Meghan Markle’s new podcast “Archetypes” has soared to the top of Spotify’s podcast charts, taking the top spot from longtime No. 1 title “The Joe Rogan Experience” in the US.
“Archetypes” has also taken over the No. 1 spot on the Spotify charts in Canada, Australia, and of course, the United Kingdom, where the Duchess of Sussex maintains a loyal following even after stepping away from royal duties with her husband, Prince Harry. Markle’s podcast took the No. 1 UK spot from “Diary of a CEO,” an entrepreneur podcast hosted by businessman Steve Bartlett.
“Archetypes” has also outperformed HBO’s new companion podcast to the “Game of Thrones” spinoff series “House of the Dragon” and “Girls Next Level,” a podcast hosted by “The Girls Next Door” stars Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt reflecting on their time in the Playboy Mansion.
In “Archetypes,” Markle discusses the stereotypes faced by women in professional and social environments, with tennis legend Serena Williams appearing as her first guest. The two women discussed the double standards faced by women who are deemed “ambitious,” with Williams revealing that Prince Harry was someone who helped her come to her decision to retire from tennis after this year’s US Open.
“I think, you know, I think both of us, or the three of us, really know that sometimes the right decision isn’t the easiest decision,” Markle said as the two compared Serena’s retirement to Markle and Harry’s decision to step away from royal duties and move to the U.S. in 2020. “It takes a lot of courage, I think, too, to stop something in many ways than to keep going sometimes.”
“The Joe Rogan Experience” has consistently been the No. 1 podcast on Spotify since the comedian and UFC commentator signed an exclusivity deal with the streaming service in May 2020. But “Archetypes” isn’t the first podcast to nudge Rogan off the No. 1 spot.
In September 2021, the premiere episode of the gaming podcast “Banter With Sapnap and Karl Jacobs” topped Rogan, and this past May, the fiction series “Batman Unburied” topped Rogan with a superhero tale with “Black Panther” star Winston Duke as Bruce Wayne and a cast including Jason Isaacs, Hasan Minhaj and Gina Rodriguez.
