Home Podcasts Toya Talks Podcast
Toya Talks Podcast

Toya Talks Podcast

Toya Washington 210 Episodes Sep 30, 2026

Toya Talks is a podcast created for Black women and their allies, exploring the intersection of culture, courage, and career. Host Toya Washington unpacks workplace realities through the lens of life, politics, and global events, covering topics like pay gaps, leadership, and authenticity. The show offers bold truths and unapologetic strategies to help listeners navigate their professional lives with clarity and confidence.

Episodes

May This Type Of Friendship Never find Me.
May This Type Of Friendship Never find Me. Sep 30, 2026 6222 Send us Fan MailI got my official ADHD diagnosis in my forties, and it’s forcing me to tell the truth about what people never see behind “high functioning”. On the outside I’m building, leading, creating, parenting, delivering. Inside, it can feel like 20 tabs are open at once, ideas are loud, tasks are heavy, and the effort it takes to look composed is the part nobody claps for. I talk through AD
The Caucasity, Corporate Audacity & Other Crimes
The Caucasity, Corporate Audacity & Other Crimes Sep 24, 2026 5084 Send us Fan MailA grand jury says “no indictment” and the timeline instantly gets flattened into “case closed” online, so we slow it right down and get precise. We talk through the Nolan Wells update, what a grand jury actually does in the US (and why it is not a criminal trial), and why “consistent with drowning” still leaves a family living with unanswered questions. If you care about justice, t
We Dey Like Money
We Dey Like Money Sep 16, 2026 4843 Send us Fan MailThe job market is brutal, interviews are getting longer and cheekier, and too many of us are trying to hold everything together while quietly running on empty. We’re back, and we start with the real reasons people disappear: burnout, change, family life, and the pressure of masking when you’re neurodivergent and “high functioning”. I talk about what it looks like to prioritise the
When Scrutiny Becomes Punishment
When Scrutiny Becomes Punishment Aug 17, 2026 3936 Send us Fan MailA workplace investigation is meant to find facts, but what happens when it starts to feel like a sentence? We return to Toya Talks with a heavy, urgent conversation sparked by the death of Professor Jason Arday, following weeks of intense coverage, plagiarism allegations, and questions about his life and work while Cambridge University pursued an independent investigation. We’re no
Who Keeps The Only Black Friend Safe?
Who Keeps The Only Black Friend Safe? Jul 8, 2026 6970 Send us Fan MailA photo can look like friendship and still hide risk. Today we’re asking a question that cuts through the nice memories, the group chats, and the holiday pictures: who keeps the only Black friend safe? I’m careful with facts and I refuse to fill gaps with speculation, but I’m also honest about why so many Black people feel fear before reassurance when we see certain stories unfold.
A Cautionary Tale
A Cautionary Tale Jun 17, 2026 6970 Send us Fan Mail£12,500 in your pocket today sounds like relief, but what if the price is your state pension arriving a year later? We get into the Citizens Advance proposal making waves in the UK and ask the real question underneath the headlines: do younger generations still believe retirement is guaranteed, or does it feel like the goalposts keep moving until there is nothing left to reach?From
Sister Jackie
Sister Jackie May 27, 2026 2804 Send us Fan MailA 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 som
No such thing as a free lunch.
No such thing as a free lunch. May 20, 2026 3171 Send us Fan MailA 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
Ambition Doesn't Live In An Office
Ambition Doesn't Live In An Office Apr 23, 2026 6970 Send us Fan MailSomeone 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 workpla
The Optics of Accountability
The Optics of Accountability Apr 9, 2026 4059 Send us Fan MailWireless 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 abou
The Mediocrity Ceiling
The Mediocrity Ceiling Mar 18, 2026 6970 Send us Fan MailThe 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 w
The Award For Professionalism Goes to Black People.
The Award For Professionalism Goes to Black People. Feb 25, 2026 4539 Send us Fan MailA 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

Recommended