Accidentally Brilliant

Accidentally Brilliant is a Be Broadcast original podcast that explores one big question: How did you get into what you do? Most of us don’t follow a neat career plan - we stumble into opportunities, discover strengths we never expected, and build lives around solving problems in surprising ways. Host Josh Wheeler shares open, personal conversations with leaders and creatives from PR, media, and beyond. From chance encounters to career-defining pivots, each episode reveals the quirks, challenges, and lightbulb moments that shape extraordinary careers. No jargon. No script. Just honest stories that are as funny as they are useful.

Accidentally Brilliant is a business podcast hosted by Sampu, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Sampu hosts Accidentally Brilliant, a business show with 20 episodes published.

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  Episode #22

  20. The PR Career Advice Nobody Teaches You

  Sep 30, 202639 min

  What do you wish somebody had told you when you started working in PR? For the 20th episode of Accidentally Brilliant, Josh Wheeler goes back through conversations with people from across PR, communications, agencies and media to find the lessons that stayed with him. It has become something of a cheat sheet for the parts of a communications career that nobody really prepares you for. Andy Nairn on remembering what never changes, however quickly technology does. Rob Waugh on why being recognisably human becomes more valuable as AI grows. Laura Burch on the impact visibility can have on somebody you may never realise is watching. Barbara Phillips on finding your people and refusing to navigate the industry alone. Sara Thornhurst on creating clarity for people who need support at work. Sheeraz Gulsher on winning hearts and minds while still making the business case. Advita Patel on listening to people who do not think like you. Stephen Waddington on the jump between being a great practitioner and being ready to lead. Darryl Sparey on teaching yourself to understand the numbers. Daniel Cohen on working out which number actually matters. James Crawford on using evaluation as management information. Nigel Sarbutts on talking about impact rather than activity. Jennifer Delgado and Ashley Rudd on knowing what you want PR to achieve before you start. Jo Carr on realising that, when you run the business, you are allowed to make the decision. Caroline Eardley on the danger of allowing one client to become too important. Nina Webb on thinking about succession before you need to. Kate Hartley on why recovery is part of dealing with a crisis. And Yvonne Eskenzi on remembering that nobody becomes more important simply because of their title. Careers, leadership, business, inclusion, confidence, mistakes and some of the things most of us only learn by going through them. Twenty episodes in, these are the lessons that stuck.

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  Episode #21

  19. Finding the Humans Among the Fakes with Rob Waugh

  Sep 18, 202647 min

  What happens when a journalist can no longer assume the expert pitching them actually exists? Rob Waugh has spent nearly 30 years writing about technology and science. More recently, his investigations for Press Gazette have taken him into a much stranger part of the internet: fake experts, fake journalists, AI-generated content and businesses making serious money by getting invented people into genuine news coverage. One investigation began when Rob received commentary from a supposed psychologist called Barbara Santini. Something didn't feel right. He started checking and concluded that she wasn't real. By that point, "Barbara" had appeared around 120 times in British media, including the BBC, Guardian, Mail, Mirror and Express. Rob says the entire operation was designed to secure links and improve a commercial website's Google ranking. And she wasn't alone. Rob went on to investigate fake driving experts, skincare experts, lottery winners, a royal cleaner and a gardener who he says appeared around 170 times in British media despite apparently not existing. We talk about how it happened, the pressure inside modern newsrooms and why AI has made producing this material dramatically cheaper. There's also a bigger question for PR. The people behind many of these operations aren't traditional PR practitioners, but they're using PR techniques. Rob believes the industry has an opportunity to respond by making genuine expertise, proper research and professional standards a point of difference. And Rob isn't anti-AI. He uses it. He thinks it can be great for ideation. His concern is what happens when we use it to flatten our writing, thinking and personalities into an average of everything that already exists. His advice for the future is considerably more human: "Be weird, be eccentric, follow your nose, just be yourself." In this episode: Rob's accidental route into journalism Nearly 30 years covering technological change MiniDiscs, BlackBerrys and the technologies that didn't quite win Why convenience usually wins How a request for expert commentary uncovered a fake psychologist The commercial industry behind fake experts How invented experts ended up across major British media Fake gardeners, royal cleaners and journalists Why newsroom pressures make verification harder How AI has dramatically reduced the cost of producing fake content What journalists can look for when checking whether someone is real Whether audiences will eventually care if an influencer or expert exists AI-generated PR and what journalists think when they receive it Why the PR industry has an opportunity to raise its standards What AI is genuinely useful for Why AI can push writing towards the average The growing value of eccentricity, judgement and individuality Why being human could become your biggest advantage

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  Episode #20

  18. Making Disability Inclusion Mean Something with Sara Thornhurst

  Sep 11, 202643 min

  Disability representation in PR has changed considerably over the past decade. Sara Thornhurst is worried some of that progress could start slipping backwards. Sara is a senior communications professional, disability inclusion trainer and Communications and Impact Manager at the University of York. For almost a decade, she has been challenging the PR industry on disability, accessibility and the way disabled people are represented in campaigns and workplaces. We start with disability being used as a PR stunt. Sara explains why asking an able-bodied person to spend a day or a week experiencing a disability can end up centring their reaction while the people who actually live with that disability are pushed to the side. Her test is straightforward: whose voice are you centring? From there, the conversation looks at what has improved since 2016. Language has moved forward, accessibility is being considered more seriously and more people are identifying or disclosing disability, chronic illness and neurodivergence within the industry. Sara also points to areas where PR still struggles, including the lack of genuinely flexible and part-time roles. There is also a really interesting discussion around neurodivergence. Sara questions the way ADHD and autism can sometimes be presented through a “superpower” lens. That experience may be true for some people, while others are dealing with conditions that materially disable them and require support. When one version dominates the conversation, those experiences become much harder to talk about. We get practical too. What should a job advert say? What happens when somebody discloses a disability? How can an employer remove some of the fear around asking for an adjustment? Why should that information already be part of onboarding instead of waiting for somebody to struggle? The episode covers disability representation, language, chronic illness, neurodivergence, reasonable adjustments, psychological safety and the political and media narratives that can eventually find their way into workplaces. In this episode: • Why disability should never become a PR gimmick • Whose voice campaigns should centre • What has changed in disability representation since 2016 • Why language can change people's experience of communications • Disability representation in imagery and the problem with "inspiration porn" • Flexible working, part-time roles and inaccessible recruitment • Why employers should explain adjustments and disclosure before somebody has to ask • The problems Sara sees in the "neurodivergence as a superpower" conversation • ADHD, autism and the experiences that can disappear from the discussion • How political and media narratives about disabled people filter into workplaces • What managers can do to make disclosure feel safer • Why getting the terminology slightly wrong should not stop people trying to communicate Sara ends the conversation with the hope that one day her disability inclusion work will no longer be needed. For now, it is the messages from people who have changed something after hearing her speak that make her feel "accidentally brilliant". Connect Sara Thornhurst LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarathornhurst/ Josh Wheeler LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshwheelerbroadcast/ Be Broadcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-broadcast/ Website: https://bebroadcast.co.uk/

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  Episode #19

  15. Building Credibility Over Clout with Jennifer Delgado and Ashley Rudd

  Jul 22, 202654 min

  Jennifer Delgado and Ashley Rudd launched Moda PR in 2020 after being introduced on what they describe as a “mate date”. They barely knew each other. Both were unhappy in their jobs. Within months, they had started an agency together. Today, Moda PR works with founders, experts, entrepreneurs and entertainment figures across the UK, US and UAE, helping them build authority, manage reputation and turn visibility into something that lasts. This conversation gives a useful view of how talent publicists think. Jen and Ash explain what they look for before taking someone on, why credibility and lived experience have to come before media exposure, and why a large following is rarely enough to make a partnership work. We talk about the questions brands and agencies should ask before bringing talent into a campaign. Does the person already talk about the issue? Does the partnership fit their existing profile? Is there a clear reason for them to be involved? Audiences can quickly spot when a name has been added purely for reach. The conversation also covers the work behind sensitive, high-profile stories. Jen and Ash discuss their approach to campaigns involving Ore Oduba and Georgia Harrison, where welfare, care and restraint had to take priority over securing the largest possible volume of coverage. They also explain how personal profiles are built over time through media appearances, speaking opportunities, podcasts, partnerships and the work that happens away from public view. In this episode: How Jen and Ash met and launched Moda PR during lockdown Why they built their careers around the lives they wanted The difference between credibility and short-term clout What talent publicists look for before accepting a client Why brands need genuine alignment when working with talent How content pillars help connect people to the news agenda Why founders and experts need clear positioning before media outreach The strategy and care behind sensitive personal stories Working with Ore Oduba, Georgia Harrison and Sharon Gaffka Why saying no is one of the most useful things a publicist can do Turning media moments into campaigns that influence legislation The work that happens behind the headlines Why common sense, emotional intelligence and honesty still count Moda PR’s approach starts with positioning and due diligence. Jen and Ash want to know whether someone has the qualifications, experience or authority to own a subject before they begin pitching them to the media.

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  Episode #17

  14. Why Brands Keep Missing Half Their Customers with Laura Burch

  Jun 26, 202652 min

  Laura Burch never planned to build an agency. She found her way into PR through a temporary job at the BBC, spent two decades working her way up to Managing Director, then realised something had barely changed. Britain's working-class communities make up around half the population, yet they remain one of the least represented groups across PR and the wider creative industries. In this episode of Accidentally Brilliant, Laura talks about growing up on a council estate, hiding parts of herself to fit into the industry, why brands often misunderstand the audiences they rely on, and why better representation produces better creative work. We also talk about launching Work and Class, building campaigns around lived experience, creating opportunities for the next generation and why visibility can change someone's career before you've even met them. Topics include: • Why class is still overlooked in communications • Building an agency around working-class talent • The commercial opportunity many brands miss • How agencies can widen representation • Community, confidence and finding people like you • Why being visible changes careers Guest: Laura Burch Founder & Managing Director, Work and Class If you enjoy conversations about creativity, communications and building a career differently, subscribe for future episodes of Accidentally Brilliant.

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