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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Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
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
‘Flesh’ wins 2025 Booker Prize: ‘We had never read anything quite like it’
Flesh is Hungarian-British author David Szalay’s sixth novel.
Yuki Sugiura/Booker Prize Foundation
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Yuki Sugiura/Booker Prize Foundation
István isn’t one of the most talkative characters in literary fiction. He says “yeah” and “okay” a lot, and is mostly reactive to the world around him. But that quietness covers up a tumultuous life — from Hungary to England, from poverty to being in close contact with the super-rich.
He’s the center of David Szalay’s latest novel, Flesh, which just won this year’s Booker Prize. “We had never read anything quite like it,” said Roddy Doyle, chair of this year’s prize, in a statement announcing the win. “I don’t think I’ve read a novel that uses the white space on the page so well. It’s as if the author, David Szalay, is inviting the reader to fill the space, to observe — almost to create — the character with him.”
The Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in literature. It honors the best English-language novels published in the U.K. Winners of the awards receive £50,000, and usually a decent bump in sales.
Szalay is a Hungarian-British author. Flesh is his sixth novel. In 2016, he was shortlisted for the Booker prize for his book All That Man Is. He told the Booker Prize that he was inspired to write Flesh after his own time living between Hungary and England, and noticing the cultural and economic divides that exist within contemporary Europe. “I also wanted to write about life as a physical experience, about what it’s like to be a living body in the world.”
Flesh beat out five other books for the win — including Susan Choi’s Flashlight, Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Katie Kitamura’s Audition, Ben Markovits’ The Rest of Our Lives and The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.
The other judges for this year were novelist Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, critic Chris Power, author Kiley Reid and actor and producer Sarah Jessica Parker.

Lifestyle
The Frayed Edge: Are All Sustainability Certifications Broken?
Lifestyle
‘Predator: Badlands’ makes the monster the good guy : Pop Culture Happy Hour
Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in Predator: Badlands.
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20th Century Studios
Predator: Badlands is the latest film about an alien race that hunts things using all sorts of space-gadgets. It’s told from the Predator’s perspective. He’s an outcast sent to a hostile planet to hunt down a deadly monster to prove his worth to his people – with Elle Fanning joining as an unlikely ally. It’s from the same team that made Prey. And both Predator movies are much better than they had any right to be.
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