WTF with Marc Maron, one of the most popular podcasts in the world, is ending after 16 years.
The show, hosted by comedian Marc Maron, launched in 2009 and has been downloaded more than one billion times and has recorded more than 1,600 episodes.
In the latest episode released on Tuesday (2 June), which features a conversation with comedian John Mulaney, Maron said: “Sixteen years we’ve been doing this, and we’ve decided that we had a great run. Now, basically, it’s time, folks. It’s time. WTF is coming to an end. It’s our decision.”
The 61-year-old added: “It really comes down to the fact that we’ve put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost sixteen years and we’re tired. We’re burnt out. And we are utterly satisfied with the work we’ve done. We’ve done great work.
“This doesn’t mean I’m never going to do something like this again. Doesn’t mean I’ll never have talks like I do here or some kind of podcast at some point in time. But for now, we’re just wrapping things up. It’s okay. It’s okay to end things. It’s okay to try to start some other chapter in your life.”
He continued: “It’s nice to be able to end things on our terms. We’ve always had that power to do that and that’s what we’re going to do. We started the show on our terms, we grew it on our terms, and we’ll end it on our terms.
Marc Maron has recorded more than 1,600 episodes of his show (Getty)“Look, 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. We always had that and it’s always been the way we’ve done it and that’s been great. 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.”
Maron confirmed that the final episode is expected to be released later in autumn 2015.
WTF primarily began as a podcast about comedians talking about the highs and lows of their careers but soon evolved to include actors, directors, musicians, politicians and activists.
His notable guests have included Paul McCartney, Jerry Seinfeld, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorne Michaels and Barack Obama, the latter of which gained widespread attention after the former president used the N-word.
Barack Obama appears on ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ (WTF Podcast)Other newsworthy moments on the podcast have included comedian Todd Glass coming out as gay, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticising the “backward” depiction of the Seven Dwarfs in the recent Snow White film and Kevin Smith describing his acrimonious relationship with Bruce Willis which sparked a public feud between the pair.
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In 2022, Maron’s 2010 interview with Robin Williams, where the actor discussed contemplating suicide was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
Maron is set to continue working in the world of comedy and acting which includes an upcoming HBO stand-up special and roles in the Bruce Springsteen biopic DeliverMeFromNowhere and Owen Wilson’s golf comedy series Stick.
