Sep 11, 2025 · 1 hr 44 min · 9 segments
Tom Scharpling is celebrating the 25th year of his beloved comedy playground, The Best Show, which was one of the foundational inspirations for WTF back when it launched in 2009. Since then, Tom…
Marc MaronHost
Tom ScharplingGuest
I am starting to realize, as I've said before, that, uh, there's something at the core of me.
I've been going back to the secret, uh, the secret meetings a bit, uh, just to make sure I stay in dialogue with, uh, you know, what is at my core now that I have time to sit with it.
And, and some of it you'll hear in this, in this, uh, conversation with Tom in terms of how far back we go and his experience meeting me, and his experience in, you know, watching me, which we have talked about before.
But I realized that, uh, you know, when you're untethered, intense, uh, insecure, uh, if you have a sort of wobbly sense of self, or self-loathing, there's a, there's a profound selfishness to it.
Because you're so insulated in your own thoughts about who you are and what you're going through, it's rare to really understand or, or, or hear or engage with other people's perception of you.
Because what you're thinking about yourself, if you're insecure, uh, you know, resentful, jealous, self-pitying, I mean, w- you know, what you're just trying to, you know, to, to get by, but you're, you're full of this horrendous negative self-talk and feelings about who you are, and that becomes sort of the external personality, is, is you trying to manage those feelings within yourself to engage with the world.
But there is this thing happening now, again, with some of the time I'm having and the big transition I'm in and the age I'm at, where it's, it's kind of like, "Wow, this is still fucking here? You know, this, this core part of me is still fucking here?" I mean, it's crazy.
And I, and I had a conversation with somebody from my past that really kind of, uh, shed light on something that, that, uh, yeah, I didn't...
You know, I had lunch with an old friend of mine, a buddy of mine from college, we were pretty close.
And, and he was just sort of reflecting on his life and reflecting on whatever that time was, uh, back then, back in the day.
And his sense of, of who, who I was, how he felt about who I was was completely fucking surprising to me.
I don't know, I had a couple of realizations, mostly that, you know, how in my own fucking head am I at all times? But I mean, again, I was 20, 22, you know, 19, and I was scrambling.
I was, I was, I was trying to wrap my brain around, you know, art and film and poetry and writing, and I was trying to sort of dress i- in a way that I, I thought, uh, kind of had, uh, something unique about it.
I am starting to realize, as I've said before, that, uh, there's something at the core of me.
I've been going back to the secret, uh, the secret meetings a bit, uh, just to make sure I stay in dialogue with, uh, you know, what is at my core now that I have time to sit with it.
And, and some of it you'll hear in this, in this, uh, conversation with Tom in terms of how far back we go and his experience meeting me, and his experience in, you know, watching me, which we have talked about before.
But I realized that, uh, you know, when you're untethered, intense, uh, insecure, uh, if you have a sort of wobbly sense of self, or self-loathing, there's a, there's a profound selfishness to it.
Because you're so insulated in your own thoughts about who you are and what you're going through, it's rare to really understand or, or, or hear or engage with other people's perception of you.
Because what you're thinking about yourself, if you're insecure, uh, you know, resentful, jealous, self-pitying, I mean, w- you know, what you're just trying to, you know, to, to get by, but you're, you're full of this horrendous negative self-talk and feelings about who you are, and that becomes sort of the external personality, is, is you trying to manage those feelings within yourself to engage with the world.
But there is this thing happening now, again, with some of the time I'm having and the big transition I'm in and the age I'm at, where it's, it's kind of like, "Wow, this is still fucking here? You know, this, this core part of me is still fucking here?" I mean, it's crazy.
And I, and I had a conversation with somebody from my past that really kind of, uh, shed light on something that, that, uh, yeah, I didn't...
You know, I had lunch with an old friend of mine, a buddy of mine from college, we were pretty close.
And, and he was just sort of reflecting on his life and reflecting on whatever that time was, uh, back then, back in the day.
And his sense of, of who, who I was, how he felt about who I was was completely fucking surprising to me.
I don't know, I had a couple of realizations, mostly that, you know, how in my own fucking head am I at all times? But I mean, again, I was 20, 22, you know, 19, and I was scrambling.
I was, I was, I was trying to wrap my brain around, you know, art and film and poetry and writing, and I was trying to sort of dress i- in a way that I, I thought, uh, kind of had, uh, something unique about it.
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