I'm working on it. I got a figure. I got a restructure like yeah. There's just not enough hours. That's true. There's just isn't. There's not enough hours for my ambition.

From NPR I'm Sam Sanders. It's been a minute. That voice you hear. The one who sneezed. The one who wants more hours in the day. That's Amanda Seals.

And she could actually use more hours in her day because she is very busy. She's best known for her role as Tiffany on HBO's insecure.

You may also have seen her first stand-up comedy special on HBO this year or you may know her as a creator and host of smart, funny, and black.

A comedy game show dedicated to all things black culture. Also Amanda has a master's degree in African American studies. And she used to be in the hip-hop duo, flowetry.

Incredibly, the reason we sat down to talk recently was none of the above. Amanda Seals on top of all that other work. She is out with a new book that is called Small Doses.

Potent Truths for everyday use. It's essays, life advice, little pearls of wisdom from someone who has a lot of wisdom to give.

Alright, here is my chat with the fun and engaging yet overworked and under-slapped Amanda Seals. Enjoy!

What I mean is that when you think you need to go to bed and you are ready to go to bed, you have an idea or you want to finish the thing and you can just get up and type this out right now.

That happened literally to me last night. I was like, I need to go to bed, however, I haven't put any time into the screenplay today. So I need to do something.

Even if it just come up to what the names of these characters. Which I did.

Yeah, anyway. So before this interview, and actually for like a year to now watching you on insecure, seeing your career blow up, I've kept being like, where have I seen it before? And then I figured it out. You were on the college circuit.

The college circuit? Like college tour circuit. And you were Amanda Diva. Yes.

And you did a conference in Texas when I was an undergrad at Ann M. Yes, the Southwestern Black student leadership conference.

Yes, I'm the student of whatever SPSL C. Yes. Okay, that's what it is. And I was like, I know I know I've seen her. Yes.

Because I brought you a CD after the show. Oh my God. Do you want? Okay. So I've been to SPSL C twice. Okay.

When I was there the first time in 05. Yes. I was there in 05. My home girl Ashley Henderson. It got it brought me out there and Fannie D. Coleman, Professor Fannie D. Coleman.

How long? So like if I'm reading correctly for a while, you were doing like a lot of college stuff. And I'm always intrigued by that as like a career path because I've talked with other comics that do that.

It is a grind that in many ways prepares you for other stuff. Like it is. Oh, absolutely. It's a testing ground.

Well, when I started doing colleges, I was doing them as a poet because I had done deaf poetry jam. Yeah. So I was doing it. I was literally touring colleges while I was in college. Oh, yeah.

But the thing about doing poetry was that anything about colleges in general that you just never know what you're showing up to. Yeah. Like did the students want to be there? Is it extra credit?

I think it's another level. Is it in a auditorium? Is it in a cafeteria? Is it in a random room in the back of a library? You know, or is it in a lecture hall? Yeah.

...