You might not think you know Emily Heller and Lisa Hanawalt, but you do. Emily is a comedian, and a writer and producer for the HBO series Barry. Lisa is an illustrator and production designer and a producer of Netflix’s BoJack Horseman. She also created Tuca & Bertie. But even if you knew all that, did you know the two are friends who have a funny, chatty podcast called Baby Geniuses? Since 2012 they’ve been assembling a weekly show filled with hysterical segments, self reflection, and lots of audience participation. (Their listeners send in pictures of their bare butts and Emily and Lisa review them; because all butts are beautiful, it’s all quite silly and empowering.)
Baby Geniuses is a peek into a friendship between two weird, kind, smart, talented, and fascinating women. In an episode I’ll never forget, they have an honest conversation about Emily discovering, late in life, that she has ADHD; after 10 years, listeners have been part of their life journeys, from work, to travel, to relationships, and what’s bugging them all along. Segments include Wiki of the Week, where they read through outrageous Wikipedia entries, and Chunch Chat, where they offer updates on Martha Stewart’s horse.