Enya Umanzor enjoys conversing, and all her followers appreciate listening to her.

      You likely know Enya Umanzor, even if you don't realize it. If you spend time online or use any form of social media, you're familiar with her face, whether it's from an outfit you've saved, a selfie you've liked on Instagram, or an episode of her podcast, Emergency Intercom, that you've watched on YouTube when you crave the feeling of having friends around without actually being together. Umanzor has been a prominent figure on the internet for what seems like ages, amassing millions of followers across various platforms who feel connected to her because they grew up with her content. Her relaxed demeanor draws you in.

      Her outfits look effortless yet perfectly styled. She shares light-hearted jokes that feel personal but aren’t so exclusive that you can’t share them with friends and still get a laugh. She speaks candidly, using coarse language freely. When she talks, you’re getting her unfiltered thoughts without any reflective pauses. She doesn't hold back, even if it sometimes leads to complications.

      During a Zoom call one Tuesday morning in April, she mentions waking up with a stomachache and introduces her cat, Azul. We chat about sleeping through alarms and the notion that being a night owl means your ancestors were guardians during the night thousands of years ago. We're about 20 minutes into a random discussion when I remind myself this is an interview, and I should ask about Emergency Intercom, which she co-hosts with her best friend Drew Phillips and boasts nearly half a million subscribers on YouTube.

      Umanzor's passion for podcasts started long before she even knew what they were, back when they weren't nearly as ubiquitous as they are today. "I grew up listening to this radio station, Y100, every morning," she shares, referencing her upbringing in Miami, Florida. "I’d wake up to it and often fall asleep with it on too." As a classic night owl, Umanzor never sought a serene morning routine. "I'd wake up to the most outrageous morning show—complete with prank calls and fart noises—while growing up, I couldn’t keep quiet, and I realized, 'This is the only career that makes sense to me.' I was determined to become a radio host."

      She wasn’t quite sure how to achieve that dream job, so she turned to popular short-form video apps like Vine to showcase her voice and discuss anything that came to mind. She began posting in November 2013, quickly gaining a following in early 2014. "As a kid, I often felt isolated. The internet was a much stranger place back then," she reflects. "With my tumultuous upbringing, that escape was crucial."

      Eventually, she met Phillips on Vine, and they clicked instantly. "Talking with him always makes me laugh," Umanzor explains. "We create our own little world." They decided other people might find their conversations entertaining, leading to the spontaneous creation of their podcast in 2021.

      Emergency Intercom became a space for them to discuss anything and everything, from taking excessive vitamin D to awkward high school experiences. When I ask how they decide on recurring topics, Umanzor describes it as a casual, instinctive process: "Drew takes his notes, and I take mine. Sometimes we experience something together, or we start a conversation and interrupt each other." Even if translating certain off-camera discussions to the podcast proves challenging, they still give it a shot. "We jot down our experiences, get together, and, thankfully, because we both talk a lot, it naturally evolves into an episode. Often, we don’t even cover all our notes because one topic leads to a cascade of other funny things we want to discuss."

      The podcast quickly gained traction, partly due to Umanzor's existing social media following, which helped forge its own community. However, it wasn't the hundreds of thousands of subscribers or views that made Umanzor feel they’d succeeded in sharing their friendship in an accessible way—it was the handmade hats. "When I started seeing people reference us with things they crafted, like their own Emergency Intercom hats, it hit me—'Wow! People care about this podcast,'" she recounts. "It serves as an escape for them. Perhaps it originates from a parasocial dynamic, but for me, there's real joy in this community."

      Umanzor mentions that she frequently encounters fans around Los Angeles, where she currently resides, highlighting the community aspect's importance in our conversation. "We meet someone who says, 'We’ve been friends for four years because of you guys, and we listen to the podcast every week,' and that’s so sweet. It’s adorable! We’ve solidified that connection!"

      What surprises Umanzor the most is that she encourages people to gather and socialize in the same casual manner she does with her friends. "Wow… Friends are getting together to watch this? That’s what I do with my free time! I just sit on the couch and watch things with friends