He's still dominating the politics.

You know, I was I've been making for 14 months, maybe even more than that now.

I've been making every night a video that I call, Hey, Donald Trump, because they all begin, Hey, Donald Trump.

And the premise is that I'm talking directly to him.

We're FaceTiming.

And, you know, I give him advice.

You know, I talk to him about the rallies that I've seen, whatever.

What's going to happen? You know?

And do you, do you claim credit for

that style for having kind of brought that to the floor? I had never even thought about it before now, but I liked the idea of it.

Um, uh, no, probably not.

Uh, but it's true when I did those things, um, when I did the conventions and the, um, subsequent, uh, inauguration, uh, And the only thing that I I mean, I often didn't have any idea even where I was going to be standing until, you know, until we got to the event.

But the only thing that I could ever, you know, tell anybody ahead of time because I didn't know either was where I might be located.

And and then I just sort of, you know.

And I think what made it effective at the time was in part, for example, just starting with the conventions, is that I really was very new to it all.

They make space for you or you kind of make them make space for you in a way that really services your sense of humor.

Like, what are your thoughts of all the comedy on social media?

Well, it is a double edged sword.

I mean, I do think that during the state, you know, attendance to live events has changed since the stay at home order where people were, you know, their form of connection to the outside world a lot of times was watching stuff on, you know, online.

I would argue that.

that whenever anybody types in LOL to their phone, they're lying.

When I see something that I think is funny, if I see it on my flat thing or if I see it even on television, if I'm by myself, I certainly acknowledge in my head that I think it's funny, but I don't laugh out loud.

Whereas you go to, I mean, that's one of the joys of being a human being is when you're with other human beings in any kind of performance, you know, it could be comedy, it could be a symphony, it could be a band, it could be a dance, you know, performance or play, any kind of performance and you're part of an audience.

Talk about doing political humor during these partisan times.

I do want to, you do, we're entertained by the story about what happened when you were on The Tonight Show on the same time as ZZ Top and what happened, and I think people would love that story.

I will tell you that story.

I think it was my first time on The Tonight Show was with Johnny Carson.

He was a comic.

Sure.

They don't seem to know stuff from a while ago, so I...

You're saying Johnny Carson was a comic.

I don't read women authors.

Liberty Bell

area.

I did not.

I did not.

You know what I had was my creative vision.

There you go.

Be best.

through.

I'm just asking

questions.

What small town did you grow up in? Sudbury, Massachusetts.

Oh, Sudbury.

Sure, sure.

I did a Sudbury swimming hole.

Everyone knows that.

think of it, it was college.

Oh, I

see.

So Friday mornings, we just...

Yeah, okay.

All right, then perhaps this is a good Friday morning topic, which is...

You know, everyday stuff goes wrong.

Adulthood is problem solving.

So can you just, as we wrap up our time here together, it's been so fun having you, make your pitch to all the Gen Zers of why they should be out doing the protesting because it is so important and I feel like we got to get more people out there doing things like you do.

in general look like? Who do you employ, and who would you like to employ?

Well, okay, a big component, and, and this sounds sort of petty, but it's not actually at all, which is I have to have somebody house and pet sit while I'm out of town.

And then years ago, I also had to have a nanny.

And my nanny obviously stayed at the house with the kids while I was gone, and also took care of the pets, which we've had a variety of numbers of pets and a variety of species [laughs] of pets over the years.

So that was a big job.

And, and I had the same woman in that role for 32 years.

And a little while ago, she got very ill and had to quit like that.

Mm-hmm

okay.

Yeah.

All right.

Yeah, for my first time, by the way.

It's a good movie.

Wow.

Yeah, I thought it was a good movie, and I'm alone a lot, so there were some pointers.

Right.

WABE's Christopher Alston caught up with the comedian to talk about that show and quickly figured out how funny Paula Poundstone can be, especially when she's not trying.

Well, it's not a tour like on the back of a sweatshirt.

I just go out most weekends to work.

It's not like a tour with a particular theme or something like that.

But my act in general is autobiographical.

I talk about what I'm thinking, what I'm doing.

And, you know...

What do you see for Wait, Wait going forward?

Mm

... at that point.

And I'm so, like, shocked and embarrassed, and I'm like, I've, uh...

And there is no way in hell I'm gonna tell somebody that he's doing this because I'll feel too embarrassed to say the words.

S- I'm 19.

I was a baby.

So I do at some point say, like, that I needed to get out, and I walk up to the driver because I know a- he, like, he wouldHe'd freak out if he knew that, right? So I walk up to the driver, and I lean my head down to the driver and I say, "Where's our next stop?"

Really?

all the time.

And there was one day I was just like, you know what? I'm going to just drive the damn thing until it won't go anymore.

And then I'm leaving it on the side of the road.

And the very day that I made this decision, I drive into the garage at the house I lived in.

I get out of the car.

I slam the door because you had to slam the door on that thing.

And the back of the front seat fell off.

So you were saying back in the day that there was this camp that your son wanted to go to.

Like I said, I'm not kink shaming if that's their thing, but I'm like, can you please keep that in the privacy of your own home instead of bringing the rest of us into it? Because you do you.

You know, I can't help feeling – I might have told you this before, but I'm telling you it again, which is, you know – So when my son was little, he had a...

Well, I guess he was in elementary school.

There was a fifth grade trip, maybe, or fourth grade trip, I can't remember.

Too young to be having such a trip, I think.

But of...

They would go away for a night or two at some, you know, camp somewhere that the elementary school class would.

So you were saying back in the day that there was this camp that your son wanted to go to.

Your brows are knitted.

Adam, Donald Trump is a full-blown authoritarian, and we need to bring that to every voter's attention every chance we get.

And those who have chosen not to vote in the past need to hear us singing out danger and shoulder their voting responsibility.

But what will stop this administration's relentless Walking Dead march towards the makeup tray of cosmetic democracy to powder, blot, and spray on their authoritarian regime? What will bring them down? What will be their kryptonite? I could, I could sure use someone in the know to talk to about it.

Maybe a journalist with a lot of experience.

That'd be helpful.

I'll never get to, though, not on this smear campaign of a podcast.

[laughs]

and

I got the phone.

I kind of...

I hate being tethered to the cell phone the way that one is.

If somebody doesn't get you, they'll call you back five times.

What the fuck is that? It's so true.

You know, listen, I don't want to run up against...

Every

What the hell?

Yeah.

You know, when my son was little.

Well, he was in fourth grade.

He was in a fourth, fifth.

And they used to insist at our elementary school on doing this thing that I don't think they should have done anyways, which is that the, I guess the fifth graders or the fourth graders, I can't remember which, went away for a couple of nights to some, you know, Catalina or something, you know, spent the night in some sort of camp for a couple of nights with their classmates.

I feel like that was too young to do that trip to begin with.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

And I did (laughs) so I slap on the Depends, but the thing is, I mean, not on the exterior, you know, it was on the interior, and, uh, and I drive, it's a 15-hour drive, and, uh, partway through I get tired, I pull over, I sleep in a parking lot and I, and I...

Uh, meanwhile I drink, I used to drink 16 diet sodas a day.

I cut back during this trip because I, you know, I didn't really wanna use the diaper.

But in the morning when I wake up, like, you know, from sleeping in the parking lot, I realize that, uh, and I still have the diaper on, but I just haven't used it.

And I realize I have like f- I don't know, five gallons of beverage in me.

Like you could hear me swash when I...

How many people could actually say they would go through that sort of effort? I, I, your activism, and I don't know if this is a new thing, I feel like you've always been pretty outspoken, but it seems like it's been a lot more lately that you have no fucks left to give.

(laughs)

And, uh, I go, "Isn't that nice of you?" And I don't think I'd said hardly anything to the guy at this point.

I think I'm getting this story right.

Anyway, so I go to use the restroom, whatever.

I come back, you know, this guy held my baby.

It was very nice of him.

And, uh, and I think then we had a conversation.

Let it reproduce.