Monica Lewinsky’s podcast, Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, launched in February 2025, has positioned itself as a platform for exploring resilience and redemption, featuring guests like Olivia Munn, Molly Ringwald, and Alan Cumming who share stories of overcoming personal and professional setbacks. The podcast aims to spotlight individuals, including celebrities whose careers have waned, by delving into how they’ve reclaimed their narratives after adversity. For instance, Olivia Munn discussed rejecting a seven-figure NDA after a traumatic on-set incident, while Brooke Shields reflected on defying expectations across decades in the spotlight. Lewinsky’s empathetic hosting draws from her own experiences, creating a space where guests can reframe their pasts, offering a potential boost to their public image and relevance. The show’s slick production and high-profile guests have garnered attention, with outlets like Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone praising its thoughtful dialogue, suggesting it serves as a soft relaunch for some faded stars.

Despite the podcast’s success in amplifying others’ stories, Lewinsky’s own attempt to reclaim her career remains overshadowed by the 1998 White House scandal involving her affair with President Bill Clinton. At 51, she has rebranded as an anti-bullying advocate, producer, and public speaker, with notable achievements like her 2014 Vanity Fair essay, a viral 2015 TED Talk, and her role in Impeachment: American Crime Story. Yet, the scandal—marked by public humiliation, media scrutiny, and the infamous stained dress—continues to define her in the public eye. In the podcast’s premiere, she candidly admitted, “I lost my anonymity, my future, my sense of self,” acknowledging the enduring impact of her actions as a 22-year-old intern. Critics and X posts often reduce her to the scandal, with some framing her as a cautionary tale rather than a redeemed figure, suggesting that her efforts, while admirable, struggle to erase the cultural memory of her past.

The notion that Lewinsky’s “immortal soul” bears a permanent stain reflects a harsher judgment rooted in moralizing narratives that persist in some circles. Her podcast avoids self-help prescriptions, instead emphasizing shared human experiences, but it cannot fully escape the shadow of her 20s. While she has reframed the scandal through a modern lens—highlighting the power imbalance with Clinton and advocating for a post-#MeToo reevaluation—public perception remains divided. Younger generations, as Lewinsky noted on Call Her Daddy, view her story with more empathy, but others, as seen in Reddit threads, still debate her culpability. Reclaiming succeeds in giving others a platform to move forward, yet Lewinsky’s own reclamation feels incomplete, tethered to a past that, fairly or not, continues to shape her legacy more than her current endeavors.