Tall Poppies Podcast

Afleveringen

• 
  What it costs to be the racehorse — with Claire Brown 22.08.2026 49min

  Claire Brown spent years believing she was the problem. She wasn't — she was a racehorse with her ankles tied. She describes herself as a glitch in the matrix — driven, direct, more interested in people than numbers, and repeatedly told to be quiet, sit down and conform.In this episode, Claire talks with Dash and Mel about performance punishment, resilience, sport, motherhood and judgment, and why every woman needs a work wife. TIMESTAMPS(00:00) Every Tall Poppy Comes With a Price (01:32) The Glitch in the Matrix (11:27) Growth Happens in the Fire (16:06) Big Brained, Bad Bitch Best Friends (19:16) Performance Punishment (25:51) Too Much, or Not Enough (28:49) 3am Starts and the Things You Miss (33:49) Kids, No Kids, and Who Picks Up the Slack (37:47) Women Don't Hand Each Other Up (41:29) Cheer Pressure (46:56) Get Yourself a Work Wife
• 
  What it costs to stand TALL 24.07.2026 26min

  What does it truly take to stop shrinking, step into the spotlight, and be seen without losing yourself ?In this debut episode of the Tall Poppies Podcast, co-hosts Daria Kolchina (Dash) and Melanie Thorpe (Mel) unpack the invisible patterns that keep high-achieving, professional women from expressing their true selves. From corporate boardrooms to launching new businesses, they share their own unpolished "crucible stories"—navigating early childhood bullying, performance anxiety, and the raw realities of sudden corporate redundancy.This is an intimate, unfiltered look at why busy women slip into hyper-rehearsing, over-accommodating, and smiling through discomfort just to stay "safe and acceptable". If you are tired of trying to "optimize" a perfect life and are ready to consciously navigate the messy trade-offs of modern ambition, this episode is your invitation to stop cutting yourself down first.In this episode, we unpack:The Visibility Trap: Why standing tall like a "TALL POPPY" can feel psychologically unsafe.The Over-Accommodation Reflex: Real-life lessons from handling corporate redundancy and managing perception instead of expressing reality.Fitness for Resilience: Moving past the myth of a perfect "5 AM club" work-life balance to build evidence that you can survive professional exposure and discomfort.TIMESTAMPS(00:00) Indroduction & The Tension(01:17) Meet the Hosts: Mel and Dash(02:38) The Cost of Visibility(11:26) Redundancy Story(19:26) Visibility Trade-offs(21:42) Standing TALL