Hannah Einbinder uses comedy as a coping mechanism in debut standup special

LOS ANGELES (AP) — To rising comic Hannah Einbinder, her bits are for more than just laughs. She says her jokes are a coping mechanism she uses to process the tough topics she tackles in her material.

Einbinder, known for matching Jean Smart’s quick wit and comedic timing in “Hacks,” released her debut standup special on Max on Thursday to critical acclaim. Throughout her set, she takes on several difficult subjects, including sexual identity and climate change.

“Climate change is something that I think about every day when I look out the window at the Earth, before my eyes, so that is something that I definitely wanted to hit on,” Einbinder tells The Associated Press. “It’s just something that overwhelms my consciousness and so I write about it.”

Einbinder says she thinks about “pretty much everything through the lens of comedy,” adding that the habit is a “classic coping mechanism” or “survival instinct.”