Meghan Markle new podcast partner Lemonada, who are their founders and what are their personal tragedies?

It would seem that a day does not pass when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are not making the headlines. This time, it is all about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her new podcast deal. Following Spotify’s deal with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry coming to an end, Meghan has a new partnership with Lemonada Media-the podcast company behind Jula Louis-Dreyfus’ show. 

The new deal with Lemonada means that the company will distribute the first season of Meghan Markle’s ‘Archetypes’ series for all audio platforms; this will begin in the spring of 2024. There is also more where Meghan and Lemonada are concerned as there is set to be a new podcast series hosted by the Duchess of Sussex with as yet no title. 

The Duchess of Sussex made a statement about her new podcast deal with Lemonada and said: “I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting.” She also said that “Being able to support a female-founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024. Our plan to re-release ‘Archetypes’ so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works. I’m so eager to be able to share it soon, and am overjoyed to be joining the Lemonada family”

Who are the founders behind Lemonada?

The founders of Lemonada are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs who started the company in 2019. They are behind ‘Wiser Than Me’ with Julia Dreyfus that remained at #1 overall on the Apple Podcast charts for 29 days. Both Stephanie and Jessica are Chief Creative Officers at the company, 

What is the family tragedy that bonds the founders?

Both Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs have lost a brother to a drug overdose. The New York Times reported that “Cordova listened to an episode of the podcast ‘Terrible, Thanks for Asking’ featuring Wittels Wachs.” It was on this podcast that the then theatre director and voice actor Stephanie Wittels Wachs discussed the loss of her brother, comedian Harris Wittles, to a heroin overdose.

Unfortunately for Jessica Cordova Kramer, she had also lost a brother to an overdose. Jessica contacted Stephanie to see if she would be interested in collaborating on a project about the opioid crisis. Although she at first declined The New York Times revealed that “a few months later, scrolling through Twitter while the baby played (her second child), she (Wittels Wachs), stumbled on a headline suggesting that overdoses had surpassed car accidents a a case of death.”

After that, she agreed to do the podcast with Jessica, which was entitled ‘Last Day.’ This eventually led them to starting Lemonada.