When the streets erupt, the headlines explode, and public pressure hits boiling point… can business leaders still afford to say nothing?

In this episode tackle the growing tension between corporate responsibility and political risk. From a CEO letter in Minnesota addressing immigration-fueled violence to Keir Starmer’s high-stakes diplomacy in China, we ask: when the world demands clarity, is strategic ambiguity still a safe PR move?

Listen For

2:08 What is safety in numbers for corporate protest
5:03 Is strategic ambiguity a smart way to stay neutral
7:12 What is the Business and Democracy Commission
9:48 How do leaders speak when policy moves faster than people
12:09 Can the UK and EU trade with China and India without angering the US

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

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Personal branding is changing in real time. The first impression is no longer a handshake or a conversation. It is a clip you did not choose, a post someone else shared, a comment you left, or a quote that gets passed around without context.

What actually builds trust across today’s platforms? It’s the different channels and how they shape different versions of you. Consistency matters more than polish. Algorithms and AI search now “interpret” your reputation.

Today you need to build a personal brand that holds up when you’re not in the room.

Listen For

:22 What if people meet your story before they meet you?
4:00 How does media reshape your message?
5:23 How do you stay consistent across platforms?
8:40 How do algorithms impact your brand?
14:34 Why does personal branding really matter?

Guest: Liz Brooks, Interview Valet

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Doug

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood up in Davos and didn’t waste words. He gave a speech that cut through the noise.

The room stood. The world noticed.

He said, “If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.”

People replayed that line like it was a lifeline.

This episode of The Week Unspun comes straight from the snowy peaks of Davos, but the questions are sharp and wide-reaching.

Can speeches still move people to action?

Can we trust the Edelman Trust Barometer, or has its credibility fractured like the world it measures?

And as the World Economic Forum eyes cities like Detroit and Dublin, what happens when the name “Davos” no longer fits the map?

Listen For

:51 What made Mark Carney’s Davos speech go viral?
6:54 Why do some PR pros hate the Edelman Trust Barometer?
9:38 Are we living in a “retreater” era of trust and communication?
12:40 Should Davos be moved to Detroit or Dublin?
18:15 Is short-form, flashy content reshaping public opinion?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

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PR teams are being asked to win attention in a world that barely gives it. The problem is not reach. The problem is what happens after the click, after the view, after the impression. If your audience does not stay, nothing sticks. Not the message, not the trust, not the reputation you are trying to build.

In this episode, we unpack why depth beats scale and why time spent is one of the most overlooked drivers of influence. You will hear a fresh way to think about loyalty, attention, and what it means to create content that people actually choose to come back to, even when the feed is endless.

Listen For

3:42 How do you separate scale from depth in brand storytelling?
6:57 What makes podcast audiences stay or leave?
10:20 How can stories compete for time in today’s distracted world?
12:42 Why does audio create such a deep connection with listeners?
15:28 Who really listens to podcasts today? And how is that changing?

20:03 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Jenny Manchester

Guest: Roger Nairn, Jar Podcast Solutions

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Doug Downs

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Farzana Baduel

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In this week’s The Week UnSpun, the panel takes on three high-stakes stories where influence, identity, and global perception collide.

First, the team unpacks the latest flashpoint over Greenland, where the U.S. talks security, Denmark talks sovereignty, and Greenland quietly navigates the space in between. But is this really about narrative control, or something deeper, as David suggests, like the importance of alliances over authorship?

Then, the conversation turns to Minnesota, where deadly ICE encounters have sparked a communications crisis over trust, legitimacy, and who gets to define the truth.

Finally, the group turns to Davos, joined by 18-year World Economic Forum veteran Joanna Gordon, who lifts the curtain on how the global summit has evolved, and whether it still lives up to its founding ideals.

Listen For

2:03 Can Greenland Strengthen Partnerships Without Losing Autonomy?
3:25 Are Small Nations Heard? Or Just Spoken For?
6:43 Is the Real Crisis in Minnesota About Trust?
11:45 Has Davos Lost Its Way in the Age of Attention?
15:41 Does the World Economic Forum Have a PR Problem?

Guest: Joanna Gordon

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The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

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It doesn’t matter whether you’re 25 or 55.

If you speak and people listen politely but not seriously, it hurts.

Too young to be trusted.

Too old to be creative.

The message lands the same way.

You are not seen. You are not heard. You are not valued.

Ageism cuts in both directions and it leaves a quiet bruise that people carry long after the moment passes.

How does this happen in Public Relations, a profession built on understanding people?

It does. And ageism is a major component of the profession.

That’s why a Cultural Reset is needed.

Listen For

4:50 What does a "cultural reset" in PR mean when addressing ageism?

7:30 How does ageism quietly impact training and promotion in PR agencies?

9:54 Do certain sectors of PR treat older professionals more fairly than others?

15:55 Will AI help or hurt age diversity in PR careers?

17:25 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Cindy Lang

Guest: Jenny Manchester

Centre for Ageing Better Website | LinkedIn

Jenny’s Report An age-old problem: What can we do to tackle ageism in PR?

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A headline-grabbing raid, a revolution-in-the-making, and a “beige” prime minister walk into the attention economy… who wins the story?

Farzana and Doug unpack three global flashpoints through a PR and narrative-control lens: the shock capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and the split-screen battle between “law enforcement” framing versus “illegal act of war” backlash; Iran’s surging unrest as the rial collapses alongside a fractured top-level message (empathy from President Pezeshkian, crackdown language from Ayatollah Khamenei, and a mobilizing call from exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi); and the UK’s debate over Keir Starmer’s “beige” leadership, whether voters truly want competent quiet or charismatic spectacle in a 24/7 scroll-and-click media world.

Listen For

00:37 How did the Maduro raid become a communications battle overnight?
01:33 Why did calling Maduro a “narco-terrorist” change the debate?
04:57 Does winning the domestic narrative matter if the world disagrees?
07:56 How is Iran’s leadership sending mixed signals during unrest?
13:05 Is quiet leadership still viable in today’s attention economy?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

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This is a special audio time-jump episode. It’s an immersive journey ten years into the future to explore how public relations has managed three of the biggest challenges: the rapid rise of AI, the disappearing entry-level job, and the ongoing gender gap in leadership.

Doug and Farzana volunteer for a guided “time crossing” to see how the next generation of PR leaders navigated a decade of disruption. What they find isn’t just smarter tech, it’s smarter systems, layered cities, holographic hosts, and workplaces where AI and humans collaborate with clarity and conscience.

This isn’t an episode about how will we fix it, it’s about how they already did… and what we can start implementing right now.

Welcome to 2036

Listen For

5:01 How has technology reshaped the world of PR?

6:56 What does it feel like to communicate in a city designed to respond?

9:57 How does personalized media target people in real time?

10:36 What are holographic briefs and how do they change communication?

16:31 Are women finally stepping into more leadership roles?

17:44 How did society move beyond the culture war over being ‘woke’?

12:59 What’s changed most in how we communicate at work?

14:55 What does it take to guide AI with real nuance?

18:18 How is emotional labor being measured, and addressed, in the future?

19:02 What are the future rules of ethical communication with AI?

Doug

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Farzana

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