Marc Maron, host of the WTF podcast and author of Attempting Normal, appeared at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The event was a part of the Los Angeles-based Writers Bloc discussion series, which has hosted Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Vice President Al Gore, among others. Maron, a comedian by trade, also has a new show on IFC. Television producer Judd Apatow was selected to moderate the discussion.

Maron and Apatow opened the evening by talking about the venue, joking about the number of empty seats in the theater. Maron said that he is used to doing stand-up performances before audiences of about 400 people.

The conversation then shifted to Maron's podcast, WTF. Maron said that doing a podcast with Apatow early in the series was “humbling,” an event which Apatow also remembered fondly. Maron noted that he and Apatow share a certain “weird guardedness,” which is their “binding thing.”

The conversation then shifted to Maron’s father's mental health. Maron said that his father suffers from a manic disorder and narcissism. He credited his father for honing his interviewing skills, saying that he is “perfect for interviewing celebrities” because he grew up with a parent who has an ego and who “does not shut up.”

Maron told the audience that when his father would become depressed, his mother would have him make his father laugh, because he was the only person who could do that. Maron said that he was in his “early teens” when his father began suffering from depression. He also mentioned that he and his father are “not exactly talking” because of information Maron has divulged about his family in performances and on his new show on IFC.

Relating his former drug habit to his relationship with his father, Maron noted that he “did cocaine, just so [he] could talk to him.” and because to him, “it made everything [alright].”

“Up until three weeks ago, [my father] did not listen to my podcast, and he had been on three of them,” Maron said. He compared writing about his father to an “exorcism,” which he noted is differnt than “malice.” He said that although his father wants to see what is written about him in Attempting Normal, “he has never paid this much attention to me.” Maron continued, “My father thinks…that I could not have gotten a less endearing man to play him [on the TV show]."

Apatow made a point of discussing the book's chapter on sex, and Maron's claims that he is good at it. The pair talked about having sex on the road and the possibility of Maron having kids at the age of 50. Maron’s girlfriend, Jessica, stayed in the theatre during this. Maron said, “We’re gonna have a baby…in July I have to put it in [Jessica].” He also said, “The age thing’s not bothering us too much.”

Maron then discussed other parts of his book tour, such as appearing on The Tonight Show and on Howard Stern. He also discussed his past as a comic and his podcast, as well as his ex-wives and his mother.

A question and answer period followed the discussion. A member of the audience asked a question about Marc’s “philosophy as an artist.” During his response, he said, “…I’ve never known any other way to do what I do…”

 

Reach Staff Reporter Max Schwartz here; follow him on Twitter here.