Podcast Summary: The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds

Episode: TPT_Ep153_MarcMaron
Date: December 5, 2025
Guests: Mark Maron

Episode Overview

This episode of The Dollop’s “The Past Times” features comedian Mark Maron as the guest. As always, hosts Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds select a random newspaper from history to discuss, improvising and riffing on the absurdities of old-time news. The episode includes the hosts’ trademark irreverence and dark humor, plus unique insights and wild tangents—this time, focusing especially on themes of comedy “beefs,” the history and perils of pole and tree sitting, family dysfunction, and some fantastic Hollywood behind-the-scenes moments. Maron’s signature candor and wit shine throughout as he joins in the improvisational roast of both history and their own contemporary experiences.

Main Themes and Segments

Comedy Podcast Drama: Maron on Post-WTF Life and Podcast Beefs

• [00:20–05:40]
  • Mark Maron discusses life after ending his long-running podcast, noting relief and less stress.
  • He recalls igniting public drama among comedians after speaking honestly in other interviews.
  • The hosts and Maron mock Joe Rogan’s “researched” criticism of Maron, noting inaccuracies and the overblown seriousness of online comedy feuds.
  • Discussion about groupthink in comedy, comedy “tribes,” and “punching up vs. down.”
  • Notable Quote [02:40, Maron]:
    “He said I was sad, selfish, jealous... these are real surprises to a lot of my fans.”
  • Notable Quote [04:42, Maron]:
    “There was this idea of a great monoculture of free thinkers, all deciding what comedy is—because there’s so much noise coming from them, it was annoying. Completely subjective... their groupthink is at best boring.”

Guessing the Newspaper & Albuquerque Connections

• [06:21–08:10]
  • The hosts guess the year—“August 10, 1930”—and discover it’s the Albuquerque Journal, coincidentally from Maron’s hometown.
  • Jokes about Dodger ownership, baseball camps, and American social issues quickly follow.

Featured Newspaper Stories & Historical Hijinks

DUI Courtroom Falls and Drunken Justice

• [08:29–13:53]
  • Story of a man arraigned for drunk driving who misses his court call and later falls over in the courtroom, leading to another arrest for drunkenness.
  • Humor about the casual treatment of drunk driving and courtroom antics of the era.
  • Notable Quote [13:15, Maron]:
    “So they sobered him up to the bench... tough to be arrested in court while waiting to deal with your last arrest.”

Tree-Sitting Crazes and the Art of the Pole Sit

• [24:11–49:53]
  • The gang finds a series of articles about 1930’s “tree-sitting” competitions: children vying to spend the longest time in trees for prizes like a bicycle, spurred by business sponsorships.
  • Absurdities discussed: logistical challenges (buckets for waste, sandwiches tossed to kids), health consequences, and intervention by prizefighters and local oddballs (“Dynamite Tommy Sanchez”).
  • Analogies to modern social media “challenges.”
  • Notable Quote [26:00, Maron]:
    “Back then you were like, ‘whoa, yeah, school’s out—I’m heading up into the tree.’”
  • Discussion on the darker side: kids getting hurt, grown men rubbing down kids (played for dark comedic effect).
  • Repeated bits about how actual parents and townspeople viewed such spectacles.
  • Hilarious speculation on how such events would play today.

Old Hollywood & Dysfunctional Family Anecdotes

• [13:53–23:27]
  • Dave shares stories of his drunken lawyer father appearing in court intoxicated, leading to tales of family dysfunction.
  • Maron tells of disputes with his own father, including being asked for $100,000 as “reparations” for stories in his memoir, and how his father’s dementia alleviated their past tensions.
  • Notable Quote [17:27, Maron]:
    “There’s a cure for bipolar and it’s dementia.”
  • Both riff on how family drama often blends with comedy, sometimes literally on stage or in their creative work.

More Wild News: Repo Evasion, Dueling Mishaps & Drug Denials

• [21:32–54:22]
  • East St. Louis man successfully evades furniture repo men by faking a smallpox quarantine—until his wife reveals the ruse.
  • Details of a botched duel in Mexico where bystanders are shot while the duelists miss each other entirely.
  • A Hollywood drama: starlet Mary Nolan is accused of being a drug addict after being found sunburned and with “puncture marks”—the hosts lampoon the era’s whitewashing of celebrity scandals (“That’s just or-on, taking the boat out!”).
  • Notable Quote [53:01, Reynolds]: “Were there any signs of drug abuse? ...I haven’t heard any yet—getting a third degree burn in a rowboat?”

Hollywood Writers’ Room Antics (Mark Maron’s Show “Maron”)

• [35:07–41:34]
  • Maron and Anthony dish on the real behind-the-scenes dysfunction during the making of “Maron” for IFC.
  • “Shit bucket” plotlines, Dave’s focus and dominance in the writers’ room, Dave writing himself into more episodes.
  • Actor Michael Lerner’s notorious behavior on set, including “borrowing” everything and using the bathroom in inopportune places.
  • Sally Kellerman’s decline and the looming presence of eccentric character actors.

Closing Banter and Promotion

• [55:57–57:33]
  • Maron plugs his special “Panicked” and the Apple TV series “Stick.”
  • The hosts beg for roles and riff on the idea of being “Dynamite” extras or masseurs.
  • Notable Quote [57:13, Reynolds]:
    “Mark, I’m 45—I’ll do literally anything you ask me to at this point. I just want to hold my insurance for as long as possible, so I’ll eat ass. You just tell me where to go, buddy.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Attribution and Timestamps)

• Maron (on Rogan feud):

  • “He said I was sad, selfish, jealous... these are real surprises to a lot of my fans.” — [02:40]
  • “There was this idea of a great monoculture of free thinkers, all deciding what comedy is... their groupthink is at best boring.” — [04:42]

• Reynolds (on smallpox repo):

  • “It’s just like a woman.” — [22:02]
    (in mock 1930s chauvinism, riffing on the style of the period’s reporting)

• Anthony (on family dysfunction):

  • “My dad would show up to court drunk, yeah... so hammered, the judge was like, ‘you know, we’re gonna continue this till tomorrow because your attorney is just shitfaced.’” — [13:53]

• Maron (on his father):

  • “There’s a cure for bipolar and it’s dementia.” — [17:27]
  • “He’s just a sweet little sponge of a man now.” — [17:41]

• Maron (on childhood injuries):

  • “Imagine...walking with a limp your entire life because you almost had the record for sitting on a pole.” — [49:10]

• Maron (on writing for TV):

  • “There was a shit bucket with a toilet seat attached to the top. That was one of Dave's great contributions to the show. That's how he saved the show.” — [35:27]

• Anthony (on being an extra):

  • “I just want to hold my insurance for as long as possible, so I'll eat ass. You just tell me where to go, buddy.” — [57:13]

Key Timestamps

• 00:20 – Podcast beefs and Maron’s post-WTF life
• 04:40 – Comedy monocultures, groupthink
• 13:53 – Dave’s stories about his drunken dad in court
• 17:27 – Maron on his father’s dementia and their relationship
• 24:11 – Tree sitting competition, kids in trees: origins and logistics
• 35:07 – Maron and Anthony on writers’ room shenanigans (“shit bucket,” Michael Lerner)
• 49:53 – Aftermath for children after tree sitting and injuries
• 53:01 – Drug accusations and hilarious sunburn rowboat defense
• 57:13 – Closing banter on getting acting gigs, “eating ass,” and holding insurance

Tone and Style Notes

The episode is raucous, irreverent, and at times gleefully dark. The hosts and Maron relish roasting both history and their own foibles, with long stretches of improvisational bits riffing off minor historical news stories. Family dysfunction, Hollywood behind-the-scenes gossip, and the futility (but also hilarity) of both 1930s records and modern “comedy beef” all receive uproarious treatment.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode:

If you enjoy comedic tangents, dark family histories, and a post-mortem on both podcast culture and old-time newspaper oddities, this episode delivers. Highlights include Maron’s unfiltered stories about his family and Hollywood, wild speculation about tree-sitting injuries, and callback-laden riffs that jump from Ivermectin jokes to Depression-era sporting events. “The Cown and Two Cranks” is not just an alt title—it perfectly captures the anarchic dynamic of the hour.