We Are Out of Office

About We Are Out of Office

The high vibration podcast you know you need is here. Spend your "hour of power" with hosts Jayne Allen and Nikki T and what it looks like as a black woman to unplug, recharge, choose joy, and spend your hard earned free time living your best life ever. Focused on health, happiness, and healing, these two friends offer straightforward and often hilarious commentary about all things we do when we're not doing "that" anymore. So, get into this show and say it with us: "Get some one else to do it!" We are officially Out of Office.

Publisher

Jayne Allen Writes and Nikki T

Category

education · health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Nov 2024

Latest episode

22 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

63 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Jun 2026

   Episode 63 - The Radical Joy of Creative Blossoming

   In this week’s episode of We Are Out of Office, Veteran Television Executive Producer Nikki T and Bestselling Author Jayne Allen clock out for the summer with a conversation about creative blossoming, French vacations, teaching, AI hiring systems, horror shorts, reality television, romantasy novels, and the unexpected freedom that comes from finally building a life that fits. As the ladies prepare for a summer hiatus, the conversation moves fluidly between personal milestones and larger cultural shifts. From launching new ventures and mentoring future creatives to questioning the future of expertise in an AI-driven world, Nikki and Jayne reflect on what it means to stop surviving and start thriving. Along the way, they celebrate growth, confront uncertainty, champion Black creativity, and make the case that sometimes the greatest transformation isn't becoming someone new—it's becoming more fully yourself. If this episode has a theme, it's alignment. The kind that happens when your work, your purpose, your curiosity, and your joy finally begin moving in the same direction. I See You Girl This week’s “I See You Girl” is unusually personal. Nikki turns the spotlight inward, reflecting on what she calls her season of creative blossoming. While her schedule may be as full as ever, the difference is that this version of busy feels expansive rather than exhausting. New television projects, branded content opportunities, speaking engagements, and the launch of her platform, Notes From Nee, all serve as evidence that the seeds planted years ago are beginning to bear fruit. What strikes her most is realizing that many of the dreams she once quietly imagined are no longer hypothetical—they're becoming reality. Jayne’s “I See You Girl” goes to a younger version of herself. The attorney staring out of office windows. The aspiring writer carrying a dream she couldn't yet fully articulate. As she prepares to deliver manuscripts to two of the largest publishers in the world while simultaneously launching her Book Genius Master Class, she finds herself reflecting on the power of honoring the person who first imagined a different future. Sometimes success isn't achieving a goal. Sometimes it's becoming the person you always hoped you could be. What We’re On Right Now Jayne has officially entered her teaching era. After years of imagining a space where she could mentor writers directly, her first Book Genius Master Class is underway, and the experience has exceeded her expectations. Watching participants create, connect, and produce meaningful work has reaffirmed something she's long suspected: teaching is not separate from writing. It's another expression of the same calling. Nikki, meanwhile, is preparing for a much-needed trip to France with her family. But beneath the travel plans is a larger reflection about expansion. Whether through Notes From Nee, new development opportunities, or speaking engagements with universities, she's embracing a season of saying yes to experiences that once felt out of reach. The conversation becomes a reflection on growth itself—how strange it can feel when the life you've been building finally starts arriving. Mindin’ My Black Business This week’s conversation centers on expertise. Both Nikki and Jayne argue that we are entering a period where traditional institutions can no longer adapt quickly enough to the pace of change. As technology reshapes industries from publishing to entertainment, people increasingly need practical guidance from those actively doing the work rather than relying solely on conventional systems. Nikki discusses her upcoming speaking engagements focused on television development and pitching, while Jayne reflects on the growing importance of communities built around specialized knowledge and real-world experience. The distinction that emerges feels important: people are becoming less interested in influence and more interested in expertise. In an era where information is abundant, wisdom—and the ability to apply it—has become increasingly valuable. Jesus Take the Wheel This week’s collective frustration comes courtesy of artificial intelligence. Nikki shares a Stanford study examining AI-driven hiring systems and the unintended consequences they may be creating for job seekers. The concern is simple but alarming: when multiple companies rely on similar screening technologies, applicants may find themselves repeatedly filtered out by the same algorithmic assumptions. The conversation expands into larger questions about transparency, accountability, and the future of work itself. If AI increasingly determines who gets seen, who gets hired, and who gets opportunities, what happens to the people who never make it past the first digital gatekeeper? Both women arrive at the same conclusion: waiting for institutions to solve these problems isn't a strategy. Building visibility, relationships, and recognizable expertise may become more important than ever. Health & Healing This week’s healing conversation is about alignment. Early in the episode, Jayne offers an observation that resonates throughout the entire conversation: when we are living outside of our purpose, we spend enormous amounts of energy fighting ourselves. That internal resistance can make even success feel difficult. But when our work, values, and desires begin moving in the same direction, we recover energy we didn't even realize we were spending. Nikki recognizes this immediately, reflecting on how differently her life feels now that she's actively pursuing work that excites and energizes her. The conversation also touches on manifestation, vision-setting, and the simple but powerful act of writing things down. Dreams become more tangible when they move from imagination onto paper. The future often begins as a list. What’s Good Nikki’s recommendation this week is the Apple TV+ series Widow’s Bay, a horror-comedy that manages to be genuinely funny, genuinely scary, and endlessly entertaining. She praises its originality and uses it as a launching point for a broader conversation about creativity and risk-taking in television. Jayne, meanwhile, is finding joy in both escapism and creation. Between reality television binges and developing her own romantasy novel, she's leaning fully into imaginative storytelling. The conversation expands into the growing popularity of Black romance, fantasy, and speculative fiction—and the opportunities emerging for Black women writers to create expansive worlds that center their own voices, histories, and desires. The girls are entering their fantasy era. And they’re bringing us with them. Final Word Nikki’s final word is gratitude. Gratitude for growth. Gratitude for possibility. Gratitude for the unexpected opportunities that appear when you keep showing up for your dreams. Jayne’s final word is alignment. Not perfection. Not certainty. Alignment. As We Are Out of Office heads into its summer hiatus, both women reflect on how much has changed over the last sixty-three episodes. New ventures. New challenges. New versions of themselves. And perhaps the biggest lesson of all: Life gets lighter when you stop fighting yourself. Questions? Comments? Email us at: weareoutofofficepod@gmail.com (mailto:weareoutofofficepod@gmail.com) or follow us on TikTok and Instagram at: @weareoutofofficepod

2. 

   22 May 2026

   Episode 62 - The Radical Joy of Letting Currency Flow

   In this week’s episode of We Are Out of Office, Veteran Television Executive Producer Nikki T and Bestselling Author Jayne Allen spiral—in the best possible way—through conversations about creativity, money, nervous system regulation, Michael Jackson, Black ambition, romantic fantasy novels, AI language lovers, and what it means to keep imagining bigger futures for ourselves even while the world feels increasingly strange. It’s an episode about vibration. About energy. About the stories we inherit and the ones we choose to write ourselves into. From Black women preparing to purchase billion-dollar sports franchises to the emotional realities behind scarcity mindsets, Nikki and Jayne unpack the emotional architecture beneath the lives we build—and the ones we dream about next. I See You, Girl Nikki’s “I See You Girl” goes to Kwanza Jones, a Black woman whose résumé feels almost fictional in scope. Potential future MLB owner. Princeton donor. Billboard-charting singer. Lawyer. Philanthropist. Entrepreneur. One half of a billion-dollar power partnership. And somehow still grounded in purpose and impact. What struck Nikki most wasn’t simply the scale of Kwanza’s accomplishments—it was the way she is being publicly framed not as an accessory to wealth, but as an active architect of empire-building alongside her husband, billionaire investor José E. Feliciano. The conversation becomes larger than one woman. It becomes about the power of Black women being seen as full participants in influence, ownership, leadership, and legacy. Jayne, meanwhile, finds herself captivated by a different kind of woman entirely: a woman who doesn’t yet exist. Inspired by the NBA playoffs, Jayne begins imagining the story of the first female head coach in the NBA—a woman navigating locker room politics, masculinity, power, romance, ambition, and leadership in spaces women have historically been excluded from. What would her emotional life look like? What kind of love story would emerge from a woman capable of commanding alpha athletes and billion-dollar franchises? The result may become a future novel. But for now, it opens a larger conversation about Black women imagining ourselves into spaces the culture still struggles to envision. What We’re On Right Now Jayne is officially in her multilingual AI era. After years of using Duolingo to sharpen her French, she has entered into a new relationship—with ChatGPT’s voice feature, affectionately renamed “Julien.” Through real-time French conversation, tailored pacing, cultural exchanges, and language immersion, Jayne discovers a more fluid and emotionally intelligent way to engage with language learning. And honestly? Julien sounds fine. The conversation becomes less about technology and more about the future of learning itself—how AI can personalize growth in ways traditional systems often cannot. Nikki, meanwhile, is fully immersed in a TikTok series called The Four in the Five, following four ambitious Black women in New York City as they build careers, friendships, and aspirational lives on their own terms. Unlike traditional reality television, these women are directing their own narratives. No screaming matches. No table flips. No manufactured chaos. Just beautiful, ambitious young Black women documenting their lives in real time. Both Nikki and Jayne reflect on how refreshing it feels to witness Black women creating and controlling their own storylines rather than having them shaped through the lens of traditional media systems. And yes—Michael Jackson remains an active participant in this entire episode. Mindin’ My Black Business Nikki spotlights an extraordinary Vaseline campaign created by VML South Africa that instantly resonated across the Black diaspora. Centered around the deeply familiar ritual of Black mothers and grandmothers slathering children in Vaseline, the ad captures a cultural memory so universal that no explanation is required. The tagline says it all: “Some traditions aren’t passed down. They’re rubbed in.” The campaign becomes a meditation on what great advertising actually does: it recognizes people. It says we see you. It honors cultural intimacy without over-explaining it. Jayne uses the segment to tease a major emerging trend in publishing: Black women writers moving into the world of romantasy and urban fantasy in significant numbers. From magical realism to fantasy romance rooted in Black culture and mythology, she predicts that the next era of publishing may belong to Black women creating expansive imaginative worlds traditionally dominated by others. The girls are entering their fantasy era—and they’re bringing us with them. Jesus Take the Wheel This week’s collective “Jesus Take the Wheel” centers on the recent Kevin Hart roast. Both Nikki and Jayne wrestle with the increasingly blurred line between edgy comedy and lazy cruelty. While acknowledging that roast culture is built around discomfort and boundary-pushing, they question why so many of the jokes leaned heavily on stale racist tropes rather than genuinely sharp or original writing. The larger conversation evolves into something deeper: how people excuse harmful behavior whenever there are enough “good moments” surrounding it. Jayne reflects on how societies normalize unacceptable things by selectively focusing on the enjoyable parts while minimizing the harm. The discussion then pivots into a deeply personal story from Jayne about attending a jazz concert where the artist launched into anti-left political rhetoric mid-performance. The experience forces her to grapple with questions around complicity, discomfort, art, politics, and the emotional cost of remaining silent in moments where values are challenged publicly. It’s one of the most layered and emotionally complex conversations of the episode. Health & Healing Nikki opens up vulnerably about her relationship with money. Not budgeting. Not investing. Relationship. She reflects on how scarcity mindsets and overindulgence often stem from the same emotional root: fear. Fear of not having enough. Fear of returning to old versions of ourselves. Fear disguised as control. In an attempt to heal that relationship, Nikki writes a literal letter to money—apologizing for projecting emotional weight onto it and reimagining herself not as someone who clings to money, but as a steward through which abundance can flow. The revelation that lands hardest: Money is called currency because it is meant to move. The conversation expands into generosity, trust, stewardship, and emotional healing around wealth, worthiness, and abundance. Jayne then shares her own health milestone: losing 30 pounds of fat post-Ozempic while rebuilding a healthier relationship with her body through intermittent fasting, gut health, probiotics, movement, nutrition, and sustainable habits. But more importantly, she describes finally feeling connected to her body again—not controlled by restriction, shame, or punishment. Just alignment. What’s Good Nikki gives a passionate, spoiler-free review of the new film Is God Is, adapted and directed by playwright Aleshea Harris. She describes it as an intense, unapologetically Black exploration of female rage, trauma, agency, and revenge—anchored by astonishing performances from Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Vivica A. Fox, and especially Sterling K. Brown. For Nikki, the film’s existence matters just as much as the film itself. At a time when theaters simultaneously contain projects like Michael, Is God Is, and Boots Riley’s newest work, she sees signs of a larger renaissance emerging in Black cinema—one driven by visionary Black creatives and executives willing to fund unconventional storytelling. Jayne closes the segment by celebrating her own health milestone and the emotional freedom she’s finding through sustainable wellness practices, better gut health, movement, and reconnecting to her body without obsession or punishment. Final Word Nikki: “Show them how it’s done, girls.” Jayne: “Breathe in. Breathe out.” And maybe… go listen to Michael Jackson. Episode Links: Kwanza Jones (https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sports/kwanza-jones-mlb-first-black-woman-owner-padres/) The 4 in The 5 (https://www.tiktok.com/@4inthe5) VML South Africa’s Award Winning Vaseline Campaign (https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXrR246iJra/) IS GOD IS Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgtdkuNFoKk) Questions? Comments? Email us at: weareoutofofficepod@gmail.com or follow us on TikTok and Instagram at: @weareoutofofficepod

3. 

   9 May 2026

   Episode 61 - The Radical Joy of Black Creativity

   In this week’s episode of We Are Out of Office, your co-hosts Veteran Television Executive Producer Nikki T and Bestselling Author Jayne Allen clock in with a conversation that stretches from beauty hacks to billion-dollar mindsets, from cultural moments to personal reckonings. It’s a layered, funny, and deeply reflective episode about what it means to build, love, create, and protect your peace in a world that keeps shifting beneath your feet. They move effortlessly between joy and reality—celebrating Black brilliance, interrogating relationships, naming economic uncertainty, and reminding us that your next move might just be your most powerful one. I See You, Girl This week’s love is rooted in Black creativity and cultural excellence. Jayne gives flowers to the Black women who shaped the Met Gala narrative, highlighting the full-circle moment of Beyoncé’s leadership and the long arc from wearable art to high fashion dominance. It’s about honoring the lineage—the quiet rooms where culture was built before the spotlight ever arrived. Nikki brings us to the future with Kamira Johnson, a young finalist in Google’s national “Doodle for Google” competition. Her piece, centered on Black hair as power, transforms identity into art—literally shaping the word “Google” through curls and connection. A crown that grows from us. This is legacy in motion—past, present, and becoming. What We’re On Right Now Jayne is deep in her Summer Writing Kickstart era, responding to layoffs, uncertainty, and shifting economies with something radical: ownership. She breaks down how writing a book became her entry point into entrepreneurship—and how she’s now teaching others to do the same. Key idea: Your experience is not ordinary—it’s intellectual property. She reframes books as more than art: They are income streams, credibility builders, and doors. Nikki, meanwhile, is in a season of intentional intake—reading, learning, healing, and making sure that whatever she consumes actually transforms her. Not just doing the work—but asking, did it change me? Together, they land on a shared truth: In uncertain times, skill-building is survival. Mindin’ My Black Business Nikki introduces us to Zelda Wynn Valdes, a pioneering Black designer who opened her own boutique in 1948 and dressed legends like Josephine Baker and Ella Fitzgerald. And then—because history loves to hide its receipts—she drops the gem: Zelda Wynn Valdes designed the original Playboy Bunny costume. Jayne expands the conversation into modern entrepreneurship, spotlighting Curl Days, a Black-owned haircare brand born from one woman solving her own problem. The throughline: Start small. Stay consistent. Build something that answers a need. Because what begins as a solution for you can become infrastructure for others. Jesus Take the Wheel Nikki sounds the alarm (lightly, but not really) on a viral outbreak tied to a cruise ship, reminding us how quickly things can escalate in a globally connected world. It’s not panic—it’s awareness. Protect your body. Stay ready. Jayne shifts the energy into emotional territory with a cultural breakup that hit deeper than expected—using it as a doorway into a larger truth about relationships: It’s not always you. She unpacks the psychology of high-performing men and ego-based coping mechanisms, naming a reality many women experience but struggle to articulate: When someone’s way of handling pain is destructive, there is nothing you can do to love them out of it. That’s not failure. That’s clarity. Health & Healing This moment becomes a quiet offering—almost a whisper to anyone who needs it: Check your breath. Check your body. Check your thoughts. They explore breathwork as a tool for regulation and release, grounding themselves in something simple but powerful: Inhale for five. Hold for five. Exhale for five. Because sometimes healing doesn’t require a breakthrough. It requires a pause. What’s Good There is innovation in the air—and it sounds like music. Jayne introduces Suno, an AI-powered platform where people are turning everyday moments—text threads, jokes, family conversations—into full songs. It’s funny. It’s strange. It’s a little uncanny. But more than anything, it signals a shift: Creativity is becoming more accessible—and more personal—than ever before. Nikki closes with global perspective: Mexico is rolling out universal healthcare for over 120 million people. A reminder that systems can change. That access can expand. That different futures are always being built—somewhere. Final Word Jayne: Outside. Inside learning, outside living—holding both at once. Nikki: Just breathe. Because in the middle of everything—noise, pressure, movement— your breath is still yours. Show Links: Kameirah Johnson is a Finalist for Doodle for Google (https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/26/google-to-feature-seattle-teens-painting-inspired-by-black-hair/) Jayne's Teaching a Summer Writer's BlockBuster at BookGenius (https://courses.bookgenius.com) That CurlDaze Gel Jayne Was Talking About... (https://www.curldaze.com/collections/all/products/glossy-shine-gel) Zelda Wynn Valdez’ Story (https://youtu.be/Y2zI1Ix4fac?si=jLBa78JQVNpreEBX) Mexico announced universal healthcare (https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/news/claudia-sheinbaum-universal-healthcare/) 15 minute breathwork (https://youtu.be/CuIA5pkzHJU?si=dsN1g3mAxBE5eJz6) Questions? Comments? Email us at: weareoutofofficepod@gmail.com or follow us on TikTok and Instagram at: @weareoutofofficepod

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

17 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

53

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.