May 6, 2025

Confessions of a Female Founder Episode 5 recap - Joni Mitchell songs, Mushrooms and The Dolphin Tank

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode, we dive into Meghan Markle’s most revealing moments from her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast.

From hearing Joni Mitchell in her head every time she lands in L.A., to her turmeric latte-fuelled investment in Clevr Blends, the Duchess shares what drives her as a businesswoman, mother, and partner. We explore how she’s building her brand As Ever, navigating self-doubt, embracing adaptogens, and leaning on her “Dolphin Tank” of supportive female founders. Plus, a rare glimpse into her life with Prince Harry — or as she puts it, her very own Super Mario dragon-slaying hero.

Meghan touched on her own health journey and belief in holistic wellness. “I think a lot of people when they hear mushrooms, they go ‘OK, she’s talking about being hippie-dippy, grounded in all these things’. If you aren’t familiar with adaptogens, you can go to this place of ‘Oh, it’s feeling a little psychedelic and super woo-woo’.”
“During my pregnancies, I had an Ayurvedic doctor and so much of it was about seeing food as medicine.”

“So there are these items and ingredients that have been part of our natural ecosystem and dietary system for a long time, whether acknowledged or not, that somehow you say mushrooms, and now people have a connotation attached to it.”

“But it’s really just a food trend that I believe you were far ahead of in terms of saying, ‘Hold on, these have properties that can in some way make you feel differently in a really safe way’.”

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Caloroga Shark Media. Hello and welcome through Palace Intriguing. I'm

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your host, Mark Francis. On the latest episode of her

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podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, Megan Duchess of Sussex

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welcomed Hannah Mendoza, the founder of superfood latte brand Clever Blends,

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believed to be the very first company Megan ever invested in.

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Meghan said, the funniest thing about it is I had

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never invested in something before. You saw me when I

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was very pregnant and my friend sent over this gift

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basket filled with an assortment of products that he thought

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I would like. One of the things within this big

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basket was this product, and I said, turmeric latter and

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just add water. Okay. I tried it and I looked

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at the back. I said, who is this person? What

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is this company? It's so bizarre because I didn't have

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a portfolio at the time, I didn't have a roster

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of female founders that I invested in. It was the

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first and truly organic or puns intended experience of looking

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at something and saying I want to support this. I

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was watching a lot of Shark Tank at the time,

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and I said, this is not shark tank. Think of

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this as dolphin tank. These are very friendly waters. Her

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support extended beyond investments, as she recalled introducing the product

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to her famed neighbor, I want this Clever blends to succeed,

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but I also want to authentically share it in the

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same way that you authentically show up. I remember calling

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you and saying, I just want to share it with

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my wonderful neighbor, Miss Oprah Winfrey. It was a turmeric

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latte that I love the most, the golden latte. Reflecting

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on her entrepreneurial journey and the founding of her own

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brand as Ever, Meggant spoke of personal validation when I

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think about big milestones for my own business as Ever,

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Netflix coming on as my business partner is huge. Just

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having a global powerhouse that believed in me, and the

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site selling out in the first forty five minutes of launch, everything,

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every single piece that we had been working on that

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told me that customers people believed in me and this vision.

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That's all you really want as a founder. That becomes

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your proof point that those late nights and the midnight

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musings are worth it. She candidly admitted to moments of

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doubt even for me as I look at everything that

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I'm working on building with the team and it's a

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very large team. Get on the calls and have the

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meetings and same thing cheerleader. But I had a moment

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last week when I thought, oh my gosh, who can

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I ladder up to. I made a phone call and

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I said, is this going to work? Is this actually

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going to work? But I have that self doubt. You

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can't bring self doubt to your team that's junior to you.

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They have to believe in, as you said, what you're

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creating and the vision and how you hold the lion.

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But you still have to be able to have someone

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who you can go to be human and say, I

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don't know, can you just tell me that this makes sense?

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And thankfully my partner said, are you joking? We're so energized.

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This is amazing. Megan reflected further on the pressure of visibility.

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Some might look at it and say, at least for me,

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it will have so much exposure. Whatever I put out

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in the world will have so much attention, like, well, yeah,

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and there's a flip side to that coin, which we

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know it's a microscope that a lot of people don't

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have to experience. As the episode unfolded, the Duchess offered

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insight into the support systems and shared understanding among female founders,

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the safety of stream of consciousness with someone who understands it.

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That is part of that sisterhood, and that understanding of Okay.

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Every day is not going to be the same. Some

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days are going to be harder to show up as

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your best and shiniest self. Maybe on that day something

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really painful happened in your real life, but for your team,

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that is not how you show up. You can't. She

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also touched on her own health journey and belief in

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holistic wellness. I think a lot of people when they

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hear mushrooms, they go okay. She's talking about being hippy, dippy,

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grounded and all these things. If you aren't familiar with

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adapter gens, you can go to this place of oh,

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it's feeling a little psychedelic and super woo woo. During

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my pregnancies, I had an ara of vedic doctor, and

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so much of it was about seeing food as medicine.

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So there are these items and ingredients that have been

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part of our natural ecosystem and dietary system for a

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long time, whether acknowledged or not, that somehow you say

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mushrooms and now people have a connotation attached to it.

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But it's really just a food trend that I believe

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you were far ahead of in terms of saying hold on.

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These have properties that can in some way make you

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feel differently in a really safe way. Finally, Megan reflected

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on her tires to California and a moment that's stayed

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with her since her suit stays when my playing touchdown

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at lax and I was going back and forth from

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when I was filming suits in Toronto for a long time,

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I would always hear Jody Mitchell's California, I'm coming Home

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every single time in my head, and I would just

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go I'm home. And on her life with Prince Harry

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and their children, g she offered a glimpse behind the curtain.

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It's not something to be taken for granted when you

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have a partner, a spouse who is just so behind you.

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H that man loves me so much. Look what we've built.

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We have a beautiful life. We have two healthy, beautiful children.

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I always think about it, like the end of Super

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Mario Brothers, when you get to the final final level

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and they go slay the dragon, save the Princess. I'm like,

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that's my husband. He's constantly going to do whatever he

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can to make sure that our family is safe and protected,

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and we're uplifted and still make time for date nights.

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We had to do a double take this morning when

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we couldn't find Megan's podcast in the top two hundred

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on the Apple Podcasts chart. Website pod follow appears to

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have the same experience. We were able to find Megan's

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podcast at number fifty one on the business chart, just

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one below Omen Zenum's one hundred dollars MBA show. Palace

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Intrigue was number twenty three in Entertainment News. In case

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you're curious. Thanks for your support. We're back in a moment.

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A quick update to a story from Monday's podcast. A

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spokesperson for what Netflix tells The Independent no legal letter

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was sent to Jamison Stocks from Netflix. Jamison Stocks had

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claimed such a letter had been, said, telling Mail Online,

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I got a lawyer's letter from Netflix after I spoke

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out against Megan, warning me Meghan has shared another photograph

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of Archie and Lilibert following their father's headline, making interview

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with the BBC. The black and white image posted to

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Instagram shows the Duke of Sussex hand in hand with

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Archie while young Lilibet Purchase on his shoulders. The trio

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were pictured from behind walking through the sun dappled garden

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of the Montecito Home. Rebecca English of The Daily Mail

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shared one royal inside had lost no time in letting

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their feelings be known. Well, that's a rather giant air few,

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isn't it. In normal times the royals gathering on the

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balcony is two days worth of news as the media

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analyzed who was there and who wasn't. But with Harry

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and Meghan keeping everyone distracted, he is a quick summary

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of Monday's festivities. King Charles marked the eightieth anniversary of

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Veed by appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony without wearing

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military medals, a subtle but deep symbolic gesture echoing his grandfather,

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King George. The sixth appearance on the very same day

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in nineteen forty five, accompanied by Queen Camilla, the Prince

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and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess

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Charlotte and Prince Louis. The King looked out over cheering

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crowds gathered along the mall in central London. Thousands of

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spectators had assembled to witness the solemn commemoration, which included

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a stirring flypast by the Royal Air Force, culminating in

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a display by the Red Arrows. The King and his

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family looked to the skies as the aircraft thundered overhead.

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The moment rich with both national pride and personal reflection.

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The Royal family's presence underscored the continuity of duty and

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remembrance across the generations. Eighty years on from the end

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of the Second World War in Europe, Britain paused to

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reflect on their sacrifices made to defeat tyranny. More than

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thirteen hundred members of the Armed Forces, along with uniformed

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services and the young Cadets, marched from Parliament Square to

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Buckingham Palace in a grand and dignified procession. In Parliament's Square,

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actor Timothy Spall read aloud Winston Churchill's iconic v E

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Day speech, his voice carrying across the crowd, much as

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Churchill's had over the airwaves on that historic day in

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nineteen forty five, veterans in attendance offered a quiet but

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resolute reminder to remember is also our best hope of

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avoiding it never happening again. The normal Tuesday episode of

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Palace Intrigue dropped earlier today. You'll find it in the

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feed if you missed it, and we'll be back in

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the morning to dive back in on Harry and there

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you have it. Like to email us addresses the Palace

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intrig at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify,

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Apple or the app of your choice. Leave us a

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nice review if you're enjoining the show. We also have

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a new show out from Calai Shark Media called Didy

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Do It. It's a daily update from the court room

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Fronts My thanks to John McDermot. This is Balance, Intrigue

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and good times.

Confessions of a Female Founder Episode 5 recap - Joni Mitchell songs, Mushrooms and The Dolphin Tank

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