Episodes
June 4, 2025
Betrayals, Backpedals, and Broadcast Blowups: This Week in Reputation Damage
This week delivered a crash course in reputational damage. From a celebrity divorce to a DOGE(Y) dodge, and newsroom blowback, this episode highlights five real-time PR failures that exposed deeper internal fractures. Mention...
May 28, 2025
Original Sin: The Five Communication Sins That Created the Biden Coverup
Jake Tapper’s new book Original Sin is making headlines—but not just for what’s in it. The backlash, the omissions, the PR fallout—it’s all part of a larger failure in messaging that started long before the first leak. In thi...
May 21, 2025
The Reputation Cliff: Why Some Celebrities Never Recover: Featuring the Sean Combs Trial and My NBC News Interview
This episode examines the sharp edge of celebrity scandal and why some reputations teeter over the cliff while others, against the odds, manage a comeback. With Sean Combs (Diddy) serving as the case study, this episode revea...
May 14, 2025
What No One Tells New Grads About Crisis Communication (And Life)
Last week, my daughter graduated from Loyola University Chicago. After years of watching her build a life—on the field, on the sidelines, in the center of the action—she’s stepping into the real world. And like so many gradua...
May 7, 2025
Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend Has Main Character Energy and It’s Breaking His Brand
Bill Belichick has always been a master of control—on the field, in the press, and with his own narrative. But this episode examines how that carefully crafted reputation is unraveling, not because of a fumbled statement, but due to the outsize influence of his much-younger girlfriend, Jordan Hudso…
April 30, 2025
When Silence Backfires: Belichick, Blake & the Draft Day Meltdown
A football legend avoids the one question everyone’s asking. A Hollywood power couple frames advocacy through a lens that feels just a little too curated. And a trusted draft analyst unravels on-air when his favorite prospect...
April 22, 2025
How Harvard Said No—and Made It Stick
This episode examines Harvard University’s April 2025 letter rejecting sweeping demands from the Trump administration—an act of resistance that was principled, measured, and strategically precise. The statement didn’t chase h...
April 16, 2025
Houston, We Have a PR Problem (And the Delicate Art of Proving You're Right)
A rocket full of high-profile women launched into space, but the real spectacle might’ve been the PR machine that sent it there. From Katy Perry floating with daisies to Oprah crying on the ground, every moment of Blue Origin...
April 9, 2025
Behind the Music: Unraveling 'The White Lotus' Composer's Dramatic Exit
In this episode the spotlight is on the unexpected exit of Cristobal Tapia de Vere, the brilliant mind behind the haunting score from the hit HBO series, The White Lotus. This episode examines the emotional and professional t...
April 2, 2025
Inside the Messaging Meltdown of the Signal Chat: From Denial to Damage Control
The SignalGate fallout isn’t just about an accidental group chat. It’s about the unraveling that happens when powerful people panic, deny, and deflect—all while trying to hold onto credibility in real time. This episode unpac...
March 26, 2025
Strategically Vulnerable? Inside Meghan Markle’s Latest PR Move
This episode explores the calculated timing and emotional storytelling behind Meghan Markle’s latest media rollout. With a new Netflix series and curated social media posts emerging alongside headlines about Prince Harry’s vi...
March 19, 2025
From Fairytale to Firestorm: Disney's Snow White Under Scrutiny
The controversy swirling around Disney’s live-action Snow White runs the gamut from casting backlash to political tension. Rachel Zegler’s modern spin on the iconic princess ignited debates over “wokeness,” while leaked photo...
March 12, 2025
Breaking Down the One Word Fueling This Week's Headlines
In this episode, Molly McPherson takes you behind the scenes of crisis management, starting at SXSW. She reveals how this one single word came up in a week of speaking engagements. A word that can strip away layers of trust, ...
March 4, 2025
Behind the Oscar Curtain: Scandals and Apologies
The 2025 Academy Awards weren’t just about golden statues—they were a golden opportunity to survive a PR crisis. From a rumored affair between two co-stars, resurfaced blackface performances to the growing debate over artific...
Feb. 26, 2025
The Secret Trigger Behind Every Crisis
This is the only thing you have to fear in a crisis. Listen as crisis and reputation strategist Molly McPherson explains what is at the heart of every crisis. Recorded late on a Friday— moments after her meeting with a client...
Feb. 19, 2025
The Invisible Machine Behind Celebrity Stories
Episode #300: The Invisible Machine Behind Celebrity Stories Overview In this episode, Molly explores how celebrity stories are crafted and shaped behind the scenes, examining the key players and mechanisms that drive celebri...
Feb. 12, 2025
299: Taylor Swift's PR Strategy: Distancing from Blake Lively
In this episode of 'The PR Breakdown,' Molly delves into the intricate PR maneuvers and power plays behind the rift between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively. Taylor Swift reportedly feels used in the ongoing legal tussle between...
Feb. 5, 2025
298: Analyzing Power Dynamics: Trump, Reynolds, and Jay-Z Under the PR Microscope
Dissecting the public relations and power dynamics involving three high-profile men who were in the news recently: Donald Trump, Ryan Reynolds, and Jay-Z. Let's take an impartial but critical look at Trump's controversial han...
Jan. 29, 2025
297: From Voicemails to PR Moves: The Battle Between Lively, Baldoni, and Reynolds
In this explosive episode, we delve into a Hollywood controversy grabbing headlines after a simple voicemail reignited the full-blown power struggle between Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds. Molly reveals how R...
Jan. 22, 2025
296: Takeaways from Trump's Inaugural Address: Key Highlights You Can't Miss
In this episode of The PR Breakdown , diving into Donald Trump’s second inaugural address and breaking down the PR strategies, rhetorical moves, and media messages woven throughout. From the decision to move the ceremony indo...
Jan. 15, 2025
295: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is Bad in a Crisis. Here's Why
The episode examines the mismanagement of communication during the recent LA wildfires, focusing on Mayor Karen Bass's absence during the crisis and the subsequent erosion of public trust. Key lessons in crisis communication ...
Jan. 8, 2025
294: Behind the Spin: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the High-Stakes PR Showdown
Amid the glamorous yet ruthless world of Hollywood, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni find themselves embroiled in a high-profile legal battle stemming from the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, “It Ends With Us.” The episo...
Dec. 18, 2024
293: Year in Review: 2024's Disasters, Recoveries, and Lessons Learned
They’re back and ready to dissect the year’s biggest communications fiascos. I’m joined by Warren Weeks and John Perenack, my Candian colleagues in crisis behind the Reputation Town podcast, to break down 2024’s most cringe-w...
Dec. 11, 2024
292: Breaking Down Jay-Z’s PR Strategy In His Statement Denying Allegations
Is Jay-Z truly a victim? Or is this a masterful PR strategy? This episode analyzes Jay-Z’s bold statement denying recent allegations and the strategy behind his fiery words. Hear how Jay-Z frames the accusations as absurd and...