Papaya Talk

This week Alyssa and Nadia get into something personal, what it actually feels like to navigate the healthcare system when you're not sure you'll be taken seriously. It starts with an Instagram post about a woman who showed up to her appointment in heels and still got dismissed. A neurosurgeon decided her back pain couldn't be that bad if she was wearing them. The medical student in th...

This week Alyssa and Nadia are joined by Lucy Shepherd, a close friend of Nadia's from their Dialogue of Civilizations program in Spain, to talk about growing up in different countries, finding a career path, and figuring out what comes next after graduation. Lucy shares how she spent her childhood moving fromMaryland to Ecuador, then Peru and eventually seven years in Johannesburg, before lan...

This week Alyssa and Nadia are joined by former gymnastics teammate Claire Andriola to talk about college, life after graduation, and figuring out what comes next when the plan changes. Claire shares how she arrived at UC Santa Barbara fully intending to go to medical school. Along the way, research opportunities, patient care experiences, and exposure to different areas of healthcare pushed her t...

This week, Alyssa and Nadia finally get into the topic Alyssa has been trying to crack open for months, Nadia's love life. What started as a casual mention, "don't make a big deal out of this, but I'm going on a third date," has since turned into something real, and this episode is basically the full update. Alyssa starts by breaking down the modern dating vocabulary she had...

This week, Alyssa and Nadia record in mid-May as the heat, allergies, airplane noise, ambulances, and barking dogs set the scene. After a quick detour into neighborhood complaints, Alyssa brings the conversation to the real topic: money, and how Nadia is thinking about it as she nears the end of college. Nadia has one semester left, a co-op that pays slightly above Boston’s minimum wage, and paren...

After scrapping a first recording that didn't feel right, Alyssa and Nadia land on a topic that's been sitting in the background: what it actually means to be Filipino-American when you're a generation removed from the immigration story. Nadia is 100% Filipino by heritage — but both her parents were born in the US, and that one fact changes almost everything. The conversation gets spec...

This week, Alyssa and Nadia record on a Sunday morning, a podcast first, and quickly abandon their planned topic for a more organic conversation about Gen Z: whether they’re really more serious, homebodied, and less “fun” than previous generations. Alyssa shares what she’s been hearing from parents: Gen Z drives less, goes out less, drinks less, and spends more time indoors. Nadia pushes back thou...

This week, Alyssa and Nadia skip having a guest and instead share a personal life update. There’s no set topic — just an honest check-in on how they’re doing. It turns into one of their most open and candid episodes. Alyssa revisits her Hume Scale results by getting a DEXA scan, the gold standard for body composition. The scan showed slightly better results, suggesting the scale is fairly accurate...

In this week’s episode, Alyssa and Nadia open with the reason Nadia barely has a voice: nationals in Alabama, a weekend of yelling, and a concert the night before. The main story follows Alyssa’s latest Instagram-ad purchase: a Hume body pod, a smart scale that measures things like body fat, visceral fat, muscle mass, and bone mass. Curious about her health as she approaches 50 — and noticing more...

This week, Alyssa welcomes both daughters — Nadia and Lucy. Lucy was last on the podcast before college, so this episode is a real check-in now that she’s a sophomore in her first co-op. It’s part of the college/post-grad series, but with a twist: Lucy is still in it, offering a fresh, in-the-moment perspective. Lucy opens up about her college experience versus expectations — which she barely had....

This week, Alyssa and Nadia are joined by their first post-grad guest, Charvi Dot — a recent Northeastern graduate and longtime friend. As Nadia approaches graduation, the episode kicks off a new series focused on what life actually looks like after college. Charvi shares her unconventional gap year: completing a 200-hour yoga training in Rishikesh, working as a barista in Allston, traveling to vi...

This week, Alyssa and Nadia talk about the Winter Olympics — but beyond the highlights, they explore the deeper stories behind the athletes filling their feeds. What begins as a casual chat about skating and hockey turns personal when Nadia shares how drawn she’s been to figure skater Alyssa Liu — a Bay Area athlete who retired at 16, spent time hiking and living life, then returned to the sport o...

Alyssa just got back from snowboarding in Tahoe; Nadia’s home from a gymnastics meet and a Connecticut trip. A casual comment—“Do you sleep?”—kicks off a bigger talk about busyness: when it’s fulfilling, and when it’s avoidance. They move into purpose. Nadia says immigration, immediately. Alyssa counters that purpose doesn’t have to be world-sized—small daily rituals (like photographing a sunrise)...

On Super Bowl Sunday during the Winter Olympics, Alyssa and Nadia discuss Lindsey Vonn competing in Olympic downhill days after tearing her ACL—and the crash that got her airlifted off the mountain again. They unpack injury risk, medical autonomy, and what elite athletes model for everyone watching. Nadia explains that Vonn tore her ACL last week, met with her medical team, and chose to race anywa...

In this candid episode of Papaya Talk Podcast, Alyssa and Nadia talk about aging, career evolution, and big life transitions. Instead of a structured topic, they let the conversation flow through questions about identity, time, and change. Alyssa admits something has been weighing on her: as she nears 50, is she “too old” to keep doing hands-on gymnastics outreach work she’s done for years? After...

In this new episode, Alyssa and Nadia explore the concept of retreats, human connection, and the importance of unplugging from digital life. What starts as Alyssa announcing her first full-scale retreat in Mexico evolves into a deeper conversation about Gen Z's relationship with technology, the value of in-person connection, and finding balance in an overstimulated world. Alyssa shares her exc...

In this new episode, Alyssa and Nadia dive into the cultural phenomenon that is Heated Rivalry —the raunchy romance series that's captured audiences across age groups. What starts as a discussion about the show evolves into deeper reflections on multitasking, entertainment consumption, and how rom-coms shape our view of relationships. Alyssa shares how Heated Rivalry has become ubiquitous, wit...

In the first episode of 2026, Alyssa and Nadia tackle New Year's resolutions—though both admit the concept stresses them out. The conversation explores intention-setting, the pressure of documentation, and balancing productivity with presence. Alyssa's resolution is simple: "be a good person." Despite finding resolutions stressful, she sets many because documenting intentions fee...

In this unplanned bonus episode, Alyssa and Nadia wrap up 2025 on a lighter note after their emotional conversation about gun violence the previous week. The discussion centers on reflection, transition, and what it means to stay authentic as life changes rapidly. Alyssa kicks off the conversation with a viral social media trend she's been seeing: 2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese z...

In this emotionally charged episode, Alyssa and Nadia confront the devastating reality of gun violence in America, prompted by a recent mass shooting at Brown University. What was supposed to be the season's final, positive episode became an urgent conversation about a tragedy that hits too close to home. Nadia shares her firsthand experience growing up with active shooter drills throughout el...

In this episode, Alyssa and Nadia return to the mic after a brief hiatus, with Nadia deep in the "finals hole" of her semester. They dive into a viral national news story involving a student at the University of Oklahoma who received a zero on a psychology paper, sparking a heated debate about academic standards, freedom of speech, and religious discrimination. Nadia breaks down the cont...

In this episode, Alyssa and Nadia record together in person for the first time in a while, bringing a different energy to their conversation. They tackle two major topics that come up during the holiday season: sleep and family dynamics. Alyssa just returned from a week in Melbourne, Australia, where she trained with physical therapists on the connection between sleep, pain, and healing. She learn...

In this episode, Alyssa and Nadia dive into a deeply personal conversation about aging, menopause, and what it means to be a woman as your body changes. Alyssa opens up about feeling younger than she looks at 48, sparking a discussion about how we perceive ourselves versus how we appear to others. The conversation quickly shifts to menopause and perimenopause — topics that dominate Alyssa's so...

In this episode, Alyssa and Nadia have an unexpectedly deep conversation about aging, family caregiving, and what happens when we need help but don't want to admit it. What starts as a recap of the New York Marathon — where Nadia's gymnastics teammate ran 26.2 miles and a 78-year-old completed the race — quickly turns into a reflection on what aging looks like. Alyssa shares her concerns a...

In this Halloween week episode, Alyssa and Nadia explore themes of control, guidance, and finding meaning in uncertain times — with a little help from tarot cards. Nadia opens up about getting her tarot cards read by a friend and pulling three cards representing her past, present, and future: Judgment (awakening and rebirth), Knight of Wands reversed (restlessness, impatience, burnout), and King o...