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Episodes

Sept. 5, 2025

Why This Former CCO Became Your Comms BFF Instead - with Gab Ferree

Gab Ferree led global communications at Slack, Bumble, and OneTrust, reaching every traditional summit in our profession. Then she walked away to build Off The Record , where communications professionals can finally admit the...

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Aug. 22, 2025

PR is Juggling Knives on Fire While Riding a Unicycle - with Abenaa H…

Can you juggle? If you're a communications pro today, you'd better learn how. Just when you think you've got a good rhythm going, someone tosses you another responsibility. Maybe it's a new social platform. Maybe it's a cultu...

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Aug. 8, 2025

PR is a Leadership Strategy - with Kristel Valaydon

How many of us are stuck playing media relations hits-and-misses while the real opportunities to drive business transformation seem to be just out of reach? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits d...

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July 25, 2025

The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes But AI Can Help - with Natalie M…

We can navigate a crisis, position a CEO, and craft messaging for millions of people. So why do so many brilliant communications professionals struggle when it comes to talking about themselves? In this episode of The Trendin...

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July 11, 2025

Why Communicators Need to Think Like Operations Experts - with Lizabe…

What if empathy isn't just about being nice, but your secret weapon for building systems that actually work? Lizabeth Wesely-Casella , CEO of L12 Services , spent her early career in construction wearing hard hats and reading...

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June 27, 2025

Your Storytelling Genie is in an AI Bottle – with Park Howell

Here they are again—marketers and communicators worried that AI is about to eliminate storytelling altogether. But what if the exact opposite is happening? What if AI is actually making authentic human storytelling the ultima...

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June 13, 2025

Harmonizing AI and Human-Centric Approaches in Business Transformatio…

Humans are in a tough spot right now. But one thing remains certain: business transformation will fail without a human-centric approach.

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May 30, 2025

Beyond DEI: Redefining Cultural Communications - with Aleisia Gibson …

If you're thinking "cultural communications" is another way to say "DEI," you may want to broaden your perspective. Culture comms might just be the key to building trust when the stakes are high - especially in healthcare. In...

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May 16, 2025

Disrupting Yourself Before AI Does - with Steve Rubel

AI is forcing a real moment of decision for communicators. Make it count.

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May 2, 2025

Chaos, AI, and the Future of Work - with Emanuel Rose

Is AI a miracle, heralding an age of invention, or the harbinger of a dystopian civilizational collapse? The rise of short-form video on social platforms - empowering creators, or undermining society? The only certainty these days is uncertainty. But...

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April 18, 2025

From Clinton's Wrath to AI's Rise: Navigating through the Perma-crisi…

Are we going in the right direction as communicators? In an era of dramatic policy shifts, cultural upheaval, and a fractured media landscape, how do we trudge onward through the muck without losing our way? Weighty questions indeed. In this episode...

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April 4, 2025

Distinctive Discoverability: Search Rules the Reputation Roost - with…

Faced with today's fractured mess of audiences and media, it's tempting to unleash a deluge of content and overwhelm social channels with content, hoping to reach the people who want to hear from you. Clearly, not a winning strategy - and those who...

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March 21, 2025

Why Audits Should Delight Communicators - with Lynn Zimmerman

If change is inevitable, why are we typically so bad at managing it? As businesses navigate digital shifts, mergers, and AI advancements, one crucial group often gets sidelined: employees. Communicators can play a much larger role in managing these...

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March 7, 2025

From Alexa to Agentic AI: Conversational AI and the Future of Brand C…

As AI disrupts and reshapes our interactions with brands and people alike, how do we genuinely connect with the voices around us? Conversational AI challenges us to rethink engagement with both technology and each other. What does it mean for brands...

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Feb. 21, 2025

The Rise of the Multidimensional Communicator - with Jim O'Leary

The future of communications is fractured, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. How can leaders navigate this new landscape where audiences are scattered, AI is advancing rapidly, and traditional playbooks no longer work? In this episode of The...

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Feb. 7, 2025

Fractured Reality or Real Opportunity: With AI, It Can Go Either Way …

Is AI the superglue that can repair our fractured media universe? Or is it just another tool that could further splinter our audiences? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits down with digital marketing expert, leading AI...

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Jan. 24, 2025

Reinventing Newsrooms: AI as Friend, Not Foe - with Pete Pachal

Is AI the savior or the destroyer of journalism? As media outlets grapple with dwindling trust and audiences, could artificial intelligence be the key to revitalizing the industry, or is it the final nail in its coffin? In this episode of The Trending...

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Jan. 10, 2025

The Future of Work is Community (with a touch of AI) - with Ashley De…

Over the last few years, at least since 2020, in the marketing and communications professions, remote work has become more of the norm than the exception. Connections between and among co-workers remain predominantly digital or virtual, and so many of...

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Dec. 24, 2024

AI TAKES CONTROL OF THE TRENDING COMMUNICATOR - with Google NotebookLM

NOTEBOOK LM HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF THE TRENDING COMMUNICATOR. EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS IS AI-GENERATED. Are you ready to supercharge your communication skills for the AI-driven future? Discover how to harness the power of artificial intelligence while...

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Dec. 13, 2024

Spin sucks, The PESO Model is the answer, and AI can help - with Gini…

Walk into any PR conference these days, and it's all but guaranteed that you'll see a session or two about how communicators can effect real business impact. Panelists and speakers talk about how we can earn a seat at the table (even though we often...

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Dec. 2, 2024

Down with Fluff: Executive Storytelling in the AI Era - with Anuneha …

I think it's fair to say that most of us in communications and marketing, at one point or another (and probably recently), have been accused of the most awful, terrible thing: committing fluff. It can happen anytime, but usually when we talk about the...

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Nov. 15, 2024

Unlocking the Communications Career Cage - with Emily York

How many times have you heard that career paths in PR and Communications are full of options and opportunities? Maybe that's true when you're just getting started, but for many of us, as we progress in our careers, we start to notice fences and...

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Nov. 1, 2024

Corporate Culture Disruption in the AI Era - with Pinaki Kathiari

Take a look at any job description today--either in your organization or posted to a job board--and you might notice that it's not entirely accurate, especially for communications and marketing roles. It's almost as if they're created to fit into a...

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Oct. 18, 2024

EQ, AI, and the Influential Communicator - with Deirdre Breakenridge

So many of us--especially communicators--struggle to make the case when it counts.  Sure, you may have all the facts at your fingertips, and there's no doubt you feel strongly about your point of view. But when you get to the boardroom, the...

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