FRESH AIR
Earlier this month, almost 2,000 radio fanatics gathered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to listen in as Marc Maron, the neurotic and sometimes gruff comedian and podcast host, interviewed Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. He is known for being vulnerable and bringing his personal life into his interviews; she tends to keep her personal life separate from her work. The conversation that resulted blurs those two styles and ends up revealing aspects of Gross’ life that even the biggest Fresh Air fans may find surprising. Maron is the host of WTF, a podcast he started in his garage in 2009. WTF began as a way for Maron to talk about life and career struggles with other comics, and it has expanded to include musicians, actors and directors — and now the host of Fresh Air. Gross has previously interviewed Maron for Fresh Air, but those interviews were conducted in separate studios; the sit-down at BAM 
was the first time the two met in person. In her introduction to the interview, Gross says, “When I’d met him backstage before the show, I really wanted to talk with him, but we agreed — let’s save it for the interview.” During the course of their conversation, Maron and Gross discussed her childhood in Brooklyn, her beginnings in radio and her record- and book-strewn apartment. For her part, Gross says that Maron’s “no bulls***” style made her feel comfortable opening up to him. “I couldn’t look you in the eye and not tell you the truth,” she tells him. MORE