Toya Talks Podcast

Epizódy

• Sister Jackie 27.05.2026 46min

  Send us Fan Mail A make-up technique isn’t just a technique when it comes from a community that has watched its creativity get copied, commercialised, and stripped of its origin story. I’m speaking on the Painted by Esther and Patrick Ta situation because the reaction online is not only about beauty products, it’s about power, credit, and what happens when money walks into the room and suddenly someone else gets to “own” what you built. I break down the ethics behind “repackaging” a creator’...
• No such thing as a free lunch. 20.05.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail A well known brand drops into my inbox, praises my TikTok, then asks for a full video turnaround within hours and never once mentions payment. That one email opens a bigger conversation about workplace boundaries, self-worth, and why I refuse to build any part of my life on “maybe there’ll be future work”. If you are a content creator, freelancer, or employee who is tired of being squeezed for more while being offered less, you will recognise the pattern instantly. We talk ra...
• Ambition Doesn't Live In An Office 23.04.2026 1h 56min

  Send us Fan Mail Someone can do everything “right” at work and still get blindsided by an office bully, a microaggressive comment, or a private Teams thread that was never meant to reach you. We’re not pretending that’s fair. We’re talking about what to do next, how to stay strategic, and how to protect your credibility without spending your whole life sat in HR. We start with the reality of workplace bullying and the systems that quietly enable it, then move into practical career strategy: ...
• The Optics of Accountability 09.04.2026 1h 7min

  Send us Fan Mail Wireless Festival gets cancelled and the easy headline is to blame Kanye West, but that story is too neat. I talk through what’s actually happening behind the scenes: government pressure, visa power, sponsor risk, and the uncomfortable truth that “cancel culture” doesn’t land equally. Kanye’s antisemitic statements and harmful comments about slavery still matter, and I’m clear about impact, accountability, and why mental health can be context without becoming a free pass. Fr...
• The Mediocrity Ceiling 18.03.2026 1h 56min

  Send us Fan Mail The news cycle is screaming, the cost of living is climbing, and somehow we are still expected to perform at full capacity. I sit with that tension out loud, starting with the fear and uncertainty around the Iran conflict, the way power plays get framed, and how ordinary people end up carrying the fallout through stress, disruption and constant unease. Then I bring it back home to what real life looks like behind the scenes: motherhood that is beautiful and confronting, grie...
• The Award For Professionalism Goes to Black People. 25.02.2026 1h 15min

  Send us Fan Mail A five-hour wait in A&E with my toddler stripped away any illusions I had about emergency care. Corridor beds, exhausted staff, and a doctor arguing for babies to be seen before a sixty-year-old with a rash this is the UK’s reality, where private healthcare won’t fast-track an emergency and winter air feels like a petri dish. I share what we saw, what it did to me as a mum, and the blunt lesson it pressed into my bones: invest in your health before the system makes choice...
• Golden Handcuffs Part II: The Grown Woman Remix. 04.02.2026 1h 28min

  Send us Fan Mail Headlines collide when you put workers’ rights, political power, and culture on the same table. We start with UK TikTok moderators who say they faced harassment, punishing KPIs, and union busting while screening the content the rest of us never have to see. From there we unpack Pat McGrath Labs entering Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the US and what it reveals about cash flow, innovation, and the realities of scaling an iconic beauty brand. Then we go straight at the BBC’s move to ...
• Golden Handcuffs 21.01.2026 59min

  Send us Fan Mail Power makes itself felt in our bills, our jobs, and our beliefs and this week we trace that line from Arctic ice to everyday life. We unpack why Greenland has become a pressure point, how tariff threats could ripple through British businesses, and what a fraying “special relationship” means for a post‑Brexit UK with less leverage at the table. It’s not just geopolitics; it’s the cost of silence, the value of sovereignty, and the real climate stakes as ice sheets melt and ship...
• Job Hugging: Because Hopping May Land You Nowhere 07.01.2026 51min

  Send us Fan Mail A hard truth set the tone for the new year: a fatal accident in Nigeria and the stark reminder that infrastructure and governance shape lives. I share why that grief paused my urge to create and how honesty, not forced optimism, can be the smartest way to start January. From there, we move straight into the UK job market, where rising employer costs, higher NI, and a punishing tax reality are shrinking vacancies and closing adverts early. Job hopping has stalled; job hugging ...
• Reclaiming The Narrative. 10.12.2025 1h 44min

  Send us Fan Mail Policy shapes pay packets, childcare, heating bills, and even how we move around our cities. We break down Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget without jargon, showing how frozen thresholds create fiscal drag, why dividend and property tax hikes shift the balance toward taxing wealth, and how ISA changes nudge under 65s into risk. We look at the upside too, scrapping the two child cap, targeted help on energy bills, a rare freeze on rail fares, and what the new EV per‑mile charge mea...
• What Does Justice Look Like When History Still Bleeds? 26.11.2025 1h 42min

  Send us Fan Mail A superstar stopped a show to eject a sleepy fan, and the crowd divided. We look past the memes to the real duty of care at live events, the difference between standards and humiliation, and why humility travels further than hype. That contrast sets the stage for a wider theme: how power is used in public, at work and in culture. From Lupita Nyong’o’s choice to refuse typecasting to the labels black women still face in offices, we unpack how stereotypes take root and how to ...
• The Blueprint to Audacity 19.11.2025 1h 27min

  Send us Fan Mail Ready to name the fear behind a big career leap? We start with the uncomfortable truth: stepping into leadership is hard when you’ve rarely seen anyone who looks like you survive and thrive there. That honesty opens a wide-angle look at credibility, negotiation, and why “director” should be a strategic choice, not a trap. You’ll hear practical pay tactics, a clear-eyed read on gender politics, and a call to claim the audacity usually reserved for the loudest voices in the roo...
• The Power Audit 05.11.2025 1h 38min

  Send us Fan Mail A cold November forecast isn’t just about the weather. We unpack the rumoured tax rises and talk plainly about value: why working people are told to pay more while getting less from basics like transport and the NHS. From there, we zoom in on power dynamics how leadership shields or exposes you and what it really means when institutions police tone instead of tackling racism. If you’ve ever been told “it was the situation, not you,” this conversation gives you language, strat...
• The Polite Faces of Power 29.10.2025 55min

  Send us Fan Mail Pressure has a way of revealing what systems are really made of. We start with a bruising week and widen the lens: from alleged deodorant burns and the surge in hair relaxer lawsuits, to NHS resident doctors preparing to strike for pay and staffing, to the silent epidemic of “polite” horrible bosses who weaponise calm and call it leadership. The through line is accountability—of brands, employers, and all of us—to act with care when our choices touch other people’s bodies, bu...
• The New Skills Economy 22.10.2025 1h 31min

  Send us Fan Mail Power is shifting, and the cracks are showing. We open with a stark look at UK politics and ask why half of Conservative members still reject a Black woman leading then widen the lens to the monarchy’s legitimacy crisis and Sarkozy’s prison sentence for conspiracy, drawing a blunt line between optics, accountability, and who is allowed to hold power without question. From crown jewels to courtrooms, we trace how status shields certain people until it doesn’t, and how public i...
• Paris, Portaloos, and Power 15.10.2025 1h 8min

  Send us Fan Mail A week off turned into a reset I didn’t know I needed: a solo first-class dash to Paris for skincare and quiet, then a Black Tech Fest panel that cracked open my entire view of leadership. Four Black women drew a bright line between management and leadership, spoke candidly about mental health and neurodiversity, and made the case for sponsorship over mentorship names in rooms, budgets for growth, introductions that move careers. I walked in curious and walked out ready to le...
• Audacious Audacity 01.10.2025 1h

  Send us Fan Mail A poll shock, a policy gamble, a courtroom reckoning, and a boundary that saves a life this episode traces how power, data, culture, and healing collide. We open with a blunt read on fresh numbers putting Nigel Farage within striking distance and ask the tougher question: when the main parties feel unmoored, how do we vote with integrity rather than despair? That thread pulls straight into Keir Starmer’s renewed digital ID push. We unpack the Tony Blair Institute’s influence,...
• Career Gatekeepers: Why Your Mentor Should Be Opening Doors, Not Just Giving Advice 24.09.2025 57min

  Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered why that mentor relationship isn't yielding results? The harsh truth is that many mentoring relationships fail to deliver actual career advancement especially for Black women. In this candid episode, we unpack why traditional mentorship often falls short and what true strategic mentoring should look like. It's not about inspirational coffee chats or vague encouragement; it's about someone with genuine influence opening doors that would otherwise remain clo...
• Paper Cuts 17.09.2025 1h 39min

  Send us Fan Mail In a world where your voice can be weaponized against you, knowing when to speak and when to stand firm in silence becomes a crucial skill. This episode unpacks the delicate balance of self-advocacy in both professional settings and wider society, where particularly for Black women, calculated strategy often proves more powerful than reactive responses. Toya introduces her groundbreaking "Three Pillars of Career Protection" framework, a comprehensive system of documentation ...
• The Quiet Thrill Of Not Being For Everyone 10.09.2025 1h 37min

  Send us Fan Mail The Transport for London strikes have sparked heated debate, but before rushing to judgment, we need to examine why workers feel forced to take such actions. When peaceful protest options are systematically limited and negotiations fail, strikes become the necessary tool for demanding fair treatment. These workers form the backbone of our infrastructure – shouldn't their compensation reflect that essential role? This week I share a conversation with a colleague that exposed ...