The end of an era in podcasting
Marc Maron’s empathy and introspection set WTF apart in an era of rage theater.
Comedian Marc Maron announced on Monday's episode of his podcast WTF that he and producer Brendan McDonald will end the 16-year project this fall.
In Salon's coverage of the announcement, senior cultural critic Melanie McFarland accurately captured Maron's historical significance as a podcasting pioneer. Maron was undeniably an early adopter of the technology, of course. And in June 2015, he became the first podcaster to interview a sitting president, a colossal milestone for the medium itself.
McFarland also notes how the warmth and humanity Maron has consistently brought to WTF throughout its run have proved to be a sad exception as podcasting has exploded in popularity over the years. She writes:
Maron’s production output has been daunting since the earliest days of “WTF,” churning out two episodes a week to build an archive surpassing 1,600 installments. (Monday’s episode is No. 1,648.) All these years later, and with a constellation’s worth of additional competition, it’s still one of the most downloaded and streamed podcasts going.
But it’s also a small island in a medium overrun by shallow rage theater celebrating thoughtlessness. Within that swirl, “WTF” stands out as an oasis of introspection thanks to Maron presenting his show as an open cavern of feeling, constantly exposing new corners of insight and inviting listeners inside to revel in those discoveries.
At this point, Maron has well earned a break, which he says he sorely needs from the production grind. But I do hope someone keeps making media like WTF on the internet. Stuff that's kind and thoughtful and not so "twitchy," to borrow a favorite phrase of my old newspaper colleague Kara Swisher, now a hugely popular podcaster in her own right.
To the extent we're all content creators on social networks these days, maybe each of us could even take on a small piece of the task from here. Make the internet just a little bit kinder as a place everyday, one post at a time.
Boomer lives!
Five Things: June 1-7, 2025
The week's top headlines about emerging technologies and trends reshaping the web:
Big Tech cut new deals to secure nuclear power for their AI data centers in the U.S. Meta signed a 20-year agreement to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy, and Amazon said it will spend $10 billion to build new facilities in North Carolina. MIT Technology Review also recently noted there is a data center boom underway in Reno, Nevada, including new projects for Microsoft, Apple, and Google.
Reddit filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging it continued to access and use Reddit data without permission despite claiming to have stopped. The site could set an important precedent for other social platforms and news sites. (Wall Street Journal)
Crypto scored some big wins on Wall Street: Stablecoin issuer Circle raised over $1 billion in its initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange... JPMorgan is reportedly planning to expand crypto services for its wealth-management clients... U.S.-listed ether funds are on a 15-day winning streak in terms of attracting net inflows of investor money.
Trump Media filed a proposal with U.S. regulators to offer an exchange-traded bitcoin fund. Fees from the listing would undoubtedly add to the U.S. president's personal profits from crypto since Election Day -- a figure that has already topped $1 billion according to Forbes. The venerable business mag says Trump’s crypto holdings are now worth more than any single real estate asset in his portfolio, and even more than the combined value of Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.
The Ethereum Foundation said it will take a more deliberate approach to spending its substantial ether reserves to boost the network as the leading platform for decentralized applications. (The Block)
Market Snapshot
A quick look at some major indicators as of Friday's market close on Wall Street. For fuller detail, including additional indexes and asset classes, see my spreadsheet here.
Looking Ahead
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday she expects a bill setting clearer rules for stablecoins in the U.S. will pass the Senate this week and head to the House. Politico's Jasper Goodman reports Lummis is coordinating with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in an effort to secure some level of bipartisan support that would smooth the bill's passage into law. Lummis says that will likely preclude allowing interest-bearing stablecoin accounts in the Senate bill.
Brutal, low-tech "wrench attacks" against wealthy crypto investors appear to be on the rise globally, including recent arrests in high-profile cases in New York and Morocco. Slate's Nitish Pahwa reports that the problem even warranted a panel presentation at the recent Bitcoin Las Vegas conference. Yikes.
Thanks for reading the newsletter today! If you want to know more about w3w's history and (ahem) the author, that info is available here.
If you need to reach me directly, please email peter[at]w3w[dot]media.
Best wishes for a healthy and productive week ahead. 😊