There’s No Time for Small Talk in Middle Age
Each installment of “The Friendship Files” features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.
This week she speaks with the actors Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael, who co-host The Deep Dive, a podcast that explores their friendship and adult womanhood. They discuss how they found close female friends despite feeling set up to compete by the entertainment industry, how they’ve called on the other’s “superpowers” when life has gotten hard, and why they’re over small talk.
The Friends:
June Diane Raphael, 41, an actor, comedian, and screenwriter who currently co-stars on Grace and Frankie, co-founded The Jane Club co-working space, and co-hosts The Deep Dive podcast
Jessica St. Clair, 44, an actor and writer who co-created and co-starred on Playing House, currently appears on Avenue 5, and co-hosts The Deep Dive podcast
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Julie Beck: Tell me about how you met and your first impressions of each other.
June, I first saw you at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater, during your two-person show with called . You would think it was about sexy girls, but really they were acting out a scene from and dancing to “Gloria.” It was one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. I could see that you and Casey were best girlfriends—that spoke to me. I became obsessed with you two. You think that you stalked me, but I really laid the groundwork
