Hot Mess Espresso

This episode hits a little differently for me. JT isn’t just a guest: he’s my friend, and I still remember getting the text after he got out of the hospital telling me how close he had come to ending his life. I’d talked to him just days before and had absolutely no idea what he was carrying.

One year and one day after his attempt, JT joined me to talk openly about what led him there, his experience in the mental h...

This week, I’m joined by marriage and family therapist Candice Coughenour for a very real conversation about relationships, communication, and all the complicated stuff that happens when two people bring their own histories, triggers, and nervous systems into the mix. We talk about why premarital counseling deserves way more attention, how neurodivergence can impact communication between partners, and what it actually means t...

Nervous system resets, cortisol, supplements, hormones… the internet has approximately 47 solutions for everything wrong with us. So I sat down with integrative health practitioner Ashley Cruz Arata to cut through some of the noise.

Ashley shares her own journey from being repeatedly told she was “fine” to discovering a precancerous thyroid tumor, and how that experience completely changed the direction of her lif...

We've all been told our best years are supposed to be in our 20s, but what if they're later in life? This week, I sit down with Andy Bigelow to talk about rebuilding after life completely flips you upside down. From divorce and losing his career to moving back in with his parents and starting over, Andy shares how he found his footing again one small step at a time. We also get into creativity, podcasting, dark humor, and why somet...

Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala returns to the podcast to share the results of her groundbreaking clinical trial and officially introduce BPD Compass, her new workbook designed to make effective Borderline Personality Disorder treatment more accessible. We talked about what the research revealed, why BPD is often misunderstood, how personalized treatment can create meaningful change in just 18 sessions, and what the future of BPD care loo...

This week, I'm sitting down with author Corwin Michaels for one of the most powerful conversations I've had on the podcast. Corwin shares his experience growing up in foster care, navigating adoption, surviving unimaginable abuse, and how those experiences shaped both his mental health and the fantasy worlds he creates as an author. We also dove into religious trauma, ADHD, bipolar disorder, therapy, resilience, and why telling you...

This week, I sit down with fellow podcaster Matt Homes for a real conversation about creative burnout, knowing when to walk away, and finding your way back to something you love. We also get into parenting, breaking generational cycles, accountability, and trying to do things differently than the way we were raised. It's honest, a little messy, and a reminder that sometimes the hardest person to hold accountable is yourself.

The Hom...

Society as a whole "thinks" they understand disability, until Tye’s story smacks them right in the face. From childhood milestones to a brutal healthcare system, Tye lays out the raw, unfiltered truth of living with muscular dystrophy and navigating a world that often seems designed to dismiss or ignore him. We break down the myths around disability, why society still sees us as "less than," and how that impacts everything fr...

“You cannot wait to be motivated to create.”

Most couples kill their creative momentum by trying to do everything alone, and then there's Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers. These founders, parents, and creative souls reveal the secret sauce behind blending business, family, mental health, and a whole lotta love without losing your mind or your flow. From turning coffee into a creative catalyst to navigating neurodiver...

Olga Lastovetska defied the odds, beating stage 3 ovarian cancer at 27 with unconventional treatments and sheer determination. Her main drive? Wanting to preserve her fertility & become a mother one day. The journey she carved for herself challenges misconceptions about cancer, highlighting the power of personalized medicine, mental resilience, and nutrition. Listen in to dive into how she took the scariest point of her life an...

Most people would throw in the towel when diagnosed with terminal cancer, but Mellissa? She fights like a pro, breaking every rule and redefining what it means to truly live. Faced with a stage four diagnosis, she turned her fears into furious action, spending her savings, challenging the system, and leaning on her fierce support squad to keep pushing forward. In this unapologetically real conversation, Mellissa spills her journey ...

Juju Green (aka Straw Hat Goofy) sat down with me this week and we dove right into it: how he took the scenic route and ended up rubbing elbows with Tom Cruise, Ryan Coogler, and movie legends while casually dropping Netflix-worthy stories. In this episode of wild tales, Juju shares how he went from growing up in Compton to becoming the go-to guy for Hollywood premieres, exclusive interviews, and viral TikTok breakdowns. Juju's jou...

So many of us want to break the silence around mental health and trauma, but few dare to share the raw, unfiltered truth. Carolyn Dreyer did, and her story is a rollercoaster of pain, resilience, and breakthrough that made me speechless for the first time in 128 episodes. From unprocessed grief and survival shame to harrowing assaults and the fight to regain safety, her journey is a masterclass in facing the darkest moments and cho...

Ever wondered what it takes to turn a childhood dream into a radical community movement? Meet Che Monique, founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids, who went from stapling paisley fabric on a homemade tail to being one of Netflix’s most unexpected mermaid stars. Her journey is a splash of activism, creativity, and self-love, proving that liberation can start with a fantasy and blossom into a vibrant movement. In this episode, C...

When people think of poetry, some can think it's just pretty words, but for Deanna Repose-Oaks it’s the secret weapon behind surviving a lifetime of trauma, mental health battles, and a crazy family saga. She’s penned six poetry books, each one a raw, beautiful reflection of her journey through chaos, depression, and healing. Deanna opens up about her tumultuous past: being adopted, growing up amid drug addiction and sh...

Content creators are finally beginning to talk about the toll fame takes on mental health, and Andy Neal has been talking about it for a while. He went from 5,000 followers to international news in just months, all while balancing hiking, body positivity, and the reality of living in the spotlight. He dives into how viral fame isn’t just about likes: it’s about managing the unexpected attention, the trolls, and the swee...

Most of us have been conditioned to see anger as a dangerous, destructive force, but what if we’ve been totally wrong? Davina Hehn flips the narrative, revealing how anger is actually a vital compass guiding us toward self-awareness, healing, and transformation. Davina shares her wild personal journey from Hulk-smashing walls to masterfully managing her rage all while navigating marriage, parenting, and her own mental health ...

CONTENT WARNING: suicidal ideation, attempts & passive suicidality

Most conversations about mental health tiptoe around the passive side of suicidality, but Olivia Meyer and I are here to blow the lid off that silence. When surviving multiple suicide attempts, you realize it's not just about wanting to die, sometimes it’s just about wanting the pain to stop, and nobody talks about that. You’ll discover how passive s...