After more than 15 years and nearly 1,700 episodes, “WTF With Marc Maron” came to an end on Monday morning. As his final guest, Maron brought it back to someone who helped the show (and podcasts in general) make its mark: former president Barack Obama.
To kick off the final episode, Obama turned the table and interviewed Maron himself, asking how the host felt about moving on from the show. Obama even joked that moving on from “WTF” was probably “similar” to moving on from the presidency. But, he offered some encouragement about the future.
“You’ve still got a couple of chapters left,” Obama said. “Don’t rush into what the next thing is. Take a beat. Take some satisfaction looking backwards.”
Fans had long been speculating who Maron’s final guest would be, and Obama was certainly on that list, but his appearance wasn’t confirmed until the episode released.
“It became clear that the guest we needed to have was singular, in that he could address the importance of this being our final episode, but also address how we move through the world we’re living in, as frightening as it is,” Maron explained to tee up the episode.
Among the conversation topics between the two was Obama’s outlook on the future. For the former president, it all depends on human decency.
“I think we’re going to be OK. And I think that part of the reason you had such a big fan base during the 16-year run is there was a core decency to you and the conversations you had, maybe slightly edited by Brendan, that, I think, speaks to who we are,” Obama said.
“And yeah, we can’t take this stuff for granted. But my experience is most people are really decent. And I think that’s why, when they hear somebody else who is, it gives them courage and gives them hope, and you should be proud of having done that.”
In a post to social media following the episode, Obama reflected on his first appearance on the podcast more than a decade ago, and noted that he’ll miss Maron’s show in pop culture.
“I’ll miss Marc’s voice, but I hope his legacy of deep conversation and connection will continue,” Obama wrote.
