Editor’s Note: This week, I am starting it a little differently with a quick note to listen to the new Smino album, Luv 4 Rent. I love this album and have listened to it every day since it came out last week.
Now back to regularly scheduled content.
I am a podcast girl, and this week I wanted to spend some time writing about one of my favorite podcasts, Meghan Markle’s Archetypes. The podcast is the first in a series of offerings from Harry and Meghan’s production company Archewell Audio. Every episode features Meghan in conversation with her famous girlfriends like Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, Constance Wu, Lisa Ling, and more, discussing the labels given to women.
Via The Cut:
“Each episode features her, in conversation with her famous friends, discussing how women are unfairly labeled — an experience that Meghan notes she has been through herself and is finally ready to talk about. Progress, however, is a series of steps forward and leaps backward. Later, Meghan would relay she was no longer sure she would return to Instagram.”
“At its heart, Archetypes (slogan: “Don’t believe the type”) is Meghan’s way of grappling with questions that have plagued her, personally: why certain women get saddled with labels, why they stick long after they’ve been proved untrue.”
Via Variety:
“Part of what I’m doing with “Archetypes” is looking at the nuances around the women who come to include or not; I choose to include or not.”
While the podcast started on a high note with an episode with Serena Williams on ambition, I wanted to highlight two of my favorite episodes thus far:
The Stigma of Singleton with Mindy Kaling
As a woman of a particular age, I often think about how I want my future life to look in the next few years. These thoughts also make their way into conversations with my friends who think of those things as well, which is why this episode hit a chord with your girl.
For the episode, Meghan spoke with actress Mindy Kaling and what came was a vulnerable and entertaining conversation about Mindy’s upbringing and her journey through life as a single woman. In the conversation, they also spoke about the pressure society puts on women, being an ambitious woman in a relationship, Mindy’s decision to not have a “traditional” family scenario, and life as a single mother to two children. Mindy was very open during the conversation, and here are a few quotes that stuck with me.
“My parents had this strong relationship and bond. When things got tough, they had a good foundation. I had a lot of reasons for thinking, ‘Alright, I haven’t met the right person yet; I don’t want to rush it.’ For some, the ring on the finger is really important to them and their family.”
This reminds me of what my physical therapist told me: “You’re planning your life as you’re living it.”
“I’m amazed at how different my life looks now: I’m 43 and have two kids. I live with a nanny who I love. It’s funny how different it is than I imagine at 13 or 15 years old.”
“You get this feeling from people that your existence as a single woman at a party, you feel like you’re changing the vibe. Everyone’s worried for me or sad for me, and they want to set me up with some loser they know. [In their minds] they think, ‘Oh, there’s no happiness greater than a life in the bed of a man who loves you.’ I think that could be great, but I also promise you I’m happy and not just saying that.”
See, loved this conversation. Now to my second favorite:
Upending the “Angry Black Woman” Myth and Issa Rae and Ziwe
Like the Mindy Kaling episode, this episode struck a big, big nerve with me. For the conversation, Meghan spoke with Writer/Actress Issa Rae and Writer Ziwe and the conversation, I’m sure, resonate with many. I had a million thoughts while listening to this episode. Being a black woman is one of the things I love most about myself (hello, coco glow, melanin), but it’s also one of the things I’m often aware of in my interactions with people - especially in professional settings. This episode speaks to that and some of the ways we have to navigate as black women to avoid being typecast.
This quote from Issa stuck with me because so relatable:
“… I can’t lose my cool; I can’t do that, especially as a black woman, but also just even as a public figure now. Because people are looking for ways to justify their perception of you.”
I could go on and on and on about why I loved this episode so much or why it stuck with me, but two of my friends, Kristin and Andrea, did a great job of summing up their sentiments and feelings about the episode and I couldn’t agree more.
Kristin’s LinkedIn post:
“Temperance has always been required of me and so many other Black women, from girlhood. If you were too chatty, opinioned, or rightfully angry, you were labeled sassy, a threat, difficult, or dangerous - even by other women.
We're all complex humans; however, Black women have historically been denied that title. My wish for Black women, is that we find an environment where the full range of our personhood will be safe and celebrated.”
Andrea via Text (Subscribe to her newsletter, The Update):
“This episode of Archetypes resonated with me deeply because I often find myself trying to avoid making people upset in an effort to avoid the angry Black woman label. I’ve had to learn though - much like the advice Issa says she got from Debbie Allen, Shonda Rhimes, Mara Brock Akil and Ava DuVernay - you have to be direct and let the chips fall where they may.”
PHEW. PHEW. PHEW. My friends. You should get both a listen, and here are a few others that I would like to give an honorable mention to:
And because you know I love a good list, here are a few of my other favorite podcasts that are worth a listen. I am, however, not including my daily news podcasts like New York Times’ The Daily because I’m sure if you listen to podcasts, you listen to those too. Please share your favorite in the comment section also!
Angie Martinez IRL
When you listen to this podcast, you see why Angie Martinez is one of the GOATs in the industry. For the podcast, Angie talks with her famous friends about different life-focused topics, and the conversations are always engaging. My favorite episodes so far have been the inaugural episode with actress Lauren London where they talk about her relationship with Nipsey Hussle and his passing, her life growing up, and spirituality. Lauren said this thing about how a person's grief comes long after all of the memorials and memories that people share. The actual healing and grief come when everyone has returned to their life, and you are stuck picking up the pieces alone - it gave me a chill. Another excellent podcast episode featured singer Kelly Rowland about healing and her relationship with her father. It made me tear up when Angie discussed her relationship with her father.
This week there is a new episode of the podcast featuring Usher, which I can't wait to listen to.
Trials To Triumphs
This podcast hosted by actress Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins is a breath of fresh air and has recently become one of my favorite podcasts. For one thing, Ashley is beautiful, and I can listen to her talk for hours - she has a calm but inviting presence, even over audio. For this podcast, Ashley talks with different people like actress Niecy Nash or Insecure alums Kendrick Sampson, Yvonne Orji, and Christina Elmore about their career trajectories and which moments helped shape who they are today.
And although I could not stand Condola on Insecure - although I liked her initially - I really loved the episode with Christina Elmore, one of Ashley’s best friends. I think because they have such a great friendship, the conversation just flew.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I feel like I often talk about Jay Shetty’s podcast, but it’s just so good. Jay’s podcast is released two times a week, and I think it’s one of the ways I have been able to sustain some of my relationships. From different episodes, I have learned to communicate better, pause and reflect, set intentions, and also how to create boundaries. I could go on and on about this podcast, but I love it so much.
Here are a few more things worth sharing this week:
Short but sweet:
The Latecomer’s Guide to TikTok, NYTimes
Tom Brady And The Selfishness Of Conventional Masculinity, BuzzFeed
On J Dilla, Abundance and ‘The Diary, Vinyl Me Please