The first episode of “Archetypes” features Serena Williams, who recently announced her plans to retire from pro tennis, talking with Markle about the double standards women face when they are labelled “ambitious”.
Next week’s episode will feature a conversation with Mariah Carey.
The Duchess of Sussex’s weekly podcast is available exclusively on Spotify worldwide.
“Archetypes” is the first series to land on Spotify under the streaming service’s exclusive deal with Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio. The deal was sealed in 2020, says “Variety”.
In the series, Markle will have “uncensored conversations” with guests, including historians and experts, to uncover the origin of stereotypes about women and how they shape narratives in the culture.
Also in the interview, Markle revealed to Williams a horrifying incident during her and Prince Harry’s official visit to South Africa.
The blaze occurred in 2019 when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the Nyanga township in South Africa for an official talk while Archie, then four months old, was looked after by staff.
She said: “We finished the engagement, we get in the car and they say: ‘there’s been a fire at the residence’.”
A stunned Williams said: “What?”
She said: “(They said) ‘There’s been a fire in the baby’s room’. I can’t believe I’m even talking about this.
“We’d just landed an hour, two hours before. We raced back, and our amazing nanny Lauren, who we’d had all the way from Canada to here, was in floods of tears.”
The former “Suits” star said their nanny was preparing to put Archie to bed for his nap when she decided to bring him with her at the last minute so she could get a snack instead.
She said: “In that amount of time that she went downstairs, the heater in the nursery caught fire.”
“Archetypes” will delve into “how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us,” Markle says in the trailer for the series.
"But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up in defining our lives?" she asks.