Unscripted: the NolaPapa Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This Holiday train has done left the station yall!! And I got some introductions to make.  Meet Will Barrios, the founder of Tatro® Toys, a Louisiana-based company specializing in, inclusive, and magnetic, hand-built, or, customizable, playsets designed to foster creativity. After a pandemic-related pause, Barrios is currently in a soft-relaunch phase, focusing on diverse, modern...

Send us Fan Mail Can you believe this is the 4th annual telling of the TRUE story of Saint Nicholassssss? Well, I indeed cannot!! Our DEAR friend, Dominican Friar, Brother Todd is back with a show not just filled with amazing true life history, but MY BABIES are here too! They asked their cute questions and Brother Todd was perfectly poised to answer them all! And yall! This stump jumpin' Pap...

Send us Fan Mail What is a Reveillon feast, you may ask? "A Réveillon dinner is a traditional, lavish French Creole holiday feast in New Orleans, named from the French word for "awakening," originally eaten late after midnight mass on Christmas Eve but now offered throughout December in many restaurants as multi-course, prix-fixe menus featuring rich dishes like gumbo, turtle soup,...

Send us Fan Mail Boy what a show! Annnnd It's Christmas time!!! I am just beaming, y'all!  We have a from the Grammy award winning, sensational A cappella group Pentatonix, Scott Hoying and his charming husband Mark Hoying!!!  To make this interview even more fun, it was recorded DURING Scott's time on Dancing with the Stars! Wow, what a whirlwind. ANNND to make it even more special...

Send us Fan Mail Thanksgiving. Man. Again, pinchin' my dedgum self y'all. Thanksgiving for me is SO special because it revolves around being grateful. Being thankful. Knowing that we are blessed. Sometimes it may be hard to see the ground through the fog but with faith in your heart, there's no tellin' how many blessin's you can count.  AND TY HERNDON is here to tell us al...

Send us Fan Mail Our 2025 Culinary Thanksgiving Special is here yall. This time- with ya papa's favorite- upper end Italian and it is some better than Venice. I said it. I had it. and I know it. But this is deeper than that. It is deeper than the menu, the ambience. This is where legacies are made. And this Restaurant's story is unlike anything I have ever heard. I knew it was special, b...

Send us Fan Mail Can you believe CBS's Let's Make a Deal has been on the air for 17 years?! 17 YEARS! that means, in 3 years it will be TWENTY FREAKING YEARS. 2 things.  Either that makes me as old as a slap bracelet- OR I am aging as graceful as a blind drag queen on a unicycle! OOF! Either way, Jonathan Mangum, the show's announcer by day but... but night? His 3 row keyboard. OH Y...

Send us Fan Mail Real World ALERT! AWWW MAN! We got an excited papa on our hands. Anything Real World related and I am there!  Recently, I got to sit down with Real World legend and trailblazer, Jon! You know, from Real World Los Angeles?! Jump down this google hole with me. 1, 2, 3 GO! Brennan was one of the first reality TV stars, joining The Real World as an 18-year-old college freshman and dev...

Send us Fan Mail If anyone out there has ever wondered about how adoption works, this Papa is an open book. All 3 of our babies came into our lives through the beautiful gift of adoption.  1 year and 5 days before our first was born, so started World Adoption Day. Every year on November 9th, World Adoption Day encourages adoptees to share their stories. It’s also a day for adoptive parents to conn...

Send us Fan Mail More Halloween fun coming your way! A spooktacularly funny novelty board book featuring a silly little witch's feet and brimming with howl-arious jokes from bestselling creator Sandra Magsamen! Did you know that witches like to tell a silly joke or two? That's what makes them so witchy... who knew? Get ready for a silly Halloween treat with this tall novelty board book t...

Send us Fan Mail I needed a dark yet fun- spooky vibey book. And boy did I find one! I felt like we needed a Halloween episode, with a fun interview by an author that knows how to turn "weird" into moon pies!  New York Times Best Selling Author, Christy Mandin recently sat down with me to talk about her beautiful new Millie Fleur book! Millie Fluer Saves The Night is now available EVERYW...

Send us Fan Mail JUUUUST in time for Halloween season!! We're back with another New York Times best selling author yall. Have you heard of the Witchlings series? ASK YOUR 12 and unders!!! I know my daughter definitely does.  Listen in as Clarabel Ortega and I chit chat it up about her latest installment to her amazing series!  New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author, Claribel A. O...

Send us Fan Mail 5 years ago, one of my very first guests was Real World: New York Allum: Eric Nies. If there was someone that experienced all the sides of what reality show fandom brings, it was Eric.  After that show I knew he was the real deal. In fact, he helped me grow even more after losing my brother over 2 decades ago. During our summer hiatus, I was able to reconnect with him. Living in H...

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that National Night Out Against Crime in 2025 is Tuesday, October 21, 2025??? NOPD and NORD are working hard to deliver another year's worth of inspiration at the 35th Annual National Night Out Against Crime!  I got a chance to sit down with Sergeant Shannon Brewer of the New Orleans Police Department to talk about this year's schedule. YALL. They surpassed...

Send us Fan Mail “A Walt In The Park” with Bill Burns Characters in theme parks have always blown my mind. In particularly, Walt Disney Characters. I don't know where it came from, but y'all, it aint never left. I still get star struck. And ya know what is neat? I kinda spread it to my kids.  Our next guest first came on a couple of seasons back, fresh after his viral sensation as Walt D...

Send us Fan Mail Oh how we've missed you. No. Really. WE GOT SOME GUESTS YALL! The summer has faded and into the Fall we goooo.  This week back we welcome from Happy Gilmore 2, Max Kessler. Max's story is unlike anything I have EVER HEARD. It is cosmic. It is out of this freaking world. And it all goes back to this little, big word called MANIFESTATION.  Sit back and be blown away as I d...

Send us Fan Mail How's yall's summer going??? It's hot in New Orleans. And that humidity makes me glow HARD! I thought it'd be fun to wake the show up this week to introduce a couple of new conversations I had recently.  First,  I was contacted about an amazing skin care brand that has revolutionized the way brown skin is taken care of today. I was super intrigued. And asI lear...

Send us Fan Mail It’s the NolaPapa Summer Finale!  And for this one, we  welcomed back one of my FAVORITE segments! Our Summer finale with Ochsner Children’s Hospital is packing a blast from the past with our EMERGENCY! With Dr. Mutter.   Dr. Lauren Mutter leads the way at Ochsner Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency and much more!!  As a stump jumper from an itty bitty town in South Mississi...

Send us Fan Mail Only one more week until our Summer finale! And the momentum is building! Can you feel it? It’s like  indigestion but the OPPOSITE!!  This week, we welcome an ICON in the Young Adult genre of authors, yall. Mr. Gordan Korman took time to sit with me and discuss his brand new book, SNOOP that was just released!  Our amazing friends at Cafe Du Monde started sponsoring this new segme...

Send us Fan Mail There should be a cliché saying like- "This one time, at House of Blues."  I know myself has a FEW. Though, I have only seen the New Orleans venue, that treasure box is a whole vibe of it's own.  House of Blues holds the key to most of the elements you see at other House of Blues around the country. Listen to this rich history!  Your papa is a LITTLE bias because, w...

Send us Fan Mail One of my most favorite things to do is laugh. Seriously. There are some things you cannot do with others. I could name a few but one thing you don't do is laugh at a funeral. Don't do that.  BUT! LAUGH your butt off with anyone YOU SO CHOOSE, anywhere else!  When you do, appropriately, you create this moment with others that disperses quickly!   In that moment, you prod...

Send us Fan Mail Our rainbow choo choo train is still chugging yall! We are back with another June  episode of Pride sparkle! This month has been so much fun! The Live Show at Ruby Slipper Cafe was amazing and so grateful! Thanks to all that came out, was interviewed and performed! Speaking of performing, later in the show we welcome New Orleans rising drag artist and COVER of Gambit's Magazi...

Send us Fan Mail You know every season, I track down the most inspiring people I can find. Gay Pride is no different! This month is packed with amazing interviews from awesome humans that make this world a better place for all of us!  This week, we continue on with our "NolaPapa Reads" segment, sponsored in part by our friends at Cafe Du Monde! Garrett Glaser has just released his new me...

Send us Fan Mail Mysteries of the paranormal always fascinates me. Ghosts, aliens, psychics; it all is so interesting. As we inch closer and closer to spooky season, I needed a good dose of woowoo!  First up, we welcome a viral tictoking Mom of 4 that gave up her kindergarten gig to pursue a new and full embrace of her psychic abilities. Jen Abra believes in continuously developing her gifts as a...

Send us Fan Mail You guys! I feel like a mixture of Jack Hannah and Ernest P. World!! This is such a fun episode! For years now, y'all know that Audubon Institute holds our heart, right? WELL- I thought what better way to welcome in National Alligator Day on May 29th than to have a REPTILE TAKEOVER! We will have an amazing Video Version coming out on that day BUT TODAY, we get an in depth and...