Episode 58 - The Radical Joy of Realizing You Don't Have to Save Them Folks

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 moves from sports heartbreak to reality TV betrayal, Broadway wins, Black business brilliance, and the emotional labor of learning when to let people go.

The episode opens with the ladies doing what they do best: turning on their out-of-office replies and catching up like the public girlfriends they are. Jayne is still in mourning over Duke’s devastating NCAA loss to UConn — a loss so painful it reopened a very specific 1999 college-era wound. Nikki, meanwhile, is fully tapped into the Bravo discourse and gives Jayne a live update on the latest Summer House chaos, friendship betrayal, and why the girls are currently riding at dawn for Sierra.

From there, the conversation moves through Black excellence, Women’s History Month, the WNBA, music, natural hair, vacation dreams, AI theft, disappointing public figures, and the healing work of learning to protect your peace without explanation.

I See You GirlJayne’s I See You Girl goes to Megan Thee Stallion, whose latest era continues to be one of expansion, reinvention, and undeniable elevation. This week, Jayne spotlights Megan’s historic Broadway run in Moulin Rouge, where she is playing the role of Zidler — a role traditionally played by a man — making her the first woman to take it on in the production. Even with a brief health scare caused by exhaustion, Meg remains a force, and Jayne gives her flowers for continuing to level up in public, in real time, and on her own terms.

Nikki’s I See You Girl goes to Claudia Goldin, the Nobel Prize-winning economist whose volunteer work helped the WNBA Players Association secure one of the biggest labor wins in sports history. From salary increases to better benefits and long-overdue structural correction, Claudia’s work reminds us that math, rigor, and advocacy can absolutely change lives — especially for women whose labor has long been undervalued.

What We’re On Right NowNikki is currently on music — specifically a run of artists who are making her life better in real time. She shouts out RAYE, whose new album has only deepened her admiration, and also puts listeners onto Naomi Scott’s album Fallen to Grace, a polished, soulful, pop-forward project with texture, restraint, and a boutique-coffeehouse kind of cool. For Nikki, this is music to drive to, live with, and return to.

Jayne is currently