Awesomely Off-Topic: Books, Brands, Business and Everything Else We’re Not Supposed to Say Out Loud
🎙️ Awesomely Off-Topic is the podcast that dives headfirst into the business of being brilliantly, messily, unapologetically you.
Hosted by award-winning speaker trainer and business and personal empowerment coach Taz Thornton, alongside publishing powerhouse, book mentor and content coach Asha Clearwater – expect bold conversations about building a business and life that actually fits you, not the other way round.
We’ll talk personal brand, visibility without the ick, microbooks with major impact, ADHD-friendly approaches, messy launches, business flops, spiritual sidequests and all the stuff no one told you you were allowed to say out loud.
We’re doing this on a shoestring – raw, unedited and totally unscripted. No fancy studio, no big budget, no gatekeeping. Just hit record and go.
Real talk. Tangents. Swearing (probably). Useful insights. And a whole lot of permission to do it your way.
It’s chaos. It’s clarity. It’s Awesomely Off-Topic.
Episodes
52 episodes
🎙️ S2 E8: We Were The Secret: Feelings We Couldn’t Safely Say Out Loud
WARNING: Episode contains mentions of suicidal ideation and emotional trauma. We’re going to take you back to a time before dating apps, before video calls, and before “out” felt like something you could say without ...
🎙️ S2 E7: Why Rest Feels Like Cheating (And What That Says About Us)
Rest can feel like cheating, even when you’re running on empty, and that uncomfortable truth says a lot about how we’ve been trained to measure worth. We’re coming off a bank holiday weekend and we thought a couple of nights away near Sherwood ...
🎙️ S2 Episode 6: The Longest Unlearn
Some beliefs don’t just sit in your head, they invoice you every day. We’re talking about the “truths” we inherited from family, school, workplaces, and culture, then carried for years without checking the evidence. The big one? That low, stick...
🎙️ S2 Episode 5: Why Being Good At What You Do Isn’t Enough Anymore
Some people are brilliant at what they do - yet still get overlooked, underpaid, underbooked or stuck wondering why things are not moving.In this week’s episode, Taz and Asha unpack the uncomfortable truth that talent alone is rarely the...
🎙️ S2 Episode 4: Myth-Busting: What Nobody Tells You About Visibility
🎙️ Episode 4: Myth-Busting Visibility - What Nobody Tells YouEveryone bangs on about visibility like it’s the golden ticket.Show up. Go viral. Get a TEDx talk. Land some PR. Build a following.Job done… right?Not quit...
🎙️ S2 Episode 3: Bookable or Broke?
BOOKABLE OR BROKE? What most speaker training missesSpeaker training is everywhere right now - and so are the promises.Big stages. Big fees. Fully booked calendars.But what happens when you’ve paid thousands… and sti...
🎙️ BONUS EPISODE: Erm, Hello New People!
We woke up this morning and something slightly weird had happened… there were a lot more of you here than there were a few days ago.So if you’ve just found us, this is a quick hello.We talk books, brands, business… and quite a lot...
🎙️ S2 Episode 2: The First Time Someone Paid For Our Brains
Do you remember the first time someone paid you for what’s in your head… not what’s in your hands?In this episode, we rewind to the messy, brilliant, slightly chaotic beginnings of getting paid for our brains. From £45 “I’ll charge you f...
🎙️ S2 Episode 1: Before The Books and Businesses
Welcome to season 2.This time, we’re bringing a bit more shape to the chaos - starting by going right back to where it all began.Before the books, the businesses and the podcast, we were both young journalists learning fast...
BONUS EPISODE: St-st-studio
For your second BONUS episode between seasons, Taz and Asha share exciting plans for the future of Awesomely Off-Topic.Thanks so much for all your support so far - you rock!
BONUS EPISODE: Wild In Greece 2
The one we recorded in the shadow of the Acropolis, on a balmy evening in Athens.We meant to upload this way earluer - it was recorded in September 2025, but hey, better late than never!Enjoyx
🎙️ Episode 40: Is This The End?
When we started Awesomely Off-Topic, we had no studio, no production team, and absolutely no idea what we were doing.What we did have was a couple of microphones, a stubborn belief that podcasting shouldn’t cost a fortune, and t...
🎙️ Episode 39: Is ADHD A Superpower?
Episode 39 - ADHD: Superpower, Disability… or Both?Is ADHD a superpower… or a disability?It’s a question that keeps popping up online, and every time it does the internet seems to split into camps. Some people argue that ca...
🎙️ Episode 38: Out In The Wild
WE'RE OUT IN THE WILD - AND YOU'RE COMING WITH US!We've been banging on about the importance of 'Inspiration Days' for yonks and, this week, we've decided to bring you along for the experience.We have our posh new microphon...
🎙️ Episode 37: The AI Devolution
Episode 37 – The AI Devolution: Broetry, Bots and the Death of VoiceEveryone’s calling it an AI revolution. We’re asking whether it’s becoming a devolution.In this episode of Awesomely Off-Topic, we take a p...
🎙️ Episode 36: Ecosystem Vs Egosystem
Episode 36: Ecosystem vs Egosystem – The Difference Between Building Community and Building a CultLeadership isn’t the problem. Exploitation is.In this episode, we dive headfirst into a question that makes a lot of people u...
🎙️ Episode 35: The Drivetime Experiment
We tried to record a podcast in the car. While it was moving. Honestly? Not our best idea!In this very weird-sounding episode (why do tyres on tarmac make it sound like we're underwater?!) we talk productivity hacks, outsourcing, books v...
🎙️ Episode 34: ADHD Is Not The Same As ADHD
ADHD Is Not ADHDADHD gets talked about as if it’s one thing, with one set of traits and one way of showing up. In real life, that simply isn’t how it works.In this episode, we talk openly about how ADHD shows up differently...
🎙️ Episode 33: The Ideas Smorgasbord
We asked for your topic suggestions and, wow, did you put us to the test?!This episode's a proper mashup of ideas, opinions and wisdom, from what makes the perfect cuppa to confidence, reincarnation, network marketing, RPGs, books and pe...
🎙️ Episode 32: The Burnout Chronicles
Burnout, Lanes & CapacityBurnout is often brushed off with phrases like “you’re just tired” or “that’s just adult life”. In this episode, we talk about why that framing misses what’s really going on.We look at burnout a...
🎙️ Episode 31: Tuesday The 13th
Everybody knows about Friday the 13th.Tuesday the 13th has a much longer, stranger history.This episode landed on that date by accident. We’ll let you decide what you make of that.We start with triskaidekaphobia and
🎙️ Episode 30: Beckhams, Brand and BS
While clearing out a cupboard, we stumbled across an old content plan from years ago. Some of it made us smile, some of it made us wince; what surprised us most was how much of it still holds up.In this episode, we use that long-forgotte...
🎙️ Episode 29: Welcome To 2026!
In this episode, we’re pausing at the edge of the year and inviting you to do the same.We talk about what’s ready to be left behind as we move into 2026 – things like the Comparison Monster, old pressure, and habits that quietly drain ou...
🎙️ Episode 28: Keeping Up With The Clauses
Christmas feels ancient, cosy and untouchable.It’s also been aggressively meddled with - mostly by the Victorians.In this episode, we unpack how angels ended up policing the top of the tree, how Christmas pudding started out (you ...
🎙️ Episode 27: Help, Grow, Feel, Slow
When did Christmas get so loud?In this episode, we share our gentle rebellion against all the commercialisation, noise and pressure, with a four-part gift philosophy we’re inviting others to play with.Along the way, we unpack how ...
