Wondery’s Newest Podcast: Even the Rich

It may seem like the rich and famous live glamorous lifestyles, but behind closed doors, there are plenty of tears, drama and heartache.

In Wondery’s newest podcasts series Even the Rich, co-hosts and comedians Brooke Siffrinn and Aricia Skidmore-Williams dish out all the crazy by exposing the totally true and shocking history behind the world’s most elite personalities like the Royal Family, the Carters, and the Murdochs. Even the Rich pulls back the curtain on what everyone more or less already knows about these families and dissects the lesser-known secrets and stories that lie beneath the surface.

With laughter being a little hard to come by in this pandemic, allow Siffrinn and Skidmore-William to take you along on their journey. OUT FRONT had the pleasure of chatting more with Siffrinn and Skidmore-Williams about Even the Rich, and why you should tune in every Tuesday for new episodes. Trust us, you won’t believe what they reveal.

Hi, Brooke and Aricia! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about your new podcast Even the Rich.
Brooke Siffrinn: We are very excited and super honored that you want to talk to us!

Can you begin by telling us more about Even the Rich?
Aricia Skidmore-Williams: Even the Rich, it was an original idea from Wondery, and the idea is that even the rich cry. So, we are pulling back the curtain, that is a term we like to use on the show, and looking at the lives of these family dynasties that have so much wealth and finding out what’s going on underneath what we read in the headlines all the time. I think what we are trying to do is show people that these people have drama; they are upset; they cry just like regular people, and just kind of pull back that curtain.

Why did you two want to journey down this path together and do this podcast?
BS: Aricia and I have talked so long about doing this and that, but then we never do it. So, Aricia saw a casting notice that this show was looking for two best friends, a comedic duo, and she sent me a screenshot. It didn’t even say Wondery. It just said for a show about the rich. Like, that’s what we do all day! Just sit around and talk about what’s going on in the world.

After Aricia sent me the screenshot, I was like, ‘Let’s do it!’ We sent in an original audition, and then we had two other auditions. We use to be valet parkers for very rich, very famous people, and it was just a really cool marriage, as we like to say, about the two concepts. We kind of have this look already from the outside, but to dive deeper and talk about it more, I think that was a cool thing for Wondery and for us. Like, this goes very well together, and we are finally doing something.

Is this your first time hosting a podcast?
BS: No. I have an independent podcast about some reality TV shows, and Aricia and I hosted a Bachelor podcast. A short-lived one. So, we have done something, but someone else had to organize that, too.

What goes into creating a podcast? Is it as tedious and challenging as it looks?ASW: So, our side of it, I will say that with this pandemic, we are learning a lot more of what goes into putting out this amazing show. What we do on our end, we will get the scripts, we have a great team that we are collaborating with who put together each episode, and then a day or two before the show, we will go through the scripts, come up with jokes, work with our producers to get the best script ready.

Then we record. After recording, it goes to what I have determined is just a magical place where this team that Wondery puts together truly transforms what we are doing here in our little home studio into an amazing piece, in my opinion. We have an original song that we love, Wondery put together, like our theme song. There is a lot that goes into it, and our size team seems very small comparatively.

BS: Also, while we are recording, we are changing the script a lot of times in the moment. Aricia and I are both improvisers, so there are areas for us where we can just riff and banter. I think that’s really what we bring the most to this show. There is a scripted story that we are telling, but there are moments where we get to come in and kind of just riff and go crazy. If they use it, they use it. If they don’t, they don’t. It’s definitely a process.

But, most importantly, you two are having a blast, right?
ASW: Oh, yes! I have to say, it is so fun because we already talk about this stuff normally. So, it is really cool to get to do this for a show that thousands and thousands of people are listening to and just kind of invite them into the chaos that is our friendship!

Since you both are both improve comedians, has comedy always been your passion?
BS: Yes. This may seem stupid, but I have a tattoo on my wrist that says “make them laugh” because that is truly my favorite thing to do. I love to make people laugh, and I think that goes back to, I would say, middle school. I didn’t know that I necessarily wanted to be a comedian, but I knew that I loved when people laughed. Once I moved to L.A., I was like, I’m going to improv. It just kind of spiraled from there.

ASW: I always loved comedy, and I feel similarly in that there’s something to be said about being able to make somebody laugh. I feel like it’s a way to connect with people. There’s the thing where you can either laugh or you can cry, and I feel like being able to make people laugh and have fun while doing it is the thing.

How did you meet and become friends?
BS: We actually met doing the valet job. Aricia had moved to L.A., and she was here for about six months. I was a manager at the company, and I was looking for new valets, and she contacted me through a Facebook post. Our whole relationship revolves around Facebook. I posted looking for some new valets, and she replied.

The first event we worked together, I was like, OK, this girl gets me. We are very similar, and we are both sarcastic. We really hit it off. I was trying not to be creepy about it, but I was like, you’re my friend, and we will be friends whether you like it or not. Then we moved in together shortly after that.

How has Even the Rich been received by audiences?
ASW: I would say it has been very positive. We are engaging a lot with people on social media and just getting so much feedback saying they love what the show is doing for them, especially since we are in this crazy time with this pandemic. We obviously didn’t anticipate this. It wasn’t like oh, there’s a pandemic coming; we should have a show for everyone to listen to. It ended up kind of being a blessing in disguise.

We are providing an outlet because this pandemic is bringing so much emotion and baggage to people. So, they can listen to a couple of friends gab about rich people and have fun. It’s an escape for them. Overall, I feel like it’s been pretty positive feedback.

So far, you have covered the Royal Family and the Murdochs. Who can we expect in future episodes?
BS: We just started recording about Jay Z and Beyonce, and we are kind of framing it from there. They are basically American, hip-hop royalty, and I think this is both our favorites so far. We kind of dive into their childhood, their upbringing, how they came together, how they are both still very secretive about their relationship, and kind of how they built this hip-hop empire together.

So, that’s the newest one. We will soon be talking about the Kennedys; we are going to talk about the Gettys and the kidnapping that happened with the Getty family, and we have tossed around the Kardashians. We haven’t decided on them yet, but I think we have to. I don’t know how we can’t!

Oh, you have to cover the Kardashians! So, do you believe Beyonce is part of the Illuminati?
BS: Oh my God, I want so badly to know if that’s real! That’s one of the things on my list. Behind who’s D.B. Cooper, is the Illuminati real. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t want to get in trouble and speculate, so I’m not sure.

What about Queen Elizabeth. Do you think she orchestrated Princess Diana’s death?
BS: Oh my God, is that a conspiracy?

Yes, that is one of the biggest conspiracies surrounding her death. That the Queen was behind it.
BS: Wow, I have never heard this!

ASW: Me either. That is wild!

BS: Great, now I have to go down a Google rabbit hole, Denny.

Always glad to help! So, while doing your research, what are some of the most surprising facts that you have learned?
ASW: Oh boy, where to start? Going back to Princess Diana, we touched a little bit on her relationship with her stepmom, and I just found that crazy because everyone has challenging relationships with people in their lives, and that was obviously never a focus for headlines and stories.

I just found it as another facet of Diana that intrigued me so much. She had to live in these horrible circumstances of having a stepmother she didn’t get along with, a husband who could care less about her. So, I was definitely surprised at just how rocky and tumultuous that relationship was with her stepmom.

In your opinion, what makes a good podcaster?
BS: Oh, that’s a great question. I think, mostly in my experience, it’s just a gift of gab. Are people still saying that?

ASW: They are now!

BS: I think for us, I have only ever hosted a podcast with somebody else. I think the ability to talk to your co-host like you’re just two pals talking about this story and being able to pull in listeners that feel like they are your friend, too. And that’s a lot of the feedback we get. Like, it feels like I’m just hanging out with my best friend.

That is really important because I love, love being in contact with our listeners and feeling like we are all friends just hearing these stories together. I think just being personable and being able to talk about these topics in a conversational way makes a really good podcaster.

What’s next for you? Any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
ASW: Right now, with the way that the world is, we don’t have anything on the horizon just yet. We are definitely talking about where we want to go from here in terms of, like, what else can we be doing, how can get Even the Rich out even further, reach more ears, that kind of a thing. So, things are in the works, but nothing is set in stone just yet.

BS: Aricia and I always have ideas. We want to stay together, like all of our ideas are like our friendship, and we want to be the next Broad City! That’s my dream!

For more information, visit wondery.com. Even the Rich is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Wondery +.