Shows / Communication Breakdown
Communication Breakdown
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…
Episodes
- Communication Breakdown
Cracker Barrel’s Turn in the Barrel
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine Cracker Barrel’s ill-fated modernization campaign and the backlash…
- Communication Breakdown
Risky Business: Apologies, Silence, and Spin
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine how companies are navigating the volatile communications landscape…
- Communication Breakdown
So I Wanted To Show You Something
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down Taylor Swift’s meticulously orchestrated rollout of her 12th…
- Communication Breakdown
What Harvard Teaches Us (about dealing with Trump)
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll explore two high-stakes showdowns—one rooted in strategic restraint, the…
- Communication Breakdown
Thank You For Your Interest In Transparency
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll return to the ongoing saga at Astronomer—the data pipeline company whose PR…
- Communication Breakdown
L’Affaire Astronomer
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack the viral scandal that cost Astronomer CEO Andy Byron his job after a kiss…
- Communication Breakdown
Elmo Hacked, Budgets Whacked, and Coke Sidetracked
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack one of the strangest PR weeks in recent memory—where Elmo becomes collateral…
- Communication Breakdown
Paging “Some Comms Person”
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack three reputational firestorms that reveal deeper cracks in the comms…
- Communication Breakdown
2025 First Half: Visibility, Values, and the Volume Dial
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll mark the halfway point of 2025 with a look back at some of the most…
- Communication Breakdown
2025's First Half: Flatter, Fold or Fight
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll take a halftime look at 2025, recapping six months of communication pivots, power…
- Communication Breakdown
Strategic Fidgeting—When Everything’s Important, and Nothing’s Urgent
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll wrestle with the restless energy leaders feel when business eases up but the…
- Communication Breakdown
Why CEOs Are Still Silent
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine the communications void left as Los Angeles becomes ground zero for…
- Communication Breakdown
The Pride Sponsor Shuffle; Trump and Musk Go To War
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll dissect the silent recalibration of corporate Pride support in 2025 and the…
- Communication Breakdown
United Pulls Back the Curtain; Harvard Stands Their Ground
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine how United Airlines and Harvard University are responding to…
- Communication Breakdown
Breaking Down the 2025 Axios Harris Poll Reputation Rankings
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll analyze the 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100 — a comprehensive ranking of corporate…
- Communication Breakdown
UnitedHealth Performs CEO Transplant
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down the reputational chaos surrounding UnitedHealth’s abrupt CEO…
- Communication Breakdown
Target’s Post-Pivot Purgatory
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll dissect the reputational fallout from Target's controversial turnabout on…
- Communication Breakdown
Trade War Turmoil
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the implications of Amazon's controversial pricing transparency…
- Communication Breakdown
Harvard Turns the Tables on Trump
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss Harvard's bold response to the Trump administration's pressure…
- Communication Breakdown
The Trouble with Tariffs
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the tumultuous impact of tariff policies on corporate America…
- Communication Breakdown
First Thing We Do, Let’s [intimidate] All the Lawyers
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and the legal…
- Communication Breakdown
Q2 Chaos and the 90 Day Review
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the evolving role of Chief Communications Officers (CCOs) in…
- Communication Breakdown
Staring Down the Anti-Diversity Influencer
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the evolving landscape of corporate diversity initiatives…
- Communication Breakdown
The Market Is Down
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the impact of tariffs and market volatility on corporate…
- Communication Breakdown
Of Course You Realize, This Means (trade) War!
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the ongoing trade war and its implications for corporate…
- Communication Breakdown
Tesla
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll delve into the reputation crisis facing Tesla, particularly in light of CEO…
- Communication Breakdown
First-month Scorecards for Companies Under Trump
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the evolving landscape of corporate reputation management under the…
- Communication Breakdown
Ford Breaks Silence on Tariffs, Meta Breaks Decorum on Layoffs
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the challenges companies face in navigating communication during…
- Communication Breakdown
Lessons from Beyoncé’s Grammy Wins
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss Beyoncé's recent Grammy win.They explore the themes of reinvention…
- Communication Breakdown
Diversity Critics Hit a Bullseye with Target
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the recent changes in Target's diversity policies amidst growing…
- Communication Breakdown
Inauguration Week — Comms Winners & Losers
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the implications of President Trump's second inauguration, focusing…
- Communication Breakdown
Inside Starbucks’ Wildfire Relief Efforts
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the corporate response to the recent wildfires in California…
- Communication Breakdown
Meta’s MAGA “Tipping Point” - CES takes Las Vegas
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss Meta's recent announcement regarding its content moderation policies…
- Communication Breakdown
Costco Stands Up To Diversity Critics
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss Costco's recent defense of its diversity initiatives amidst growing…
- Communication Breakdown
Best of Q4 2024
In this special End of Year edition of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll reflect on some of the most compelling stories and…
- Communication Breakdown
Attack of the Drones
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the recent surge of drone sightings across the eastern United States…
- Communication Breakdown
UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Sends Shockwaves
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the tragic shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and its…
- Communication Breakdown
Walmart's U-turn on DEI
In this episode, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss Walmart's recent decision to roll back its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)…
- Communication Breakdown
JaGUar’s Roundly-Panned Rebrand
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll dissect Jaguar's recent rebranding efforts, focusing on a controversial…
- Communication Breakdown
Trump II: Chaos Communications
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the implications of the new Trump administration on corporate…
- Communication Breakdown
Now What?
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the implications of Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election…
- Communication Breakdown
Bezos' No-Endorsements Brouhaha
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the recent controversial decision by Jeff Bezos, owner of the…
- Communication Breakdown
McDonald’s: You Want Fries With That?
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss McDonald's recent challenges, including a political photo op with…
- Communication Breakdown
Kellogg’s, Crumbl, and Angry Customers
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the controversy surrounding Kellogg's and its failure to eliminate…
- Communication Breakdown
You Deserve a (Price) Break Today
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the reputational challenges faced by consumer companies in the wake…
- Communication Breakdown
The Headless Boar
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the recent crisis faced by Boar's Head due to food safety issues…
- Communication Breakdown
Ford Quits the HRC Index
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll explore the evolving landscape of corporate communications, particularly in…