Confessions of a Female Founder
{{short description|Society and culture podcast}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox podcast
| title = Confessions of a Female Founder
| italic = yes
| image = Confessions of a Female Founder.webp
| caption =
| hosting = {{ubl|Meghan, Duchess of Sussex}}
| genre = {{Hlist|Business|technology|interview}}
| updates =
| length = 50 min
| language = English
| production = {{ubl|Archewell Audio|Lemonada Media}}
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme = "Crabbuckit"
| audio format =
| num_episodes = 9
| list_episodes = #Episodes
| began = {{Start date|2025|04|08}}
| ended = present
| ratings =
| network =
| url = {{URL|https://lemonadamedia.com/meghan-duchess-of-sussex-launches-new-podcast-with-lemonada-media/|lemonadamedia.com}}
}}
Confessions of a Female Founder is a podcast produced by Archewell Audio Productions and hosted by Meghan Markle. The podcast debuted on April 8, 2025, and features Meghan talking with female founders and friends who have started their own companies and brands.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/meghan-markle-new-podcast-1236162799/|title=Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Announces New Podcast Series|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Caitlin|last=Huston|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025|archive-date=March 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313162751/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/meghan-markle-new-podcast-1236162799/|url-status=live}} Also discussed is Meghan's own experience as an entrepreneur launching her brand, As Ever.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/meghan-markle-talk-female-founders-new-podcast/story?id=119757915|title=Meghan Markle to talk with female founders in new podcast|work=ABC News|first=Katie|last=Kindelan|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025|archive-date=March 15, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315022823/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/meghan-markle-talk-female-founders-new-podcast/story?id=119757915|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/meghan-markle-announces-new-podcast-confessions-female-founder-lemonada-media-11696031|title=Meghan Markle Announces New Podcast, and the Title Promises She’ll Spill Bold 'Confessions'|magazine=People|first=Erin|last=Hill|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025|archive-date=March 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313160533/https://people.com/meghan-markle-announces-new-podcast-confessions-female-founder-lemonada-media-11696031|url-status=live}}
It was reported at the completion of the series that a second series was not forthcoming.{{cite news |title='A wrap': The telltale sign Meghan Markle's podcast Confessions of a Female Founder is over after eight episodes |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/a-wrap-the-telltale-sign-meghan-markles-podcast-confessions-of-a-female-founder-is-over-after-eight-episodes/news-story/b8e387cfdc494e6b812b27492f6af4d8 |access-date=18 June 2025 |publisher=Australian News Channel Pty Ltd |date=29 May 2025}}
Production
In February 2024, Meghan announced a new deal with Lemonada Media, who would redistribute her previous podcast Archetypes on all audio platforms and work with her on developing a new podcast series.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/meghan-markle-podcast-deal-with-lemonada-media-1235823731/|title=Meghan Markle strikes new podcast deal with Lemonada Media|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Caitlin|last=Huston|date=February 13, 2024|access-date=February 13, 2024|archive-date=February 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213174904/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/meghan-markle-podcast-deal-with-lemonada-media-1235823731/|url-status=live}} Confessions of a Female Founder consisted of nine episodes that were released weekly.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/meghan-duchess-of-sussex-new-podcast-lemonada-media-1236323850/|title=Meghan, Duchess of Sussex launches new podcast with Lemonada Media|work=Deadline|first=Peter|last=White|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025}} On the podcast's launch, Meghan said that her aim was to "dive into the type of insights that everyone wants to know as they're building a business, and that I'm able to tap into as I'm building my own business with As Ever."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/meghan-markle-confessions-of-a-female-founder-podcast-announcement|title=Meghan Markle announces her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder|magazine=Vogue|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025|archive-date=March 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313164224/https://www.vogue.com/article/meghan-markle-confessions-of-a-female-founder-podcast-announcement|url-status=live}} Episodes of the podcast were made available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other major audio platforms.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/meghan-markle-podcast-confesssions-female-founder-1236336314/|title=Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, sets debut of new podcast featuring her 'candid conversations' with other women entrepreneurs|magazine=Variety|first=Todd|last=Spangler|date=March 13, 2025|access-date=March 13, 2025}}
Episodes
{{Episode table |background=#0000FF |total_width=auto |overall=6 |title= |Aux1= |Aux1T=Run Time |airdate=20 |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = The Evolution of the Entrepreneur with Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd
| Aux1 = 49:52
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|04|08}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = The Long Game with Girls Who Code's Reshma Saujani
| Aux1 = 46:52
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|04|15}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Building Your Brand Brick by Brick with Highbrow Hippie's Kadi Lee
| Aux1 = 51:31
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|04|22}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Attaining the Unattainable with IT Cosmetics' Jamie Kern Lima
| Aux1 = 52:46
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|04|29}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Your One Big Break with Clevr Blends' Hannah Mendoza
| Aux1 = 46:55
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|05|06}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Disrupting the Dress Code with FIGS' Heather Hasson
| Aux1 = 46:38
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|05|13}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Bootstrapped and Booming with Kitsch's Cassandra Morales Thurswell
| Aux1 = 46:06
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|05|20}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = Business Is Not a Battlefield with SPANX's Sara Blakely
| Aux1 = 53:38
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|05|27}}
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = From Mama to Mogul with Cécred's Tina Knowles
| Aux1 = 43:42
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2025|06|03}}
}}
}}
Reception
Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Chris Bennion gave the first episode of the podcast 2/5 describing it as "an inane stream of mindless aphorisms" and went on to say "there are no confessions or secrets – at one mystifying point Meghan says to her guest, 'You don't have to reveal all the secrets' – but there are plenty of self-care aphorisms, journeys of self-love and validation, discussions of bottling your essence, and great handfuls of mutual adoration."{{cite news|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Confessions of a Female Founder, review: Meghan’s podcast is an inane stream of mindless aphorisms|first=Chris|last=Bennion|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/04/08/confessions-of-a-female-founder-podcast-meghan-review/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409191107/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/04/08/confessions-of-a-female-founder-podcast-meghan-review/|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=April 9, 2025|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian also gave it 2/5 stating that "Meghan's sycophantic interview podcast is stomach-turning" and adding, "The Duchess of Sussex fawns over entrepreneur guests and delivers overwrought messages to listeners, while claiming her lifestyle brand is 'an extension of my essence'. It's a bit much".{{cite news|title=Confessions of a Female Founder review – Meghan's sycophantic interview podcast is stomach-turning|work=The Guardian|first=Rachel|last=Aroesti|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/08/confessions-of-a-female-founder-review-meghans-sycophantic-interview-podcast-is-stomach-turning|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250501131105/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/08/confessions-of-a-female-founder-review-meghans-sycophantic-interview-podcast-is-stomach-turning|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=May 1, 2025|url-status=live}} Charlie Gowans-Eglinton of The Times bemoaned the fact that the duchess did not ask "Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd how she made a billion" and that "I have been listening for 8 minutes and 48 seconds before Whitney speaks about business for — I timed it — 17 seconds before Meghan chimes in again."{{cite news|title=Tuning in for Meghan's new podcast — if only I'd had rosé|work=The Times|first=Charlie|last=Gowans-Eglinton|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/meghan-podcast-key-takeaways-30b0rtjl2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408135741/https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/meghan-podcast-key-takeaways-30b0rtjl2|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=April 8, 2025|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} James Marriott of the same newspaper gave the podcast 1/5 arguing that "receiving business advice from a Californian multimillionaire who owes her fortune to marrying a prince is as illuminating as you would expect" and that at one point in the conversation he "was seized by an urge to beat my head against the wall and foundationally re-architect my skull."{{cite news|title=Confessions of a Female Founder review — Meghan's vapid lessons in self-love|work=The Times|first=James|last=Marriott |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/meghan-podcast-review-confessions-female-founder-075z0m0sp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408144038/https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/meghan-podcast-review-confessions-female-founder-075z0m0sp|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=April 8, 2025|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}
Laura Slattery of The Irish Times commented on the first episode, stating "their treacly, ego-fluffing conversation – combined with Wolfe Herd's reminder that royal gossip does a decent trade here too – only serves to underline how the culture gap between Ireland and the US remains as wide as the Atlantic. It seems unlikely to be closed by a multimillionaire and a duchess who want credit for daring to love themselves".{{cite news|title=Meghan Markle's new podcast: An ego-fluffing conversation underlining the culture gap between Ireland and the US|work=The Irish Times|first=Laura|last=Slattery |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/04/08/meghan-markles-new-podcast-an-ego-fluffing-conversation-underlining-the-culture-gap-between-ireland-and-the-us/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503055210/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/04/08/meghan-markles-new-podcast-an-ego-fluffing-conversation-underlining-the-culture-gap-between-ireland-and-the-us/|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=May 3, 2025|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} Tom Livingstone for Nine News called it "a bit ridiculous" and that the "whole podcast itself is a sort of love-in with both women telling each other how great they are."{{cite news|title=Meghan Markle's podcast attempt to be relatable labelled 'ridiculous'|work=Nine News|first=Tom|last=Livingstone |url=https://9now.nine.com.au/today/meghan-markle-podcast-confessions-of-a-female-founder-called-ridiculous-unrelatable/14c72923-433f-4342-a436-f0ba485fd94d|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408231559/https://9now.nine.com.au/today/meghan-markle-podcast-confessions-of-a-female-founder-called-ridiculous-unrelatable/14c72923-433f-4342-a436-f0ba485fd94d|date=April 9, 2025|access-date=April 9, 2025|archive-date=April 8, 2025|url-status=live}} The i Paper{{'}}s Sarah Carson questioned whether Meghan herself was actually "serious about the world of business pod-casting", complaining that the show "offers little of substance" and that "more than three times" Meghan's guest Wolfe Herd "tells a story about how wonderful Markle is, and at one stage marvels at her ability to 'exist'."{{cite news|work=The i Paper|last=Carson |first=Sarah|title='Essence', 'energy' and ego: Meghan's new podcast is 45 minutes of platitudes|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/radio/essence-energy-ego-meghan-business-podcast-45-minutes-platitudes-3630334 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408140101/https://inews.co.uk/culture/radio/essence-energy-ego-meghan-business-podcast-45-minutes-platitudes-3630334|date=April 8, 2025 |access-date=April 8, 2025|archive-date=April 8, 2025|url-status=live}} Worrying that Marie Claire readers "still needed convincing" to listen to the podcast, Kate Hassett argued that there was "nothing nauseating about it", telling them "don't believe the boring headlines" and adding defiantly that "Meghan Markle's podcast works".{{cite magazine|magazine=Marie Claire |last=Hassett|first=Kate |title=Don’t believe the boring headlines, Meghan Markle’s podcast works|url=https://www.marieclaire.com.au/news/celebrity/meghan-markle-podcast/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250420184049/https://www.marieclaire.com.au/news/celebrity/meghan-markle-podcast/|date=April 9, 2025 |access-date=April 9, 2025|archive-date=20 April 2025|url-status=live}} The Independent{{'}}s Katie Rosseinsky was concerned that although Meghan's "way of speaking is supposed to be vulnerable and open – it only ends up alienating the average listener", and criticized the podcast's "nearly incomprehensible" and "garbled verbal mush" which only does her listeners "a disservice".{{cite news|last=Rosseinsky |first=Katie|work=The Independent |title=Bottling your essence: Meghan Markle and the death of self-help speak |url=https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/meghan-markle-podcast-confessions-female-founder-self-help-b2730265.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250410062256/https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/meghan-markle-podcast-confessions-female-founder-self-help-b2730265.html|date=April 10, 2025 |access-date=April 10, 2025 |archive-date=April 10, 2025 |url-status=live}}
The Australian's Kristen Amiet said though she doesn't "have strong feelings about Meghan Markle", listening to the series "triggered feelings of disbelief, exasperation, and a longing for it to be over". The journalist concluded that podcast listeners are “sophisticated, intelligent and engaged,” and that delivering “hours of asinine chitchat” to serve a celebrity’s ego showed clear contempt for them.{{Cite news|work=The Australian|last=Amiet |first=Kristen|title=Meghan Markle’s latest podcast makes for unbelievable listening |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/meghan-markles-latest-podcast-makes-for-unbelievable-listening/news-story/2debce8f80c40cb1ceeec07b629e7f6c|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250508232534/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/meghan-markles-latest-podcast-makes-for-unbelievable-listening/news-story/2debce8f80c40cb1ceeec07b629e7f6c?amp&nk=b64bbdeee4a435e2a0a8938eb8f79ad5-1746746747|date=May 3, 2025 |archive-date=8 May 2025|url-status=live}}
Despite a strong debut in the podcast charts, by Episode 3 it "appears to have fallen flat after slipping out of the Spotify 100 list both in the US and the UK" and "also failed to make it to Apple's Top 200 chart" according to the Evening Standard.{{Cite news|work=Evening Standard |last=Wilson|first=Shaun |title=Blow for Meghan as new podcast drops out of Spotify charts |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/meghan-markle-drops-podcast-charts-spotify-b1224464.html |date=April 26, 2025|access-date=June 2, 2025 |url-status=live}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://lemonadamedia.com/meghan-duchess-of-sussex-launches-new-podcast-with-lemonada-media/ Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Launches New Podcast With Lemonada Media]
{{Podcast platform links}}
{{Meghan, Duchess of Sussex|state=collapsed}}