OPINION: 10 Jewish episodes of WTF? to mark the end of a podcast era

Monday marked the end of an era with the release of the 1,686th and final episode of WTF with Marc Maron, a podcast that perhaps changed the medium more than any other. Episodes tended to open with a Maron monologue in which he kvetched about everything from his parents to his pets before the unskippable bulk of the show was taken up by a long form conversation with a guest of note, closer in tone to a chat than an interview. Research was usually deemed surplus to requirements.

The podcast, which began in 2009, changed Maron’s life as its success saw him transform from a struggling comedian to a man who could invite Barack Obama to his garage for a chinwag.

Underpinning it all was Maron’s Jewishness, something that would come to the fore when the guest shared his ethnicity. Such episodes would often prompt complaints about the show being “too Jewy”. Assuming the Jewish News readership will not have similar qualms, here, in no particular order, are ten of the greatest Jewish episodes of WTF to download at your leisure:

Jerry Lewis: The comedy great was interviewed for the podcast in 2016 but the episode did not air until after his death the following year since Maron was concerned about humiliating the elderly star. The conversation will resonate with any listener who has ever attempted to engage an uncooperative grandparent since Lewis is disinterested from the off and storms out for no discernible reason after just half an hour.

Seth Rogen: In the host’s opinion, the “Jewiest” conversation in WTF history. Rogen was on to promote An American Pickle, a comedy film about an Eastern European Jewish immigrant, and Maron’s podcast notes said it all: “Trigger warning if you are an anti-Semite: First of all, why are you listening to this show? Get lost! Secondly, you are REALLY not going to like this episode.”

Modi Rosenfeld: The furthest from a household name on this list, Rosenfeld was born in Tel Aviv but moved to New York as a child. His parents spoke Hebrew in the house and his stand-comedy has gained a large following within the Orthodox community. He explains to the lapsed podcast host how comedy is rooted in Jewish scripture and the cadence of Yiddish itself.

Mel Brooks: Brooks is the history of Jewish humour in human form and was able to guide Maron through an extraordinary life that saw him fight the Nazis in his teens before excelling in just about every area of showbusiness in a career stretching back to the late 1940s. The comedy icon, approaching 90 at the time of recording, was as sharp and funny as ever, not least when discussing his collaborator and best friend, Carl Reiner.

Carl Reiner: The Reiner episode was released the same week as the Brooks conversation, allowing both legends to discuss the other with obvious delight. Speaking in his 90s, Brooks’ oldest and closest friend was particularly brilliant when discussing the Queen Mother’s love of their 2000-Year-Old Man routine and how it made him realise they had to be onto something if it worked for the “biggest shiksa in the world”.

Natasha Lyonne: A canonical WTF episode saw the star of Orange is the New Black remarkably open about her addiction issues and much else besides. Never one to shy away from dark subject matter, she talked of her family coming from Brooklyn on one side and Auschwitz on the other. The Russian Doll actress lived in Israel for a couple of years before her parents’ separation, a period described on the podcast as an “idyllic moment”.

Richard Lewis: The self-proclaimed prince of darkness was arguably the single biggest influence on Maron’s own comedy. The pair’s first proper conversation was this one, recorded in 2011, and they remained close until Lewis’ death in February of last year. The host described his guest’s persona as a “tornado of semitic neuroticism”, a description which could just as easily apply to Maron and his podcast.

Albert Brooks: The man born Albert Einstein was something of a white whale for Maron but he finally agreed to speak with the microphones turned on in late 2023 and the result was one of the last truly essential episodes of WTF. If there was any doubt as to whether the pair might prove kindred spirits then they were dispelled by the very first words that came out of Brooks’ mouth once the tape was rolling: “I want to open by saying this is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

Jerry Seinfeld: A different kind of white whale since, on the surface, Seinfeld and Maron could not have more opposing attitudes towards comedy. The episode was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the shocking and untimely death of Maron’s partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton, and there is a certain heaviness that pervades the conversation. It’s a spiky exchange at points but a fascinating glimpse into the yin and yang of Jewish humour.

Larry David: The co-creator of Seinfeld has a lot more in common with the podcast host than the man who gave the sitcom its name. The chat with the creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm was as Jewish as you might expect, incorporating bar mitzvahs, Passover and the absence of an afterlife. The neurotic energy in the room could have powered a small city and the episode was all the better for it.

• Darren Richman is a writer and journalist