Marc Maron, left, hosted former president Barack Obama on the final episode of his "WTF" podcast, released on Oct. 13.

Barack Obama is teaching Marc Maron how to say goodbye.

The former president joined the comedian on the final episode of Maron's long-running "WTF" podcast, released on Monday, Oct. 13. During the conversation, Obama gave Maron advice on his next steps, reflecting on his own experience of departing the presidency in 2017.

"You've still got a couple of chapters left," Obama told Maron. "Somebody gave me advice right before I was leaving office, and it was, 'Don't rush into what the next thing is. Take a beat.' Take some satisfaction looking backwards and saying, 'You know what? I didn't get everything done that I wanted, it wasn't always exactly how I planned it, but there's a body of work there that I'm proud of.'"

Obama encouraged Maron to "pat yourself on the back for a second" before being "a little braindead for a while," noting that he caught up on a stack of books after leaving office. "I had a big deficit with my wife that I had to kind of work my way out of," Obama quipped, explaining that he and former first lady Michelle Obama "went on a lot of trips and hung out and had nice dinners and slept in."

After that, Obama said the next step is to figure out, "What's my next, highest and best use? What's a new purpose that scratches that itch? It may not come to you right away." But he said that his primary advice to Maron would be to "take your time — unless you've really got some bills to pay."

Maron launched "WTF" in 2009, and his show has been widely credited as one of the most influential podcasts of all time. He has interviewed A-list stars from Paul McCartney to Bruce Springsteen on "WTF," and one of the most high-profile episodes was a conversation with Obama, conducted in 2015 while the president was in office. In the years since, numerous comedians have launched their own long-form interview podcasts, including "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" and Amy Poehler's "Good Hang."

Maron announced the end of "WTF" in June, explaining at the time, "It really comes down to the fact that we have put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost 16 years, and we're tired. We're burnt out. And we are utterly satisfied with the work we've done."

On the Oct. 13 episode, Obama congratulated Maron on 16 years of podcasts and said he was "honored" to be his final guest. Maron shared that he felt "OK" about the end of the show and "ready" for a break but acknowledged that he has some "fear" about the question, "What do I do now?"

Maron also asked Obama if he felt the "weight" when he left office, to which the former president responded that this was a unique situation because he was being succeeded by President Donald Trump.

"A lot of what I represented, a lot of what Michelle and I had tried to project — the values, our thinking about America — my successor seemed to represent the opposite," Obama said. "Not seemed. Did."

Maron previously spoke about the end of "WTF" on the show's penultimate episode, which was released on Oct. 9 and did not feature a guest. The comedian addressed the fact that for longtime listeners, the end of the show may feel like a "breakup."

"I know that some of you are sad," he told listeners. "I'm sad. It's a big change for me, but sometimes you have to move on. I know you don't have a say in this, and I apologize, but that's sometimes how these breakups go."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barack Obama gives Marc Maron advice on finding 'new purpose' in final 'WTF' podcast

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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