What happens when your job becomes your identity - and then it’s gone?
In this episode of Gen X Crisis, Robert talks with Marc Liepis, whose three-decade career took him from NBC publicity to producing late night with Jimmy Fallon and, most recently, Howard Stern. Marc opens up about the intoxicating highs of being at the center of pop culture - launching shows, prepping stars like Adam Sandler and Betty White, producing bits that became viral before “viral” existed - and the shock of reinvention when the lights dim.
Robert and Marc dig into the grind and the thrill of late night, the mentorship that kept him going at SNL, and what it feels like to shift from PR to producing comedy that millions would see the next night. They also explore how the entertainment landscape has splintered, what’s been lost with the decline of monoculture, and why the “campfire” moments of Carson and Conan feel so rare today.
Beyond the industry, Marc reflects on fatherhood, parenting an only child in New York, navigating conversations his own parents never would have had, and the universal midlife struggle to find inherent value outside of a job title.
This one’s about reinvention, relevance, and reorienting when your life’s work no longer defines who you are.
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