The Papaya Podcast

Singer, Songwriter & Mental Health advocate, Madeline Merlo joins us today! Hailing from Maple Ridge, BC, Madeline is a CCMA Award and two-time BCCMA Award winning artist, with six Top 15 singles under her belt. Now based in Nashville, TN, Merlo continues to live up to Spotify’s prediction that she is one of the biggest rising stars to watch. Madeline has over 23 million global streams, and in...

Lisa Collum is one of the 2% of women who own a business that hits the $1Million mark, all while being a mother of 4! Lisa is the founder and CEO of Top Score Writing, which began humbly as a teacher who saw a gap in kid’s learning and just started making changes that actually helped students in really big ways. Those changes led to a multi-million dollar business, with just $100 to start and no l...

This week we (virtually) sit down with Chinae Alexander! Former Texan-turned-New Yorker, Chinae Alexander is an entrepreneur, lifestyle personality, writer, speaker, and wellness expert based in Brooklyn, New York. Her message is to empower people to be better through positive thinking, active change, self-love…with a lot of laughing and curse words along the fucking way. Fresh off her COVID-19 re...

In this week’s episode - we go solo. For an opportunity to speak about current events, the necessary agitation that isolation has caused, and our emotional and bodily responses to it all. This is a candid conversation around our bodies, shame, our mental health and why it’s ok to be “unstable”. We also discuss how and why Sarah owes 2.1 million dollars to a racoon named Tom… what a ride!    As alw...

In this podcast episode, we debunk some myths about sexual desire, illuminate the impact that chronic stress can play in women’s low desire, and discuss Dr. Brotto’s research which found that mindfulness can help manage chronic stress and improve desire. Dr. Lori Brotto aims to place emphasis on pleasure-focused (rather than dysfunction-based) language for women with low sexual desire. Dr. Lori Br...

Known as “The Poetry Bandit”, Jon Lupin takes us through his journey to sobriety and how he surprisingly became a poet in the process. Now 5 years sober, Jon shares his incredible story through alcoholism, divorce and authoring THREE poetry books. With a growing and popular social media, this newly single dad of 3 makes it easy to talk about one of the more uncomfortable things to talk about: bein...

My friend Raia “Coach” Carey is a 3x certified Life Coach and motivational speaker who is passionate about helping people tap into their hidden confidence. The topic of confidence is near and dear to her heart, because when Raia was younger she was bullied and then became the bully. Afterwards, Raia changed her mentality and ultimately was a catalyst in eliminating bullying in her high school. Coa...

After we were both featured in the same article that went viral, I knew I needed to sit down and get some expert conversations flowing about dieting, recovery and how we can be better supporters in that arena. Kyla Fox has established herself as a visionary and innovator, when it comes to re-framing the way Canadians think about and treat eating disorders. As someone who struggled herself with an...

OG blogger, Roxanne West of the Bonjour Bliss Blog is known for her incredible home designs, impeccable fashion sense, adorable family and their travel together. What many didn’t know was that Roxanne was recently faced with one of the biggest decisions of her life; the decision to explant her breast implants. In this non-judgmental approach to her personal story, Roxanne takes us through how she...

If you visit Huda Alvi’s Instagram page you’ll see the words “Brown Girl Breaking Stigmas One Caption At A Time”, and this conversation with her is no different. Huda takes us through her own journey through marriage, divorce, the impact of it all on her family and then remarriage with a blended family. Huda is a wealth of life experience, and perspective that not many of us are often aware of whe...

Known for their hilarious viral videos “Mom Truths” along with a top podcast, a hit book, and ya know, a worldwide tour, these two best friends have got it all together, by having nothing together at all. Honesty and humour at the core of what they do, they’ve been able to break down barriers between motherhood, womanhood, relationships and all that jazz with a real honest look at it all, in a way...

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, and it felt important to bring this topic to the podcast. With the diagnosis of endo taking often up to a decade, and too often it’s symptoms being called “normal” this was an opportunity for us to learn from another’s story so we are encouraged to become advocates for ourselves and our health. That’s where Leslie comes in. She’s young, cool as hell, and the...

As one of the original internet home bloggers, Elsie Larson is well known for her style, her classic pink front door, her two adorable daughters, and a Pinterest-worthy EVERYTHING. The blog she shares with her sister, Emma, called “A Beautiful Mess”, is a place of joy and inspiration that’s proven longevity on the internet in a day in age where everything feels so fleeting. What’s unique about Els...

Sitting in a rainbow room in Nashville, Sarah sits down with her dear old blogger friend from Take The Cannoli, Natalie Ensor. Natalie is known for her unique and colourful home designs, her DIY abilities, being probably the trendiest vintage-dressed family you’ll see on the gram, and yet, there was a 17 year secret that came to light in the most inconvenient, yet important of times - new motherho...

Roles are reversed this week as Sarah interviews Kaitlyn! Back in 2018, Sarah’s first ever podcast interview was on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s hit podcast “Off The Vine” which pushed so for the Papaya Podcast to even come to be! This full-circle interview with Kaitlyn, we sit down in her home in Nashville, surrounded by friends and discuss her time as The Bachelorette, rescuing her amazing dogs from anoth...

Elena and Sarah chat about meeting up in Nashville, how their friendship began, mental health in a public platform and why she chooses to show up day after day. Elena Davies is most known for her time as a radio host and Big Brother house guest where all eyes are on you 24/7, and the world is ready to make their opinions known. Between her body, her relationship with a fellow house guest, and even...

Sarah has had a whirlwind life. Her story starts back in kindergarten and takes you through a wild journey of self hate, divorce and a crumbling identity to a renewed story of self love, self awareness, and the power of those little things called “positive affirmations”. While success to the world may be measured in money and power, for Sarah and her journey - success is actually so much more. Not...

A top nominated guest for The Papaya Podcast, Amanda Muse is ready to sit down and share! Amanda was a new young mother living abroad with her pilot husband when she realized, she could get really involved in the community experience online. So she picked up a camera, and it began. Years have passed, and she continues to carry around a camera, living and breathing the walks of life while sharing i...

This week we sit down with beauty experts Jill Dunn & Carlene Higgins and chat all things… well, beauty! Long-time magazine beauty editors Jill & Carlene have witnessed so many changes to the beauty industry, so they broke out of their traditional media channels with a podcast about breakthrough products, people and moments in beauty. Their expertise lends to an interesting and indulgent c...

In the beginning of 2019, my IG page @TheBirdsPapaya had about 150,000 followers. Amazing, to say the least after 6 years on the platform. But in 2019 my way of creating changed, and the page grew rapidly...an additional 600,000 followers to be exact. I stand by the belief that everyone should have an opportunity to grow, so in an effort to disclose some of the biggest learnings and what I believe...

Content Warning: Topics in this podcast include abortion, rape, assault, revenge porn and violence. While there are no details disclosed, it’s important to know that going into listening. Angela Chiasson is a feminist lawyer and fearless litigator who is known for her progressive legal work. Angela has dedicated that work to the advancement of women and LGBTQ people. With societal hot topics, we c...

When Fallon was just 9 years old, the unthinkable happened to her family. An unthinkable that lead to an unfolding of trauma that didn’t seem to end. Fallon, however, used her survival as a means to activate her story, and the story of so many others, including sitting on the board for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. This mother of 3 is is turni...

After a lifetime of bullying, Megan found acceptance in a fat-positive community that changed the way she started to view herself and her body. After growing confidence through modelling and new narratives, Megan has been a part of the body positive movement before it ever hit the mainstream. Find out what she thinks about it all, what she has to tell us all about what it’s like to exist in a bigg...

Former Real Housewife Roxy Earle, aka @LuxuriousRoxy joins us to talk about her movement #MySizeRox, why she’s pushing back on the fashion industry by helping brands be more inclusive, and what her hopes are for women everywhere. This explosive and empowering episode will have you saying “hell yeah!” over and over again. Roxy will bulldoze your way into your hearts and newsfeed with her positive y...

This week we sit down with Reality TV star and all-around amazing woman, Whitney Port. She’s come a long way since her days on The Hills and now speaks candidly into motherhood, being vulnerable on the internet, the realities of reality TV and what it’s like to step back into it again with The Hills reboot. This surprising and engaging conversation will take you into a whole new side of Whitney, o...