Amy Aniobi (she/her) and Grace Edwards (she/her) have no idea how they met.

Really, they spent the first few minutes of our call trying to remember. Was it that one 2 Dope Queens shoot? Brunch with Nicole Byer? Some other wildly cool moment? Probably, but those name drops aren’t uncommon for the former Insecure writers who are now bringing that same A-list roster to their podcast, The Antidote. Every week, the comedians break down the trending nonsense and the products/routines/culture they’re using to deal with it.

Here, they get into their balms for everyday life, including Kerry Washington’s self-care advice, and a necessary reminder to ask your friend for that job reference.

How often did you guys work together before the podcast?
AMY: Just on Insecure.
GRACE: But I admired Amy from afar for a long time before that. I was just like, “Oh, she’s a dope a*s lady,”and stuff like that. Then, I joined during Season 4.

Did Amy refer you?
GRACE: She did refer me, but I wasn’t even going to ask.
AMY: Grace was living that New York life where it’s like, you’ve got to hustle alone. But in LA, everybody talks to everybody. I literally heard from my bosses like, “Hey, do you know Grace Edwards? Because she applied for the show.” I texted Grace and was like, “Girl, do you not want to work on Insecure? Why did you not tell me you were applying?!”
GRACE: My agent was like, “Call Amy, because you know her.” I was just like, “No, I shouldn’t do that.”
AMY: That’s exactly what you should do! That’s how Hollywood works! Somebody’s got to call.

What was it like working together on Insecure?
AMY: Incredible. I had a work wife! The show is so important with a capital I—not only for all Black people—but to me personally because I worked on Awkward Black Girl. Also, because it’s a show people paid attention to, you couldn’t be out in the streets talking about spoilers, so we were able to fan out together. It was just really special to have a good friend like that on the show. That’s why when Insecure ended, we found a way to work together again.
GRACE: Sometimes in writers’ rooms, you don’t necessarily get feedback, but Amy would be like, “You’re doing good. You’re doing okay.” It was really good to have that comfort coming into what I felt was a high-pressure situation because I looked up to the show for so long.

Where did the idea for the podcast come from?
GRACE: We felt like we needed it. We would talk to each other all the time about all the dark sh*t that was going on in the world, and we’d ask, “What did you do this week to scream the thought of Covid out your mind?” [Eventually], we were like, “We should share this with other people.”

What are some of your favorite antidotes?
AMY: Saging is one of my top antidotes. Cleansing the energy of my home, opening up all the windows, lighting a sage candle or actual sage, and giving intentions. It makes me feel calmer internally and externally.
GRACE: I have a very beautiful shower ritual. There’s this scrub from Mary Magdalene that has little pieces of roses in it. It always makes the bathroom and my skin smell so amazing. Then, I’ll  take time to moisturize. That’s actually something Kerry Washington said to me when she was directing my episode of Insecure. She was like, “Take time to moisturize. It’s the only body you have.” After that, I put on all my serums and my face creams, light my Alexandra Winbush candle, drink a weed soda, and watch something I really enjoy.