Podcaster Marc Maron said he was "told there will be a sniper on the roof" of his home as he prepared for the biggest guest of the show that is recorded in his garage.
That guest was President Barack Obama.
Maron was admittedly very nervous about doing the episode of "WTF with Marc Maron" that featured Obama. The episode was made available online Monday, June 22.
"They just swept my house with a dog," he told listeners. "They've tented my entire driveway. ... They've closed down the entire neighborhood."
Some of Maron's neighbors made signs welcoming the President.
"I don't want to do a policy discussion," he said. "I'd like to connect with him as a person."
Upon his arrival, Obama pointed out to Maron that he has a lot of photos of himself in the garage.
"I don't know that I really notice it," Maron responded. "Maybe it's just comforting to me."
"This is great," Obama said, "It must bring back good memories every time you come in here."
The host and President went on to talk about several things, including the recent Charleston church shootings in which nine black people were killed. Obama said there is a need for gun control and that racism is still very real.
"We're not cured of it," he said.
"It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say n---er in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened 200, 300 years prior."
Obama said he did the interview with Maron to reach a nontraditional audience.
"I'm honored that you came. And it's an amazing privilege for me to get to talk to you," Maron told the President.
"I'm a big fan and I love conversations like this," Obama said. "If I thought to myself when I was in college that I'd be in a garage a couple miles away from where I was living, doing an interview — as President — with a comedian ... it's not possible to imagine."
