# Real Time with Bill Maher **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367 "2023-10-10T21:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 56
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1101 "2025-09-27T19:45:15Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > “I always had a problem with his tone," Maron, 61, said of Maher, 69. > > He continued, “I feel with Bill that there is this – and it happens with some of the other boomers – desperate chasing of relevance that changes someone’s mind Sounds pretty insightful to me. There’s the old cliché that we become more conservative (read: reactionary-right-wing) as we age—but not everyone does. Maher was always a fairly self-involved guy. But as he turned his focus on the State of California thwarting his home-improvements (don’t get him started!), he’s gone in that “all government is bad” Republican direction. (Granted, that direction has been somewhat warped by Donald’s Imperial ambitions, in which government–meaning Donald–should control EVERYTHING.) . . This week’s show panel is Bill, Michael Smerconish, and Nancy Mace. The entire right-wing spectrum, going all the way from A to B! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1102 "2025-09-27T19:57:48Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Maher was always a fairly self-involved guy. That’s a very apt description. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1103 "2025-09-27T20:04:25Z")
It might be a fair description of a lot of stand-ups—they’re talking about their own opinions and observations, after all. But Maher probably does rank in the higher reaches of the list of ‘_who we think of when we hear the phrase “self-involved_”’…. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1104 "2025-09-27T22:13:28Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I thought this comment from Marc Maron was pretty spot on > > “I always had a problem with his tone," Maron, 61, said of Maher, 69. OTOH, Maher is enough of a celebrity that he can attract famous and interesting people not only to his show, but to his basement man-cave for aimless chats, which are then released as the “Club Random” podcasts and YouTube videos that I mentioned earlier. Whereas I don’t know Marc Maron from a hole in the ground. > [@madmonk28](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Maher was always a fairly self-involved guy. > > That’s a very apt description. Probably true. Also true of a great many bright, creative people, so not exactly a put-down. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > This week’s show panel is Bill, Michael Smerconish, and Nancy Mace. The entire right-wing spectrum, going all the way from A to B! Maher has had right-wing nutjobs on the show many times. As he’s said many times, he himself is an old-school liberal, but the RWNJs can make for interesting conversation. And while I don’t know much about Smerconish, I don’t know why you’d lump him in with the likes of Nancy Mace. Smcerconish supported Obama in 2008. Anyway, as I also said earlier, Maher pisses me off sometimes. There was no reason to have ape-man Tom Homan as his interview subject last week. But I’ll defend him when I think the facts are on his side. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1105 "2025-09-27T22:31:39Z")
One big difference I see between Maher and other stand-ups is that Maher doesn’t do self deprecating humor much and when he does it’s often a sort of humble brag. This makes his self absorption more stark. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1106 "2025-09-27T22:40:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > OTOH, Maher is enough of a celebrity that he can attract famous and interesting people not only to his show, but to his basement man-cave for aimless chats, which are then released as the “Club Random” podcasts and YouTube videos that I mentioned earlier. Whereas I don’t know Marc Maron from a hole in the ground. You also didn’t know the influential “Club Random” podcast from a hole in the ground for 3 years. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1107 "2025-09-28T04:37:59Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > OTOH, Maher is enough of a celebrity that he can attract famous and interesting people not only to his show, but to his basement man-cave for aimless chats, which are then released as the “Club Random” podcasts and YouTube videos that I mentioned earlier. Whereas I don’t know Marc Maron from a hole in the ground. Marc Maron is “enough of a celebrity” to get Barrack Obama on his podcast, a year before Maher got him. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1108 "2025-09-28T08:52:49Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Whereas I don’t know Marc Maron from a hole in the ground. This speaks more to your own general level of ignorance than the obscurity of Maron. Who is quite well know in several spheres, from stand-up to podcasting to acting. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1109 "2025-09-28T09:03:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Who is quite well know in several spheres, from stand-up to podcasting to acting. He was really good in _GLOW_. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1110 "2025-09-28T11:57:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > OTOH, Maher is enough of a celebrity that he can attract famous and interesting people not only to his show, but to his basement man-cave for aimless chats, which are then released as the “Club Random” podcasts and YouTube videos that I mentioned earlier. Whereas I don’t know Marc Maron from a hole in the ground. Fanboy for Bill Maher is an odd life choice. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1111 "2025-09-28T15:35:03Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Fanboy for Bill Maher is an odd life choice. “Fanboy for Bill Maher” is an odd description of someone who’s criticized him plenty, including right here in this thread. I just don’t concur with the unqualified hate, or believe that he’s 100% wrong about everything. I just find him reasonably entertaining, even if sometimes maddening, and enough people seem to agree with me that he’s had the same show on HBO for 23 years, a record that AFAIK was broken only by Carson on the Tonight Show. And HBO is not just any old network – they have a reputation for the quality of their original programming, and are also the home of _Last Week Tonight with John Oliver_ which I like even better. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1112 "2025-09-28T22:12:43Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > One big difference I see between Maher and other stand-ups is that Maher doesn’t do self deprecating humor much and when he does it’s often a sort of humble brag. This makes his self absorption more stark. That’s a good point. He really doesn’t do self-deprecation at all. > [@wolfpup](#): > > while I don’t know much about Smerconish, I don’t know why you’d lump him in with the likes of Nancy Mace That’s why I referenced a Right-Wing Spectrum. Basically the opposite of ‘lumping him in’ with Mace. Smerconish bills himself as being a spokesman for the center, but arguably CNN showcases him as their proof that they are not providing left-leaning content. His take on Trump has always been ultra-normalizing: “Just give the guy a chance!” is a frequent theme of his commentaries. But, yeah: not overtly MAGA. (I never said he was.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1113 "2025-09-28T22:54:01Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > One big difference I see between Maher and other stand-ups is that Maher doesn’t do self deprecating humor much and when he does it’s often a sort of humble brag. This makes his self absorption more stark. Not that leftist self-deprecating humor is that widespread, but ability to make fun of oneself is especially rare among right-of-center types. It’s impossible to conceive of diehard MAGAs, for instance, laughing at themselves or other MAGAs.\* \*there might be a touch of “humor” during infighting with their co-nimrods as they battle for public exposure, but only in a nasty, insulting way. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1114 "2025-09-29T20:02:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > “Fanboy for Bill Maher” is an odd description of someone who’s criticized him plenty, including right here in this thread. Yeah, I wouldn’t call you a fanboy. Just someone who watches his show and likes it sometimes and other times gripes about it (and Bill himself). > [@Miller](#): > > Marc Maron is “enough of a celebrity” to get Barrack Obama on his podcast, a year before Maher got him. Maron’s podcast “WTF” is huge. He’s been running it since 2009, which was around the time that podcasts started going mainstream. One of his episodes (where he remembers an interview with Robin Williams, where Robin had discussed contemplating suicide) was later inducted into the Library of Congress. In 2014, his podcast was labeled the #1 comedy podcast by _Rolling Stone_. His show has won a number of awards over the years. Anyone who listens to podcasts has probably heard of Marc Maron even if they’ve never heard his show. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1115 "2025-09-29T20:09:48Z")
Jeez, guess I better check out that podcast. I’ve enjoyed his stand-up and knew him from _Glow_, but didn’t know he had a podcast. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1116 "2025-09-29T20:11:49Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Jeez, guess I better check out that podcast. I have not listened to it myself, I have a few podcasts I subscribe to and I can’t really keep up with the ones I have. So I can’t personally endorse it. But I think at one point or another, every podcaster I listen to have brought him up as kind of the gold standard for comedy podcasts. (Most of what I listen to are comedy podcasts for the record.) It’s like how every late night talk show host probably mentions Johnny Carson at some point. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1117 "2025-09-29T20:20:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > “Fanboy for Bill Maher” is an odd description of someone who’s criticized him plenty, including right here in this thread. > > Yeah, I wouldn’t call you a fanboy. Just someone who watches his show and likes it sometimes and other times gripes about it (and Bill himself). Thank you, I think that’s accurate. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Maron’s podcast “WTF” is huge. He’s been running it since 2009, which was around the time that podcasts started going mainstream. One of his episodes (where he remembers an interview with Robin Williams, where Robin had discussed contemplating suicide) was later inducted into the Library of Congress. In 2014, his podcast was labeled the #1 comedy podcast by _Rolling Stone_. His show has won a number of awards over the years. > > Anyone who listens to podcasts has probably heard of Marc Maron even if they’ve never heard his show. I’m sure there are many people that I should know about that I don’t, and I acknowledge my ignorance in that respect. If my unfamiliarity with Marc Maron is an indicator of ignorance, so be it. OTOH, there are probably people I admire that many have never heard of. My circle of knowledge and that of the general population is similar but not a perfect overlap. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > > One big difference I see between Maher and other stand-ups is that Maher doesn’t do self deprecating humor much and when he does it’s often a sort of humble brag. This makes his self absorption more stark. > > That’s a good point. He really doesn’t do self-deprecation at all. I agree. Maher reminds me of a friend of mine with whom I used to have long late-night philosophical arguments. He and Maher both had the same annoying habit, prior to making some point or rebuttal, of chuckling loudly because the argument they were making was – in their minds – so obvious and the point they were refuting so obviously stupid – in their minds – that it was downright funny (in their minds). I see this more often on “Club Random” than on the actual HBO show. My dear friend has now passed away but quite frankly both he and Maher were, each in their own way, pompous asses but had many things of value to say. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1118 "2025-09-29T20:23:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m sure there are many people that I should know about that I don’t, and I acknowledge my ignorance in that respect. If my unfamiliarity with Marc Maron is an indicator of ignorance, so be it. OTOH, there are probably people I admire that many have never heard of. My circle of knowledge and that of the general population is similar but not a perfect overlap. It’s not like Marc Maron is a huge star that everyone would be expected to know about (but then again, neither is Bill Maher). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1119 "2025-09-30T01:13:37Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s not like Marc Maron is a huge star that everyone would be expected to know about (but then again, neither is Bill Maher). I only know the name because I watched a lot of standup comedy in the late 80s and early 90s and he hosted a show on Comedy Central. Other than being in GLOW, I had no idea what he’d been up to in the last thirty years. Good for him for being so successful. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1120 "2025-09-30T05:32:03Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My circle of knowledge and that of the general population is similar but not a perfect overlap. Then you should know not to use your own knowledge or ignorance of someone as a debate point to support someone’s cultural worth, as you attempted to do with Maher vs Maron where you were clearly contrasting (your perception of ) Maher’s celebrity with (your perception of ) Maron’s lack thereof as though it countered anything Maron said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=55) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=57)