Meghan Markle Speaks to Margaret Cho on 'Archetypes' Podcast

(Image credit: Courtesy of Spotify)

last updated 4 October 2022

Meghan Markle's Archetypes podcast is back after four weeks off.

The show took an almost month-long break following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II last month, but Spotify has released a new episode today, in which the Duchess of Sussex dissects the "dragon lady" trope that's so often directed at Asian or Asian-American women, with the help of comedian Margaret Cho and journalist Lisa Ling.

This is the fourth episode the duchess has released so far. The first saw her speak to tennis champion Serena Williams about ambition; the second to singer Mariah Carey about the term "diva;" the third to multi-hyphenate Mindy Kaling about being a "singleton."

Archetypes has reportedly caused its fair share of concerns within Palace walls, in large part because Markle has used them as an opportunity to share personal stories about her time as a royal—including the terrifying incident when Archie's nursery caught fire while the Sussexes were in South Africa.

Palace aides are reportedly worried about what else she might reveal that could turn out to be damaging to the Firm, especially after the duchess told The Cut recently that she hadn't signed an NDA that might prevent her from talking about her life as a royal.

On the latest episode, the duchess and her guests discussed some of the dehumanizing stereotypes that are so often leveled at women of Asian descent, including the extreme sexualization of them in media, which can lead to harassment and violence against them in real life.

It's an important discussion and definitely worth a listen, below.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.