{"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://ocrnetwork.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":86,"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":"2026-06-05T04:21:27.467075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931"},"episode":{"title":"The AI Commencement","slug":"the-ai-commencement","published_at":"2026-05-21T14:30:19+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/the-ai-commencement","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ai-commencement--72092484","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72092484/ep_84_the_ai_commencement.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine a string of AI-related commencement speech misfires and what they reveal about executive communication, audience awareness, and the limits of pushing a message into the wrong moment. The conversation centers on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s controversial University of Arizona address, contrasting it with stronger speeches from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at Carnegie Mellon and musician Jacob Collier at Berklee College of Music. Jensen Huang at Carnegie Mellon: https://www.youtube.com/live/FZh_0uRgrg4 Jacob Collier at Berklee College of Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0exDKy5uuk Takeaways AI is a relevant topic for graduation speeches, but relevance does not guarantee resonance. Eric Schmidt’s speech leaned too heavily on scale, urgency, and instruction, leaving graduates feeling lectured rather than inspired. Jensen Huang’s Carnegie Mellon address worked because he built human connection first, then introduced AI as part of a broader story about responsibility, failure, and opportunity. Topics Mentioned Artificial intelligence, executive communication, commencement speeches, leadership messaging, audience analysis, corporate reputation, speechwriting, CEO visibility, stakeholder trust, Gen Z workers, AI anxiety, leadership authority, ceremonial communication, emotional resonance, public speaking, message timing, reputation risk, corporate storytelling, leadership credibility, communication strategy Companies Mentioned Google, NVIDIA, Gallup, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Denny ’s Episode Hashtags #Google #NVIDIA #Gallup #Bloomberg #TheAtlantic #Dennys #ArtificialIntelligence #AICommunication #ExecutiveCommunication #CorporateCommunications #LeadershipCommunication #CEOCommunication #S…","meta_description":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine a string of AI-related commencement speech misfires and what they reve…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1768,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/communication-breakdown-7019931/episodes/the-ai-commencement/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/the-ai-commencement.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}