in director’s jail, what drove him toward making docs, how working with the United Nations led to his role on Succession, and why he needed a different set of tools to make the Beckham docuseries for Netflix.

Episode 1487 - José Andrés

Chef José Andrés could have been best known as the owner of some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world. But now he is arguably more well known as someone who feeds people around the world in their times of greatest need. José talks with Marc about the reason he founded World Central Kitchen, how the organization went from providing food relief in disaster areas to operating in active war zones, and how the chaos of restaurants prepared the chef and his team for the unpredictable nature of relief work.

Episode 1486 - Laraaji

Before he was Laraaji, Edward Larry Gordon was a gig musician with a background in composition, an aspiring actor, a standup comic and a person interested in the metaphysical. Then one day he pawned his guitar for an autoharp and changed not only his life but the genre of ambient music. Laraaji talks with Marc about his lifelong experimentation with instruments, his collaboration with Brian Eno, and his ongoing practice of laughter meditation.

Episode 1485 - John Wilson

While John Wilson spends his time filming everything around him, one question he’s constantly asking is whether he should be filming everything around him all the time. John talks with Marc about how his lifelong fascination with film combined with his terrible experiences in reality television led to an embrace of the documentary medium. They talk about the creation of his show, How To with John Wilson, and how it became a way for him to process emotionally difficult things in his life.

Episode 1484 - Lou Adler

Lou Adler’s career in the music industry is one of the most accomplished in history, writing and producing hit songs and albums for the likes of Jan and Dean, Sam Cooke, the Mamas and the Papas, Carole King and many more. But he also was a producer of films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the director of Cheech and Chong’s Up In Smoke. On top of all that, he opened The Roxy Theater on the Sunset Strip, the club that launched many careers, which Lou talks about with Marc on the occasion of The Roxy’s 50th anniversary.

This episode is sponsored by Keeps.

Episode 1483 - Dan Soder

Nearly fifteen years ago, Dan Soder and Marc were talking at a comedy club right after they were both fired from their respective radio gigs. Marc responded to that moment by launching this podcast while Dan committed himself to standup, which led back to radio with his show The Bonfire and to acting gigs on shows like Billions. Dan also tells Marc how his early life hardened him to adversity, losing his father and sister to tragic circumstances, and how he learned how to explain most of life thanks to pro wrestling.

Episode 1482 - Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy turned the pain of her abusive upbringing and the resentment she had toward her show business career into the blockbuster memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. More than a year after its release, Jennette talks with Marc about the perspective she gained now that her story is out in the world, how she separates her Nickelodeon past with her self-actualized present, and how she’s looking to continue giving voice to sensitive topics, like with her new podcast Hard Feelings.

Episode 1481 - Joan Baez

Joan Baez is in the midst of examining her life as the subject of a new documentary, Joan Baez: I Am a Noise. Among the many revelations is that, at a very young age, she gravitated toward sad music. What she learned early on was to embrace the music of struggle as a way to rise above the sadness. Joan talks with Marc about the emergence of the folk scene in Cambridge and Boston, how her deeply ingrained pacifism shaped her activism, and how she put in the work to rebuild her relationship with her son.

Episode 1480 - Doug Stanhope / Louis Katz

It’s another comic double-header with two of Marc’s favorites. Doug Stanhope is back to talk about his new movie The Road Dog, which prompts memories from Doug and Marc about their days doing road gigs when they were just starting out. Also, comedian Louis Katz uses the occasion of his new standup special, Present/Tense, to show how his thought process works, as it swings from the logic of strip clubs to the dangers of global conspiracies within 20 minutes.

Episode 1479 - Rob Halford

Fans know Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford as the Metal God. But he says there’s one guy called Rob Halford and another guy called The Metal God. Now, at 72 years old, Rob is embracing a life where those two personas are separate but the same. Rob talks with Marc about the perspective he’s gained after writing two books about his life and the self-awareness that comes with age. They discuss his coming out story, the court case that saw Judas Priest on the front lines of a First Amendment battle, and the origins of heavy metal.

Episode 1478 - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to focus on life’s victories. That makes for an interesting contrast with Marc, a self-described “obstacle guy.” Arnold and Marc find that their differing approaches to taking on the world make for good conversation about generational change, political awakenings and being useful, which is the subject of Arnold’s new book. They also discuss bodybuilding, James Cameron’s vegan advice, and Arnold’s rivalry-slash-friendship with Sylvester Stallone.

Episode 1477 - Tom Papa

Tom Papa’s last trip to the garage was mostly about his comedy past, reflecting on how he and Marc got to where they are in their chosen profession. This time, Tom and Marc are thinking mostly about their futures, how they’re navigating the comedy world at their ages and success levels while staring at a not-too-distant time when the stage light goes out for good. Just two comedians discussing meaning, maturity, mysticism and maintaining the funny.

Episode 1476 - Larry Charles

Larry Charles always knew he liked comedy but he also knew he liked being a button-pusher. Those preferences are on display in his writing for Seinfeld, his work on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his direction of movies like Borat, Bruno, and his latest film Dicks: The Musical. Larry and Marc talk about comedy’s role in the world as a display of defiant humanity, their shared appreciation of John Waters, and Larry’s filmmaking experience with Bob Dylan.

Episode 1475 - Les Claypool / Marc Ribot

Les Claypool is the first guest who flew himself to his WTF interview. Whether he’s studying aviation, perfecting fly fishing or starting another band, the Primus founder and bass virtuoso is always doing new things to stave off boredom. Les and Marc talk about his origins, Tom Waits, Adrian Belew, South Park, Sean Ono Lennon, and the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Les also mentions that one of his favorite guitar players is the genre-hopping Marc Ribot. So the two Marcs sit down in the garage to talk about classical guitar, being at Woodstock, jazz influences, and Tom Waits again.