Paula Poundstone loves Iowa--she must, she's performing here again! On this segment of Talk of Iowa, Charity speaks to the venerated comedian, who is returning to Iowa City for a show at the Englert Theatre on June 10.
Public radio listeners are especially in love with Poundstone, because of her weekly appearance as a panelist on Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. She has been doing stand-up comedy since 1979 and became nationally known for her HBO specials in the 1980s. Her first job, she told us, was bussing tables at an IHOP, a job she says she became the best at in the world because of her OCD symptoms. During the interview, Charity asks her about about her decision to become a stand-up comedian (it was all because of her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Bump), how she is mining jokes this year about Donald Trump and why her many cats are such a treasure of material for her shows (she was spraying one of her cats, Harrison, with a water-bottle during the interview because he wouldn't shut up). She was also "foraging" for cat pee on the floor. It's seventeen minutes of good listening!