Paula Poundstone will share her life views in Iowa City show

Paula Poundstone is multi-tasking as usual. During a recent interview, Poundstone is working on her worm farm.

"I harvest their worm waste, which is called worm castings," Poundstone said while calling from her Santa Monica home. "I feed the worms produce scraps. They eat the food waste so it doesn't cause methane. I'm guessing that I'm the only comic doing that."

Poundstone, 61, isn't just a liberal comic delivering jokes that have a lefty bent. The observational humorist tries to make a difference. Poundstone has fostered eight children and adopted a boy and two girls.

Since 2007, Poundstone has been a national spokeswoman for the American Library Association's "United for Libraries," which is a citizens’ support group raising funds and awareness for local libraries.

So it's not surprising that Poundstone in her life and act riffs about those running the government.

"I talk about politics," she said. “I can't help it. Someone once wrote to me in a very unhappy manner and said,’"How come you talk about politics?’ I said, ‘Because politics is everything.’ Our existence teeters on it. Without voting rights we don't get fossil fuels out of our lives or action on climate change."

When Poundstone performs at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City on Friday night, Dec. 17, expect bits about being locked down during the pandemic and her thoughts on those who opt to not vaccinate.

"I don't understand how anyone fails to take care of themselves and our society by avoiding getting a shot," she said. "Have people gone crazy? Did (Russian President Vladimir) Putin put something in our water?

“Someone told me that they weren't going to get vaccinated because they were afraid they would become magnetized. Is that such a bad thing? If we become magnetized we'll never lose our keys again."

Poundstone is hoping for significant change on the road. She dreams of ubiquitous electric cars.

"We have to go in that direction," she said. "I know Putin doesn't want to go there since oil is Putin's baby. We've done a terrible job taking care of Earth. I know my generation has done a lousy job but we grew up with only seven channels. Remember what it was like watching TV and it was like 1 a.m. and a station would sign off and say that it was the end of the broadcast day?"

Poundstone also will riff about pop culture and devices.

"The thought was when computers were introduced, that they were educational and if you wanted to be a half-decent parent, you had to buy a computer for your child," she said. "But computers have taken over our kids' lives. Electronics has become this era's cigarettes."

And then there are Poundstone's cats.

"I have 10 cats," she said. "I will talk about my kids, who aren't kids anymore. They're all young adults and that's a horrible phase. I'm not a good driver. I have to talk about that."

Her material is fine, but she is at her best when doing crowd work.

"I love that," she said. "I have so much fun just asking people what their name is and what they do for a living. It's fun to go up there and be in the moment. Because of that, every show I do is different.“

Unlike some comics, who ask the audience questions and come off as obnoxious, Poundstone just seems curious.

"I do want to know what's on their mind and what comes out is often surprising," she said. "I was taping an HBO special, and I was talking to a lawyer. After I asked what he did, a woman in the crowd moaned. ... I asked if she had a bad experience with a lawyer.

“She said she did have a bad experience with a lawyer after her mother who was in a service station, had fallen and lost her face on a lube rack. It was such a wild story that I've been asked to do the lube rack bit. It's not a bit. It was just one of the wild stories I've heard since I've been interacting with crowds.

“You never know what you'll get. Who knows what will happen when I ask someone in the audience in Iowa what they do?"