Few things beat laughing with your best friend. Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo know that better than most. In 2020, a year after first appearing together on Bravo’s third season of Summer House, the duo took to Instagram Live to provide a little respite during COVID-19. They didn’t have a strategy—they just wanted to spread some joy in a world that seemed to need it.
Years later, the multi-hyphenates—Berner, 33, is a comedian with a Netflix special; DeSorbo, 32, is a reality television star and entrepreneur with a new loungewear line—have transformed their catch-up sessions into a hugely popular podcast, Giggly Squad, where nothing is off limits and nothing is all that serious. The best friends chat about everything from pop culture to cats to first kisses. “There wasn’t a business plan; there still isn’t a business plan,” Berner tells TIME. “But when two people earnestly love what they’re doing and are passionate about it, everything comes together.” And it certainly has: with more than 44 million downloads, Giggly Squad is one of Apple’s top-ranked podcasts. Their online fandom has translated to offline success, too: this year, Berner and DeSorbo became New York Times best-selling authors with How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously and completed a massive national tour.
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