Jessica Williams  and Phoebe Robinson are two female, WOC stand-up comedians. They host a live stand-up podcast in Brooklyn, New York and cover a range of topics from sex, work, feminism, dating, politics, race gender and more, all while maintaining this unique crass humor.

A little history for ya: Williams and Robinson began working together back in 2015, when they began the podcast. The podcast was inspired by the blog Blaria Live, which was a blog run by Phoebe Robinson. The official launch of the podcast was in April 2016 and for the entire first week of its release, it remained at #1 on iTunes. The two hosts have a humor and comedic chemistry that makes it seem as if they are lifelong friends- when they’ve only been friends as long as they have worked together.

2 Dope Queens is a unique form a standup comedy, blending the worlds of being a working woman with a full time career and everyday dialogue shared between friends. The two brilliantly do this by having a powerful voices on this podcast making it known this is their career, but also creating a narrative this is relatable to every 20-30 year old woman.

“Labia Majora and which Nicolas Cage would you bone?”

In every episode, they feature at least 3 other comedians. What is so cool about this? Almost all of the comedians that guest star on their show are women, POC, or members of the LGBTQ community. They stress during multiple interviews they want to give a voice to people who also have a unique point of view and narrative and it doesn’t hurt that they’re also favorites of Robinson and Williams.

Just a few examples of these comedians are Marcella Arguello, Brooke Van Poppelen, and Michael Watkins.

Like Robinson and Williams, these comedians cover their own personal experiences with a blunt and crass humor. A favorite quote from an episode that features Van Poppelen is the topic of body image and “skinny” where she claims that her own version of working out is getting dressed: “Do you ever put on your workout clothes and think ehhhhh thats enough?”

It doesn’t seem like much but its the small comments like this, that keep the consist friend-like atmosphere in the show. Listening makes you think you’re all clumped on a couch drinking wine and talking about real life topics.

Number One this is what they may call “Savage” and number two: this is just one example of their brash humor.

One of the larger topics and underlying themes of the show is Race. Williams and Robinson are both women of color. They touch on the topic of race often, and white privilege and somewhat ignorance of some white people.

One of the reasons race is a theme in the show is due to many of their jokes having to do with it. “Why should we apologize to each other when there’s so many other people that should apologize to us first.” They cracked this joke when discussing conflict between black women, throwing shade to those who are deserving.

They put it out there.

Some of their guests as well help to cover the topic of Race in their episodes as well. One in Particular “A Ben Carson Roast,” features CNN comedic host W. Kamau Bell who hosts the show “Shades of America.”

Specifically in this episode they cover the topic of white privilege, talking about Kamau Bell’s experiences meeting with the KKK and other white supremacist groups.

It is episodes like this that spark conversations on difficult topics, making them more approachable.

Significance of the topics and Guests

The biggest takeaway from this podcast is the dialogue Robinson and Williams inspire.

The topics are general, but due to their presentation, provide a variety of perspectives, and ones that you may not go looking for on your own.

For example one of their guests on the show was comedian Natasha Muse, who is also a transexual. She presents humor about peoples lack of knowledge of the transexual community and provided a little insight into her life.

Again they want their guests to be women, POC or members of the LGBTQ community, and I think thats one of their biggest strengths on the show. They are providing dynamic narratives that inspire listeners to pay attention to other comedians with a similar voice.

To conclude, here is just a taste of their humor and personalities. If you want to hear more, their podcast is on iTunes and Spotify. Their TV show is on Fridays on HBO at 11:30 PM.