Lifestyle
In Marc Maron’s last ‘WTF’ podcast episode, Obama offers advice on closing chapters
Marc Maron attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Apple TV+ New Series “Stick” at AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles, Calif. on May 29.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
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The bi-weekly podcast by actor and comedian Marc Maron ended with presidential flair — capping a more than 15-year run that reached millions of listeners.
Episode 1,686 of WTF with Marc Maron dropped on Monday featuring former President Barack Obama as the final guest.
At the start of the episode, Maron explained that he wanted to speak with someone who can help not only reflect on the podcast’s legacy, but how he and his listeners should navigate the world. He also wanted insight from the former president on the current state of politics moving forward.
“And how do we do it with some grace and perhaps some hope and some focus,” Maron said, asking how to engage in civil discourse.
Obama first appeared on WTF back in 2015, recording from inside Maron’s garage. For the second conversation, Maron said it was only fair that this time he host the show from Obama’s house in Washington, D.C.
During their hour-long talk, the two spoke about President Trump’s second administration, the impact of social media and the need to treat others with decency and respect.
Maron launched WTF with producer Brendan McDonald in September 2009 when podcasting started to gain traction. Over the years, it became the go-to spot for in-depth conversations with actors, directors, writers and most notably, other comedians. Some entertainers who appeared on the podcast include Robin Williams, Louis C.K. and Lorne Michaels.
WTF won several awards throughout the years, including Best Comedy Podcast in 2016 by the Academy of Podcasters.
In July, Maron told NPR’s Fresh Air that ending the podcast was a difficult decision, but that he and McDonald had reached a point where they were proud of what they created and were feeling burnt out.

“I just don’t think there’s any shame in stopping if moving forward would compromise either my or Brendan’s vision of the thing or our ability to do it,” he said on Fresh Air. “We’ve maintained our audience all these years, and a lot of them are very close to me. And oddly, the decision made sense to a lot of them.”
Part of Maron’s charm on WTF was his vulnerability. He openly discussed his struggles with anxiety, loss and past addiction to drugs and alcohol. During the last episode of WTF, Maron told Obama that he was ready for the break but he also felt some nervousness about what comes next.
“There is sort of a fear there, of what do I do now?” he said.
“There is a feeling of like, how am I going to feel less alone? How am I going to deal with my mental this or that? And how am I going to find, you know, a way to exist in the world that we’re living in?” Maron added.

The former president responded by sharing how he adjusted to life after leaving the White House.
“Don’t rush into what the next thing is. Take a beat and take some satisfaction,” Obama said. “Pat yourself on the back for a second.”
Lifestyle
The 11 most challenged books of 2025, according to the American Library Association
The American Library Association’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir.
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American Library Association
The American Library Association has released its annual list of the most commonly challenged books at libraries across the United States.
According to the ALA, the 11 most frequently targeted books include several tied titles. They are:
1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
5. (tie) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
5. (tie) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
8. (tie) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
8. (tie) Identical by Ellen Hopkins
8. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. (tie) Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Many of these individual titles also appear on a 2024-25 report issued last October by PEN America, a separate group dedicated to free expression, which looked at book challenges and bans specifically within public schools.
The ALA says that it documented 4,235 unique titles being challenged in 2025 – the second-highest year on record for library challenges. (The highest ever was in 2023, with 4,240 challenges documented – only five more than in this most recent year.)
According to the ALA, 40% of the materials challenged in 2025 were representations of LGBTQ+ people and those of people of color.

In all, the ALA documented 713 attempts across the United States in 2025 to censor library materials and services; 487 of those challenges targeted books.
According to the ALA, 92% of all book challenges to libraries came from “pressure groups,” government officials and local decision makers. While 20.8% came from pressure groups such as Moms for Liberty (as the ALA cited in an email to NPR), 70.9% of challenges originated with government officials and other “decision makers,” such as local board officials or administrators.
In a more detailed breakdown, the ALA notes that 31% of challenges came from elected government officials and and 40% from board members or administrators. In its full report, the ALA states that only 2.7% of such challenges originated with parents, and 1.4% with individual library users.
Fifty-one percent of challenges were attempted at public libraries, and 37% involved school libraries. The remaining challenges of 2025 targeted school curriculums and higher education.

The ALA defines a book “ban” as the removal of materials, including books, from a library. A “challenge,” in this organization’s definition, is an attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted.
The ALA is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to American libraries and librarians.
Lifestyle
BoF and Marriott Luxury Group Host the Luxury Leaders Salon
Lifestyle
We beef with the Pope and admire the Stanley Cup : Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
Promo image with Phil Pritchard, Alzo Slade, and Peter Sagal
Bruce Bennett, Arnold Turner, NPR/Getty Images, NPR
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This week, Phil Pritchard, NHL’s Keeper of the Stanley Cup, joins us to about taking the cup jet-skiing and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Adam Burke, and Dulcé Sloan beef with the Pope and get misdiagnosed.
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