Race Reflections AT WORK

Hosted by Race Reflections

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Episodes

127

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-GB

About the show

The place to reflect on all things inequality injustice and oppression at work. You tell us what is up and will do some thinking will do some research and will propose some possible solutions so that together we can make the workplace work for everyone. Your workplace dilemmas, your challenges and your queries at work. Join Guilaine Kinouani every first and third Monday of every month!To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email Atwork@racereflections.co.uk

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60 recent

June 15, 202619 min

RE-RELEASE: Reflections on a trip to the Congo

In this re-released episode first published on 6th May 2024, Guilaine reflects on her (then) recent trip to the Congo. This topic was asked for when she polled people on twitter/x to find out what they wanted her to speak on for this episode.She begins with some context, first for her and then for the country and region in general. Covering how she was born in Bastille and grew up in inner city Paris and is of Congolese descent, specifically descending from Congo-Brazzaville. She then gives a brief overview of the history of colonialism, slavery, war and genocide experienced by Congo-Brazzaville and The Democratic Republic of the Congo.Then she talks about her experience there, being confronted by this paradox of death and life, beauty and horror, poverty and people thriving, learning more about the colonial atrocities that were committed but also at the same time being exposed to the pure beauty of the landscapes. She explores the complexity of these powerful dualities and contradictions, the paradox of life and death almost intertwined and dancing, the invitation to ask how do we hold these dualities at the same time, remembering the pain of the past but imagining alternative futures, the abundance and wealth of nature contrasted with the poverty of neocolonialism. It invites you to be deeply reflective about the possibility of life.She finishes by thinking about her writing and research around trauma and transference and how when talking to people on her travels and looking into cosmologies and autologies of the region she realised that a lot of what she had been writing corresponded with the thinking and cosmologies of this land. And so brings her back to her question of “what we know without knowing?” And to issues of ancestral communication and memory and how echoes form between generations, particularly within the African diaspora, particularly when it comes to issues of thinking about African consciousness in the context of Black suffering, and thinking about all of this within the Kikongo frame, Kikongo being the language, people and culture of the Congo.Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

June 1, 202622 min

RE-RELEASE: Extraction

In this re-released episode first published on 1st June 2024, Guilaine reflects on extraction, the process of which touches on ancestral vulnerability, blackness, colonial dialectics and coloniality in the workplace and generally racialised dynamics, and echoes her (then) recent trip to the Congo.She offers an aside on how plagiarism as an accusation can be weaponised and racialised against people of colour, particularly women of colour and Black women in particular; and how they can be on one hand mined quite heavily by institutions and by society at large, and on the other hand they tend to be the most vulnerable when it comes to those kinds of accusations.But she then focuses on examples of extraction she has experienced recently, looking at some of the reasons she has altered her use of social media and the phenomena of high earners approaching Race Reflections to be considered for the low income courses we have offered for our recent certificate. And she considers the response of some people to her sharing an article "Racial trauma as bodily archive: The Griot & The Nzonzi” freely to wider community for 48 hours, but after that making it membership only. She was asked not just to make it permanently freely accessible but was also asked to send people files of the article for their use for free.She then thinks about extraction in the workplace and considers some ways to navigate and mitigate these issues.This podcast brings together many strands from other podcasts for example:Introduction to the certificate in working with racial trauma and race based injuries using the foundation of group analysis: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/15148619-introduction-to-the-certificate-in-working-with-racial-trauma-and-race-based-injuries-using-the-foundation-of-group-analysis.mp3Social Media Policy Change: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/15059341-social-media-policy-change.mp3Reflections on a trip to the Congo: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/14947769-reflections-on-a-trip-to-the-congo.mp3Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 18, 2026Episode 10918 min

2025 Surveys on Racism in the UK

In today's episode Simone reflects on the findings of three surveys on racism in the UK that were released in 2025: Workforce Race Equality Standard Report 2025 from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/media/fdajabjz/workforce-race-equality-standard-report-2025.pdf Racism and bigotry - the modern migrant experience in the UK a survey from Unite the Union https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2025/december/racism-and-bigotry-the-modern-migrant-experience-in-the-uk Business in the Community - Race at Work 2025 https://www.bitc.org.uk/race/ Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 4, 2026Episode 10813 min

Race and disability in the aftermath of the BAFTA awards 2026

In today's episode Simone reflects on the aftermath of the intersection of disability and race/racism at the BAFTA awards 2026. Specifically the institutional choice to air the involuntary words shouted by John Davidson, a white Tourette's syndrome campaigner, towards two Black actors, the lack of accommodations and planning around the event, the lack of accountability and adequate apology around the impact of racism from both BAFTA as an organisation and by the individual involved. Simone considers the intersection of these two systems of oppression from the point of view of a white disabled person who has been paying attention to the voices of Black disabled people, specifically referring to the work of Imani Barbarin, a Black American writer, public speaker, and disability rights activist who goes by the username Crutches and Spice: https://crutchesandspice.com/Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

April 20, 2026Episode 10714 min

Racism within US disease control and food safety

In today's episode Simone reflects on some issues surrounding the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), its employees, its roll-back of food safety surveillance and that decisions inherent racism.They begin with this article as a jumping off point: The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for food-borne illnesses by Aria Bendix https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-quietly-scaled-back-surveillance-program-foodborne-illnesses-rcna227089They first consider the general impacts of CDC cuts. Then they think about racism in the food system using this article as a reference point:DC Hunger Solutions: Racism in the Food System by Bridget Kelley https://www.dchunger.org/updates/racism-in-the-food-system/And then they consider the specifics of racism in food safety within the current moment in the US.Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

April 6, 2026Episode 10623 min

Community Engagement, Development and Research

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on her experience of community engagement, development and research, building on a post she wrote about this topic on Race Reflections. She particularly considers her earliest experiences in terms of her engagement with race, mental health, race inequality and racial trauma comparing them to a conversation she had with an early career community worker at a conference last year.Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

March 16, 2026Episode 10529 min

Cross-cultural Friendship Between Black Women and White Women

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on what she calls White Women Gaze. This is a topic she has thought about before in her work on Race Reflections and in her book White Minds. She was inspired to speak on this by watching a tictok video of an African woman talking about cross-cultural friendships and relationships between Black and White women. She discusses the video in question, and then shares some of her own experiences of these dynamics from within her working life. She thinks about how these dynamics play out in the workplace, concluding that racialised violence is also gendered and gendered violence also racialised.The TicTok video: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNR9QrQA4/White Minds: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/white-mindsRace Reflections -White womanhood, intersectional violence and racialised boundaries: https://racereflections.co.uk/white-womahood-intersectional-violence-and-racialised-boundaries/The White Female Gaze: A Formulation: https://racereflections.co.uk/the-white-female-gaze-a-formulation/Previous episodes - The Invisible Gaze of White Women: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/9739129-the-invisible-gaze-of-white-womenToxic White Feminity: https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1623760/episodes/8807980-toxic-white-femininitySubscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

March 2, 2026Episode 10423 min

Fashion, beauty, aesthetics and resistance

In today's episode Guilaine responds to a question about her updated biography, specifically her interest in fashion, beauty and aesthetics and how that informs or relates her academic and clinical work. She goes over the personal history of her passion for fashion, considers the relation between Black Feminist thinking and joy, the erotic, desire, self authorship and survival, thinks about how when you look at injustice, atrocity and suffering it is an act of resistance to also focus on pleasure, beauty and life, and she finishes by considering how her interest in fashion challenges normative bias, racialised expectations and so it becomes an act of rebellion.Guilaine’s updated biography: https://racereflections.co.uk/about-the-author/Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

February 16, 2026Episode 10314 min

Sydney Sweeney, American Eagle, Cracker Barrel and the US advertising industry's concerning lean into White Supremacy

In today's episode Simone reflects on the “brand driven culture war” supposedly ignited by Sydney Sweeney’s racist advertising campaign with American Eagle. They also look at the flip-flopping on Cracker Barrel’s choice of logo. They consider how when a companies commitment to diversity is shallow it is very easily dismantled, especially when aided by the media and the American President.Articles referred to:American Eagle doubles down on controversial ad campaign: https://www.axios.com/2025/08/07/american-eagle-sydney-sweeney-backlashCracker Barrel reverses course and will scrap new logo after intense backlash: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/26/cracker-barrel-logo-apologySubscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

February 2, 2026Episode 10224 min

100 Episodes of Race Reflections AT WORK

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on the first 100 episodes(!) of Race Reflections AT WORK. She talks about what she’s learned from the process, considers some areas to develop, and picks out her top three episodes using the criteria of which episodes resonated with her the most.The episodes Guilaine picks out:Episode 61: Reflections on a trip to the Congo: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/14947769Episode 2: Location of Disturbance and Scapegoating: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/8127268 Episode 23: Thinking critically about feelings: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/10099716This is a good opportunity for us to say thank you to all who have listened to the podcast. From the statistics we see through our podcasting platform we know that we’ve had over 160K downloads since we launched with people listening from all over the world. Do please continue to let people know about the show and to let us know if there are things we could do to improve what we are doing (and also what you have enjoyed or valued about what we do.)Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.