Episodes

This week, Molly breaks down Peter Attia’s public response after his name appears more than 1,700 times in recently released Epstein-related documents. The documents include emails and calendar references tying Attia to Jeffrey Epstein over multiple years. While the files do not allege Attia participated in Epstein’s criminal sexual conduct, the relationship and tone of the correspondence raise serious questions about judgment, proximity to power, and credibility. Attia, a high-profile longevit...

Most leaders hide behind surprise when disaster strikes. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara did the opposite. In a January 2025 interview with The New York Times' Michael Barbaro, O'Hara said the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent was "predictable and entirely preventable"—and that he'd said so publicly the day before it happened. Days after I recorded this episode, federal agents killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, in another operation that has drawn national outcry. This episode isn't abo...

Brooklyn Beckham just torched his parents on Instagram, and the timing? Impeccable. Devastating. Strategic. In this episode, breaking down the Beckham family crisis as it unfolded in real time (Literally! Molly was doing a live BBC interview about the drama while it was still erupting). From Brooklyn's calculated Instagram story to David Beckham's suspiciously polished CNBC damage control, this is a masterclass in reputation warfare dressed up as family dysfunction. This isn't just celebrity g...

When Renee Goode was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, two completely different stories emerged from the same event. One side called her a domestic terrorist who weaponized her Honda Pilot, while the other saw a mother trying to escape. As a crisis manager from the Twin Cities, I break down the competing narratives from President Trump, JD Vance, Kristi Noem, Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor Jacob Frey to reveal the five hidden cues in any crisis communication: who gets humanized first, how the...

This week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz abruptly ended his bid for a third term. This episode was recorded four days earlier during a live conversation and, in hindsight, it explains exactly why this outcome was almost inevitable. Amid a sprawling welfare fraud crisis that Republicans and former President Donald Trump turned into a national political flashpoint, the pressure escalated, division deepened, and Walz found himself trying to govern while defending his political future at the same tim...

This is the most downloaded episode of the year, resurfaced for the holiday week because the fallout is still unfolding in real time. Breaking down the Hollywood power struggle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, with Ryan Reynolds playing a pivotal and controversial role, all sparked by a single voicemail that cracked open a much larger conversation about control, narrative management, and reputation at the highest level. This episode lays the groundwork for understanding the strategies, ...

This is the main event of Molly's Top PR Wins and Fails of 2025 series, recorded live on Substack (aired Friday, December 19) and built around the stories that truly owned the year: culture-war outrage that turned into real market impact, celebrity reputations getting torched (sometimes by their own silence), late-night becoming a political battleground, and the kind of persona erosion that turns “brand equity” into “lawsuit energy.” If you listened to Part Two (ranks 10 through 6), this...

This week’s episode kicks off Part One of The Top PR Wins and Fails of 2025 by pulling straight from the headlines and social media feeds that dominated the year. Instead of rehashing scandals, it digs into the decisions behind them: who understood the moment they were in, who badly misread their audience, and who confused being everywhere online with being trusted. From cultural power plays to celebrity miscalculations, the pattern is clear and a little uncomfortable. You can win the attention ...

This week’s episode gives you a front row seat to my Friday live sessions, where culture, crisis, and community collide in the best possible way. Think of it as a sampler plate of reputational highs and lows. Some hits. Some misses. A few absolute disasters. And plenty of sharp commentary from the people who show up ready to spar. We dug into the stories bubbling across media, politics, entertainment, and news. Here’s what we got into: • The tightening screws around Pete Hegseth and the trip ...

A close look at Tatiana Schlossberg's viral New Yorker essay, A Battle with My Blood. It is an emotional piece that blends grief, legacy, and quiet fury, and it signals a deeper shift inside the Kennedy family. The episode walks through the layers of the essay and the choices behind it. From the shock of Schlossberg's leukemia diagnosis, to the way she describes the strained healthcare system, to her understated but unmistakable criticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., this story becomes both a pe...

This week’s episode dives into a crowded lineup of public figures who all managed to confuse PR maneuvering with actual accountability: President Trump’s “quiet piggy” moment on Air Force One and the broader pattern behind his attacks on women in the press, Larry Summers’ fog-filled non-apology after his Epstein emails resurfaced, Pope Leo XIV’s straightforward call for human dignity contrasted with a White House response that dodged the moral point entirely, Kevin Spacey’s nightclub comeback pe...

This episode starts with a line that should make anyone in communications sit up a little straighter. Michael Wolff, a bestselling Trump biographer and longtime access journalist, emailed Jeffrey Epstein with strategic advice about how Epstein could handle questions about Donald Trump. Not expose him. Not confront him. Advise him. And now, those emails are a crisis in themselves. Today’s episode focuses on the messaging behind Wolff’s interactions with Epstein. Not the salacious details, not t...

You saw “GEO” in the title and almost tuned out, didn’t you? Hold that thought. If you work in communications, PR, media, or journalism, this episode might just change how you think about your job. GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is not another passing buzzword. It is the next major shift in how information is found, shared, and trusted. It shapes how AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini decide which stories and brands get surfaced. In this episode, Muck Rack’s CEO and Co-Foun...

This episode goes behind the polished words of Buckingham Palace to unpack the public relations machinery that managed the downfall of Prince Andrew. In October 2025, King Charles III formally removed all of Andrew’s titles and evicted him from his Windsor residence. On the surface, it looked like accountability. But beneath the royal phrasing lay a carefully timed communications plan. We’ll walk through the anatomy of that plan: how one resurfaced email reignited the scandal, how two precisel...

When your marriage becomes a media strategy, what do you say—and what do you not say? In this episode, Molly McPherson breaks down Cheryl Hines’ carefully crafted response to rumors surrounding her husband, RFK Jr., and journalist Olivia Nuzzi. Fresh off her appearance on the Katie Miller Podcast, Hines offered a masterclass in polished PR talk, leaning on trust, communication, and a dash of Kennedy-style deflection. But was it authenticity or choreography? Molly dissects: The Kennedy family’...

When Politico dropped nearly 3,000 pages of leaked Telegram messages from the Young Republican National Federation, it revealed a disturbing culture behind closed doors. In this episode, Molly McPherson unpacks why private chats are never really private, how weak apologies deepen a crisis, and what this scandal teaches every leader about accountability, ethics, and reputation in the digital age. Key Discussion Points: The leaked Telegram chat that destroyed the Young Republican National Federat...

When the internet comes for you, your instinct is to fight back or disappear. Neither helps. In this episode, Molly breaks down her simple, proven 90-second rule for handling online hate without losing your cool or your credibility. You’ll learn: Why outrage online is a revolving door (and why it’s never really about you). How to recognize when your brain has flipped into fight-or-flight mode—and what to do about it. The golden rule of when not to apologize (and where to respond instead). H...

In this episode, Molly sits down with Jim Rocco and Thom Weidlich, co-authors of Sports Crisis Communications: Cases and Controversies, to explore how the worlds of sports and crisis PR collide. From Tiger Woods’ redemption arc to Aaron Rodgers’ vaccine controversy and Brett Favre’s legal troubles, this candid conversation dissects how athletes, teams, and brands handle scandal when the spotlight turns harsh. The trio also dives into how social media, fan loyalty, and corporate interests shape ...

This episode of The PR Breakdown examines a viral crime case out of Albany, New York, that drew national attention when a suspect confessed on camera to killing and burying his parents. Guest Greg Floyd, veteran journalist and anchor, recounts how the investigation evolved from a financial-crimes lead into a homicide revelation, and reflects on the ethics, accountability, and human weight behind the interview. In this episode: How the case surfaced and escalated from a backyard dig to a double ...

When three statements drop within the same hour, it’s not just news, it’s a case study. Disney walks back Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension with a vague, deflective release.Donald Trump grabs headlines in the Roosevelt Room, suggesting Tylenol in pregnancy raises autism risk — without evidence.Tylenol fires back fast with a direct, science-based denial.In this episode, dissecting how each statement was crafted, what it reveals about the motives behind it, and why credibility — not spin — decides who ...

Outrage isn’t random anymore, it’s a playbook. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, what started as shock turned into a communication crisis that exposed how words can either shape narratives or ignite division. Here’s the problem: in 2025, speech doesn’t live in a vacuum. Every comment, post, and soundbite ricochets through algorithms, institutions, and public opinion. And when words turn into weapons, the fallout is swift—firings, censures, and reputational scars. This episode explor...

Outrage isn’t new, but the way it plays out in 2025 feels like a full-time industry. This week, it’s Phillies fans brawling over a foul ball, a CEO swiping a signed hat at the US Open, Bruce Willis’ family facing judgment in a Diane Sawyer interview, and American Eagle cashing in on controversy with its headline-grabbing campaign. Here’s the problem: every headline slaps the same word on these stories—backlash. But backlash and blowback aren’t the same thing. If you don’t know the difference, y...

A shooting inside a Minneapolis church during a back-to-school gathering left two children dead and several others injured. The Annunciation Catholic School community was shattered. The country watched. And almost immediately, public officials and school leaders stood in front of microphones, tasked with speaking into heartbreak. In this episode, examining what was said—and how it was said—during the press conferences that followed. Joining the conversation with Molly is Greg Floyd, evening an...

The Breakdown: The first move most people make in a crisis is often the one that causes the most damage. It happens when emotion outruns strategy, and the brain mistakes public pressure for personal danger. The result is impulsive action, usually in the form of a rushed post, a scrambled statement, or a desperate attempt to make the backlash go away. But the real problem isn’t public. It’s neurological. This episode explains why the body’s threat response takes over during high-stakes moments...