Racial bias is not always loud or obvious, but it still shapes how people are seen, treated, believed, and included. In this Season 13 opener of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Dr. Evelyn Carter, social psychologist and author of Was That Racist?: How to Detect, Interrupt, and Unlearn Bias in Everyday Life, about how bias works, how it connects to power, and why historical context still matters.

Together, they unpack the difference between racial bias and racism, how current events reveal deeper patterns of exclusion, and why understanding history helps us better understand the present. The conversation also touches on voting access, gender, policy, and the importance of asking better questions when something feels “off.”

DEI After 5 is back for Season 13—and this season will look a little different. We’re revisiting timely conversations from past seasons, bringing in new guests, and exploring what the future of DEI, inclusion, workplace culture, and psychological safety looks like in today’s anti-DEI climate. Tune in as we ask what’s changing, what still matters, and where we go from here.

The language around workplace culture may keep changing, but the real work has not gone away. Employees still want to feel respected, recognized, supported, and safe enough to tell the truth about their experiences.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson reflects on the future of this work and why organizations need more than one-off workshops or performative statements. The conversation explores the shift toward deeper culture transformation, trust rebuilding, accountability, and repair after harm.

This episode is about what it takes to build a true culture of care—one where leaders align their actions with their values, employees feel seen and heard, and organizations create conditions where people can contribute without constantly bracing themselves.

Psychological safety is more than a workplace term. It shows up in the everyday experiences employees have with their leaders, their teams, and the systems around them.

In this episode of High Velocity Radio, host Lee Cantor talks with Sacha Thompson, founder of The Equity Equation, about creating authentic workplaces where people feel valued, heard, and able to contribute. Sacha shares how leaders can move beyond buzzwords and focus on what employees are actually experiencing day to day.

Together, they explore the disconnect between stated culture and lived experience, the role of leadership alignment, the impact of AI on employee roles, and why investing in employee development is essential for building trust and sustaining healthy teams.

Discomfort is part of leadership, especially when the work requires us to question old habits, listen differently, and make room for experiences beyond our own. But too often, fear of saying the wrong thing or not having the perfect answer keeps people stuck.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Nadia Nagamootoo about what it means to lead through discomfort, complexity, and change. Together, they explore why discomfort shows up in organizations, how power is shifting in the workplace, and what leaders can do when fear, rigidity, or avoidance get in the way of growth.

This conversation is about more than workplace inclusion. It is about self-reflection, courage, agility, and building environments where people can learn, adapt, and thrive.

Women of color are often expected to navigate workplaces that were not built with them in mind—while still leading, performing, adapting, and carrying the emotional weight of being “the only” or “one of few.”

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Vanity Jenkins and Rachel Vicente about what it takes to create healthier workplace environments where women of color can lead, learn, and thrive without shrinking themselves.

Together, they discuss leadership development, planning for those often pushed to the margins, internalized racial oppression, mental health, wellness, boundaries, and what it means to build spaces where women of color are supported—not just celebrated.

Caring deeply about people, justice, and change can be meaningful—but it can also be exhausting. When the world feels heavy and the work never seems to end, compassion fatigue and burnout can quietly take hold.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Dr. Rebecca Eldridge, a psychotherapist specializing in compassion and self-compassion, about how to recognize stress, protect your well-being, and make grounded choices when the work starts costing too much.

Together, they explore what compassion fatigue looks like, how the socio-political climate affects our capacity, and why self-compassion is not about checking out—it is about staying connected to yourself while navigating difficult realities.

Change does not happen only through statements, strategies, or training rooms. Often, it begins in relationships—with the stories we hear, the people we love, and the moments that help us see the world differently.

In this replay from Season 1 of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with consultant and anti-racism author Jarrett Carroll about the personal experiences that shaped his commitment to equity and justice. Jarrett reflects on his father’s experience as a gay man during a time when homosexuality was criminalized and stigmatized, and how that history helped him better understand power, exclusion, identity, and responsibility.

Together, they explore shared humanity, privilege, organizational change, and why confronting racism requires both personal reflection and collective action.