{"podcast":{"title":"Communication Breakdown","slug":"communication-breakdown-7019931","podcast_index_feed_id":7019931,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6301456/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://corporateobservatory.com/podcasts/communication-breakdown","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/bb1654c4c2ff3f77a3c1f292f51b3d52.jpg","author":"Observatory on Corporate Reputation LLC","episode_count":100,"summary":"Communication Breakdown is a postgame show for PR pros. In each episode, hosts Craig Carroll (Founder of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation, Editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Lecturer at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business) and Steve Dowling (former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple) discuss the strategies and tactics companies are using in high-visibility crises and PR initiatives, giving listeners unique insight into how key decisions are made. The podcast offers two unique perspectives on communications theory and practice, drawing on Craig’s research and teaching on reputation at USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, and universities worldwide, and Steve’s two decades of experience as a comms leader at some of the world’s most influential companies. Whether you’re a PR professional, marketing executive, or just curious about how companies make key communications decisions, you’ll find these discussions insightful and valuable.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-11T02:22:07.181025+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 100","slug":"episode-100","published_at":"2026-09-10T13:00:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/episode-100","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-100--75037946","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75037946/epsiode_100.mp3","summary":"In this 100th episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll revisit the major forces that have shaped corporate communications over the past two years. They examine how political pressure drove companies to reconsider diversity commitments, how narrative arbitrage allowed outside actors to seize control of corporate stories, and why unrestrained executives increasingly create their own reputation crises. The episode closes with a practical look at how calibration, evidence, and restraint help organizations maintain authority when stakeholder deference can no longer be assumed. Takeaways Companies acting from strength can explain why they made a decision, what they intend to preserve, and which boundaries they will maintain. Political momentum, online intensity, and election results should not be mistaken for broad, durable stakeholder consensus. Unexplained changes create narrative gaps that activists, critics, and political actors can exploit for attention and influence. Topics Mentioned corporate communications, corporate reputation, diversity commitments, DEI, political pressure, stakeholder expectations, fear versus strength, organizational values, narrative authorship, narrative arbitrage, crisis communication, social media, executive visibility, CEO reputation risk, executive containment, authenticity, governance, restraint, calibration, institutional authority, evidence, transparency Companies Mentioned Ford Motor, Costco, Target, Apple, Delta Air Lines, Meta, ABC, WNBA, Cracker Barrel, NFL, Tesla, Palantir, The New York Times, CNBC, Starbucks, Toyota, eBay, GameStop Episode Hashtags #FordMotor #Costco #Target #Apple #DeltaAirLines #Meta #ABC #WNBA #CrackerBarrel #NFL #Tesla #Palantir #NewYorkTimes #CNBC #Starbucks #Toyota #eBay #GameStop #…","meta_description":"In this 100th episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll revisit the major forces that have shaped corporate communications over…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1783,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/communication-breakdown-7019931/episodes/episode-100/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/episode-100.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}