Meghan’s Podcast Archetypes Debut Episode with Serena Williams (UPDATED)

Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes, debuted today with her first special guest, longtime friend and tennis great, Serena Williams!

The episode opens with words from Meghan —

I’m Meghan, and this is ‘Archetypes’: the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.”

“I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives,” the Duchess adds. “And, I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.”

Serena then joins and the two speak about ambition, how they both juggle motherhood, and her evolution. Also joining the conversation is UCLA Berkley professor Laura Kray, who expands on ambition as it relates to gender. There is even a surprise appearance from Harry and Serena says hello in her best British accent.

Reflecting on ambition, Serena compared how men and women are viewed differently.

You know, if a man is ambitious, am I saying? Am I bringing down society by saying a woman is something different than ambitious? Or what do I think of women that are ambitious?”

“Often women are definitely put in these different boxes when we are ambitious or when we do have goals or when we reach our goals, it’s a negative connotation on how we reach the goals.”

Below, Meghan with Serena participate in the DirecTV Beach Bowl at Pier 40 on February 1, 2014 in New York City — where the two first met and quickly became good friends.

Embed from Getty Images

The tennis legend also elaborated about balancing her tennis career with the pressures of being a mother to daughter Olympia, 4. She recalled when Olympia broke her wrist the night before she competed at the French Open.

I somehow managed to win, but I was so emotionally spent and just like so emotionally drained that it was, it was crazy,” she said. “And, you know, and then like every night after that, I just was with her the whole time and was like you’re going to be with me. I just took a lot on. But moms do a lot. Like I look at my mom, I don’t know how she had five kids. I don’t know.”

Serena with Meghan and Olympia at the 2019 US Open.

credit: @serenawilliams Instagram

Below, Serena and Meghan at NYFW 2014 and at the US Open 2016. (Side note – I was at that US Open match in 2016 and watched Serena beat Simona Halep that night – sitting right across from Serena’s box!)

A video promo clip from Spotify below.

Join us as we explore how women are more than just the labels they are often given. Archetypes. Don’t believe the type. Listen only on Spotify

— Spotify Podcasts 🎙 (@spotifypodcasts) August 22, 2022

During her conversation with the legendary tennis player and friend, Serena Williams, Meghan mentions how she and Harry were in South Africa in 2019 with Archie, there was a fire in the nursery of the house they were staying in. Archie was not in the room at the time.

More from Huffington Post —

The Duchess of Sussex revealed there was a fire in her then-infant son’s room, where he was supposed to be sleeping, during the family’s tour of Southern Africa in 2019. Luckily, Archie was not in the room at the time, Meghan told her guest, close friend and tennis icon Serena Williams.”

Archie’s nanny went to put him down for a nap and a heater in the nursery had caught fire, as Meghan learned after her speech in Cape Town.

Someone happened to just smell smoke down the hallway ― went in, fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there,” she said.

She mentions how she and Harry returned immediately to find their nanny, Lauren, in complete tears. upset everyone was and then how they were expect to go right out and do another engagement.

More from Huffington Post —

There was this moment where I’m standing on a tree stump and I’m giving this speech to women and girls, and we finish the engagement, we get in the car and they say, ‘There’s been a fire at the residence,’” Meghan said, acting out the conversation. “‘What?’ ‘There’s been a fire in the baby’s room.’”

“Of course, as a mother, you go, ‘Oh, my God, what?’ Everyone’s in tears, everyone’s shaken,” she said. “And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement.”

“I said, ‘This doesn’t make any sense. Can you just tell people what happened?’ And so much, I think, optically, the focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels,” she said.

“Archetypes” podcast, a partnership between Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Audio production company and the streaming giant, will have 12 episodes in total.

The Duchess will ”sit down with some of the smartest, funniest, strongest, most passionate women and people I know,” and also plans to interview people she’s never met before.

Next week’s guest will feature the singer Mariah Carey. A teaser at the top of the episode on Spotify also reveals the voice of producer and actor Mindy Kaling as well as comedian and talk show host Ziwe.

Listen to the first episode of Archetypes below —