Lena Dunham & Jemima Kirke Are #FriendshipGoals

There are very few things that I love more than my girl friends. I suppose I should put my family up there with them because, well, I was born into that, but the reality is that the love I have for the women in my life is strong and complicated and defining. So, when I heard that Lena Dunham would be interviewing Jemima Kirke, her longtime friend, for her new Buzzfeed podcast, “Women of the Hour,” and that they would talking about what annoyed them the most about each other, I counted down the days until that juicy bit of audible goodness would download onto my iPhone. I think my enthusiasm was threefold: 1) I love any bit of celebrities being themselves that I can get my hands on, 2) I could listen to Jemima Kirke talk all day long, and 3) There is nothing that I appreciate more than women talking about their relationships with each other, specifically when that conversation is honest and irreverent.

Because, let me tell you, the conversation that these two stars of Girls had was not the usual "let’s hold hands in a silent recording studio and talk about French feminist theory and cry to each other as if we had just watched Steel Magnolias for the first time" thing that happens all the time. No. Their conversation was one of the most honest and self-aware conversations between two women — two friends — that I have probably ever heard. The entire thing endeared me to Dunham and Kirke so fixedly that I don’t think I will ever be able to stop adoring them.

So, let’s get in to what made this podcast so great. First of all: The two recorded the audio while on a road trip across the country, and the setting could not be more perfect. Not only because of the lulling sound of the road passing beneath their tires, but because road trips always feel like a portal to me. There’s something unobstructed about two people in a car together that changes the conversation, that allows for more candor.

And it definitely produced that. Because here’s the other thing that is so great about their conversation: they are so aware of themselves and aware of each other, and they are brutally honest about that, as only best friends can be. They talked about the fights they’ve had in the past, the times they have hurt each other the most, the times when they’ve been the most selfish with each other, and how working on Girls has affected their relationship.

Who else can you talk to so openly about what a jerk you’ve been in the past than with your best friend? And who else will accept you so willingly for the jerk that you’ve been than your best friend?

The whole thing was extremely candid and extremely inspiring. Listen to it. You’ll feel the same. And you’ll probably be compelled to call your best friend as soon as it’s over. I know I was, and I am thankful to Dunham and Kirke for reminding me of the fact that female friendships are unlike the other relationships we may form. They are long. They are complicated. And they are often the most awesome things in our lives.