Episode 844 - Lorde

Not every global pop superstar would feel at home in Marc's garage, but Lorde isn't your average global pop superstar. The singer-songwriter takes some time before kicking off her worldwide Melodrama tour to talk with Marc about her life in New Zealand, her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, and the math of making pop music. They also go down a music rabbit hole as Lorde reveals herself to be a knowledgable student of classic rock, power pop, rhythm and blues, and Phil Collins. This episode is sponsored by Sonos, Soothe, and the Harold Ramis Film School.

Episode 843 - Warren Hutcherson

Warren Hutcherson and Marc were getting their starts in standup around the same time. Then, as Marc recalls it, Warren was suddenly a television writer and wasn't on the standup scene anymore. Warren explains how his college-age writing was responsible for his somewhat accidental entry into comedy, which led to him running the network television gauntlet, navigating the conventions and biases of Hollywood on his way to becoming a writer and showrunner on programs like The Bernie Mac Show. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Audible.

Episode 842 - Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan is considered one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time. He joins Marc in the garage to talk about his years playing in the house bands for David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, which included being part of The Blues Brothers' band. Steve also shares stories of his collaborations with Neil Young, Don Henley, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and The Rolling Stones, which led to a prolific partnership and friendship with Keith Richards. This episode is sponsored by the new film 'mother!' from Paramount Pictures and The Harold Ramis Film School.

Episode 841 - Jay Baruchel

Actor Jay Baruchel takes the trip down from Canada to talk with Marc about life, acting and the Great White North. Jay explains what it was like being raised in a family that was righteously engaged in politics while also beset by criminal activity and alcoholism. He also tells Marc why it's important to him to see Canadian culture reflected in film, which is one of the reasons he wrote and directed the new movie Goon: Last of the Enforcers. This episode is sponsored by The War on Drugs' new album A Deeper Understanding and Stamps.com.

Episode 840 - Alice Cooper

Marc gets the full story of how Vincent Furnier became Alice Cooper and took rock & roll into dark and unexpected territory. Alice tells Marc about the early formation of his band, how his return to Christianity helped him confront his alcoholism, and how he's remained sober for nearly 40 years. Along the way, he inspired, and was inspired by, the likes of John Lennon, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx, Glen Campbell, and many more. This episode is sponsored by Stitcher Premium, Audible, and Warby Parker.

Episode 839 - Brent Weinbach / Ms. Pat

First things first: Brent Weinbach and Marc need to have a good conversation about crying. Once that's out of the way, the two of them figure out how Brent's performance-based comedy, filled with multiple characters and flights of absurdity, is connected to his pursuit of becoming a jazz musician as a teenager. It also has something to do with why Brent thinks Chico is the best Marx Brother. Also, Ms. Pat returns to the garage now that she's turned her harrowing personal stories into a new memoir called 'Rabbit.' This episode is sponsored by Zip Recruiter.

Episode 838 - Jennifer Jason Leigh

To prepare for this conversation, Marc watched one of Jennifer Jason Leigh's earliest films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as well as her most recent, the crime thriller Good Time. The details of what happened in between help explain why Jennifer is one of our best actors, so much so that Marc even asks her for a few acting pointers, which Jennifer is happy to provide. This episode is sponsored by Casper and Stamps.com.

Episode 837 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Phil Stutz

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players ever, but he's happy if you know him as a writer, a cultural critic, an activist, a chronicler of African-American history, an actor, an ambassador, and a coin collector. Kareem and Marc talk about all those things and how life in 2017 America is similar to life when Kareem was a young man. Plus, therapist Phil Stutz returns to the garage to talk about the follow up to his enormously successful and helpful book The Tools. This episode is sponsored by The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson on Audible and Blue Apron.

Episode 836 - Mike MacDonald / Jon Ronson

Canadian comic Mike MacDonald survived four decades in comedy, drug abuse, Sam Kinison, chronic illness, psych wards, and a liver transplant to make it to the garage. Mike takes Marc through his early days doing comedy in Canadian punk rock clubs up to his return to the road after recovering from a major organ transplant. Also, writer Jon Ronson returns, this time to talk about porn, which he explores in his new audio series The Butterfly Effect. This episode is sponsored by Get Shorty, the new dark comedy series on EPIX.

Episode 835 - The Lucas Brothers

Keith and Kenny Lucas are identical twins and Marc is freaking out at how similar they are. Well, freaking a little bit anyway, but only at first because once the three of them get talking it's hard not to be taken with the Lucas Brothers' story. They talk about their childhoods, their philosophy-based education, their attempt to go into law, culminating with a mere two-and-a-half years in which they were apart, and it almost ruined them. Thankfully, as they tell Marc, comedy came calling. This episode is sponsored by Stamps.com and Away.

Episode 834 - Rory Scovel / Maz Jobrani

Rory Scovel is from the South, he was born into a legacy of postal workers, and one of his first jobs was in production at a local TV station. It's all great background material for a comedy career, which is probably why Rory and Marc have such a thorough conversation about doing the job of comedy, from the grind of working on the road to the art of being a warm-up comic to the craft of making an hour-long stand-up special. Also, Maz Jobrani is back to talk about being a comedian and immigrant in Trump's America. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Bombfell. 

Episode 833 - Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore has been thinking about change his whole life, whether it was the way the changing media shaped our politics or the way a changing climate altered the way we live on this planet. He talks with Marc about our current political atmosphere, the Trump administration, his regrets about the 2000 election, the progress he sees on climate issues, and the continuing fight for the environment as depicted in the documentary An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. This episode is sponsored by Arcade Fire's new album Everything Now and the new film Brigsby Bear.

Episode 832 - David Alan Grier / Joe Mande

David Alan Grier studied to become a serious actor at Yale School of Drama, which actually came in handy when he got cast on one of the funniest shows of all time, In Living Color. David talks with Marc about his varied career on stage, screen and in the comedy clubs. Plus, comedian Joe Mande takes a break from Twitter to stop by the garage and talk about how he staged an award show for his new standup special. This episode is sponsored by Room 104 on HBO, Rick and Morty on Adult Swim, and SimpliSafe.

Episode 831 - Randy Newman

Marc believes - and many agree with him - that Randy Newman is an American genius. One person who's not so sure is Randy himself who, after half a century as a recording artist, 13 solo albums, 23 soundtracks, six Grammys, two Oscars and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, tells Marc he still doesn't think he's done enough. They talk about Randy's early albums, his struggles with songwriting, his film scores, his latest album Dark Matter and his legacy in American music. This episode is sponsored by HBO's Room 104, ZipRecruiter and Dr. Katz: The Audio Files on Audible Channels.

Episode 830 - David Remnick

David Remnick is a seasoned journalist, an accomplished writer and a proud amateur guitar player. But he's also the gatekeeper of an American institution as editor of The New Yorker. Marc and David talk about the versatility of The New Yorker's content, from poetry to fiction to investigative reporting and more, and how the current political and cultural climates demand our engagement with all aspects of art, literature and information. This episode is sponsored by the new film Landline and Thumbtack.

Episode 829 - Edie Falco

With indelible roles in shows like The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie and Horace and Pete, a lot of people feel like they know Edie Falco very well, even though they only know her characters. Edie helps Marc dispel some of these preconceived notions by discussing her early struggles as an aspiring actor, why she wanted to be a mother, who intimidates her when she's on set, and how she dealt with a major dilemma when she was offered the role of Carmela Soprano. They also talk about her new film, Landline. This episode is sponsored by Casper.

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