'Most difficult decision ever': Receipts Podcast hosts step down after 10 years

'Most difficult decision ever': Receipts Podcast hosts step down after 10 years 4 hours ago Yasmin Rufo After a decade of dilemmas, debates and candid conversations, the hosts of The Receipts Podcast are stepping down.

Audrey Indome and Tolly Shoneye said the decision was an emotional but necessary one.

"I've never cried so much in my life, it's the most difficult decision ever," Tolly told the BBC.

The podcast was created in 2016 to be a space for black women to discuss a wide range of topics, and the pair have recorded almost 300 episodes.

They also launched a BBC spin-off, which they said was the first podcast hosted by black and brown women to reach number one on the Apple Podcasts chart.

They signed a lucrative exclusive deal with Spotify in 2019.

Despite their success, both say stepping away is like the right move.

"I can get comfortable and I could probably do this for 20 or 30 more years without evolving," explains Audrey.

"That's why the relationship between me and Tolly works, because she's a visionary and I need someone to kick me into action. "

While they're stepping away from hosting, both are clear this isn't a full goodbye.

The podcast will continue - with a new generation at the mic - as they move behind the scenes, shaping the future of the show they built.

Search for new hosts The pair will now look for new hosts through what they describe as a "Pod Idol"-style search.

"We don't want copies of us," Tolly says. "We want new voices, new perspectives and new ideas. "

The process will include open applications, workshops and training, so "even the people that aren't successful still learn something".

"There are so many talented people who don't have the means or won't get scouted, and we want to help them," Tolly says.

"I have a speech impediment, I stutter, so for people who feel like they're not the 'typical' host, I want this to feel like a home. "

Audrey adds that creating opportunities is a key part of their legacy.

"No-one gave us anything when we started, we had to graft. "We went in totally blind and now we can mentor others and give people the opportunity we didn't have. "We're pioneers and us taking on these roles means we can lean into being boss women and pass our knowledge on. "

When the podcast first launched, Audrey thought it was "just a side hustle".

"I never thought I could make a career out of talking," she laughs.

"All that yapping and now I get to share it with the world. " Tolly agrees, saying the scale of the show only really hits when she steps back.

"When it becomes part of your everyday, you forget how big it is, but it's amazing that it's actually left its mark on British podcasting. "

With success came increased scrutiny, something both hosts say they had to learn to navigate quickly.

Audrey says she sets boundaries with social media and doesn't read comments because "you have to differentiate reality from online, otherwise you get absorbed in it".

During more difficult periods, she says she used tools like making her stories private and turning off comments. "If I don't have the capacity, I'll turn things off. " For Tolly, having Audrey by her side from the start has helped.

"If you were doing this solo, you'd lose your mind," she says.

"We got through it because we had each other. " Despite their openness on the podcast, both say they've always been intentional about what they choose to share and when.

Tolly explains that she's "quite guarded" and some of her most personal experiences - including the death of her father, and her mother undergoing cancer treatment - were not discussed on the podcast at the time.

"I just wasn't ready to talk about it and it was years later that I did and I wanted to, because I thought it could help people. "

Their decade-long journey hasn't been without its difficulties.

In 2023, former co-presenter of the podcast Milena Sanchez quit after "years of a rift".

Tolly and Audrey tell the BBC it was a challenging period and Milena's decision left them "blindsided".

Both say the situation was made more complicated by the timing - Audrey was heavily pregnant and their deal with Spotify was up in the air.

"It wasn't about the leaving, it was about the way it was done, it could have been done beautifully," Audrey says.

She describes it as "an unnecessary stain" on their legacy. "We pride ourselves on creating space for women, so it's a shame the way it went down. "

In 2024, Milena said quitting was a difficult decision but her mental health had deteriorated to a point where she couldn't carry on.

"She told me that she would figure it out and we did. "

Tolly adds that those lessons will shape how they support future hosts and teach them how to work through these dynamics.

To make a podcast successful, Tolly says it's "not just about what happens on the episode but how you work together behind the scenes"