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Thank you.
>> I'm Evan Smith.
He's a veteran standup comedian
whose IFC series "Maron" is now
in its third season and whose
twice-weekly podcast "WTF" has
made him one of the Internet
age's household names.
He's Marc Maron.
This is "Overheard."
[Applause].
>> Actually, there are not
two sides to every issue.
>> So I guess we
can't fire him now.
>> I guess we
can't fire him now.
The night that I win the Emmy.
>> Being on the Supreme Court
was an improbable dream.
>> It's hard work and
it's controversial.
>> Without information there is
no freedom and it's journalists
who provide that information.
>> Window rolls down and this
guy says, hey, he goes to 11:00.
[Laughter].
>> Marc Maron, welcome.
>> How are you?
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you.
>> I'm a little
intimidated, I have to say.
>> Really?
>> Well, you're a
great interviewer,
and for those of us who do this
sort of amateur interviewing,
you are a professional, man,
whether you know it or not.
And to watch you or to listen to
you do it is really inspiring.
>> Well, thank you.
That's very flattering.
I appreciate that.
>> Has it been hard for you to
become -- five and a half years
in this program
now, 600 episodes.
>> Yeah.
>> I have to believe later
episodes you feel more
comfortable than
your earlier ones,
but how has that
progression gone for you?
>> I don't know that I feel
comfortable, necessarily.
I feel more comfortable
with myself.
>> Yeah.
>> I think that the first 200
episodes were really thinly
veiled attempts at me to get
celebrities to help me with my
problems.
[Laughter].
>> Look, if it works, right?
>> I don't know that that's
really what I planned but I
think that's what was happening.
And I think -- I don't think I
have an interview style and I'm
wary to call myself
an interviewer.
That's the weird thing.
Like I don't really have
questions and sometimes I think
they would help.
>> You know what?
But let me say this, I
think it's a conversation.
>> That's right.
>> It's not an interrogation.
>> I can deal with
a conversationalist,
a professional
conversationalist.
>> That's good.
>> Well, yeah, but interviews,
like I've gotten mail from
people who are in
journalism and they're like,
you know you break all the rules
of journalism but you get this
great stuff out of people,
and I'm like, well --.
>> That you wouldn't get
if you went through it in a
conventional way.
>> Well, I don't even
know what that is.
So maybe, you know, this whole
idea of convention needs to be
rethought.
>> Blown up.
>> Something.
What are they?
What are they?
Do you know them?
>> The conventions?
>> Yeah.
>> Well, it's like,
you know, preparation,
which you told me before
you came out here --.
>> That's it, just preparation?
>> Well, that would be one
thing, right, preparation.
Not cursing would
be another thing.
[Laughter].
>> That's, but, yeah.
>> You are awesome at cursing.
Even if you don't think you're
awesome at being an interviewer
it's one of the podcast luxuries
is you can just say whatever you
want.
>> Yeah, you can say whatever
the [bleep] you want.
>> We just lost Abilene
and Amarillo, actually.
[Laughter].
>> Look, this is the
thing I want to say --.
>> We lost them a long time ago.
>> Is that what it is?
They were already gone.
This is kind of a thing now.
Celebrities, or people who are
not traditional journalists or
interviewers, playing this role.
Alec Baldwin has a podcast.
>> Yeah, that went
well, didn't it?
>> Well, it's come
back, though, actually.
And I think he's pretty good.
Not the TV program.
That did not go well, but
"Here's the Thing" podcast,
like yours, sitting down
with other, you know,
celebrities or
athletes or comedians.
Jeff Garlin had a
podcast for a while.
I guess his has kind
of come back too.
>> I don't know.
You know, Jeff has an
interesting approach where you'd
sit and listen and Jeff talk.
>> Right.
[Laughter].
>> I've done that show.
>> For that matter,
Baldwin also,
Alec Baldwin is
not exactly silent.
>> Yeah, like I do talk but I
don't -- it's very odd to me.
Like Carolla does that too.
Like he'll have you on and then
you just literally if you do the
Adam Carolla Show it's you
just looking for a window.
>> Where do I jump in.
>> There's got to
be a place here.
I'm invited into
the conversation.
And then you jump in and he'll
be like yeah, yeah, yeah,
and then he'll go
on with his thing.
It's a hell of a style.
>> I do think that one of the
things about your end of it is
we know you better.
Now you said the first 200 the
"T" maybe stood for therapy in
"WTF," right?
>> I don't know
if it was therapy.
It was conversation.
You know, it was the way
I have conversations.
>> But you're a character.
You're present in
all these interviews.
>> Yeah, well, I mean I don't
know how to do it any other way.
I got to stay engaged.
I think that a lot of my intent
is to connect with somebody in a
real way.
You know, a lot of these people come in to the garage or
wherever I do it and I already
have a relationship with
them --.
>> Right.
>> -- in my mind.
And sometimes it's just
them fighting against that
relationship.
Like I've decided who they are.
>> Right.
>> And I will come with those
assumptions and then they'll
sort of chip away at them.
And I'll sometimes
fight them on it.
I'm like no, no, you're
not really like that.
I think you're more like
how I think you are --.
>> Yeah.
>> -- and there's no
reason to fight me on it.
>> But see, but you
asked about convention.
That's another thing about
conventions that you don't
follow that I think is
admirable and makes this better.
You don't pretend not
to have a point of view.
>> No.
I don't -- just
anybody I like to meet,
it's like what are you
really going to get?
>> Well, Charlie Rose.
Charlie Rose is the consummate,
sort of down the middle,
even-tempered.
You know --.
>> But he blathers
on too about --.
>> But I guess the point is
Charlie Rose would never say to
Henry Winkler, when I was a kid
I would dress up as the Fonz for
Halloween.
>> He wouldn't?
>> Not a leather jacket
-- no, I don't think he would.
I think that actually your
interview of Henry Winkler,
which is one of recent
ones that you did.
>> Yeah.
>> Your fan boy aspect of it was
actually the thing that made it
all better to me.
>> Yeah, and he's a sweet guy.
Like, he was such a sweet
-- it's very interesting,
the idea of Arthur
Fonzarelli and the Fonz.
And now, like, he's just Henry
Winkler, this very grateful --.
>> Writes kids' books.
>> -- old man, in a way.
Very sweet.
Yeah, it's sort of mind blowing.
It's kind of rewrite
your childhood.
>> But the point is you remember
him from a time long ago.
>> Right.
And then you meet him in
real life and you're like,
you're not Fonzie.
[Laughter].
>> But see, but this is
the part that I love.
You know, conventional -- I
mean, I pick on Charlie Rose,
but somebody normally
wouldn't, sort of,
cop to that and
have that be the --.
>> But I don't know what they're
trying to do really then.
You know, I watched Charlie Rose
a couple of times and, you know,
I haven't listened
to Alec Baldwin.
And that's another reason why I
don't categorize myself, really.
Because I don't really
listen to that much stuff.
>> Right.
>> And I don't really
take in a lot of -- like,
I'll listen passively to MPR.
I don't listen to
other podcasts.
I don't compete in that way,
like I wonder what Charlie Rose
is up to.
Like I don't sit there at home
going, oh, so this is the guy.
You know, like I'm
not -- I met him once.
You know, he's on the CBS
morning show, isn't he?
>> Right.
>> Right, that was hilarious.
Those interviews are
completely useless where --.
[Laughter].
>> They're ridiculous, man.
You know, you're on a morning
show and there's three hosts or
four, and they all have
done a little research.
You got four and a half minutes.
And, like, you know,
one guy would go,
so this thing you're
doing, yeah, that's it.
And then the other one's
like, and what about?
Oh, yeah, that's it.
Oh, and then the third one
sort of like, but your hair.
And like, I know. And then it's okay we're done.
>> And it's over. That's the end of it, yeah.
[Laughter].
>> Crazy.
>> That's not your show.
Why are you doing
this as a podcast?
Why is this not a radio show?
That's one thing
I thought about.
I mean, I know podcasts
are very much --.
>> Oh, I don't know if you've
heard, but radio's over.
[Laughter].
>> Well, it is.
It's over-ish.
But, you know, the thing about
a podcast is it's not a captive
audience.
And, you know, at
least in some ways --.
>> It's the most
captive audience.
>> No.
>> They make a
decision to listen.
>> Well, I think that the fact
that it's self-selecting means
that you have to go find
people one at a time.
>> Yeah, but once you have
them, it's pretty captive.
You know what I mean?
Like, I can get people to sit
in their car and not get out of
their car, even
if it's a podcast.
>> well, that's pretty good.
That is pretty good.
>> Well, that's what
determines good radio,
I don't want to get out of
my car because you were still
talking.
>> The milk spoiled because
I didn't want to leave.
>> Right.
Well, I get e-mails like that, I
didn't want to get out of my car
and I don't want to write
back, like you can pause it.
You know what I mean?
[Laughter].
>> You want to stay in your car,
by all means, there's a reason.
>> Can't pause
radio, that's true.
Yeah, right.
Did you think about this
seriously being a radio program
or a TV program?
>> No.
I don't.
>> How did it become a podcast?
>> Well, I had done some radio.
>> Right, Air America.
>> Yeah, I have
done a bit of radio.
I'm certainly no radio veteran,
but I definitely was comfortable
with the medium.
>> Right.
>> And, you know, by the time
I started the podcast I'd gone
back a third time to Air America
for no reason at all other than
I was broke, I was in
the middle of a divorce.
There was a new regime in place
and the idiot that fired me
twice was gone.
And it was really kind
of a weird situation.
Like, I was in this
money-draining divorce and I was
sort of in trouble.
I was about to lose my house.
And one guy from Air America,
used to be at Air America when I
was there in the older days,
he calls me up, he goes,
there's a new guy
with some new money.
I think we should take some.
[Laughter].
>> It's like robbing
a bank, right, yeah.
>> He framed it differently.
As a liberal he said, I think
it's a good opportunity for us
to fight the good fight.
[Laughter].
>> I was like, yeah,
I'd like to fight that fight.
If they could give me 50 grand
up front to stop this woman from
killing me, that
would be awesome.
>> It would be awesome, yeah.
>> So I worked that out.
So the good liberals, they wrote
me a check to stop hemorrhaging
the money.
And we did -- it was a streaming
video show that I did with
Sam Seder who is the host of "The Majority Report."
He still does political talk.
And I was so devastated
because of my divorce going on.
Like, I was emotionally
incapacitated.
I didn't think I
could be funny at all.
So I was like, we got
to get Sam in here.
Because not only do I want
to not talk or be funny,
I don't want to talk
about politics, certainly.
I need someone in here to watch
my back because I might start
crying at any moment.
>> Yeah.
>> So, and me and Sam, we
don't get along that great.
It's okay.
It's comedic, but
it's difficult.
So we're doing this streaming
video show in the break room of
Air America that
no one is watching.
And we're doing it daily.
>> It's called
"The Breakroom," right?
>> Yeah, "Breakroom Live."
>> Right.
>> We could not get any
traction with that thing.
No one cared about that show.
>> Yeah.
>> And we were putting so much
into it and it was just stupid.
So -- but it was
funny with me and Sam.
So after a year of that
they're like, well,
we can't afford to do this
anymore and I'm like, okay.
But we still had a
month on our contract.
So being good liberals they
were like, well, you know,
you're fired, kind of,
but you still got a month,
so you can keep your office.
What world and what radio
job has that ever happened?
>> Any job.
>> Yeah, any job.
Just hang out, you know.
>> You got a month.
>> Yeah, and we're
like, all right.
So I was thinking, like, well I
don't know what we're going to
do, let's try this podcasting.
I talk to my producer,
Brendan McDonald.
>> Yeah.
>> I said, do you think you can
figure out how to post these?
I know there's other
people doing it.
Like if Carolla can do it
and get some interviews,
certainly we could do it.
>> This is 2009.
>> Yeah, right.
And he's like, all
right, let's do it.
So we started doing them and
posting them and when I moved
back to my house in L.A.,
which I didn't lose,
I set up shop in the garage.
And there's no reason for radio.
People always ask me, why
don't you want to be on Sirius?
I'm, why?
The thing is shifting now.
We didn't anticipate that.
I mean, we had 1500 listeners at
the beginning and as time went
on it sort of built.
>> Can you quantify the audience
of the podcast now as we sit
here five and a
half years later?
>> Well, that's the difference
between radio and podcast.
>> You don't have to?
>> No, I can do it precisely.
>> Okay.
So precisely what is it?
>> For years radio has been
spitting these Arbitron books,
like these weird diaries
that are based on what?
You know, like, and they're
basing their ad rates on, like,
these weird mythical numbers.
>> So what's the number then?
>> Well, I think that most
episodes over their life,
some more than others, get
at least a half a million
downloads.
>> Amazing.
>> And each one right out of
the gate gets 200,000, 300,000.
>> And they have a long tail
because people come back to them
much later.
>> The first six months,
episodes are available for free
for six months.
>> Right.
>> And then they go
behind the app pay wall,
which is only like $7, $8.
>> Right.
Pretty great.
So the people you have
on are, in some cases,
people you know well, and in
some cases people you respect
but maybe don't know well.
>> Right.
I think I know
everybody well, though.
So it's a good place to start.
>> You do?
>> Pretty much.
Like people I know well, like
comics I have known for 25 years
even, it's not like we hang
out with each other every day.
>> But you know them.
>> Yeah, we're kindred spirits.
>> First show you ever did,
first podcast, was Jeff Ross, right?
>> Yeah, that was a phoner.
>> Phoner?
>> Yeah.
At the beginning of the podcast,
we didn't even know what the
form was.
There was other people
hanging around the studio.
My friend Matt was there.
We were doing phoners.
Sometimes I had two
guests on a show.
>> Right.
>> It just kind
of -- it was odd.
But, yeah, he was
the first guest.
>> Right.
>> And I don't remember what --.
>> But I guess if
you roll it forward,
I guess, Marc, the
point I'm making is,
if you roll it forward are they
people with whom you have some
kind of relationship?
It's not like, you know, oh,
hello for the first time,
you know, sitting
down with them.
As is the case with most shows.
>> Sometimes it is.
>> It is?
>> Sure. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, a lot of them sort of
feel like first dates of sorts.
You know, like the conversation
is getting to know each other
conversation.
I have different nerves
for different people.
Like sometimes I don't know
why I'm talking to somebody.
You know, we get offered people.
Now, like, we were booking
on our own for years and then
sometimes we work with a booking
agency so then names come up.
Like, that's how
Huey Lewis got on.
Like, they were like, do you
want to talk to Huey Lewis?
I'm like, yeah, why not?
You know, like everything was
Huey Lewis for a year or so.
[Laughter].
>> Like, what's
that guy been doing?
>> Yeah, well, you know
what, but that's a show.
>> It turned out
to be a great show.
>> That's a show.
>> Yeah, of course it is.
>> But if you look
at the people,
if you go back as I did before
we sat down today and looked
back at the list of
people you've had on --.
>> Yeah.
>> It's an impressive
list of people.
And when you think
it's just a podcast.
And I guess that's not fair to
say, oh, it's just a podcast.
But just a couple of years ago,
who could have imagined --.
>> Yeah.
>> -- that would be --.
>> That those people
would come to my garage.
>> Well, for all practical
purposes, it's a real thing.
>> Yeah, well, no, that
shift has happened.
>> It has.
>> At the beginning, you know,
people were like coming over and
being like, really?
I'm like, yeah, this is the
future of show business.
[Laughter].
>> But you know what? It is.
It's very -- it's DIY.
That's it.
>> I don't know what it is.
It just is what it is.
You know, I guess it's that.
It's going to be a
mixture of things.
>> Yeah.
>> I don't know why my
show got so popular,
but it was funny when people
used to come over -- you know,
like when Bryan Cranston came
over, he was like, you know,
I walked him into the back and
he's like, really, in here?
And I'm like, yeah.
And I said, you know,
Jon Hamm did it.
And he's like, oh,
yeah, Hamm was in here?
That somehow solidified it.
>> Paved the way.
>> Yeah.
Like I guess it's
okay if Hamm was here.
I swear to God I really wanted
to talk to Walter White.
That whole time when
Cranston was there,
like I could not separate them.
I have a hard time with
actors and I was like, well,
how do you make speed?
[Laughter].
>> That would be a good show.
>> I don't think
he could answer it.
But it was good.
That was a very nerve racking
one because that entire show was
shot in Albuquerque and,
like, I didn't even ask --.
>> And you're from Albuquerque.
>> I know but I
didn't even ask him.
>> Yeah.
>> That was one of those
times where I'm like the one
connection I could have had.
>> I could have
made the connection.
>> That happens a lot.
>> What are the
economics of the show?
So I know you have a
bunch of advertisers.
You mention the
advertisers on the program.
A lot of podcasts
have advertisers.
>> That's called advertising
when you mention the advertiser.
>> Well, but it's
hard to think --.
>> It's hard to do it
without mentioning it.
>> It is hard.
>> Because when you think
about it very hard --.
>> And you have
to read your mind.
>> Did you guys get that?
Stamps.com.
>> But my point is it's hard to
imagine that the revenue that
comes in from these
advertisers cover the bills.
>> Is it?
>> It is, yeah.
Because, you know, traditional
media have a different economic
imperative than these --.
>> Well, let's think about it.
>> Come on.
Help me understand this.
>> Okay. So I know for a fact
that I get about 300,000 people per episode.
So do you think if you present
those hard numbers to an
advertiser they're going to be
like, okay we'll give you $5?
>> They're paying you enough?
>> Yeah.
I mean, it took
time to build that.
>> If you're making
this work --.
>> Look, you're talking to a
guy that I was nervous about
advertising.
Like when we had one ad I was
like, people are going to leave.
We're sellouts.
>> Let me say, you've leaned in.
>> No, I definitely leaned in.
Because the truth of the matter
is is that, unlike radio, again,
you don't like the ads,
then don't listen to them.
>> Well, I can
always fast forward.
>> Exactly.
And the thing is is that I won't
advertise anything that is not
legit on some level.
I used to not advertise things
that I couldn't get into myself,
but now I do.
And we worked with -- well,
I mean -- like I don't know
anything about baseball but,
like, if they want to --.
>> If they want to put the
baseball fantasy draft thing.
>> If the fantasy baseball
gambling racket wants me to --.
>> Right.
>> Who am I to deny
someone their vices?
[Laughter]
I won't advertise liquor because
I don't drink anymore and I
can't like -- there's no way as
a recovering alcoholic to go,
like, I used to have a real
good time with this stuff.
[Laughter].
>> You feel free.
I'm not going to do it.
But knock yourself out.
>> I hope it doesn't
ruin your life.
Enjoy.
>> What I like about it, though,
is I like your role as the
pitchman.
It's almost like --.
>> I like doing
-- it's old style.
>> It's like Hank Kingsley
doing "Garden Weasel"
on "Larry Sanders," right?
>> Kind of.
But it's also older than that.
It's like radio, the
old radio in general.
>> Right.
>> Most of radio, when you did
terrestrial radio it was driven
towards holding
people over those ads.
You know, that was, you know,
forward momentum was all about
that.
Keep them here, you know, so we
can get them to hold on for six
minutes of this stuff.
>> Yeah.
>> We don't work
with that model.
You know, we'll drop the ads
when we want to drop them.
It's all us talking.
We're not worried about
that momentum people are in.
Like, I remember one time I was
doing an interview with some
radio guys.
Or, no, it wasn't an
interview, someone told me.
I don't need to mention them,
but Bob and Tom up in Indiana --.
[Laughter].
>> No, but someone
was talking to Tom,
I think and Tom was
like, these podcasters,
they don't know
what they're doing.
They don't even
reset the guests.
Why would we have to?
People were listening
because of them.
Like, the reset model
where you sort of like,
we'll be right back with
Marc Maron after this.
Why would I do that?
People download it.
They're not just tuning in.
>> Exactly.
>> They don't need to be
reminded who they're listening
to unless they're morons.
By the way, if somehow or
another you forgot what we're
doing here --.
>> Well, you're blowing up
the model, that's for sure.
>> My point is, over time there
was no business model that any
of us had.
None of us knew how to make
money and I'm certainly grateful
and humble, you know, and
I'm not being -- you know,
I don't want to appear like
I'm being pompous or anything,
is that the business
model evolved.
Me and my partner knew
nothing about business.
I am not a businessman,
he is not either.
You know, he was sort of a
company guy-minded person and
I'm an entertainer,
whatever I do.
>> Right.
>> You know, I keep people
listening to something.
So, like, it wasn't business
that we got into it for.
So we didn't know
how to make money.
>> Yeah.
>> Our first sponsor from
the old days was, you know,
Just Coffee, it was
a co-op in Madison.
And I still carry them and
they don't hardly pay anything,
it's just the loyalty thing.
>> Nostalgia, right.
>> Yeah.
And I just visited
their new plants.
And by me plugging them,
I helped their business.
>> It helps.
>> It was sort of fascinating.
So the model just
kind of evolved.
>> Yep.
>> And it's sort of a thrill
in the sense that at some point
both Brendan McDonald my
producer and myself realized,
we've got something we've made
ourselves from the ground up.
>> Most definitely.
>> And I never understood what
entrepreneurial sort of pride
was.
I'm like, we're businessmen and
we've got a small business that
we run.
And there is
something about that.
But it's not about the weird
pride or some sort of American
work ethic or
entrepreneurial spirit.
It's like, nobody can
tell us what to do.
>> That's the best part, right?
You built from an empty --.
>> That's the only part.
>> And you control it.
>> Beautiful.
Between you and me --.
>> Yeah.
Just forget about
them, just tell me.
>> And I hope it happens.
The vice president's office
called us and thought that maybe
Biden --.
>> Might come on?
>> Come to the garage.
And I'm like, really?
>> Obama does Galifianakis,
you get Biden.
>> Right, we did that
thing between two friends.
But, like, we have these weird
moments with this thing where
I'm like, like I don't want to
talk about politics and I don't
want to, you know, I don't want
to be just a policy outlet.
That's why I got out.
I don't talk about
politics at all,
really unless it affects me
directly or I feel like I have
to, but I won't do that thing.
I will not be a conduit.
So like I said, I'm not going to
talk policy and do I need to go
to him?
And Brendan went back to the
office and he comes back and
he's like, no, he wants
to come to the garage.
I'm like, well that
will be amazing.
>> But that's kind of Biden-y
isn't it, to come to the garage?
>> But Biden-y or not, you know
there's going to be 90 Secret --
they're going to be
scanning the hillside.
>> Oh, right.
Well, there's that
problem, right, yeah.
>> You know, like
my neighbors --.
>> Snipers.
>> -- what's happening?
And I'm like, yeah, vice
president's going to hang out
for a little while.
>> In the garage.
>> But I don't know if
it's going to happen.
I don't know what
determines that.
>> Is this more fun for you than
just doing plain old standup comedy?
>> No, I love doing comedy.
It's a whole different thing.
You know, like the job
of doing the podcast,
like I need to talk to people.
Like it becomes sort
of this weird thing.
Like I was, like, aggravated the
other day and I'd been touring a
lot and I was just like
kind of losing my mind.
And then, like, I had an
interview, Zach Woods,
who is a comedic actor.
He's from "The Office" and from
"Silicon Valley."
>> So like on the "Mike Judge" show, right.
>> Right.
>> Very good.
>> He's a great improviser too.
I seen him -- just by
coincidence I brought my nieces
to UCB to see him
improvise with a crew.
I didn't know he was in it.
Well, anyways, I didn't know
what I was going to talk to him
about, but I was a fan.
And just the act of talking
to somebody else is relaxing.
You get out of your own head
and I'm kind of, you know,
addicted to it.
And the point is that it's a
whole different thing, you know.
Standup is something
I've done my whole life.
It was what I did
at the beginning.
>> You started in '87 was the
first time you did standup?
>> If your research tells you
that, then I'll go with that.
>> I'm just picking a number.
I'm picking a year
out of the air.
Roughly, right?
>> It seems spontaneous, yeah.
[Laughter].
>> Preparation, man.
>> That's good, buddy.
Yeah, I think it was
about '87 is right.
You know, I did it a couple
of times before that.
But I always wanted
to just be a comic.
And now finally people
were coming to see me.
A lot of people were like,
well, I like his podcast,
I don't know if he
can do a standup.
And I'm like, it's what I do.
You know, that's
always a surprise.
Like, I didn't know how
you'd be as a standup.
It's like, I've been living
on stage for half my life.
>> Well, but you probably have
people who came to the podcast
who really didn't know
that that's what you did.
>> Honestly most
people don't know me.
>> Yeah.
>> Like, I think that if you
were to sort of look at the
numbers of people who know me
versus who doesn't know me,
more people don't know me.
Which is exciting, in a way --.
>> It's an opportunity.
>> Well, yeah, kind of like
when my show "Maron" went on to
Netflix, you know, I'd get these
Tweets and stuff like I had no
idea who you were.
And there's part of you
that's like how could you not?
You know, what do I got to do?
You know, or if I'm
going to a town, like,
I'll tweet a million times.
I'll talk about it on
the podcast for weeks.
And then some idiot will be like
I didn't know you were in town.
What did you want
me to do, come over?
>> How could I have
possibly worked this harder?
>> Yeah, I don't know how to do
it but I do know it's nice being
discoverable.
>> Right.
>> Because, like, if you're
coming to Netflix and there's
two seasons of that
specific show, which is me,
and you're like,
oh, this is great.
It must be exciting.
Like, I never knew that guy.
So that's kind of --
everything's pretty good.
>> Has the TV -- we said that
the third season of the show is
now on IFC.
Has the TV experience
been good for you?
It's a fictionalized version.
It's almost like a reality
show based on the character.
>> No.
>> The character
is kind of you-ish.
>> It's not a reality show.
It's like oh my God, my
hair in Texas is a bit much.
The humidity is really, like --.
>> Even though it's a
fictionalized version of you,
it is kind of like you.
I mean, it's you,
basically, right?
The character's you.
>> Well, it evolves as me.
You know, some of the
stories are based on me,
but it is 22 minutes
of scripted material.
And as the seasons went on, like
I don't think I was -- I knew
that I was going to take a hit.
You know, the first season I had
never done anything like that
before and I knew that my
acting was going to be stiff.
And, like, I just knew because I
had seen other comics go through
it.
You know, like every comic I
know who has had a TV show,
that first season you're like,
I hope he figures this out.
>> And not all of them do.
>> No, I know.
But eventually they
lock into something --.
>> Right.
>> -- that is them.
They may not be great actors,
but I did better second season.
I think this season
is even better.
>> Yeah.
>> But it is -- but through that
creative process of writing and
you start to realize what
part of me lives up there.
That is a character.
>> Right.
>> It is Marc on television.
It is not my regular life
because it's only 22 minutes.
You know, I have another 23.5
hours during the day and they're
not all pleasant and some of
them are sadder than others.
And a lot of times I'm
not doing anything,
which is not great television.
>> Bad television.
[Laughter].
>> So to figure out what that
character is and what parts of
me are coming out
and how it works,
like I'm a little crankier, like
I think I'm a pretty sensitive,
compassionate person.
And I think the character's a
little harder than I am, really.
But it gets pretty
dicey this season.
Yeah, this season the
undercurrent is really just sort
of, like, what if
it had gone wrong?
Like what if I'd gotten all the
opportunities I've gotten up to
this point --.
>> Yep.
>> -- and I let the
worst of me take over.
So that kind of happens.
>> It's kind of exciting.
>> It is kind of exciting.
I just hope to God
it's not prophecy.
[Laughter].
>> Okay.
Well, that's a
good place to end.
We're out of time.
Good luck with the show.
But, really, thanks
for the podcast.
It's just so wonderful.
>> Thank you for having me.
>> Marc Maron.
Thank you very much.
[Applause].
>> We'd love to have you
join us in the studio.
Visit our web at
klru.org/overheard to find
invitations to interviews, Q&As
with our audience and guests,
and an archive of past episodes.
>> The reason I ended up doing
Conan so much was I was in New
York and sometimes someone would
cancel, like at the last minute.
So Paula, the booker over
there, she'd be like,
do you have anything?
And I'm like, well, I've got a
few things that aren't quite --
yeah, I could probably
make them work.
And she's like, all
right, good, help us.
So I would go on Conan and do
bits that later became better
jokes.
Like, I would try
them out on Conan.
>> Pretty good.
>> Funding for "Overheard" with
Evan Smith is provided in part
by MFI Foundation, improving
the quality of life within our
community.
And from the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization,
board certified attorneys
in your community.
Experienced,
respected, and tested.
Also by Hillco Partners, Texas
Government Affairs consultancy
and its global healthcare
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Hillco Health.
And by the Alice Kleberg
Reynolds Foundation.
And viewers like you.
Thank you.