Transcript
Marc Maron (0:01)
This episode is supported by Neon's new film, the Life of Chuck, which I watched. And after the first section, I was like, oh, my God, what am I gonna do with that? And then all of a sudden, these strands. He intertwines bleakness with a celebration of human life in a way that I couldn't have ever imagined. And I guess it's based on a Stephen King story. And the film stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Karen Gillan. The Life of Chuck is now playing in select theaters and opens everywhere June 13th. And I gotta be honest with you, it's just kind of a mind blowing film. This beautiful celebration of what it really means to be alive. I would see it.
Mike Birbiglia (0:46)
Lock the gate.
Marc Maron (0:55)
All right, let's do this. How are you? What the fuckers? What the fuck, buddies? What the fuck? Nicks? What's happening? I'm Marc Maron. This is my podcast. Wtf. Welcome to it. If you're just getting on board here, welcome. I know some people are curious. They've been reading about it. It's sort of still amazing to me, but not really just how we all create our own little bubbles. And I know for a fact that most people don't know who I am, most people in the world. But that's okay. It's really okay. I'd rather be a little below the radar. I like to just cruise at my own altitude and, you know, I don't want to be something everybody looks up in the sky and says, oh, shit, look at that thing. Now I just kind of want to zip by my own lane, my own frequency and my own altitude and. And live the life. But if you are just checking in for the first time, welcome. You've got a lot of catching up to. Only about 1600 and. And. And change episodes, but they're all pretty good. I can vouch for them because I was there when they happened. I hope you're well. I hope that thing cleared up and I hope that, you know, everything was okay with that meeting you had. And I also hope that you don't hurt yourself because you're. You're not paying attention to the road right now. Wake up. Hey. Hey. Don't ride the brake. I was in a car the other day and the guy was riding the brake. There is nothing I cannot stand more than that. It makes me furious. I'm sure there's deeper issues that are probably being brought up, but the riding the brake thing, I can't take it. I don't know how to ride the brake in anything. Well, that's not true. Maybe not ride the brake, but I'll hang out in a lower gear sometimes. So, look, you guys, I know a lot of you are watching and reading and hearing and freaking out about what is really martial law here in some parts of the Los Angeles area. This is an authoritarian shit show of a political theater put on by our sociopathic huckster, clown King, to kind of flex his dick and show us what the future holds. But it is happening. But I do want you to know that even people that know better, that when it's sort of, you know, presented as the. The state of California is burning. The state of California is in chaos. The state of California is crumbling. Just know that the state of California is fucking huge. I mean, is it. What is it? Is it the biggest state or is Texas, Is it the second biggest state? I mean, there is shit going down, and it's horrible shit. There are peaceful protests that have been instigated into something maybe more than that by the Marine presence, by the National Guard presence. The cops here were doing fine. But I'm telling you, this is a flex. And this is the country we were living in now. And anybody who watches this shit, that watches this horrible reality of innocent people being ripped out of their homes with no due process and taken away and watches clips of that and thinks, yeah, this is the way America should be, you're a shitty person. You're just a shitty person. And there's a lot more shitty people than I ever imagined. You know, I used to think people were fundamentally or innately decent or cared about other people. But something's broken the brains of many. There's a mania, there's a doubling down. There's a honoring one's worst and most primitive instincts in relation to other human beings. There's a loss of decency, a loss of tolerance, a loss of basic love and respect. And it's just being fanned. These flames are being fanned. And this is the shit show we live in. Grateful to the people that stood up and got out there and tried to have a peaceful protest like we're allowed to do, to speak our minds and show what we believe in as Americans. And it takes a tremendous amount of courage to do that. But I just want you to know that not unlike most other states, probably all other states, California is a huge place with lots of different kinds of people in it. Lots of good people, lots of iffy people, lots of shitty people, lots of people that are struggling, but it's massive. And this idea of that this state is Crumbling, because that's how it's being contextualized or presented to you on your phone or in the clips you're watching is not true. There are people standing up. There are people out in the streets. There are people engaging in their democratic right to a peaceful protest. There are people like me talking on microphones, and there are people just kind of, you know, herding horses and, you know, doing some farming and. And, you know, trying to have a life. But I. I don't. I don't think you should be blind to it, but just know that this is political theater on behalf of an authoritarian government in what's becoming more and more a fascist culture in order to terrify and frighten the average person. And it's probably working. That said, so I got Mike Birbiglia on the show. And look, I go way back with this guy, and I've. I've talked about our history together on episode 94. Then he was on again for episode 300 when he was the interviewer of me. I was in his film Sleepwalk with Me. He's also the director of Don't Think Twice. He's had four Netflix specials, including his latest called the Good Life. And silly problems between me and him, they're not even problems. They're just feelings persist, mostly in me. And look, I know it's me, and it's one of these weird kind of things I have to deconstruct and live in and figure out why these feelings exist and what I need to act on. Probably none. And, you know, why I have this thing with him, I don't know. But he keeps coming back, folks. He keeps coming back because, you know, I think on some level, we like each other. On another level, he's got a special coming out. So. So when we get. When we get to it, we. We get on it. You know what I mean? We get into it a bit, but it's. I would say it's better than it has been in the past. The documentary Are We Good? Is screening at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Come see it this Saturday, June 14th at 5pm that's at the Okx Theater on Chamber Street. I'll be doing a Q and A with Tracy Letts after the screening. Then Sunday, June 15th at 5:30pm It's a screening at the Village east on 2nd Avenue and 12th Street. Also, there are now four episodes of Stick on Apple TV. Plus new episodes premiere every Wednesday. I gotta watch that new one. I'm watching them as they happen with you. It's a good show. Me and Owen are. I think we're doing a good. Everyone in the cast is doing a great job. A great job. 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And the first month is free. There's no safe like Simplisafe. So look, I do want to bring to your attention something to an article that came out sort of. It's an epic article. It's on defector. Defector.com and the article is called There Will Never Be Another WTF with Marc Maron. It's by a woman named Diana Moskowitz. And it's a beautiful, beautiful article. And look, I'm not tooting my own horn, but you know, when you read about yourself and your, your achievements and what you do, like me and Brendan and, and you know, there is insights there that I couldn't have because I barely know. You know how many people listen to this? I don't check numbers. I don't know. I just do these talks and, you know, I'll look at social media sometimes, but I'm never. It's been years and years since I've worried about who's taking it in or what they think about it necessarily. But this woman has had a long relationship with this show and she's a great writer and her assessment of it and her experience with it was just beautiful. I got choked up at the end and she really got something, and it's something. There's a whole section in this piece that I wouldn't have never really thought of about whatever it is I do in my monologues. My particular tone, my particular sense of myself, but more than that, my particular position or emotional disposition as a man in a society where men are thought of in a certain way. And much of that is toxic and much of it is predictable. But she was able to really kind of oddly compare my emotional output and how I handle my tone on this show as fundamentally the domain of women writers and presenters in terms of what I talk about and how open I am about my particular problems or vulnerabilities or cats or whatever. And I was very moved by that. Not insulted or felt it was off. It made perfect sense. Yes, I do all I can to be a good woman. I got a serious yin and yang thing going on there. But both the yin and the yang is in terms of male, female are pretty well represented. But she also took in, you know, the way she framed, you know, her favorite interviews, which were, you know, outliers or ones that I don't hear much with. Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart and why she liked them and how they represented the show. And also just sort of assessing my relationship with Brendan, who has been my production partner and business partner from day one in a very equal relationship. 50, 50 all the way down the line. And it's always been our. Our game. It's always been our thing. We've never sold it out. You know, we've done ads, but we've always maintained control and this is the only thing we do. And the way she framed it is being not unlike a. A punk rock band who you love but, you know, eventually will will not be a band anymore. Was kind of beautiful and very touching. I recommend that you read this thing. Not because, again, that I'm tooting my own horn, but I thought it was a. A kind of brilliant and deep and personal and honest and on the money assessment of what Brendan and I have done here over the last 16 years. Look, if you're looking to buy or rent a place to live or you just want to have fun scrolling through dream homes, you should start using the Redfin app. Whether it's for fun or for your next place to live, search all the homes for sale and apartments for rent in your neighborhood. You'll find it all in one place where, without having to go onto other apps, you can filter for price, beds, baths, square footage, and so much more. And if you find a place you love, Redfin makes it easy to see it in person. Just schedule a tour right from the app. Plus, if you're looking to sell. Redfin agents know how to get you the best price possible for your home. That's because they close twice as many deals as other agents. 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And how it can be disassembled and re. Yeah.