Your caffeinated double shot of conversation and interviews.
A podcast by J.A. Ibarra and Ishita Gupta.
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The Art of Becoming Someone Else - Passionary: Ep.3
What happens when a “weird kid” finds a community that finally gets it?
In this episode of Passionary, 21-year-old Costa Rican digital artist Bárbara Céspedes, known online as Mapezart, traces her path from a middle schooler who daydreamed entire worlds to music, to a furry artist with a real business and a real following. She explains how a mispronounced word gave her a name, how the Warrior Cats fandom quietly became her gateway into furry art, and why building a fursona is really an exercise in figuring out which parts of yourself you’re brave enough to show.
Ishita and Alejandro get into the craft behind the community too: how animal traits get translated into personality, why sharp shapes read as “evil” and round ones read as “safe” (yes, it’s the same principle behind Disney villains), and how Mape runs her commission business, boundaries and all. She’s also refreshingly honest about the stigma the furry community carries, and what she wishes people understood before they judge it.
A conversation about identity, safety, and what it means to build a whole universe out of the things you were once told were strange.
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3 Jul 2026
[FOOD} We Love - [BLANK] We Love: Ep.1
What does loving food actually cost you, and what does it give back?
We kick off [BLANK] We Love with the most universal love of all: food. Our first guest, Adarsh Suresh, is a self-taught home cook who never met a recipe he'd actually follow. He grew up in a South Indian vegetarian household but fell for Punjabi and Italian cooking instead, and he's spent years since chasing flavor by instinct, blending three sauces into one pink pasta, attempting dal makhani pasta, and learning which fusion ideas slap and which belong in the bin.
Adarsh makes the case for cream as the ingredient worth defending to the death, confesses the one dish that still defeats him every time, and explains why cooking from scratch, resting the dough and cutting every onion by hand, is how he decompresses after a long day. Ishita and Alejandro also delve into whether viral food is ever as good as it looks, why "spicy" and "well-seasoned" aren't the same thing, and how a really good meal becomes a way to bond with the people you love.
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30 Jun 2026
Automated or Augmented: Where is Therapy Going? - AI & Psychotherapy: Ep.3
Will AI augment human therapy or quietly automate it away?
In the final episode of AI & Psychotherapy, Ishita and Alejandro look past today's debates and toward what's coming: therapy that lives in your glasses instead of a room, AI that checks in between sessions, and health data that insurers might one day hold against you. They dig into the uncomfortable parts most takes skip, like whether outsourcing every small decision to a chatbot erodes your ability to choose, who's actually liable when AI gives harmful advice, and why the "WEIRD" data behind these models means they don't see the whole world equally.
Along the way: a blunt hot take on "empathy apartheid," where the rich get a human and everyone else gets an algorithm; an honest case for why bonding with an AI isn't always unhealthy; and why how a company treats safety may matter more than how smart its model is.
It all lands on the idea that the future of any field belongs to the people who use AI to become more human, not less.
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12 May 2026
The Validation Trap: Echoes vs. Insights - AI & Psychotherapy: Ep.2
If an AI model always tells you what you want to hear, is it really helping?
In this episode, Alejandro and Ishita confront what happens when we hand our emotional regulation to systems designed to please us. They explore cognitive offloading, the slow erosion of our ability to think and feel through problems on our own, and why the parallel to GPS weakening our sense of direction should worry us.
They break down what AI will never catch: the things you don't say, the patterns you can't see in yourself, the unconscious material that only surfaces through real human reflection. If human therapy becomes a luxury and AI becomes the default, are we building a future where only some people get to truly be heard?
An honest exchange between two people who refuse to pick a side without understanding both.
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7 May 2026
Smile Engineering. The Digital Dentist - Passionary: Ep.2
What happens when a lifelong passion for making people smile meets a love for technology?
In this episode of Passionary, Alejandro and Ishita sit down with Francisco Porras: dentist, researcher, and founder of OP Digital, who is pioneering affordable digital dentistry across Latin America. Fran shares how he knew he wanted to be a dentist at age four, how a breakup and a phone call from Brazil changed the course of his career, and why a $500 3D printer can outperform a $10,000 one.
The conversation explores the generational gap holding back digital adoption, how AI won't replace dentists but will transform diagnosis, and the real reason most people fear the dental chair. Fran runs a 3D printing farm remotely across five countries and has designed aligners from a ship in the Atlantic, proving that passion paired with persistence can reshape an entire industry. A story about someone who built everything around one simple goal: seeing people smile.
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28 Apr 2026
Mathematical Patterns vs Human Presence - AI & Psychotherapy: Ep.1
Is talking to an AI system the same as talking to a therapist?
In the first episode of AI & Psychotherapy, Alejandro and Ishita tackle the growing trend of using large language models (LLMs) for mental health support. Ishita breaks down what psychotherapy actually is and why it goes far beyond just feeling better, while Alejandro explains how these models work under the hood and why their design to be agreeable can become dangerous in vulnerable moments.
They discuss the sycophancy problem, where AI validates instead of challenges, the privacy risks of sharing your deepest struggles with a cloud-based system, and a compelling study showing that AI and human therapy combined outperform either alone. If therapy is too expensive for many people, is an imperfect AI tool better than nothing at all?
An honest conversation between two people driven by a shared belief that understanding both sides is the only way forward.
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16 Apr 2026
Not So Bio? The Bioplastic Question - Passionary: Ep.1
Are bioplastics actually saving the ocean, or are we falling for greenwashing? In the first episode of Passionary, Alejandro and Ishita sit down and dive deep into this topic with Angélica Aguirre, a Peruvian marine biologist and PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, whose passion for protecting marine life led her to test whether the so-called sustainable alternatives to plastic are truly safe.
Angélica breaks down the different generations of bioplastics, how even biodegradable materials can release CO2 and acidify seawater, and reveals what Pacific oyster larvae can tell us about the health of our oceans.
The conversation spans the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the psychology behind consumer habits across Peru, the UK, and the Galapagos Islands, and why circular economy thinking matters more than ever. Angélica also shares how a childhood rivalry sparked a lifelong love for science, and why being gentle with yourself is essential on the road to doing meaningful work.
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10 Mar 2026
Specialty and the Future of Coffee - The Coffee Series: Ep.3
How do you actually choose your coffee? In the series finale, Alejandro and Ishita decode everything on your coffee bag: single origin vs. blends, washed vs. natural processing, and the Costa Rica-invented honey method (which does not involve actual honey or bees, mind you).
They unpack what specialty coffee really means, how caffeine tricks your brain into ignoring fatigue, and why instant coffee packs surprisingly less punch.
The talk turns serious, as any good episode of Espression should, when they tackle the future of coffee, including shrinking farmland, rising prices, climate change threatening Arabica crops, and the small farmers producing 60% of the world’s supply. A thoughtful and eye-opening discussion that will change the way you think about your morning cup.
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10 Mar 2026
Inside a Coffee Shop Business (w/ Luka Gorgoshidze) - The Coffee Series: Ep.2
What does it really take to run a coffee business? Alejandro and Ishita welcome self-proclaimed coffee expert Luka Gorgoshidze, whose family runs Marron, a pioneering pastry shop in Georgia.
Luka pulls back the curtain on sourcing beans from Italy, balancing speed with quality, and why your barista matters more than any machine. The conversation takes a fascinating cultural turn as they explore the third place concept and why coffee shops are social hubs in some countries while wine bars fill that role in Georgia.
Featuring a discussion on lawsuits involving hot coffee and Italian-style espresso speed runs at gas stations, this episode brews up business insights with a global perspective.
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10 Mar 2026
Coffee Culture, Types and Methods - The Coffee Series: Ep.1
Alejandro and Ishita kick off Espression with The Coffee Series, by exploring the world’s most beloved brewing methods, including South Indian filtered coffee and Costa Rica’s chorreador, an odd but traditional sock-ish device. They share their personal coffee journeys, espresso routines, French press favorites, and the art of pulling a perfect shot.
Dive into the great bitterness debate, oat milk vs. dairy, and why a cappuccino might just be the ultimate coffee order. Plus, did you know Finland drinks nearly 5 cups per person per day? Or that the first webcam was invented just to monitor a coffee pot?
Whether you’re Team Iced or Team Hot, this episode is a love letter to every cup you’ve ever had.
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Find more information on our website: www.espression.net
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