Awesomely Off-Topic: Books, Brands, Business and Everything Else We’re Not Supposed to Say Out Loud

Taz Thornton and Asha Clearwater
  • 0.0 (0)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

🎙️ 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.

  1. BONUS EPISODE: St-st-studio

    15H AGO

    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! Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    14 min
  2. BONUS EPISODE: Wild In Greece 2

    1D AGO

    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! Enjoy x Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    31 min
  3. 🎙️ Episode 40: Is This The End?

    3D AGO

    🎙️ 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 the willingness to figure it out as we went along. Forty episodes later, we’ve recorded in offices, cars, woodlands, and anywhere else we could make it work. We’ve upgraded our kit, made plenty of rookie mistakes, and discovered that sometimes the best moments are the ones you never planned. In this Season One finale we look back at what we’ve learned along the way – from the technical mishaps to the unexpected listener messages that made us realise the show was reaching far further than we ever imagined. We talk about the laughter, the lessons, and the strange places people have told us they listen to the podcast… including supermarket aisles and train platforms. We also share what’s coming next: new guests, improved audio, a growing podcast community, and the upcoming book Podcasting on a Shoestring. So… is this the end? Not even close. It’s simply the end of Season One – and the beginning of the next chapter. Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance: 👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    48 min
  4. 🎙️ Episode 39: Is ADHD A Superpower?

    MAR 10

    🎙️ 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 calling ADHD a superpower minimises the very real struggles people face. Others say recognising the gifts that can come with it helps them stop seeing themselves as broken. In this penultimate episode of the season, we dive into the messy middle of that conversation. We talk about the realities of living and working with ADHD - executive function struggles, time blindness, overwhelm, burnout and those moments where the smallest task somehow turns into a mountain. We also explore the other side of the experience: hyperfocus, creativity, intuition, pattern spotting and the ability to dive deep into something that genuinely matters. Along the way we unpack things like late diagnosis, masking, the scaffolding many people build just to stay organised, and the crash that can come after days of high-energy “peopling”. We also ask a question that stopped us both in our tracks: If someone could wave a magic wand and make you neurotypical tomorrow… would you do it? As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you see ADHD as a superpower, a disability, both… or something else entirely? Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance: 👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    37 min
  5. 🎙️ Episode 38: Out In The Wild

    MAR 3

    🎙️ 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 microphones (though there was a bit of a technical panic when we realised we'd forgotten the adaptor, plus we need to remember not to get too close while we're recording - apologies for occasional reverb!), our walking shoes, open minds, water and an inhaler... just in case! :D There's some uphill heavy breathing, an abundance of gorgeous wildlife and plenty of chat about everything from AI to writers' block, using descriptive language on podcasts to what makes a good hug. Listen carefully... you might hear red kites, buzzards and even the occasional woodpecker. Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    1h 16m
  6. 🎙️ Episode 37: The AI Devolution

    FEB 24

    🎙️ Episode 37: The AI Devolution

    Episode 37 – The AI Devolution: Broetry, Bots and the Death of Voice Everyone’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 proper look at what’s happening when creativity gets outsourced a little too eagerly. Not from a place of panic. Not from a place of fear. But from lived experience. We use AI. We value AI. But we’re also noticing something uncomfortable – when you lean on it too heavily, your own thinking, confidence and creative muscle can start to atrophy. We talk about: Why so much content now sounds eerily the sameThe overuse of rhetorical “broetry” patternsWhy AI is only ever as good as what you feed itThe difference between complementing creative professionals and bypassing themArt scraping, genre styles and where the ethical line sitsWhy the least interesting thing ChatGPT can do is write your LinkedIn postsAnd what the real power of these tools actually isThis isn’t anti-AI. It’s pro-standards. Pro-voice. Pro-thinking for yourself. Pro not using really obvious triads, like this one! (Well, it was before we added a fourth :D ). If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re using AI – or whether it’s starting to use you – this one’s for you. 🎧 Listen now and join the conversation. Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    1h 5m
  7. 🎙️ Episode 36: Ecosystem Vs Egosystem

    FEB 17

    🎙️ Episode 36: Ecosystem Vs Egosystem

    Episode 36: Ecosystem vs Egosystem – The Difference Between Building Community and Building a Cult Leadership isn’t the problem. Exploitation is. In this episode, we dive headfirst into a question that makes a lot of people uncomfortable: Are you building an ecosystem… or an egosystem? We talk about the subtle (and not-so-subtle) difference between healthy leadership and hierarchical control. Between fair value exchange and monetised proximity. Between building real community and building something that revolves around one person at the top. We unpack: The red flags of pay-to-play cultures in business and publishingMonetised hierarchy and “guru” dynamicsWhat happens when people leave a space – and how leaders respondThe difference between decentralising power and abandoning leadershipWe also challenge the idea that good coaching should make itself redundant – and explain why long-term developmental partnerships are not dependency, they’re growth. This isn’t anti-leadership. We lead spaces. We facilitate. We’re paid for our expertise. But when revenue flows upward without reciprocity… When growth threatens the leader… When leaving is shamed… That’s not community. That’s control. If you care about books, brands, business – and the ethics behind them – this one’s for you. Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    1h 1m
  8. 🎙️ Episode 35: The Drivetime Experiment

    FEB 10

    🎙️ 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 social media, working in the smallest room and Dee Atkins (makes us do things we don't really want to, does things for us when we won't/don't. High levels of smut and professionalism. Five stars. Would recommend). Also, you get to experience the unprecedented joy of Asha attempting to park her 'wide' car in a perfectly normal parking space. Usual audio levels will resume next week! Something you’d love us to know? Send us a message - we’d love to hear from you. Support the show ✨ Unfiltered. Unedited. Awesomely Off-Topic. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram for more rants, rambles and random brilliance:  👋 @thetazthornton + @ashaclearwater

    42 min
See All (43)

About

🎙️ 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.

Information