If you were around the comedy scene or just a fan of podcasts in 2010, you probably remember where you were when you heard it. Not just "heard about it," but actually sat down and listened to Episode 67 of WTF with Marc Maron. It was April 26, 2010. At the time, Marc Maron wasn’t the household name he is now. He was a guy in a garage—literally—recording conversations with other comedians to figure out why his own career felt like it was in the toilet.
Then he got Robin Williams.
It wasn't a PR junket. There was no movie to plug, no late-night desk to lean on, and no "on" switch that Williams usually flicked to the "hyperactive" setting. It was just two guys sitting in Robin’s home in Tiburon, California. Honestly, it changed everything. Not just for Maron, but for how we collectively understood who Robin Williams actually was behind the manic voices and the sweating through three shirts a night.
The Interview That Changed the Podcast Game
Most people knew Robin as the "electric, shining piece of humanity," as Maron later called him. But on the podcast, the energy was different. It was heavy. Maron, who has always been open about his own struggles with sobriety and bitterness, managed to strip away the performance.
You’ve gotta realize: in 2010, the "joke stealing" allegations against Robin were still a massive topic in the comedy world. Younger comics were often pretty dismissive of him. They called him a "hack" or a "thief" because he’d riff so fast he occasionally absorbed other people's bits. Maron walked into that house with an agenda to address that. He wanted to talk to the "person," not the "persona."
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What he got was a raw, hour-long confession. Williams didn't dodge the joke-theft stuff; he addressed it with a level of vulnerability that made it hard to keep hating him. He talked about "the hole." That bottomless pit of insecurity that makes a person need to perform to feel alive.
What they actually talked about (and why it matters)
It wasn't just a "how did you get started" interview. They went deep into the weeds.
- The Relapse: Williams spoke candidly about his relapse after 20 years of sobriety. He didn't make it sound poetic. He made it sound like a slow-motion car crash involving a bottle of Jack Daniel's in a hotel room.
- The Surgery: He’d recently had open-heart surgery. He told Maron that the procedure literally "opened his heart" and made him more emotional, more prone to crying, and less able to maintain the shield of his comedy.
- The Darkness: There is a specific moment that everyone remembers. It’s when Williams talks about his own conscience. He actually improvised a dialogue between himself and his "inner voice" about contemplating suicide.
At the time, people laughed. It was dark comedy. It was "Freaky Ralph" territory (a comic they discussed who actually set himself on fire). But after August 11, 2014, that segment became almost impossible to listen to without a lump in your throat.
Why Marc Maron Robin Williams is Culturally Significant
In 2022, the Library of Congress actually selected this specific episode for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Think about that for a second. Out of the millions of hours of audio recorded in the 2010s, this podcast—recorded on a basic setup in a house—is considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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It was the first time a podcast felt like a historical document. It proved that the long-form, "no-BS" interview style Maron pioneered could get closer to the truth than a polished 10-minute segment on The Tonight Show.
Basically, Maron gave Williams permission to be sad. And in doing so, he gave us the most honest portrait of the man we’ll ever have.
The "Joke Stealing" Elephant in the Room
Maron has admitted since then that he was nervous about bringing up the reputation Williams had among comics. But Robin didn't flinch. He explained the "brain" of a comic—how things get lodged in there and come out later without you realizing where they came from. He didn't make excuses so much as he explained the mechanism of his own mania.
It was a turning point. It stopped being "the kids vs. the legend" and became a conversation about the craft.
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The Re-Release and the Legacy
When the news broke in 2014 that Robin had passed, Maron did what he had to do. He re-posted the episode. But he added a new introduction—a seven-minute monologue that is some of the most heartbreaking audio Maron has ever produced. He talked about how that interview shaped the entire trajectory of WTF.
He mentioned that some people were cynical about him re-posting it so fast. But honestly? Most of us needed it. We needed to hear that voice again, not as the Genie or Mrs. Doubtfire, but as the guy who was struggling just like everyone else.
Later, an autopsy revealed Robin had Lewy Body Dementia. Knowing that now, looking back at the 2010 interview, you can see the cracks. You can hear the fear of "what am I doing with my career?" and the anxiety about "bottoming out."
Key takeaways from the conversation:
- Vulnerability is a superpower. Robin’s willingness to be "un-funny" for a moment made him more beloved, not less.
- The Garage is a Confessional. The intimacy of a podcast (no cameras, no audience) creates a space where people like Robin Williams could finally exhale.
- Empathy over Ego. Maron’s own recovery allowed him to meet Robin where he was, rather than judging him for his past.
How to Listen to It Today
If you haven't heard the full thing, you really should. It’s available through WTF+ or occasionally on the main feed during "From the Vault" sessions. There’s also Episode 926, where Maron talks to Dave Itzkoff, the reporter who wrote the definitive Williams biography, and they play the 2010 interview again.
It’s a masterclass in interviewing. It’s a tragedy in retrospect. But mostly, it’s just a really good talk between two people who were trying to figure out how to be okay in a world that can be pretty unforgiving.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to understand the modern podcast landscape, you have to start here. Listen to the episode with an eye for how Maron uses silence. Notice how he doesn't interrupt the "characters" Robin falls into, but gently steers him back to the "real" voice. It’s a blueprint for anyone trying to have meaningful conversations in a digital age. Once you've heard the Robin Williams episode, jump to the 2015 interview with Barack Obama to see how that same "garage" energy transformed political media forever.