April 4, 2025

Confessions of a Female Founder - Meghan Markle's Jam is really Fruit Spread

Show Notes
Transcript

A profile with the New York Times reveals that one of the great female founders of this generation, Meghan Markle, isn't technically selling jam - it's actually Fruit Spread.

We'll have to investigate the dog biscuits.

Also everyone is mad/sad about Harry again.

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Calorogus Shark Media, Hello and welcome to Palace Intury Game,

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your host Mark Francis.

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Fruit Spread entrepreneur Meghan Sussex has finally unveiled the first

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products from her lifestyle brand as Ever, revealing prices and

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purchase details after weeks of anticipation. The line includes a

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raspberry spread and keepsake packaging for just fourteen dollars, wildflour

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honey with honeycomb for only twenty eight dollars, and floral

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sprinkles for fifteen dollars, which fans may recognize from her

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Netflix series With Love Megan. Comparisons are already being drawn

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to King Charles Highgrove Raspberry Preserve, which retails for a

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more modest nine dollars in change. Also included in the

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debut collection are herbal teas lemon, ginger, peppermint, and hibiscus

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at twelve dollars each, alongside a crepe mix and short

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bread cookie mix, both priced at fourteen dollars. The products

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all sold out quickly. Meghan kicked off the full scale

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publicity push with a home video showing her and her

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mother Dori at Ragland, preparing a dessert in the kitchen

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of her Montecito mansion. The dish, dubbed Chontilly Lily, is

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named after her daughter, Princess Lilybet, who was kinda sorter.

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Named after Queen Elizabeth, who would clearly be thrilled to

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know her pet nickname was being used to sell desserts.

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Meghan described it as so so, so good and as

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special and sweet as she is, adding in her caption,

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goodness is moments away. In the meantime, enjoy the recipe

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for our Schontilly Lily, a delicious dessert named after our

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darling daughter. Writing in a newsletter to subscribe, as Meghan said,

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of course, you'll find the raspberry spread that started it all,

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presented in keepsake packaging that you can repurpose to tuck

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away love notes or special treasures, and to remember this

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pivotal moment with me. Think of it as our time capsule.

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To coincide with the launch, Meghan, who along with husband

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Harry left the UK to get away from the media,

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welcome to the New York Times into her home, telling

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the publication, I need to work and I love to work,

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noting she's held jobs since the age of thirteen, brushing

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off criticism that a Netflix series was out of touch.

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She reportedly gestured to the sweeping views of her estate

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and her sleeping dogs, asking don't they know my life

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hasn't always been like this. She also admitted she's not

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a professional cook, often falling back on frozen chicken nuggets,

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veggie burgers, and tasted tots when it's just her and

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the children at home. Began told followers in a newsletter,

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of course, you'll find the raspberry spread that started it all,

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presented in keepsake packaging that you can repurpose to tuck

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away love notes or special treasures, and to remember this

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pivotal moment with me. Think of it as our time capsule.

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I hope when you see what I've worked so hard

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to create, and you're encouraged to know that whatever life

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brings you can do it too. Your value, your creativity,

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your joy. That is you as it's always been and

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always will be You. Are you as ever and forever.

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Eagle Eye readers spotted a spelling mistake in the promotional email.

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The section inviting fans to follow the as ever story

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included social media links, but the Instagram handle was misspelled

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as at as ever Official Eye instead of the correct

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as ever official. Although the hyperlink itself worked, critics were

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quick as seize on the error, citing it as a

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glaring oversight from someone whose brand is built on curated

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aesthetics and polished presentation. One user on x wrote that

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attention to detail is on point as ever, some intern

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is going to be reduced to tears over this. The

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launch comes at a turbulent time for the Sussex's Prince

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Harry remains embroiled in a highly public dispute with Center Bali,

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the charity he co founded, which he abruptly quit last

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week amid explosive allegations of misconduct and internal dysfunction. Megan, however,

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has continued undeterred with her new venture. As Ever was

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originally called American Riviera Orchard, but the name was changed

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earlier this year following reported trademark setbacks. Meghan's mildly anticipated

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new podcast is expected to launch next week. Meghan celebrated

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the men behind her creative vision and Prince Harry is

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notably not on the list. In a post shared to Instagram,

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Meghan gave a glowing shout out to make up artist

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Daniel Martin, website designer Ryan Sachs, and photographer Jake Rosenberg,

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calling them the fellers who have been with me on

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every creative endeavor for over a decade. We know I

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love my girl squad, but these boys have been part

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of my team for what feels like forever. She wrote,

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You have supported and believed in my creative vision since

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the tig. While the message was effusive, many were quick

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to point out that Prince Harry, who made only a

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brief cameo in her Netflix series With Love Megan, was

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entirely absent from the tribute. The New York Times piece

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on Meghan was not exactly hard hitting. The opening reads,

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Megan Duchess of six is already anticipating pushback on her

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banana pudding. I know some people will be upset that

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I took out the wafers, she said, crushing nilla wafers

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with a rolling pin rather than layering them in the

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vanilla pudding and sliced bananas. But I like them crumbled

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on top. We hate to inform Megan that wafers will

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only be about the twenty seventh biggest item she'll be

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criticized about this month. Via The Times, we learned that

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Megan technically isn't selling jam but rather fruit spreads because

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of FDA regulations. The New York Times eventually did come around,

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writing why would someone who has for years endure the

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worst kind of public attention put herself back under the microscope?

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One reason, of course, is money. Of note, unless we

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missed it, the Times piece did not mention Meghan's mildly

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anticipated new podcast, due out next week More Palace in

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just a moment, As it has been a few seconds

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since the last time, Harry and Meghan are once again

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at the center of royal controversy, this time over not

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wafers but a wreath. At Prince Philip's funeral in April

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twenty twenty one, the couple were the only members of

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the royal family to include a press release with their

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floral tribute, a move critics quickly branded sickening and a

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pr stunt. There wreath, designed by Cotswold's florist Willow Crossley,

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who had previously arranged to flowers for their wedding and

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Archie's christening, featured a carefully curated selection of blooms, each

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chosen for a symbolic meaning. According to the Sussex's statement,

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it included bears breaches to honor Phillip's Greek heritage, c

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Holly for his Royal Marines service, rosemary for remembrance, roses

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for his birth month, and lavender for devotion. The arrangement

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stood out among eight more modest family tributes in Saint

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George's chapel and was accompanied by a handwritten card from Megan,

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who remained in California due to her pregnancy. But while

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the sentiment may have been well intentioned, many in royal

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circles and online were left unimpressed. Even Meghan's flower arranger

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had her own pr agency, noted Royal biographer Robert Lacey.

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Do you think you've got enough recognition for your wreath now, Meghan,

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asked one sarcastic social media user. Another echoed the sentiment,

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she just can't help herself. Me me, me, It's all

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quite sickening. Lacey described the timing of the Sussex's announcement

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as particularly poor. The Dean of Windsor was just addressing

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the final commendation to the congregation in the chapel when

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journalists' phones started to ping just just before the end

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of the funeral service. It was another tweet from Ohmed

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Scobie passing on Harper's bizarre report on the sentimental tribute

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from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The fanfare sharply

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contrasted with Prince Philip's own wishes for a no fuss sendoff.

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The Duke had famously said, just stick me in the

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back of a land rover and drive me to Windsor.

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His simple coffin was adorned only with his naval cap sword,

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a flag representing his Greek and Danish roots, and flowers

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selected by the Queen. Even the Queen's tribute, a bouquet

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of lilies, roses, frisia and sweet peas, was understated with

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a handwritten note, possibly signed a little bit Megan. And

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Harry's was described by one American commentator as the sort

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of party wreath you might put on your front door

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around Thanksgiving, not really a funeral wreath at all, Robert

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Lacey added. The Sussex's wreath could be seen leaning among

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the other eight simple white and green family tributes in

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Saint George's Chapel. It had already attracted some attention on

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account of its unconventional and rather autumnal pinkish brown flowers.

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Harry has appointed a trusted former royal aid to the

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Invictors Games Foundation, just as tensions surrounding his departure from

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Center Balley continued as simmer. According to the Delhi Males,

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Richard Eden Nick Laughren, once deputy communications secretary to the

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then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, has joined the Invictor's

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team as a trustee. Lafren, who now works as a

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communications specialist and co founder of the consultancy Integra, is

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described by the Invictus Games is a professional focused on communications,

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reputation management, and social impact for businesses and individuals. A

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source told Eden that Harry knows he can trust Lawren,

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whose loyalty reportedly stretches back years. The two worked together

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during Harry's time as they senior royal, and Lafren's familiarity

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with the inner workings of the Palace comms machine makes

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him a valuable addition to the embattled Duke's circle, Though

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the timing of Lafren's appointment has raised eyebrows given the

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ongoing chaos, it's Center Bali insiders and sist the movers

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purely coincidental, and they have it. The emails addresses the

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Palace in trig at gmail dot com. Please follow us

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on Spotify, Apple, or the Apple of your Chason. Leave

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us a nice reviewer of five stars. If you're enjoying

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the show, don't forget. You can catch a new series

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from Calai Shark Media called Signal Lost, and it's an

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espionage thriller based on real world events like if the

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government had a conversation on the Signal app and it

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got into the wrong hand, what would happen? Check it

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out Signal Lost wherever you get your podcasts. I'm know

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Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue

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and good Times.

Confessions of a Female Founder - Meghan Markle's Jam is really Fruit Spread

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