Meghan Markle Podcast ‘Archetypes’ Stays No. 1 on Spotify Charts for Second Straight Week

Meghan Markle continued her reign atop Spotify’s podcast charts worldwide for the second week in a row, as the Duchess of Sussex’s “Archetypes” continues to attract a robust listenership.

As of Thursday, “Archetypes” ranked as the No. 1 podcast on Spotify in seven countries: the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand. It shot to the top of the charts soon after premiering Aug. 23 with featured guest Serena Williams, who recently announced plans to retire from pro tennis.

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The weekly show, hosted and executive produced by Markle, aims to “dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,” as she put it in the trailer for the series. “Archetypes” is available exclusively on Spotify.

As a relatively new addition to Spotify’s catalog, “Archetypes” would benefit from quickly gaining new podcast followers: According to the streaming platform, it factors that data into the algorithm for the podcast chart rankings, along with recent unique listener numbers.

Note that “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the popular and controversial show that is consistently the top Spotify podcast in the U.S. and other regions, has released just one episode this week.

[UPDATE: As of Friday, Sept. 2, “Archetypes” had dropped to No. 2 in the U.S., where “The Joe Rogan Experience” reclaimed the top spot, and in India, where “The Ranveer Show” was No. 1.]

That said, “Archetypes” also dropped just a single new episode this week: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, spoke with five-time Grammy-winner Mariah Carey about growing up as mixed-race, finding their freedom, and the complexities surrounding the label “diva” — from a diva’s glamor, power and elegance to the negative connotations associated with the word. The 46-minute episode also features an intro from actor and comedian Amanda Seales riffing on the connotations of “diva,” as well as a conversation about the term with Dr. Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, a scholar of feminist and media studies.

On next week’s episode of “Archetypes,” set to release Tuesday, Sept. 6, Markle will be joined by actor, comedian, writer, director and producer Mindy Kaling. Other upcoming guests include comedian, actor and activist Margaret Cho, journalist and author Allison Yarrow, comedian Robin Thede, and Nigerian American comedian and writer Ziwe Fumudoh.

“Archetypes” is produced by Archewell Audio in partnership with Spotify’s Gimlet Media. It’s the first podcast series on Spotify under the exclusive deal Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio inked in December 2020.

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