Transcript
Marc Maron (0:01)
Hey, folks, I've been a cat dad for a long time. Longer than I've been doing this show, in fact. And us cat dads, we don't always get a lot of attention. Maybe it's because people think we're just biding our time until we get a dog. But we're cat dads, and we're proud of it. And one way we get big attention from our cats is when we've got treats for them. That's why temptations, America's number one cat treat brand, is calling 2025 the year of the cat dad. They're celebrating all the guys who are loved by their furry companions, especially when they've got a pocket full of temptations. Ready to go? Show some love to the cat dad in your life and tag your fave with hashtag cat dad sighting. Give some love to cat dads everywhere. Yes. All right, let's do this. How are you? What the fuckers? What the fuck, buddies? What the. I'm Marc Maron. This is my podcast. Welcome to it. Today I talked to Nick Kroll. Now, Nick has been on a lot. This is the sixth time he's been on the show by himself. On episode 12. That's a long time ago. With John Mulaney on episode 743, and as El Chupacabra on three other occasions. And those are rare because I doubt that you could really do that character anymore. He's in the new film I don't understand you'd. And the final season of Big Mouth is now streaming on Netflix. And Nick, I guess, you know, I have to kind of give credit where credit is due, and I think I do usually. But it's a. It's an interesting thing. As a comic or as someone who is me when. When I really think people are funny, it is such an exciting thing for me and forever. I believe, and I still believe this to this day, that Nick Kroll, naturally, just innately, is really one of the funniest people around. And, you know, I think I kind of tell him that to his face. I don't know. Did I? Maybe I'm a little. Maybe I hold back a little bit. But truly a very funny, gifted, overly talented person. How could I just make being talented kind of a slight. He's overly talented, but I get a big kick out of him. And it's always fun to talk to the guy. And in another way, I guess another thing that I kind of want to talk about because it seems to be kind of possessing me. Well, first I want to mention Brent Weinbach, who was on episode 839, has a new special out, new standup special. It's called Brent Weinbach Popular Culture. And you can watch that on YouTube right now. Now, Brent's a. He's a whole other ball of wax. I don't know if you know Brent, but that is a world of comedy where it's sort of. I don't know, I don't know how you would describe it. There is a school of comedy that it kind of moves through anti comedy and kind of hyper abstract comedy and just oddball ish comedy, but stuff that's challenging, maybe a little cringy, and for the most part in my life, not totally my cup of tea, really, I can appreciate it. And I know when it's done well. And, you know, I did have some moments when I watched that Andy Kaufman document that, you know, made me rethink it. Or maybe I'm. I'm older and I'm less stuck in my ways around, you know, what I think standup is or what I think comedy is. You know, I've. I've definitely broadened my mind. But I will say this, and the only reason I'm. I'm talking about it's not some sort of plug, but I'm surprised at my own experience and reaction to it because I've struggled with Nathan Fielder just as an artist for a while because there's something fundamentally about him that makes me uncomfortable. It's not that I don't like him. There's just certain people that make me uncomfortable. And it is part of his thing. I mean, he does either intentionally or just by being challenge you to reckon with him. And I've watched a few of his shows. I watched the first season of the Rehearsal. I watched the Curse, which I think was the beginning of my moment with Fielder, was the last episode of the Curse. I liked the first season of the Rehearsal. I thought it had all the elements of cringe and impact and humanity. But the last episode of the Curse, the thing he did with, I guess, who was it? Josh Safdie or Ben? Which one is it? One of those Safdies and Emma Stone. There is look rarely in a series, and I'm finding this more so than not, do I have the patience to get through it. And there have been some comedy series, but most series in general, once the premise is set up and then you're in it, and then after a few episodes of that, it's sort of like, all right, I get it now. What there's just a redundancy to it. And then they'll throw a new character in, which is clearly, you can tell, written in to keep the thing going. It just drags out. I'm not sure that anything really needs to be more than six episodes. In general, that aside, this new season of the rehearsal Nathan Fielder thing, I can't seem to shut up about it because it is so rare. And look, this is only my opinion, but it's so rare that there is something that is created that actually possesses true genius. I know this sounds. Why am I, you know, why am I talking about this? Because I really believe that there is something comedically genius in a way that I. That no one's ever seen before about this particular season of this show, the rehearsal, because I don't even know that I can explain it. But the fact that he is supported and given money to realize this completely unique and fucked up weird vision of exploring things is first a testament to HBO in terms of who they choose to support and produce and have and believe in. But where this show starts and where it ends up and the kind of thing where Fielder, who is kind of a mysterious guy and I don't know if he refuses to do this show, but he won't do it because I think he's got not so much a lot to hide, but a certain mystique to maintain. You know, I know that he started in Stand up as sort of an anti comic which always used to annoy me, but now over time, he has found this zone of his own comedy through these shows that is just completely unique, completely bizarre, completely uncomfortable and just utterly fucking inspired. And you gotta wait for it. But it's so rare that you're waiting for something to unfold and it's satisfying and kind of mind bending and just kind of like, what the fuck? This is crazy. And laughing. But boy, that. What is it? The third, maybe the third episode of this season of the rehearsal and all of them. He's exploring air safety. He kind of got. He nerded out on. He obsessively researched an issue, a very specific issue in air safety, which is that a lot of airline crashes were preceded by an argument or a lack of communication in the cockpit. So what he sets out to do at the beginning of this season of the rehearsal is try to solve that problem. You know, how do we get pilots and co pilots communicating more openly so you don't have this sort of ego issue of someone deciding not to do something that the copilot may suggest. How do you open up the lines of communication. So there's other thoughts in moments of crisis that aren't. That are communicated in the cockpit. That is the premise of this show. And from there, you just move through some of Nathan's experiences in trying to get shows made and getting shows sort of taken off servers. You kind of deal with some of his own, what you'd assume psychological problems are. And then he, through the course of unfolding this system or experiment to try to get pilots communicating better, you know, you see a lot of elements of him trying to be resolved. So, you know, he is actually changing through. You know, him as himself, I assume as himself is changing through this thing. And then his comedy chops, which are very intentional. Cause you can't produce a show like this. There's a lot of improv and a lot of actors brought in. There's a talent show element. But through the course of him trying to resolve this air safety problem, he's reckoning with himself, his past, you know, his creativity, his job, his neurological disposition. It ultimately becomes all about him. But the lengths he goes to get there, either intentionally or not, are fucking insane and inspired. And it's fucking. It's comedic genius. And I don't want to say that because I'm an insecure, jealous, resentful old fuck who is not always willing to give it up, but I got to give it up. And, you know, it might not be for you. He may not be for you, you know, but I think that you should force yourself to. To just let it happen, man. To just let it happen. Because there's a level of cringe comedy in there. It's just rare. Somebody pulls something out of their brain and. And then manifests it with a good amount of money that is completely original and inspired. And I think that if you want to talk about comedy as art, if you want to do that, which I am. I am wary to do generally, maybe you can talk about it cinematically, you know, as a comedy movie or whatever. But if you want to talk about comedy as art, an art in the broad sense of the word, where you're really just talking about freedom of expression and a commitment to a vision that is provocative and new, this is it. So there you go, Nathan. I didn't. It's not. I'm not blowing smoke up your ass, and I was reluctant to do it, but congratulations for the great mind bending, inspired work of genius that you've contributed to what is sort of a flailing period in comedy of all kinds. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Life is easier for us thanks to Squarespace. That's because our website, wtfpod.com is a big part of what we do. And with Squarespace, we never have to worry about updates or bugs or not being able to post something that we want to post. Squarespace has it all covered. Plus, Squarespace gives you everything you need to offer services and get paid all in one place. From consultations to events and experiences. Showcase your offerings with a customizable website designed to attract clients and grow your business. You'll get paid on time with professional invoices and online payments. Plus streamline your workflow with built in appointment scheduling and email marketing tools. And with blueprint AI, Squarespace helps you design a fully custom website in just a few steps. Check out squarespace.com wtf for a free trial. Trial. And then when you're all set to launch your new site, use offer code WTF to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com WTF offer code WTF? Oh yeah, I did see another movie too. I went to see Friendship because again, in talking about comedy brilliance, Tim Robinson, I've, I've been brought around to him. He is a brilliant and inspired and gifted buffoon of a very specific type. A great clown. And that character that he plays, which seems to be the character he plays, is kind of spectacular. The idea of the completely narcissistic aggravated buffoon is pretty. It's relative to the time we live in there. You know, that is the strain of human disposition that is very prominent in the world we're living in now. So I think there is a reflection of that in him. And he's tremendously funny. And I think you should leave the show always. It just not unlike Fielder there, there's a zone that these guys get into.