Episode 1166 - Lewis Black

**Marc Maron** (0:09)
All right, let's do this. How are you, WTFers, WTF buddies, WTFniks?
What's happening? I feel like I haven't checked in with you guys in a while, but I don't know, how are you guys holding up? What's going on with the thing? How are the kids? How's the family? You feeling pretty tight? How's the tight-knit family going? I can't imagine.
I'm sorry, man. I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I'm so sorry that, you know, you have to spend this much. I don't even, when did it stop being quality time for you people with families? When did it turn into like, oh my God, when is this gonna fucking end time? Well, this is the end times, but you know what I'm saying. I imagine that you've all gotten to know each other pretty fucking well. Did you ever think you would get to know yourself or the people that you live with or your children as well as you do now?
You're all growing in strange ways because of this isolation. Look at it that way. That's a positive. Hey, we're weathering the storm together. And man, what a fucking nightmare. Not really. It's good. I try to keep up with my buddies who have families and whatnot. And it seems like there's good and bad to it, but I do feel bad for kids. I mean, I'm an old man, kinda, 57, and I've basically lost a year to some degree. I don't know what I'd be doing that much differently other than knowing I could do things if I wanted to. That's the primary difference for me, is that I spend a lot of time alone. I do the podcast. I miss doing comedy now, but I had a dream about the comedy.
But I like knowing I had options to go out and eat, to stop and have a coffee, to say hi to a friend, to go do a set, to do... Just had options. Now it's like, you know, I don't mind hanging out by myself and doing the work, but no fucking options.
Not many options. You want to take a drive? I don't know, man. I just...
I can't take it. I can barely breathe because the reality of the world is gripping my entire body and squeezing the breath out of me on a daily basis. I'm just going to have to meditate just to expand the grip that reality has on me to get me a little room so I can fucking breathe again, and terrified. Election Day is fast approaching, and nobody knows what the fuck is going to happen, but I'll tell you this, honestly, and this is nonpartisan.
If Trump holds on to power, it will be the end of America as we know it in terms of tolerance, democracy, majority rule, the judicial system. Yeah. So good times. It's happened to many countries before, and it will in many countries again, but we didn't think it would happen here, but we are on the precipice of real authoritarianism, and that's exciting, right? How are the kids? How's everything? He's still holding up as a family. Real authoritarianism right around the corner, and I guess we'll know by the end of the year where we stand, right? And just remember, it only takes a couple of reinforced suggestions by a occupying power for your neighbors to kill you for having different views. Good morning, everything okay? It's happened in other countries. What makes us special?
Lewis Black is on the show today. He's been on in the past. You'll notice that this week I've had, I've actually had a couple of guests that I've had on before because we realized, like Lewis was back, he was on episode like 485 in 2014 He also did some call ins on the really old episodes of WTF. And I used to talk to Lewis a lot on my old Air America show back in the day. He's got a new standup special. It's called Thanks for Risking Your Life. It's out now. So I thought it'd be a good time for a chat. Good time to catch up. But also there are people in my life who I consider friends, who I consider people I can have a nice conversation with about anything. And that seems to be happening a bit. And Lewis is definitely one of those. So look forward to that coming up.
I am sore as fuck. I've actually gotten into like not a predicament, but I'm constantly sore because I guess, who was I just talking to? A friend of mine. Oh, I was talking to Zach Braff. I don't know if he's a friend of mine, but he's a guy I met from the show. I met him from this show. I met him because I talked to him. I interviewed him, but he brought up this idea about, well, I knew it, dopamine and serotonin management through exercise. Like, I don't know that I've ever exercised this hard or this much in my life. And I think the quarantine is forcing me to do it because that way I know I do something, but my joints are a little fucking hurty. I hike two or three times a week. I do circuit training three times a week. And I wonder, like the other day, I thought like, do I have cancer? Why can't I get off the couch? And I don't think I put it, really took it under consideration.