The Papaya Podcast

...and what can be done about it! Today we bring on Spark Career Company Founder Kajal Bansal to talk all about careers amidst a pandemic and just why women’s jobs are 1.8x more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s jobs. But it’s not all bad news. We dive in and discuss ways to mitigate the risk, along with what employers are looking for if you’re job hunting as well. Kajal is a Certified Resume St...

Sarah & Nicole sit down and talk about this thing they have in common: Divorce and trusting your heart to love again. Nicole Breanne married her first love, the first person she had ever been with. So after almost a decade together, at 28, her husband left her, and she found out that there had been an affair with a co-worker for the last two years of their marriage. Shattered and faced with re...

After a long road of infertility and adoptions that fell through, when Katie and her husband had a birth mother come back with a changed heart, they became (surprise) instant parents to a little girl they named Ansley. Doctors warned them not to adopt because something was different about their baby girl, but, here they are now 6 years later finding joy in all that Ansley is. Now, through social m...

One day Jasmin Steiner turned her camera on and began discussing when something is different, doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful… by breaking down history and the beauty standards that followed, Jasmin shared her heart. Then, she uploaded it to Instagram. That video? Got over 5 MILLION views, clearly connecting with so many. Since then Jasmin has continued to show up and showcase her own beauty, her...

2020 was not a year for many, but it was for Halifax, Canada’s Alicia McCarvell! After posting a video on TikTok about having a husband that was 10x hotter, Alicia went viral for their “groundbreaking” relationship, which with humour, ended up uprooting some deep societal standards and fears others have about being bigger than your partner. Now with 1.2 million TikTok followers and thousands of In...

At age 24, Keisha Greaves was in graduate school when she began to experience symptoms she couldn’t explain. As time went on, her symptoms increased and a diagnosis came, Keisha also worked to now grasp what her new life Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy would be. The world changed for her after diagnosis, from living a life with accessibility everywhere, to now navigating her every move with a need...

O my! We are SO-OH excited to welcome today’s guest to chat all things sex and orgasms! Vanessa Marin is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in sex therapy and she’s here to help you stop feeling embarrassed about sex and start having way more fun in the bedroom. Vanessa has bachelor’s degrees in Human Sexuality and Sociology from Brown University, and a master’s degree in counseling psycholog...

Does the word “money” make you sweat just a little? Yeah, me too! So today we dive into this realm of personal care by talking about our personal finances and looking at money in a whole new way. From savings, to optimizing our money and how we can use rewards programs like PC Optimum work in our favour! Asking hard questions, and getting tangible, easy to digest answers is what this episode is al...

You may know Katie from the hit Reality TV show, Vanderpump Rules, but on this day, we sat down to talk real life with Katie, and is reality tv real for her?? From healthy relationship boundaries, drama and our sometimes addictions to it, body shaming in the public eye, and her traumatic incident where she quite literally shattered a glass ceiling, Katie is here to talk and share about it all. Kat...

We’re being distracted from what’s really important. We’re being misinformed, and lied to. Everyday, for decades, but now...more than ever. So Actress/Writer/Activist Jameela Jamil did something rather transformative about it (like, law-changing transformative) by taking a real look behind the scenes of what was happening in celebrity culture, influencer culture and diet culture. Jameela, with a c...

Need a good laugh about well, LIFE? WOMANHOOD? All of it? Because today we with sit down with Tammin Sursok (Pretty Little Liars, Y&R) & Red Carpet host Roxy Manning for just the kind of conversations we need these days. Messy, honest, a little bit hilarious. These two find ways to talk about the things everyone’s thinking and nobody is saying...so they do! Find out how these two met, how...

Just a couple of years ago, Hamilton, Ontario native Emily O'Brien spent 7 months in prison after being arrested at Pearson Airport for drug importation. Her story of how she got there and her journey since is truly captivating. But wait, popcorn? Find out how Emily grew a brand from prison, hiring other convicts as employees.   Her popcorn company is called Comeback Snacks but the company is only...

One of the top recommended guests ever for our podcast, Komal is here! Komal Minhas is a curator of powerful experiences and conversations. She is a host, interviewer, investor, and champion of women around the world. She is also a cancer survivor and a chronic illness advocate. What Komal is doing is leveraging her varied and difficult life experiences, along with her background as a business own...

Rose Stokes is an award-winning freelance writer and columnist, writing about the things many of us crave to read about. Covering topics such as health and wellbeing; women’s rights; LGBTQIA rights; mental health; diversity and inclusion; relationships, and more has landed Rose in publications such as Vice, Refinery29, The Economist, & Cosmopolitan UK with some of the juiciest and most relatab...

The Almost 30 Podcast is a top-rated lifestyle podcast, brand and community brought to life by LA-based best friends, Krista Williams & Lindsey Simcik. Their conversations often revolve around transitional times in life...and it’s not just for those who are “almost 30” after all! So we got talking, we got pod-swapping, and well… transformative conversations were had. From life editing (clearin...

After repetitive, non-progressive labour, Kayleigh found herself racing against the clock when it finally came time to get to the hospital. This resulted in a birth NOBODY expected.   This story is exciting, exhilarating, and beautiful and leads into how this now-mom-of-two has birthed (pun intended) a baby-wearing brand with a focus on inclusivity and sustainability. By merely adding just a littl...

What happens when someone asks us what our story is, and it just doesn’t feel like it’s good enough, big enough, or at all “noteworthy”? That’s what happened when I asked Aurora to come onto the podcast, and she felt like maybe she didn’t have that “thing”, no real authority on any one topic, feeling a little lost about it all… then realized, maybe this IS the thing, maybe THIS needs to be discuss...

What do we do when we simply can’t grasp or understand a lifestyle or relationship choice we’ve never heard of before? Ask questions! Today Jo, of “Go Fit Jo”, a Relationship + Life Coach comes on to share about her marriage, her partnership, and what the heck polyamorous relationships are and mean. It can be easy to judge, assume and place our own relationship expectations onto others, but what h...

Last year, Jenny Jay and Sarah sat down to get comfortable with uncomfortable conversations. Listening back, they both realized it was time to revisit the conversation, what went right, what went wrong, being, and doing better as we grow. While many listeners met Jenny last year in that episode, a LOT has changed since then. A photographer and videographer, Jenny has grown in her activism; her wor...

How did a 20-something Toronto athlete come to find herself a fitness entrepreneur by teaching women to love their bodies through the power of sweat? Find out how this fitness influencer is doing things a little different by taking the parts of her that used to be bullied and channelling them into strengths. We also discuss how fitness can stay apart from diet culture, why EVERY body is worthy of...

Krystian is a proud wife and mom to an adorable 2 year old son. Oh, and she’s also a black woman, a gay woman, and in a bi-racial relationship raising a bi-racial son. Krystian sits down to share with us how it’s been for her and her family during the BLM movement in combination with Pride month, raising a son in today's world, and how she believes we can all be better with just one simple thing:...

Known for her table top dance parties, creating her very own show, her brand school and her top 100 podcast “Awesome with Alison”, Alison Faulkner brings us through her journey into awesomeness. This hilarious and powerful conversation will leave you inspired to be your best self and do what you feel CALLED to do, even if you get hit by a car on the way.    Follow Alison on @TheAlisonShow, listen...

You may have seen Avery Francis pop up in your friend’s instagram stories or newsfeeds because in just a week’s time, Avery’s work has gained massive attention and tens of thousands of new followers. But the story doesn’t begin or end there. Avery is a mixed-race Black woman with expertise in Diversity & Inclusion, while also being a serial entrepreneur. However, this didn’t stop her from bein...

Get ready, we’re about to talk about vaginas… a lot. After delivering her son 6 years ago, Jorja was given what many know to be “the husband stitch” (yes, you may roll your eyes) but this led Jorja into an entirely different postpartum narrative than the ones we normally hear of and discuss. Jorja’s story will lead us all down a road of being advocates for our down under bits, speaking up for our...

WHAT CONTROVERSY?! Just two weeks ago, Raffela made an Instagram post that went viral. In named and highlighted several influencers (myself, included) bringing up the conversation around thin white privilege and the roots of the Body Positive movement. Confused? Upset? Many were. But in an effort to build bridges, not taller fences we sit downand discuss how we can ALL learn, be better and #PassTh...