10 Podcasts That Will Make You Want to Be a Better Human

1. Acting possessive is a huge friend red flag.

"You don't have to prove you're my BEST friend by constantly saying it to everyone out loud or excluding people with inside jokes — you can just BE my best friend," says editor Haley Sprankle. Like y'all, friendships aren't supposed to make us feel like an item!

2. They don't care about your boundaries.

If a friend doesn't care about boundaries you've set in place, that's a clear sign they don't actually value your relationship. One user on X thinks it's a huge red flag if "they do not respect your time, boundaries, energy, possessions, work, privacy, or space. They expect you to change and adjust yourself to their liking."

3. It's a red flag if a friend never pays attention during conversations...

One big friend red flag is when someone never pays attention while you're trying to have a heart-to-heart — or if they're checking other messages. "One of my pet peeves is when people constantly check their Apple watches when we're in the middle of a conversation," says Entertainment Editor Chloe Williams. "Which is also why I will never buy one for myself."

4. Or if they only talk about themselves.

We all joke that our dates never ask us questions, but the same rule should apply to friendships! Staff writer Kayla Walden considers it a friend red flag if someone "never [reciprocates] questions and [asks] how I am (a selfish needy Gemini here)." So valid.

5. Never learning to work through disagreements should be a friendship red flag.

"A red flag in friendships is being agreeable on every little thing," @mikaylaxcvi says on X. "I’d much rather be told the truth, lightly & sweetly, than coddled. A grow together type of friendship." Preach.

6. Realizing a friend expects to be the center of your universe is a huge no-no.

Staff writer Jasmine J. Williams says one issue she finds in friendships is if the supposed friend wants to be the most important person in every situation, like "getting upset because of your work schedule, life's emergencies, navigating newborn stage, etc." No thanks!

7. A friend shouldn't be rude to others.

It's totally natural to be closer to some people than others. But making a point to exclude everyone around you? Not the vibe. "Red flag: when I notice they make plans without including everyone in the room but they make it loud enough for everyone to hear that they're making plans," says Brit + Co Social Media Assistant Melanie Cornejo.

8. And a friend shouldn't be overly critical.

B+C editor Haley also things a friend red flag is when someone is "critical of all their friends' new relationships."

9. Turning every single detail into a competition is a friendship red flag.

"Acting like everything is a competition really stresses me out and definitely has the potential to end a relationship before it begins," Entertainment Editor Chloe says. "It just makes every conversation feel inauthentic."

10. And friends DEFINITELY shouldn't talk behind your back.

Talking crap to other people is a major friend red flag, hello! "If you are friends with someone who talks sh—t about people but smiles in their face later in front of you..Guess what they’ll eventually do to you?" @oriiizgold tweeted.

11. A friend also shouldn't make you feel bad about yourself.

It's not great if friends "make 'innocent jabs' at you around other people," Social Media Assistant Melanie says. If conversations constantly make you feel bad, then that's definitely not good, y'all.

12. Outright refusing to engage with current issues isn't great.

Limiting your social media & news exposure for mental health is one thing, but completely ignoring the state of the world is another. "If you [don't know] and don't wanna know about war crimes, current conflicts, and famine is just you enjoying your privilege and living in your bubble and I see it as a lack of humanity so...red flag," @OvenPsychological485 says on Reddit.

13. And don't forget, YOU don't want to have friendship red flags either!

"My friendship red flag for myself is when I notice myself starting to contort into being obsessively helpful & overly accommodating," @pigletish says on X. "Means I don’t feel comfortable, am masking to perform likability & need to check-in on why I feel discomfort." That's a good reminder for us all!

Elle remembers "sobbing" during one particularly emotional Dakota Fanning movie.

“When Elle’s in anything, it makes me feel it deeper,” Dakota Fanning said at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit on December 3. “She never can fully disappear into a character totally for me as her sister. She obviously does an amazing job, but I’m always gonna see my little sister a little bit.”

And Elle is just as touched by Dakota's roles, and remembers "uncontrollably sobbing" after seeing Now Is Good, a movie where Dakota's character was dying of cancer. “Because it was my sister, I had a real traumatic reaction after that premiere and the screening,” Elle says. “Obviously the acting, but it was something felt on a deeper level.”

“I’m doing this job, I’m an actor because my sister started before me and I watched her,” Elle continues. “I wanted to do exactly what my big sister wanted to do.”

And their movies have also made an impact on everyone who watches them.

When Brit + Co caught up with Dakota Fanning at the world premiere of The Watchers, I had to ask about one of her most iconic movies: Uptown Girls. "I love it," she says of TikTok memes and edits giving the movie new life. "It's nostalgic for people who are kind of around my age, who grew up watching that movie, I think it's like a comfort movie for people. And so I love that people are still revisiting it and loving it. And maybe now that everyone's older [they're] understanding different things about it."

Dakota starred opposite Brittany Murphy, who also had roles in movies like Clueless, 8 Mile, and Girl, Interrupted. Brittany passed away in 2009 when Dakota was 15. "I loved Brittany so much and I still miss her," she says. "So anytime that she has, you know, a moment where people think about her is also nice."

Blake Lively's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Co-Stars

Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors' stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.

We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can still face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe work environment. We are inspired by our sister's courage to stand up for herself and others.

For anyone seeking more information or engaging in this important conversation online, please read the full legal complaint in the investigative reporting by Megan Twohey, Mike McIntire, and Julie Tate for the New York Times.

Colleen Hoover, Author of It Ends With Us

Paul Feig, Director of A Simple Favor

Director Paul Feig also shared his thoughts about what it's like to work with Blake on X. He said, "I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with. She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this."

Robyn Lively, Blake Lively's Sister

The sisterly energy is real and we're so glad Blake is surrounded by it. Robyn, Blake's big sister, shared her full thoughts in a lengthy Instagram caption just 10 hours!

While encouraging people to do research for themselves by reading The New York Times article that details the devious plot to publicly destroy Blake, she had other things to say. "We live in an age where we have access to people’s personal lives like never before — especially actors. It makes us feel like we know them. We see them on social media, watch clips of them, and make snap decisions about their character," she wrote. This reminds me of the parasocial relationships author Amanda Montell detailed in The Age of Magical Overthinking — definitely something for us all to keep in mind.

She also called out how easy it is for the media to warp the public's perception of the truth. "The 'truth' in the tabloids is hardly ever what you think," she added before eventually expressing how "proud" she is that her sister "didn't allow herself to be silenced in the face of adversity and lies."

Bart Johnson, Blake Lively's Brother-in-law

According to Page Six, Blake's brother-in-law Bart Johnson didn't hesitate to share his thoughts about the behavior of Baldoni and his team. He reportedly wrote, "Her complaints were filed during the filming. On record. Long before the public conflict. The cast unfollowed him [Baldoni] for a reason." in the comment section of the NYT Instagram post about the lengthy deep dive into what happened.

He continued by writing, "His PR team was stellar. Gross and disgusting but highly effective. Read the article, their text message exchanges and his PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out [sic] faults. But the public got played."