WTF with Marc Maron is a twice-weekly podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 hosted by stand up comedian Marc Maron

Marc Maron

Marc Maron is an American stand-up comedian and podcast host.He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically-oriented shows, produced under the auspices of Air America Media. He was also the host of Comedy Central's Short Attention...

. The show launched in September 2009. The program primarily consists of interviews with comedians and comedy writers, as well as others in the entertainment and radio communities. WTF has featured a number of notable guests, including Robin Williams

Robin Williams

Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...

, Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

, Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien

Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....

, Chris Rock

Chris Rock

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...

, Todd Glass

Todd Glass

Todd Steven Glass is an American stand-up comedian originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:Glass is perhaps best known for his appearances as a contestant on the second and third seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing and has appeared regularly on programs such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!,...

, Zach Galifianakis

Zach Galifianakis

Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...

, Louis C.K.

Louis C.K.

Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...

, and many others. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America

Air America

Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1950 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division from 1950 to 1976...

 co-worker, Brendan McDonald.

Several episodes of the show have garnered media attention, including controversial episodes with Dane Cook

Dane Cook

Dane Jeffrey Cook is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released five comedy albums: Harmful If Swallowed; Retaliation; Vicious Circle; Rough Around The Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden; and Isolated Incident. In 2006, Retaliation became the highest charting comedy album...

, Carlos Mencia

Carlos Mencia

Carlos Mencia , born Ned Arnel Mencia, is a Honduran-born American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race, culture, criminal justice, and social class...

, and Gallagher. In early 2011, the show began receiving positive press, including articles in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

.

Background

The show's title stems from the Internet slang

Internet slang

Internet slang is a type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting and instant messaging, and social networking websites...

 abbreviated phrase for "What the fuck

Fuck

"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...

?" WTF launched in September 2009 following the cancellation of Maron's Air America

Air America

Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1950 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division from 1950 to 1976...

 terrestrial radio program Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder

Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder

Formerly an online webcast, Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder was an hourlong webcast that aired weekdays at 3PM Eastern. Marc Maron and Sam Seder hosted the show from the actual break room at Air America Media in New York; the show was evocative of past shows done by Maron and Seder on the network...

. Maron retained his Air America building keycard, and, without permission, used their studios to record the first several episodes of WTF.

After the first episodes, Maron moved from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Most episodes of the show are generally recorded in Maron's home garage, nicknamed "the Cat Ranch", located in the Highland Park

Highland Park, Los Angeles, California

Highland Park is a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles.-Geography:Highland Park is located along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish / Mexican era...

 neighborhood of Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. Occasionally, some shows are recorded in Maron's various hotel room

Hotel Room

Hotel Room is a three episode 1993 HBO television series produced by David Lynch . Each drama takes place in the same New York City hotel room at different times .Barry Gifford wrote, and David Lynch directed, the first and third episodes; Jay McInerney wrote, and James Signorelli...

s (while on the road performing stand-up), the offices of his guests, or other locations.

Several personalities have declined invitations to appear on the show, including Daniel Tosh

Daniel Tosh

Daniel Dwight Tosh is an American stand-up comedian and host of the Comedy Central television show, Tosh.0.-Personal life:...

 of Comedy Central

Comedy Central

Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

's Tosh.0

Tosh.0

Tosh.0 is an American television series hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides sarcastic commentary on online video clips, society, celebrities, and other parts of popular culture.-History:...

. Tom Waits

Tom Waits

Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...

has also declined.

Reception

WTF has received generally positive reviews, including a positive write-up in the New York Times.