Posted by Jason Diamond

I listen to Marc Maron’s WTF podcast religiously. The last time I tried to do anything religiously, I found myself on a plane headed towards Israel with a bunch of Hasids asking if I wanted to make a mitzvah as I attempted not to vomit from the turbulence.

I don’t do religion well, but I make sure to download Maron’s weekly podcast as soon as it becomes available. Comedians are (usually) bright people. They are also usually very interesting conversationalists, and Maron does a fantastic job of having smart talks with comedians that doesn’t make me think that it’s just a pissing contest of one liners, or people trying out material.

Maron is a curious guy. He asks interesting questions, he isn’t necessarily Terry Gross or Charlie Rose, but as a comedian, I think he understands that you need to keep the listeners attention for the full 60 minutes, and he always does that episode after episode.

This week may have been the most interesting episode I’ve heard of the show thus far: Marc interviews Judd Apatow, and makes the comedy geek inside of me smile with delight.

In this most recent episode, he steps a half-inch out of his comfort zone; Apatow isn’t necessarily a comedian: he’s a writer, director, producer, etc. He’s probably brilliant (I love his films, screw you) – he’s definitely great at what he does, and he’s funny. But the truth is, I’ve never listened or read an interview with him.

The sound bites from early 80s interviews Apatow did with Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, etc. are worth it alone, but if you’ve been considering listening to the WTF podcast, I’d suggest this be your introduction.